Picture the scene – You’re at a business conference and an influential speaker and business mentor has just finished his presentation from the stage about how to grow a super successful online business.

 

There’s an entrepreneur sitting next to you who’s been inspired by the talk, however he’s frustrated because he’s been working at growing his business for 6 years and it still hasn’t popped. So he decides to approach the speaker for a one to one conversation. 

 

You happen to overhear the entrepreneur speaking to the speaker / mentor. The conversation goes like this: 

 

Entrepreneur: What’s the ‘one thing’ I can do to make my business work? I like your strategies, but nothing is working for me!

 

Mentor: How’s your personal cash flow?

 

Entrepreneur: (looking confused): What do you mean? I came here to ask you about my business not my personal finances!

 

Mentor: Are you contributing to your portfolio each month? Do you have savings? Are your personal assets growing?

 

Entrepreneur: You’re not listening. I’m an entrepreneur, not an investor! Of course I’m in debt, but that’s normal. Most entrepreneurs are when they first start a business. You have to invest to get ahead right? 

 

At that point the mentor was ready to walk away. He said “come and talk to me again when you have your personal finances in order.” He was ready to dismiss the entrepreneur out of hand. He didn’t consider him a serious player. 

 

However the entrepreneur wouldn’t be brushed off so easily.

 

“Wait” he cried, “I do really want to know how to make things work! I’ll listen to whatever you tell me. Please tell me what you know.” 

 

The mentor turned around.

 

“Ok” he said, “if you want your business to work you first need to sort out your personal cash flow.”

 

The entrepreneur was doubtful, but he knew that this speaker was a multi-millionaire with many successful businesses, so he put his reservations aside and listened. Not least because his own way hadn’t worked despite all his efforts. 

 

The conversation went on for several more minutes and during that time the mentor convinced the entrepreneur that if he was to ever be successful in his business he must first focus oh his personal finances. That he must be managing and growing his money and his personal wealth first, before his business would ever take off. 

 

This Isn’t a Popular Message Among Entrepreneurs!

 

In my experience this isn’t a popular message among us entrepreneurs. We don’t like to pay too much attention to our personal finances because we’re more excited about our businesses, creating new products and services, growing our list etc…

 

However all the really successful entrepreneurs I know focused on managing their personal cash flow first. Only once they did so did their businesses take off.

 

Incidentally, the entrepreneur in the story is Roger Hamilton. He says that he only took the advice himself another 5 years later, after his car got towed away and his business still hadn’t taken off! Subsequently he went on to become very successful, growing his own personal net worth, and then several multi-million dollar businesses to boot.

 

So why are we so resistant to focusing on our personal finances first? And why’s it important in business anyway? 

 

Well, for one thing it’s pretty boring looking at our own personal cash flow compared to the buzz and excitement of growing a business.

 

What Happens When You Try to Grow a Business Without Organising Your Personal Cash Flow First

 

What I’ve seen and experienced personally, is that when an individual tries to start or grow a business without first taking care of their own personal cash flow, they’re just as bad at managing the cash flow in their business as they are in their personal lives!

 

This is a recipe for business disaster.

 

When we’re ‘in the red’ in our personal lives it puts a lot of pressure on the business to make it work and to get those sales. That’s because there’s not much wriggle room in your personal cashflow, so you can’t afford for it not to work (and in my experience that kind of pressure on a new business is not helpful). 

 

Also, there is a certain type of energy that exudes from a person who’s in the red financially – It makes it harder for other business owners to take you seriously. I should know, I spent many years being that person.

 

And I’m not alone… 

 

Many business owners operate like this and fail to leave any capital in the business at all, meaning that just one significant business expense could take them down!

 

I’ve actually known some business owners who were turning over well over 6 figures and then failed to pay their Leadpages monthly bill on time (at the time $25) and had their account suspended. 

 

They didn’t have $25 to be able to pay the bill! Additionally they were often late paying their Virtual Assistant (who happened to be me at the time!) However, at the same time they were spending thousands of pounds on luxury vacations and a champagne lifestyle and boy did they like to splash the pics of that all over Facebook. 

 

That’s crazy!

 

It’s not my role to dictate how people should spend their money, and if you’re currently a business owner or freelancer who’s in the red, I’m not judging. I’ve so been there and I know how hard this advice is to hear!

 

However I do also now see the total irony in operating that way.

 

That’s why I’ve become and advocate for slow and natural business growth and debunking the myth of overnight success! 

 

 

Why Your Personal Finances Are Intrinsically Linked to Your Success in Business

 

Those who focus on sorting out their personal finances first, getting their financial situation stable and the foundations in place, are the ones who go on to create unparalleled success in business. 

 

It’s a no-brainer that not having any savings puts extra pressure on freelancers and entrepreneurs alike.

 

That’s why if you don’t have your personal finances in order, you could end up being the biggest liability for your business, because you’ll need to take, take, take every cent of profit the business makes, but if the business needs you to cash roll for an expenses, you might not be able to. 

 

OK, Julie, I Get It! I Know I Need to Sort Out My Personal Finances, But Where Do I Start?

 

If you’re willing to be open to this message, and take a look at your own cashflow as a strategy to grow your business, then I have some free resources I’d like to point you to.

 

Firstly, I highly recommend all the stuff by Roger Hamilton (the entrepreneur from the story at the beginning). He’s got a ton of free videos on his Youtube channel and he wrote a book called ‘The Millionaire Masterplan’ (which I love) plus developed a system called ‘Wealth Dynamics’ especially for entrepreneurs. 

 

The second is a lady called Ann Wilson. AKA The Wealth Chef. I’ve personally taken many of Ann’s programs myself and highly recommend all her work. You can start with her blog articles, which are free and packed with useful information to help you get your finances sorted.

 

It was thanks to working with Ann that I paid off around £14,000 in debt in the last 2 years, created an investment portfolio and turned my own personal finances around.

 

Plus both of them are actually interesting, which cannot be said for all people who teach personal finance!

 

When I concentrated on sorting my personal finances first, then my business finally took off! I hope this article will provide the same inspiration and results for you.

 

With Love

Julie.