6 Ways For Business Owners & Creatives to Improve Their Finances
Hi Friends, Today, we’ll look at 6 powerful ways to improve our business and personal finances. (If you prefer to watch the video, please check it out here…)
My name is Lucas and welcome! Over the years I’ve recognized 6 common sense financial habits that are easy to implement and produce powerful results.
When my clients and I practice these habits, our accounts grow. When we don’t, we live paycheck to paycheck. We’ll start with the easiest and end with the most effective. Now let’s get to it.
#1: Clean your Financial House and Get Organized
The hardest thing about mowing the lawn is getting off the couch. We can say the same thing about improving our finances so let’s start with something relatively easy.
Let’s do a little financial house cleaning. How many credit cards and bank accounts have you accumulated over the years? I recently worked client that had 7 banks, 10 bank accounts and 14 credit cards.
She was overwhelmed that she would just shut down and avoid dealing with her finances. So, what can you get rid of. I teach all of my clients to strive for 1 cc and checking account for their business, 1 cc and checking for their personal.
The beauty of this exercise is that It yanks us out of fear and avoidance, it simplifies our finances and allows us to get a lot more clear on our finances. Once she closed and consolidated accounts, my client realized that she had a pretty sizable savings that she was not aware of.
Maybe you’ll find something similar. When you’re ready to clean your financial house, check out this video…
#2: Expand your financial intelligence
As Robert Kiyosaki, wrote, “The rich get richer, the poor get poorer and the middle class struggles because the subject of money is taught at home”. Most of us have inherited poor financial habits which is not a great place to start.
Luckily, getting educated is easier than ever. There’s great Books (pop up), awesome courses (TBS) and youtube university (pop up) is a fantastic place to get educated for free (links in bio)
But before you overload yourself with more information, start by clearing away the financial clutter that’s up here… From ideas like “money is evil” to telling ourselves that there’s never enough, when we identify and let go of the old thoughts and habits, we open ourselves up to learn new ways of relating to money.
If you’d like to learn how to to do this, check out my special 4 part series on how to remove your financial blocks (GFX-vid). AND when you’re ready to really deep, Check out my mentors, Peter Crone and Ken Honda.
Peter’s Financial Freedom course gets right to the root cause of ALL financial problems and Ken’s Money EQ course on Mindvalley is full of exercises, meditations and insights that’ll have you feeling so free.
#3: Get out of and stay out of debt
An obvious way to improve our finances is to pay off our debt but most of us drag our feet. Ever thought about why?
After working with clients, I realized that debt reminds us of our shortcomings and because being ashamed of ourselves doesn’t feel good, we avoid facing it, so the debt grows.
But when we shift our perspective, paying off debt can be a be pivotal point to improving our finances. Abraham Lincoln once said, “The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend.”
How do we make debt a friend? First, recognize that by paying off your debt, you’re choosing to take care of yourself - it’s literally a form of self love. 2nd, choose to free yourself from the debt and make a game of it. (Cut to Kev soundbite)
Every time you receive money, send a percentage towards the debt and celebrate each time you make a payment. Learn the full technique here.
#4: Build emergency funds
Let’s say your friends are planning a long weekend - Would you A. Turn down the offer because money is tight, B. Borrow on credit and deal with it later, or C. Have money set aside for moments like this?
I’ve turned down so many invites in life because money was tight But when I built a cushion into each of my accounts, I grew more confident in my finances and had a lot more fun.
The key is to have several safety nets. I keep a $6k cushion in my business, lifestyle and tax accounts at all times. Would you turn down social invites or borrow on credit if you had a 18k safety net in your accounts?
Every single time you receive money, split it up and send a little to each of your accounts. Like a snowball rolling down hill, your accounts will build momentum quickly. If you’s like to improve your finances, Build several emergency funds. Learn the full process here..
#5: Have a plan for your money when it comes in
One of the main reasons people live paycheck to paycheck is because they have no plan for their money when it comes in. Let’s say you get paid on Friday (3k) you relax and have a little fun over the weekend (-$1500k) and when Monday rolls around , you have a lot less to pay bills.
I call it the feast or famine cycle. Money comes in and we feast but within a few short days, we’re right back to famine. I was stuck in this cycle for years. The solution? Have a simple plan to get the money out of your hands BEFORE you can waste it.
Some call it a payday routine, I call it the Big Split and it works like this - Every time I receive money, I split it up and send it to 4 major areas - I pay myself first (savings), then I move a percentage to cover my living expenses, my business and taxes. Each of my responsibilities receives money and THEN I pay bills and spend.
If you’d like to learn the nuances and receive a free 1 on 1 coaching session with me, I’m accepting applications. Comment The Big Split and I’ll send you some info. No group call, no community chat, just you, me and your finances.
#6: Pay Yourself First
And lastly, if you’d like to improve your finances and there’s only one thing that you do, PAY YOURSELF FIRST. It’s the fastest way to improve your finances.
Currently, we get paid, and then we give our money to banks, insurance companies, netflix and the government. We’re experts at giving our money to everyone else, meanwhile our financial goals suffer.
Need proof? How much money did you make last year? And out of all that money, how much did you put towards debt, or grow your savings?
Instead of giving your money to everyone else first, make 1 tiny little change, and start paying yourself FIRST. Do it every time you get paid and watch how your finances completely transform! If you’d like to learn how to pay yourself, check out this video…
In Conclusion:
So there you have it… 6 common sense ways we can improve our finances. Pick the technique that’s calling to you, watch my in-depth video, learn how to implement it and then test it for a month.
From there, learn and test another technique and stack one habit on top of the other and you’ll start to produce BIG results. Thanks for for your time and energy. I’ll see you in the next one.
Today’s lesson is a tiny fraction of what I share in the Big Split program so if you’d like to transform your finances in 1 week, click here to schedule a free 60 minute call with me.
Thank you for your time and energy. I’ll see you in the next one.
Lucas Z.