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14 Things New Business Owners Can Do To Reduce Their Financial Anxiety
In life, but especially in business, it is relatively rare to feel as if you have enough money to be totally comfortable and secure. So it’s natural for founders of any business to be concerned about cash when it always seems to be in short supply.
However, becoming overwhelmed with worries about money can hinder efforts at actually acquiring it. Below, 14 members of Forbes Coaches Council discuss what business owners can do to reduce their financial anxiety.
1. Keep A Long-Term Vision In Mind
There’s no shortage of money as long as a business owner focuses on sharpening their unique offering while keeping a long-term vision in mind. Serve a client extremely well, and they will refer their circle. Hone your concept or methodology through research, and development will elevate your service and pricing. Provide your audience with great content, and this will create future opportunities. - Amy Nguyen, Happiness Infinity LLC
2. Plan Strategically And Dialogue Constantly With Investors
Financial resources are essential, especially for a founder scaling your business model. To reduce your financial anxiety, strategic planning on the one hand and constant dialogue and exchange with investors on the other will both help convince them of the attractiveness of your business model, including the profit margin. Then, they will understand and support your vision behind it. - Michael Thiemann, Strategy-Lab™
3. Shift Limiting Beliefs About Money
Engage in mindset work to shift limiting beliefs about money. In parallel, focus on revenue-generating strategies and creating alternative approaches to infusing cash into the business. - Natasha Charles, Intuitive Coaching with Natasha Charles
4. Monitor Cash And Have A Backup Plan
Cash crunches are a big stressor for founders. To reduce financial anxiety, founders should closely monitor their cash position and have a backup plan to reduce worry. A written backup plan can include short-term loans, credit cards, lines of credit, a reduction of the workforce or a forced savings plan. It’s also wise to have a system of prioritizing bills to be paid in the event of a cash crunch. - Jacquelyn Van Tuyl, Jacquelyn Van Tuyl International
5. List All Of Your Nonmaterial Assets
Make a list of all the things that you do have. Not just financial and material things, but also assets such as your education, clientele, close friends and family you can count on, your expertise, ability to work hard and so forth. Making and reading this list from time to time will certainly put your financial anxieties to rest. You can then focus on your goals and on ways of achieving them. - Vinesh Sukumaran, Vinesh Sukumaran Consulting
6. Find Sponsors, Supporters And Collaborators
Reduce your financial anxiety by surrounding yourself with sponsors, supporters and collaborators. Sponsors can back you when times are lean. Supporters can offer emotional resilience when you’re feeling overwhelmed to stem the downward spiral. Collaborators, such as your accountant, advisor or business banker, work hand in hand with you to assess your finances and offer ideas/alternatives to consider. - Arthi Rabikrisson, Prerna Advisory
7. Focus On The Goal, Not The Circumstances
When money seems in short supply, it can actually enhance one’s creativity in solving problems. How would you grow, scale and improve your business with half the existing budget? How about 20%? Often, when we apply limits or constraints, new ideas can emerge to help us move our businesses forward. - Billy Williams, Archegos
8. Resort To Other Effective Resources
Think of money as a resource that eases life. When money is in short supply, resort to using other resources that may make the job more time-consuming or work-intensive but are effective in getting the job done. Ensure your team understands your priorities when diverting or taking away money from certain issues. Sharing the cause of the anxiety also pushes the team to extend themselves. - Rittu Sinha, The Balanced Bandwagon
9. Take Massive Action
By making offers and putting your business in the way of money, you will not only increase your chances of getting money, but you will not have room in your mind to worry about it. Create offers for people to buy your product or service, knowing that you will strike out a lot, but that one of those offers will be a winner—maybe even a big one. And the big ones make all the failures worth it. - Steve Haase, Hypergrowth Coaching, Inc.
10. Control The Things You Can Control
Control the controllable. What is causing the anxiety? Are there areas where expenses can be trimmed? Are there ways to increase revenues? How might the business model change if finances do not improve? What would the business be able to do better if finances improved? In what ways might you increase your income or grow existing finances? Finally, is worry improving your financial situation? No. - Denise Russo, SAP
11. Visualize One-, Two- And Five-Year Business Goals
While money is always an ever-present stress, visualizing where you want to be in your business a year, two years and five years down the road is also very important! Once you have that vision in your mind’s eye, what one step can you take today to move you toward your vision? Is it a marketing activity? Writing and posting a blog? Making a call to an existing client? Make a list and act! - Kim Neeson, Kim Neeson Coaching | Consultant | Mentor
12. Base Stress On Facts, Not Emotion
Base stress on cold, hard facts, not emotion. Founders need guidance from their financial team here. Asking someone when you should “start to panic” is different than throwing a tantrum and driving yourself to dangerous stress levels. Be realistic enough to know whether it is clearly time for concern and changes or if you just need to be channeling energy toward activities that will drive revenue. - John M. O’Connor, Career Pro Inc.
13. Separate Personal And Business Finances
The No. 1 thing founders can do is separate personal finances and guarantees from business finances. Decisions are emotional, and financial anxiety or fear can have a powerful impact on our ability to make rational, sound decisions. - Brad Cousins, Ingage Human Capital Strategies
14. Focus On Money-Making Activities
Reducing financial anxiety means focusing on leading activities that bring money in the door. These activities should become top priority, as they will drive your business forward. Prioritizing them above non-money-making activities helps leaders reduce their financial anxiety. - Jon Dwoskin, The Jon Dwoskin Experience
As seen in Forbes.com
Stay The Course or Pursue Innovation?
First, ask yourself why you want to pursue innovation. Is your market changing? Asking yourself, “If I stay the course, what will happen in one year/three years/five years?” may help inform your decision.
Sometimes taking your eye off what is working to focus on something new can actually hurt your current performance and your ability to keep growing what you’ve already built.
~As seen in Forbes.com
Remember, Thoughts Aren't Facts
Remember, thoughts are just sentences in your mind—they aren't facts. A thought is an observation or opinion you create about a circumstance. Remind yourself of the facts of a situation (“We will sell less this month,” for example) and take out the emotion (“I'm a failure!”).
If you focus on the fact versus the emotion, the circumstance becomes neutral and measurable, not out of control.
~As seen in Forbes.com