One of the most important things I’ve discovered to building my business is making sure I have the tools, resources, systems, and mindsets in place. These are also things we help our clients with because once we have a solid foundation in place, organizations can grow.
First up? MINDSET.
Are you one of the leaders I know who is trying to grow and create change but simultaneously operating their organization paycheck to paycheck? For a long time, I didn’t understand why people avoided their financials since playing around with numbers is fun for me. I didn’t understand why organizations were operating on a shoestring when there is a world of abundance out there.
But leaders told me again and again: Financials are scary. I haven’t looked at my numbers in months. I’ll feel guilty if I have too much money (for a myriad of reasons).
Why do we keep telling ourselves these things?
First, we are thinking from a place of scarcity. We believe there is a limited pot of resources (money, clients, donations, etc) so we create small goals and try and cram our expenses and impact in.
Second, we lack a growth mindset. Growth is necessary for survival AND impact. I know that every single person who’s made it this far is a purpose-driven leader and without impact, our work is pointless.
So! Here are a few tricks to love your numbers:
- Stay curious. Nothing good comes when we’re stagnant (thinking about that murky pond of stagnant water I saw on my last hike – infested with buzzing mosquitoes and totally unfit to swim!). Impact doesn’t come from repeating what’s not working.
- Keep your eyes on the future. “What are you doing today to ensure that you’ll still be here tomorrow? Strategizing and planning for increases, both financially and in terms of capacity, are critical success factors.” I love this because in order to ensure we will be here in 5, 10, 20 years, we need to make sure we have the balance sheet and income statement to support that.
- Think like a business person. Know how to read your financial statements! Yes, yes, yes! (Want to be super savvy with your financials? Check out my article about insights hiding in your financial statements.)
- Practice gratitude. This might seem a little woo-woo to some of you, but the simple act of writing down 5 things that you’re grateful for every day is a lovely reminder of how much you have and how much opportunity is available to you.
Are you ready to ditch the scarcity mindset and build your profit plan? Download our Profit Playbook here where you’ll get free budget and cash flow templates to help lay out your financials for the next 12 months!
