Believe it or not, budgets can be one of the most exciting and, well, sexiest, tools at hand when it comes to implementing change!
Allow me to explain.
When I speak with small business owners, “Do you have a budget?” is one of the first questions out of my mouth. The answers I get back are often ones that have a tinge of disgust. For the owners who left Corporate America, I am bringing back an unpleasant memory. For those who don’t have any previous budgeting experience, it can be akin to asking a fish what its preferred brand of off-road bicycle is.
I beg to differ.
A budget is the numerical representation of your strategic planning process – it’s your way of putting a stake in the ground and saying, “By God, here’s where we’re going and THIS is how we’ll get there!”
Want to grow sales? How much and by when? Who will grow those sales? How much will you have to pay to get those extra sales? If you grow, can you still fit in your garage or do you need to move into “real” space? If so, how much does that space cost and when will you start paying for it? How much new sales activity do you need to afford that new space?
You get the idea.
I get really excited about budgets because it opens up a whole new world for my clients, almost – hold on – like a voyage to the future.
What am I talking about?
Well, if you are doing $50,000 in sales this month and plan on making it $100,000 by the end of next year, you are imagining something that doesn’t exist yet.
I think that’s pretty cool.