Embrace Your Books: Stop Fearing Your Financials!

Do you find yourself hiding from your numbers?

Are you afraid to embrace your accounting?  You’re not alone.  For many new (and some not so new) business owners, the idea of cracking into your financials can be daunting.

I was talking with a friend the other day who has her own mental health practice.  She has a fantastic office manager who takes care of all of her billings and bookkeeping and whom she relies on absolutely.  When I asked her if she wanted to learn more about managing her finances so she’d know for sure where her practice stands, she said ‘I just don’t want to know’.

She’s like a lot of professional women out there.  She just wants to go to work, help her patients, and make a decent living.  This is a woman who excels at her profession, is well-respected in our community, and is busy raising her young family.  The last thing she wants to worry about is the nitty gritty of managing her books.

I get it…I really do.

It took me a long time to learn my way around good money management, both personally and professionally.  I’m the daughter of a doctor and a midwife, both successful in their careers.  I went to a well-respected liberal arts college in the Midwest and, despite my great education and professional parents, until the age of 28, I had zero idea how I should be managing my own money or how a successful business runs.

And the truth is, I didn’t really care to know.  I was just as afraid of financials as my friend.  Dealing with financials made me want to bury my head in the sand and that’s exactly what I did.  Often.

Fast forward three years.  I had married a smart, frugal man and, as often happens when you start sharing a life with someone, my financial outlook significantly shifted.  I started to be interested in learning how to be smart with money.  My career was taking off and I was being given the opportunity to learn financial operations and to work on a business degree.  My money mindset had significantly changed.

A seismic shift.

Over the years, I learned the ins and outs of running a professional business and earned my MBA.  The possibilities for growth that good money management creates was intriguing to me and I enjoyed the structure of bookkeeping.

At the same time, I was also becoming aware that many of my friends weren’t making the same journey I was.  Many of them were still afraid of money for one reason or another.  We all have our own money baggage and it definitely takes time to sort it out.

On my own money journey, I’ve come to realize that for many women, money is scary.  Even wildly successful business women.  Sometimes it seems that the more successful we are, the scarier it becomes.

Here’s the deal.

As a business owner, you shouldn’t just leave the accounting to someone else.  Learning how to manage your finances is your privilege and your responsibility.  Really strong, successful entrepreneurs are on top of their money and know how to use it effectively.

You can too!  It doesn’t have to be so frightening or foreign.  With a little study and experience, getting a handle on your books can become second nature.  Wouldn’t it be great to feel more in control of your business?

Being able to know exactly where you stand at any point, to build a strong foundation for your company, and plan for your future is liberating.

It’s time to transition

For so many people, learning how to care for their books (and by extension their business) comes late in the game, if at all.  This doesn’t have to be you!

Learn about your books and build your business on a solid financial foundation.  It’s impossible to be truly successful if you don’t know where you stand (and it’s not a great idea to assume that your staff has you covered).