Know Your Numbers: What Small Business Owners Learned in Our United Way Budgeting Workshops
Welcome to our first ever episode of Complex to Clear, a podcast from Varnel Consulting and Training Services. I'm Barry Keegan, and I'm your host for this episode.
There'll be several hosts over the course of the podcast. We'll be bringing in experts from our own organization, but also, from time to time, clients, partners, collaborators and so much more. We hope you find these valuable in Northern California and beyond, and we hope we can find interesting things and topics to talk about relating to business and our three pillars of consulting, training and wellness.
For this first episode, we're so grateful to have on the show my colleague Alex Carranza, Lead Financial Specialist at Varnel. This week's episode is about our partnership with United Way Monterey County and their new Financial Empowerment Center, and how we've been making presentations and hosting workshops on budgeting and finances.
The center offers a range of free support for people in our community. Where Varnel comes in is working with small businesses and entrepreneurs, helping them with the parts of their business to do with financial projections and budgeting. We do that through workshops and one-on-one support.
Alex is here to offer some advice, and you'll find his top tip at the end of this post. But first off, here's Alex on our partnership with United Way.
Introduced by Barry Keegan, Director, Marketing & Brand, and host of Complex to Clear
In Alex's words: what I've been teaching small business owners
By Alex Carranza, Lead Financial Specialist, Varnel Consulting and Training Services
Collaborating with Varnel and United Way has been a great experience. Our workshops through the Financial Empowerment Center were a five-session series, broken down over five weeks.
Business owners are spinning many plates
A lot of these business owners come in with a huge passion, or with a niche, like being able to help children. In Spanish we call it a don. It's their specialty. It's their strength. Unfortunately, one of their strengths may not be in financing, so they're a little intimidated.
Plus, they're spinning many plates. They're doing the accounting, they're the CEO, they're the marketing. Sometimes they're even the janitor, or the chef and the cook. You end up being a jack of all trades, almost, and you've got to make sure you're keeping all the plates spinning.
What we covered
We've covered many things like budgeting, managing your cash flow, even bookkeeping, with simple things like QuickBooks and Excel spreadsheets. For those who are growing their businesses, we've even covered financing options. And where the meat of it all is, is tax planning.
Our attempt was to make something very, very complicated simple and duplicatable for them to understand, and then execute leaving the class.
The husband who showed up for week three
One story has stayed with me. The first two weeks, one business owner came in by herself. The last three, she brought in her husband.
I actually got to ask him for his testimonial. I asked him, what made you want to attend these sessions, outside of taking care of your honey? And he's like, "Man, these first two weeks, my wife's been on it. She's checking her expenses. I think we're saving more money. So thank you, Alex."
Running a business, it's not just for your business. It's also for your household. Getting his perspective really put everything full circle.
Start simple: what's coming in and what's going out
Some of the practical things were as simple as tracking your expenses, like what's coming in and what's going out. What tracking system do you have? Is there a tracking system in place? Whether it's your paper and pen, an Excel sheet, QuickBooks or another resource, really break that down.
Separating your personal money from your business money is definitely one of the first easy to-dos you've got to check off the box immediately as a business owner. Not just to keep things clear, but also so come tax season, everything is where it needs to be. That way you're avoiding simple hiccups.
Three things I want you to walk away with
When people leave my workshops, I want them to walk out with three things.
1. Know your numbers. You've got to inspect what you expect, because you can't improve what you're not paying attention to. Really understand what's coming in and what's going out. The difference is your net, your profit, your take-home. Let's be real: if you know your numbers, you can observe any holes in the boat and what areas you need to fix. Maybe what you're spending more money on, or where you can get a deal and save some money.
2. Have a system. Whether it's paper, pen, Excel, QuickBooks or a simple spreadsheet, you need something that's going to keep you organized. Because let's be honest, trying to run your finances on memory is a dangerous game. You can't trust your memory.
3. Be intentional with your money. Don't just react to financial problems. Have a plan ahead of time for taxes, unexpected expenses and future growth. They say if you're not growing, you're dying. So you want to make sure you're planning for your growth and making that move intentional.
Growing or not, you've got to know the numbers
You've got to think about the future, not just where you're at. That's where projections come in. Look at your four quarters, even month to month, so you can see what next January will look like, when your busiest season is, and how to prepare for things like inventory.
And by the way, there are business owners running successful, profitable businesses not even thinking about growth. Everyone has a different niche and different goals for their business. Some of the daycare owners I work with only have a certain set of kids. Others want to grow and expand. Either way, you've got to know your numbers. Know the numbers, accept the numbers and run the numbers.
My one tip: go on a financial date with your business
Not everybody can make these sessions, so here's one thing you can do on your own. You'll have to watch the episode to hear where I was when we recorded, and why it gave me the idea.
Make sure that you go on a financial date with your business and with your finances at least once a month. What does that mean? Open up your statements. See what's coming in and what's going out. That way there are no surprises. You actually know what you're making.
You can check trends, too. Like, hey, these certain months are a little bit slower than the others. These certain months are really, really busy. That way you can plan accordingly, year round.
If you have that in place, I believe you'll have a stronger, more sound, profitable business. And no surprises.
Watch or listen to the full episode
Tune into the podcast and hear some of the great things Alex has to say. If you are a small business or nonprofit, the takeaways from this show are going to serve you long after the episode ends.
At the end of the day, what we're telling the business owners we work with through United Way comes down to three words: know your numbers.
Don't forget to comment on the episode, and please subscribe on YouTube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Watch on YouTube: LINK · Listen on Spotify: LINK · Listen on Apple Podcasts: LINK
To learn more about the Financial Empowerment Center, visit United Way Monterey County.
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