Keep it movin’: How to get more work as a freelancer
[bctt tweet=”You are only as good as your last job when it comes to freelancing” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Working as a freelancer has amazing perks: you keep your own hours, you do the work you actually want to do and above all, you do not have to answer to anyone else. You are your own boss and that is so liberating. With the highs come the lows: the inconsistent paychecks, the odd working hours and the never ending search for more work. Until you build up a reputation and have people knocking at your door you have work twice as hard- for your actual content as well as looking for more business. So how do you keep the business rolling in when starting out as a freelancer? 1. Be proactive You have to look for the work and until you become a brand name, it won’t look for you. So spread the word among your friends, family, even the stranger down the street (jokes, don’t do that unless you really have to). If you’ve left a previous job to become a freelancer ask your old colleagues to put out the word for you, even if recommending you for work they can’t take on. Referrals will help you get new jobs especially when you have a good reputation. It might be worth it to talk to other freelancers in your field, hear how they built their business and they could also become someone worth partnering with. Approach people you want to work with/for, put yourself out there. 2. Be social media savvy Thanks to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, your clients are literally a click away. I am not a fan of the, ‘Guys, my client could be on your timeline’ tweets but I also appreciate the resourcefulness. If you use a website remember to link it to your social media so you can direct traffic to your site. Keep it updated, showcase your work and also engage with your followers. Social media is a great tool to build up and maintain your clientele. [bctt tweet=”Until you have people knocking at your door you have work twice as hard” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] 3. Be accessible Nothing irritates a potential client more than having to work for someone and not being able to find them. You don’t have a PR team behind you or a secretary so you have to balance your work and being available. Make sure you keep your contact details and website up to date. When your clients want you, they should be able to find you. When there are events or opportunities to attend conferences for your field, go! Get out there and get known, build your brand by being reachable. Having a good reputation is as necessary as producing good work. 4. Don’t be too picky Sometimes, you’ll look at a work offer and be like, ‘I’m above this’ but when you a starting out you cannot be too picky. You’ve got to do some not so great work to get access to the more exciting work. Sometimes this might mean doing work for free – which is a freelancer’s nightmare. Annoying but necessary in some cases especially when it will contribute to exposure and portfolio building. It is part of the process of starting your career. You get to be pickier when you have the choice to be. Right now you don’t. [bctt tweet=”Talk to other freelancers in your field, they could become someone worth partnering with” via=”no”] 5. Plan, plan, plan Without the daily structures of office life, it is easy to be lax when it comes to planning and having a set routine. In order to put out good work, you have to be efficient and structured. You are in charge of your schedule and it’s easy to let things slide but you have to create timelines for projects and mark down deadlines. Put in a weekly reminder to track your progress, that way you are consistently putting in the work and not just waiting for the due date to get the work done. You have to be on top of your schedule to stay on top of your work. 6. Let your work speak for itself You are only as good as your last job when it comes to freelancing. When looking for working on sites such as UpWork, you may be requested to give examples of previous work. Your portfolio is as good as your CV. Always be consistent in terms of quality by making sure it is always up to date. Another way to get more clients is to have your previous clients speak up on your work. [bctt tweet=”Freelancers need to get out there and get known, build your brand by being reachable” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Have them quote their opinion of your work on your site/ portfolio. This builds up your reputation and shows a history of satisfied clients.
Abiola Seriki: Running a business isn’t as juicy as it seems
[bctt tweet=”It was all fun and games in the beginning as it didn’t take so much time to learn ” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] My foray into the world of crafts began shortly in 2014 after my final year examination as an undergraduate. Throughout my time in school, I had attended several conferences focused on entrepreneurship and also participated in some business-related programs. My mind had thoroughly consumed an understanding that owning a business was the future. As a young woman preparing for her media career in showcasing African businesses, I believed I had to understand how to either own or work in one. Initially, I wanted to learn how to sew, but I decided to go into bead making because there were very few people in the business. It was all fun and games in the beginning as it didn’t take so much time to learn. As a matter of fact, it was my only means of survival during my one year stay in Nigeria’s Jos, Nigeria for the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme. However, I soon learned that small businesses required more than “fun and games.” Running a small business requires more than time and concentration. Especially in a creative industry, it requires value, consistency, and direction. I had to learn it the hard way. Clients had various options to select. As a small business owner, I needed to find out how to convince a customer to choose my services over another. Having lived in Lagos and Ibadan, Jos was a whole new town for me. I didn’t know anyone apart from the ‘NYSC family’ and the few people at the company I was serving at. Running my business went beyond familiarity and excellent communication. It had more to do with my positioning, people’s perception of my brand and my ability to stay true to my core values. [bctt tweet=”To run a small business is not as juicy as it seems- Abiola Seriki” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] At the initial stage, some of the key strategies I discovered and infused into my business included: Product differentiation I had to learn how to make other kinds of bead designs that weren’t in vogue. There were several bead designs that every regular bead maker or buyer was used to. The idea was to make people want something different. Thus, I decided to create casual designs rather than those for bigger occasions, such as weddings. At first, it was quite challenging to convince people to wear handmade beaded accessories on a casual outfit, but after a few marketing opportunities, I soon started building a small fan base. Pricing In Jos, I didn’t have an understanding of how the market worked, but there was one thing I knew; quality didn’t come cheap. Using valuable tools to create an accessory meant investing in a lot of money yet I needed to make something that regular NYSC members could afford as well. I focused on buying just one type of bead in bulk so that I could design as many styles as I wanted and sell them for a lesser price. However, I still placed a higher value on quality than quantity. Audience segmentation I created products that were meant for a select audience- millennials. A majority of bead designs I saw at the time I started bead making was crafted for the older audience. Except for brides, a majority of women wearing beaded styles were older women in their 40s. I decided to craft my designs to suit younger ladies. A few weeks later, I launched a line for bracelets to cater for the ladies who aren’t really into wearing beaded necklaces. Word of mouth marketing I also had a lot of talking to do at the beginning. There were times when I had to go talk to someone and convince them to buy my product even if they didn’t want it. I remember being shunned off at some occasions. However, although quite an introvert, I am talkative. So it was quite easy to incorporate word of mouth marketing into selling. My target then was men. It was easy to get them to buy for their significant other. Digital marketing As an undergraduate, I had a part-time work as a social media marketer for brands. Thus, with my knowledge of social media marketing, I was able to find audiences that were far away from me. I used my private Twitter account as my major store until I recently opened an Instagram store. I had to incorporate delivery services at a point when orders came from places farther than where I was. At the moment, my major sales and marketing channel is online. I have no physical store. I am currently rebranding my digital marketing strategy to fit into my creative direction. Case studies I blog about small businesses and startups. Over the past two years, I have been able to understand how some of these firms operate. I realized that I couldn’t possibly be sharing all these success stories and not be able to build a successful business as well. So sometimes, I take the time to read these interviews that I had held, to learn how I could make things work for my business. Other times, I ask the business owners for personal mentoring sessions from them. To run a business is not as juicy as it seems when you read or watch the stories of how founders build empires. However, it’s not difficult either if you are willing to adhere to your values. I currently manage my small business with several other things I do, and I haven’t regretted starting in the first place.
How to build your network of African distributors – The Yenati example
[bctt tweet=”I felt the need to become known in my region before moving to West or East African countries @tinnasusan” via=”no”] The first step Tinna-Susan Mereki took towards building her network of distributors was to reach out to a friend. Tinna-Susan is the founder of Yenati Fragrances and Yenati Brand Communications. Driven by her passion to promote authentic African brands, she has successfully managed to design and develop a cosmetics brand that provides the highest quality products at the most competitive price. Yenati Fragrances also fosters philanthropic work. They offer business starter packs to financially challenged single mothers or widows through their distributor network. Also, they have a programme where fragrance packages are given to students from poor homes who have done exceptionally well throughout the year. Tinna-Susan has built a network of over a 150 distributors for Yenati Fragrances in the Southern African region in a space of a year. Curious to know how to build your own network of distributors? Look no further, Tinna-Susan willingly shares advice from her experience. Reaching out to your networks It was through an acquaintance that Tinna-Susan started building her network of distributors. “[My friend] became interested in the business after seeing me post my products on Facebook. I told her I could supply her with stock and she could help me distribute my products. She took it on and after selling my products for a while, I persuaded her to connect her other friends to join my company. It was not difficult to convince her because she was happy with my products. I offered an incentive of a cash payout for every distributor she connected.” Tinna-Susan then started to repeat the process with other distributors and slowly her network started to grow. Choosing the countries to start in Tinna-Susan was born in Masvingo, Zimbabwe and was raised between Zimbabwe and South Africa. So when deciding which African countries she wanted to work in, she just went with what was familiar. “I decided to work in Zimbabwe first, being my home country, I felt I could manoeuvre my way around the nation. I knew the trade secrets, the ins and outs, the market and the competition. “This enabled me to set up my business with ease. My next target was South Africa, as it is the country of my residence. Other SADC countries followed as I felt the need to become well known in my region before moving up to West African or East African countries.” Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania have opened up their doors to Yenati and they have been doing business in these countries consistently. Tinna-Susan also gets a lot of enquiries from countries like Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Kenya. Always up for growth, she is hoping to start building networks in those countries soon. [bctt tweet=”Want to sell your brand across Africa? Find out how @tinnasusan does it with Yenati brands” via=”no”] How to build your own network of African distributors in a year Yenati style For Tinna-Susan, the biggest tool in building Yenati’s distributors was increasing her online presence (as a business of course). Facebook alone helped her reach audiences and networks in a short space of time. “Through their “targeted reach ads” I was able to expand and stretch my advertising and select audiences based on language, gender, location, workplace or even profile keywords. I also noticed that people like to follow brands that have a good image. After I started to take care of my brand identity, people started to notice my products more. My products started to receive a lot of attention.” Another important step is to keep in touch with your network, customer care is of utmost importance. Constant communication is also key, Tinna-Susan speaks to her Yenati distributors through Whatsapp groups almost daily. “I help them with sales and marketing techniques, and I help them advertise their business by creating ads for them on our pages. I call them business partners as opposed to distributors as I believe they are partnering with me in building the Yenati brand. My business partners are very important to me and I always try to remind them of how valuable they are to the business. When they are happy and content, they begin to grow the market themselves and I always encourage them to build sales teams.” [bctt tweet=”@tinnasusan calls her distributors business partners as they’re partners in building her brand” via=”no”] Building an African entrepreneurial dream Tinna-Susan believes that the most successful Africans in future will be the ones that master the ability to partner with other Africans. “The minute we reach beyond race, tribe, and national borders, we will tap into the explosive potential of this continent. I am all about building the African dream, and it begins with us. “The dream where we trade with each other and remove border restrictions between nations, and become the United States of Africa. Where we use our countries’ natural wealth for the benefit and development of Africans as opposed to funding overseas companies. “The dream where we do not hate each other as Africans and do not kill each other through xenophobic attacks. The dream where we live in peace, harmony and pride ourselves in products made by Africans for Africans, as Dr. Strive Masiyiwa once put it, “We value Africanisation”. All the wealth comes from Africa and yet we are classified as ‘Third World’. We need to change to the ball game.” [bctt tweet=”Successful Africans will be the ones that master the ability to partner with other Africans @tinnasusan ” via=”no”] Four lessons learned from distributing Finally, I asked Tinna-Susan the four lessons she’s learned from distributing Yenati across Southern Africa. Here’s what she shared; Put measures that protect the brand and business. “I have had my fingers burnt through over-trusting.” she says. Always be innovative as they are other similar products on the market. You always have to find ways to remain competitive and relevant with eminence. Be accommodating. “I have learnt
Why review your business accounts?
[bctt tweet=”The bookkeeping records are the mirror that you look into to know how your business is performing” via=”no”] The ultimate goal of a business is to make money for the entrepreneur. On the way to attaining this goal, there are many things that you must do in your business which includes, producing the service or product, selling, managing your customers and keeping financial records. Record keeping sometimes referred to as bookkeeping is an integral part of a business and these records are the mirror that you look into to know how your business is performing.Once you have your records in place, the next important step is to use them to improve your business. This entails pouring through the numbers to understand the patterns and trends that the records reveal. For you as an entrepreneur, there are two reasons why you want to go over your business accounts; To check that they are accurate; reviewing your accounts allows you to make sure they give a fair reflection of the state of your business, which will help to highlight any weaknesses and areas for improvement, for example, you will be able to note the missing records, vouch estimates used and even assess how stock is being managed. To compare performance; when accounts are compared with previous years or with your competitors, they can show unique trends and help you learn from other businesses in a similar position to yours. Business accounts should be reviewed at least every quarter. [bctt tweet=”Reviewing your accounts allows you to make sure they give a fair reflection of the state of your business” via=”no”] What to look out for There are some important things to look out for when reviewing accounts. On the income statement check whether the business has made a profit in the year and whether revenue or costs has gone up or down compared with the previous year? The balance sheet will tell stories about how much money is in the bank. Remember, from the Cash is King article, we discussed why money should be available. The balance sheet will also gauge whether cash levels are moving in line with profit? On the balance sheet, you will be able to note if the stock level is reasonable and also whether there are any big payments due soon in terms of loan repayment or large invoices. When analysing business accounts, ensure there is nothing that is obviously missing and use ratios to help you to compare and contrast the performances of businesses. Comparisons can be made internally with past performance or budgeted results or externally with competitors or industry averages. It is good practice for the accounts to be independently reviewed and you can one or more of the following people to do this on your behalf: Any person other than yourself An accountant or An auditor In our ‘Reviewing Financial Accounts’ guide, you’ll find a section on key ratios for analysing business performance. It will provide you more information on how to go about reviewing your accounts. Download our guide on reviewing financial accounts here. Photo credit: Caldera Gem
Bookkeeping for dummies
[bctt tweet=”Bookkeeping is an important skill to have when you’re starting your business” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] One thing that you quickly learn when you start your business is that you’ll have to handle every aspect of it; from marketing your products, hiring your employees and most importantly getting a handle of your accounts. It is therefore important that you get a good understanding of the basic set of accounts for any business, how they relate to each other and how the different actions you take are represented in your books. The more your business grows the more complex it becomes and at that point, you might want to consider getting yourself some professional help. In this Forbes article, the writer talks about what you need to know about the 10% of start-ups that succeed. One of the things he talks about is making sure you understand the ‘’boring’’ stuff about your business. It is so easy to get carried away by the more interesting aspects of your business and forget to handle the less interesting but many times the most important aspects of your business. One of these is the accounting. What we are going to do here is to give you a basic introduction to the business accounting concepts that you need to understand as you run your business. Don’t be worried about whether or not you have an accounting degree, these are things you can do with your eyes closed. [bctt tweet=”Every business transaction is an exchange of one thing for another” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Double entry: All business transactions have a double effect on the accounts Every business transaction is an exchange of one thing for another. This is the basis of accounting, the idea here is to get an all rounded picture of where your money is going and keep yourself from small mistakes. As a boutique owner, you sell an outfit (inventory) in exchange for cash. This simple transaction has a double effect of increasing the amount of cash in your business while reducing the count of inventory. Very simply put that is double entry affecting your cash account and your inventory account. The accounts are interrelated At this point, we are basically building up on the double entry concept by creating an account for every element of your business. If for example, you did not sell the outfit for cash but for credit, then you’ll want to keep an account of the person to whom you sold the outfit to until you get the money in cash and then close off that account while increasing the amount of actual cash that you have. Every time you use your cash for something new then create an account for whatever aspect of your business is affected by that transaction. If it is an account that you already opened then you just keep building on that account. Balance the accounts You’ve probably heard this phrase before, what it simply means is that after some time you’ll want to know how your accounts look. Say every month or every week when you want to know where your business stands you’ll make sure that for every account you opened both sides have an equal amount. For example, your inventory account had a balance of $1000 when you started off, every time you sold something that balance reduced. Let us assume that at the end of the month your inventory reduced to $250, you’ll continue selling it off at the beginning of the next month so to balance your account the $250 will simply be considered as inventory carried forward. [bctt tweet=”Bookkeeping grows more technical as your business grows & there are many apps you can use to do this” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] These are the basic accounting ideas that you need to understand. Bookkeeping, of course, grows more technical as your business grows and there are many applications that people employ these days to do this, however, the idea remains the same. In the next article in this series, we’ll help you understand the important accounts when doing bookkeeping for your business. We’ll talk about differentiating between cash and profit, understanding the incoming statement as well as the balance sheet.
7 effective strategies to start any organisation: Lessons from Julie Nixon
[bctt tweet=”You have to prepare a plan to execute your business solutions. An idea will remain that until it’s put into action” via=”no”] Julie Nixon was educated in the United Kingdom before immigrating to South Africa in the late 1980’s. After undergoing extensive Retail Management courses with a leading retail chain, Julie utilised her broad experience in sales, merchandising and human resource courses to streamline the Gone Rural operations. Julie arrived at Gone Rural in 2005 to take on the position of Workshop Manager and was promoted to General Manager in 2007 with new responsibilities including Sales, Human Resource courses, and Logistics. As head of sales, Julie oversaw a one hundred parent sales increase in three years which in turn quadrupled the women’s income during the same period. Julie due to her successes was given the position of Chair Person for the “Swazi Secrets” (a women’s empowerment company started by Her Majesty the Queen Mother) where she served a two-year term. While chairing this organisation, Julie realised that though artisans in Swaziland are hardworking and talented, they do not make much income. This led her to start a fair-trade organisation called Swaziland Fair Trade (SWIFT) which ensures that supply chains are fair while creating opportunities for fair wages at grass roots level. Julie is passionate, dedicated and committed to improving the lives of the people of Swaziland and has managed to secure a grant for a three-year capacity building project for handcrafters in Swaziland. If you are planning on starting any organisation, here are 7 effective strategies you can learn from Julie Nixon. 1. Identify the need for the community and possible solutions To start any type of organization, you will first have to discover the need and then provide solutions. The core purpose of any organization is to fill a need –be it goods or services, the organisation must provide some satisfaction. This was the case of Julie who discovered that though artisans in Swaziland are highly skilled and talented with an abundance of natural raw materials, they had no way of getting their beautiful pieces to the market. The artisans had capacity needs such as proper costing as many of them did not cost their labour into the product which meant it was actually costing the artisan to produce and sell a product. This led her to provide a solution by starting a system where all will benefit and as she has always been a big supporter of Fair Trade, she decided that would be the best way to make a difference. Thus social enterprises like those in the Fair-Trade model ensure that their supply chains are fair, they create opportunities for fair wages at grass roots level and they are transparent and inclusive. This is a model she supported, which is why Swaziland Fair Trade (SWIFT) came into being. 2. Prepare a plan or strategy to execute these solutions After discovering the need and possible solutions, you then have to prepare a plan or strategy to execute these solutions as an idea will remain an idea until it is actually put into action. Julie’s plan for SWIFT is to grow the local economy and create more socially responsible companies that operate under the principles of Fair-Trade. Thus, a network of businesses that work together as a united front to protect the weakest members of their society. With this as the fundamentals, Julie set out to put her idea into action by; Targeting a group Every organization needs a focus group for it to function, as if you do not have people believing or patronizing what you intend to provide, then there really is nothing to give. The target group for SWIFT was local handcraft or food producers who have a marketable product and a will to create jobs through the application of Fair Trade standards. Making a list of services to be provided or goods to sell What do you intend to give this target group? Julie carefully crafted a capacity building, mentoring and coaching, training and development program to capacitate the highly skilled artisans of Swaziland. The training was supported by trade linkage opportunities and sales platforms such as the Bushfire Marketplace, to ensure members “earned while they learned”. Marketing strategies Making a list of how to communicate your plans to the target group. This can be through word of mouth, social media etc. depending on who your target group is. 3. Get a mentor, attend workshops and do some research As you are working on getting your organization out there, you also have to work on yourself and that is by getting a mentor who has been in that trade or industry for a while, attending workshops/school and doing some research. Julie attended workshops by Paul Meyers the Chairman of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) who called for the setup of country networks that offered an alternative to the classic capitalist model and became active in spreading the word about Fair-Trade. [bctt tweet=”As you’re getting your organisation out there, you also have to work on yourself by getting a mentor” via=”no”] 4. Invest in the organization If you have chosen the path of starting an organization, then you must already know that this organization will run on money and time. This means you should be prepared to invest with both your money and time. SWIFT was started with zero finances but with decades of collective business knowledge. Their vision was pure, capacitate handcrafters at grass roots level, to promote Fair Trade as an ethical business practice and a will to grow their domestic economy. In the very early years, SWIFT used membership contributions to hire a part-time country manager and the company Julie worked for Gone Rural, allowed her time to work setting up SWIFT. 5. Start small Rome wasn’t built in a day so be prepared to start small unless you already have your funding and professionals who are willing to sacrifice their all for your dream. If not, you would have
Laying the foundations of your business while holding down your day job
[bctt tweet=”This been the hardest undertaking of our lives thus far, but also the most rewarding ” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] In August 2016, my friend and I took the plunge and decided to launch our very own social enterprise. Born out of many long conversations and brainstorming sessions, we finally settled on creating an organization that could help address some of the challenges Nigerian girls are facing stress-induced their educational development. That was how Give Girls A Chance came about. We were giddy with excitement as we embarked on the process of registering the organization and launching a fundraising campaign. In January 2017, we had raised enough money to sponsor the first group of girls in the program with full scholarships including tuition, fees, books, and uniforms. We also recruited five amazing volunteers to serve as mentors through our dedicated mentoring program. With all of this in place, we set to work running the organization like the bad-ass boss ladies we are. Half a year later, we can honestly say that this been the hardest undertaking of our lives thus far, but also the most rewarding thing we have ever done. Mind you we both decided to do this right at the moment when our other professional careers were taking off. I had just joined the UN in August and was posted to Zambia. My partner Hauwa was wrapping up her youth service and about to start working as a full-time doctor. But this idea was something that had been on both of our minds for a long time and we did not want to wait any longer. We are both deeply passionate about public service and believe that it is our duty to contribute to the development of Nigeria. What better way to do that than by training up the next generation of women and future leaders of our country? So, we took the plunge, and for better or worse, we have survived to talk about it. For every success that we have had, we have had twice as many failures and faced countless roadblocks. When it comes to laying the foundations for your businesses while holding down your day job, here are some of the experiences we’ve had and advice we would like to share with the readers. Say goodbye to sleep…at least for the time being Before you take this flirtationship any further, imagining the idea of starting a side hustle, business or organization while keeping your day job and still managing to get 8 hours of sleep, stay fit and avoid stress-induced acne, let me stop you right there. Unless you are Wonder Woman (and who knows some of you very well may be), you should know now that you’re going to have to make a choice between bringing your business to life or getting the daily recommended 8 hours of sleep. I can’t tell you how many sleepless nights we’ve had and how many things we’ve had to miss out on because we choose to invest our waking hours and our resources into growing our organization. There is so much research, planning, and coordination required to grow a business and if you have to do this alongside a job that demands the 8 hours of the day when most people are typically productive, it simply means you’re going to have to cut into your sleep and leisure time to stay on top of everything. The good news is that the joy of seeing your idea come to life is unparalleled. Nothing beats that feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment you will have when you start to hit your targets. And if all it takes is skimping on sleep every now and then, that’s a small price to pay, right? You can always make it up later when your name is up in flashing lights and you’re rolling deep in that moolah. [bctt tweet=”You’re going to have to make a choice between bringing your business to life or sleeping” via=”no”] Budget, budget, budget I grew up with a banker for a father and he tried his best to instill in me the spirit of budgeting and saving. But I like shiny things too much and I’m always ready to take on the challenge of seeing how much stuff I can get for all the money in my account. I am so thankful that Hauwa is in charge of the finances for Give Girls A Chance. We managed to raise a significant amount of money when we first launched and true to form I wanted to go big and sponsor as many girls as we could but Hauwa talked sense into me. We decided to start with 11 girls, put some money into savings so we could pay for events and plan for the future. We knew that it would not be cool if we sponsored 200 girls for one semester or two, but then had no money to keep on going. The girls would end up right back where they started, having to drop out of school because they could not afford to go. Instead, we decided to take things step by step, prudently accounting for every kobo and making sure we were getting the best return on our investments. As the new school year approaches, we are thrilled as we can now comfortably take on more girls for an extended period of time. My advice is to use the resources you have wisely and always have some money left in the bank. [bctt tweet=”Use the resources you have wisely and always have some money left in the bank ” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Be consistent Because we both have full-time jobs, the only times we are able to work on Give Girls A Chance related activities are in the evenings and on weekends. In fact, that’s not true. We end up replying to emails, texts, and requests during our lunch breaks at work too! Saturday mornings at 9 AM are set in stone for our weekly check-in meetings and Sundays
How to monitor a budget to inform business decisions
[bctt tweet=”Budgets play a key role in the day to day decisions, here are 4 scenarios” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] The budget is not only important for future decision making but for day to day decisions as well. To be able to use it this way, you must monitor it frequently by comparing your actual income and expenses versus what you had budgeted. When you notice differences in actual performance compared to your budget that is major, consider what caused the variance and what action you can take if the variance is negative or positive. To give you a look at how you can go about this process we will take you through four types of variances that can occur in your business and the kind of decisions you can make to remedy. 1. Sales aren’t coming through Sometimes the projected sales fall short of what was expected due to unforeseen circumstances; maybe a new competition came in or business was just slow. What this means is that you will have a stock in excess of what you had expected. This needs to be followed up by decisions that will enable your business to perform better; your options may include changing the sales strategy or buying less stock than was budgeted for the next month. 2. An employee disses you Maybe you had a bit of a tiff with one of your employees and they ended up walking out on your business. What does this mean for your business? Can the work be done without him/her? Can those left do additional hours? Do you need to budget for overtime? These are all possibilities that can arise based on losing an employee. This will determine whether the positive change in your budget will be a temporary one or a permanent one depending on how it affects the running of your business. 3. Your landlord is acting up… Unfortunately, this happens quite often than we would like to think about; worse still, you might not even get enough notice to organise yourself if the landlord increases the rent at the last minute. Based on the overall outlook of your budget, you can decide if your business can sustain the costs of an increased rental expense. The options you might have would be to negotiate the exact amount of increase or when the new rent amount can be effective to give yourself time to plan. You might also opt to look for more affordable space elsewhere, which may lead to double charges in the month of booking and moving. 4. Repair expenses went up Your loyal van is coughing, your mechanic is charging more for his services based on your desperation. Repairs will be higher than usual. You may not have very many options here except maybe try and find out if the rates are competitive and if it warrants you looking for another mechanic. If this specific expense is on a continuous rise then you might consider getting another van to reduce the monthly expenses. A new van brings in a whole other dynamic to your budget and your financial accounts. In addition to giving you a picture of how your business will look in the future, budgets play a key role in the day to day decisions. It is important to constantly monitor the difference between the budgeted expense and the actual expense and make decisions accordingly. Remember that the decisions should be based on the overall outlook of the budget and how one decision will affect another aspect of the budget. Consider the budget holistically and not as standalone budgeting decisions.
Divorce, a must for every entrepreneur
[bctt tweet=”Divorcing your business from your personal life is a must for every entrepreneur” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] A business is often registered and largely seen as a separate legal entity from the owner; however, this divorce does not really take effect between these two lovers as both can’t just resist the temptation of mingling together. This is a major reason why most SMEs fail. Business owners most of the time tend to muddle up the operations of their business with their personal life; and where there is no line drawn between the two, the business will be unable to review her growth independently. Even if you use a home-office, you should be able to demarcate between your home and business expenses. Concentrate on using just an area of the house and keep all home affairs out of this area. This is what the divorce is about. It is that bad!!! When you start out in business, as an entrepreneur, it is normal that you have to perform multiple roles. At the same time you need to be the management, director and shareholder. This multi-role, maybe even multi-personality, can become ingrained in a way of working which leads to problems when the company expands and involves others in the operation of the business. [bctt tweet=”Every entrepreneur must put machinery in place to separate the personal from business” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Drawing the line between your personality and your business Even though it is a hard discipline, every entrepreneur must put machinery in place to make this divorce come to effect. So, my advice if you really want the break up to be permanent; Maintain separate accounts for your business (in the business’ name, not yours) and personal transactions Employ a knowledgeable and skilled accountant Have a small business version accounting software Keep sound accounting records Periodically get help from a professional financial advisor Discipline yourself not to borrow from the business. Avoid borrowing from the business as much as possible. It is easier saying: “I’ll pay back when I have the money” than doing it. Better to take a loan from the business (there must be a standard loan application procedure in place) and pay back using the established system. Pay yourself a marketable salary. It is very important for the business owner to pay herself a marketable salary. Don’t pay yourself so high above the salary level just because your business is doing well: save for the rainy days. Paying below the market level is not also recommended. This can negatively impact your family life and sustaining may become a problem. In short, what will you pay somebody who replaces you? Pay yourself that amount. Why you need a solid financial system One of the most important steps that will aid you in measuring the growth of your business is setting up a solid finance system. One that is not only fashioned for your business model but that helps ‘think tax ahead’ and measure growth effectively. Setting up that system does not require ‘money’, proper advisory is only needed. Accounting systems have been set up using Excel and as the business grows, it moves to simple ERPs. A finance system review is a necessity for businesses already running who can’t evaluate their businesses effectively, or are in various tax mess. The role of audit in a business cannot be over-emphasized. If the business was set up for profit making, then the tax authority will want to have its share. Thus, having good and accurate records saves you from digging through scattered records of receipts of personal and business expenses when it is time for tax audit. This will also help avoid “tax headaches.” Maintain supporting documents to serve as proof of separation as this is essential if you want to stay on the “right side of the law.” It may be difficult making this separation at the beginning but as time goes by, with determination and dedication, it will get easier and more efficient.
The 3 C’s of the budget cycle
[bctt tweet=”Before you create a budget for your business, you need to know what the budget cycle is” via=”no”] You are probably asking yourself what this thing called the ‘’budget cycle’’ is. You have heard about the budget and how it works but you are less likely to have heard about the budget cycle. The budget cycle simply refers to the phases or stages that you should go through while working on the budget for your business. Following this step-by-step process will help you make sure that your budget is actually beneficial to you and not just a dreaded process. 1. Coordinate This is the very first step of the budget process and is highly dependent on what you want to see happen in your business within the period that is relevant to your budget. Three questions you need to ask yourself What do I plan to do and achieve? How much money do I have to spend? What method will I use to budget? Obviously, you can only budget to spend money that your business already has or is expecting to get. You can project your sales based on past performance and consider that as expected revenue in your budget. The methods for preparing and presenting business budgets vary and are as many as there are businesses. If you haven’t been budgeting for your business though, this is a simple template that can get you started. 2. Construct This is where you get your hands dirty and prepare the actual budget. The past performance of your business and what you want to do in the year should drive this stage of the process. Also, consider engaging other pertinent people for your business. For example, your suppliers’ credit policies will determine how much you intend to pay out to them at what time. Carry out this process on a monthly basis before coming up with a full year budget. Just as with the financial accounts, have your budget reviewed by external parties and make any necessary changes and then communicate the final budget to all stakeholders. 3. Control This is also referred to as the monitoring phase. We mentioned earlier that the budget is not meant to be 100% accurate. The monitoring needs to take place at periodic intervals e.g monthly; it involves comparing the budgeted numbers with the actual numbers. This step is important for three reasons: Helps you compare what you estimated with what is actually happening Helps you pinpoint why things are not going according to plan It’s an opportunity to react to the costs and respond to them In a case where the first two months monitoring process shows that the sales budgeted are less than the actual sales because business was slow, then you can consider whether you need to order as much stock as you had intended to or you could decide at that point to try a new technique to increase the sales. Similarly, if the rent expenses go up because the landlord increased your rent at the last minute you can adjust the budget accordingly for the subsequent months.