Mercer Island
Chamber of Commerce

If you’re the typical small business owner, you began your business with an exciting idea, a passion. No one goes into business thinking, “I can’t wait to work on cash flow challenges.” And yet, cash flow is one of the top reasons businesses close their doors. It’s not that they aren’t making money. It’s that managing it is not everyone’s skill set. Money management challenges are one of the most critical areas you need to master to be successful. This article is here to provide general information. Consult a financial planner or tax professional for more long-term solutions. 5 Money Management Tips for Better Business Here are some of the key issues and ways to address them: Cash Flow Management Many small businesses struggle with maintaining consistent cash flow. This can lead to difficulty paying bills, making payroll, or investing in growth opportunities. You might have the money promised to you on paper, but not knowing when it will come in can be a challenge. Businesses at every level can be impacted by this so it takes consistent monitoring. To improve cash flow: · Create detailed cash flow forecasts and monitor them regularly. · Encourage timely customer payments by offering incentives or implementing stricter payment terms. Enforce those terms and send out reminder invoices. · Negotiate favorable payment terms with suppliers. · Maintain a cash reserve for unexpected expenses or slow periods. According to a JPMorgan study of 597,000 small businesses, 25% held a reserve covering fewer than 13 days of expenses if other revenue dried up. Budgeting and Expense Tracking Small businesses often lack robust budgeting practices and struggle to track expenses effectively. If this feels like you, consider: · Creating a detailed, realistic budget and review it regularly. · Using accounting software (or an app) to automate expense tracking and generate accurate reports. · Separating personal and business finances to avoid confusion. Your accountant will appreciate it. · Assessing finances and adjusting budgets regularly as needed. Debt Management Taking on too much debt or mismanaging existing debt can be detrimental to small businesses. COVID brought on unparalleled times. One thing we learned from it is that you must be prepared for the known challenges and the unknown ones. To manage debt more effectively: · Be cautious about taking on unnecessary debt · Prioritize paying off high-interest debts first · Consider consolidating multiple loans to simplify repayments · Build and maintain a good business credit score Tax Compliance Many small businesses underestimate the importance of tax planning and compliance. To improve in this area: · Work with a tax professional to stay on top of obligations and deadlines. If you don’t know a reputable one, check with the chamber. · Regularly set aside money for taxes. · Stay informed about tax laws and possible deductions. Financial Planning and Analysis Small businesses often lack the time or expertise for thorough financial analysis and planning. It’s likely something that’s best outsourced to a pro. Again, if you don’t know one, check with the chamber. To enhance financial management: · Understand and regularly review key financial statements including the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. It’s boring, but beneficial. · Use financial management software to automate repetitive tasks and generate insights. · Establish financial protocols and plans, no matter how small your business is. Doing so early will put you on the path to success. · Regularly assess your business's financial performance and adjust strategies accordingly. If you don’t have the money to work with professionals right now, talk to your chamber, SCORE chapter, and SBA. There are many low-cost options to help you get on the right track for long-term success.

AI is one of the most efficient tools we’ve seen since the advent of the computer. But if you’re using it to generate content and then just copying and pasting, you’re missing out. And that kind of “laziness” could be costing you customers. Here’s how a couple of quick edits can bring your AI-generated content from meh to aaaamazing. First, we’re going to assume you can write a good solid prompt. Telling AI what role you want it to have (you are a brilliant small business owner, for example), who your audience is, what kind of content you’re looking for, and what tone you want, is essential to getting a solid first draft. Here’s what you do from there to create non-robot-like narratives and articles. Add Stats Stats generated from AI can be questionable (unless you select a tool like Perplexity that cites its sources). That’s why it’s best to research your own. It’s even more effective if you source stats that are taken directly from your community. That gives your content a unique and local flavor. Link It with Your Narrative What’s your business story? Add parts of that into the article you just generated. You can include personal recollections, stories, and/or business examples. This livens things up but there’s another reason you want to add your own flavor. AI-generated content is not copyrighted. If you use AI to create an ebook with no edits from you, there is nothing legally stopping your competitor from taking that content and replicating it word for word. However, if you make it yours with your personality and examples, it’s arguably no longer up for grabs. Add Art I know I’ll catch a little flack for this, but when you add your own artistic flair, you are again distinguishing yourself in the market. You are helping your audience get to know you, not AI. Add a Theme This is something the AI can do for you, if requested. Doing so helps differentiate the content generation it’s doing for you from that of your competition. If you are a plumber, for instance, and you identify an audience and tone that you share with your plumbing competition, then you ask AI to write a blog post about what to do with a leaky faucet, you could both end up with very similar pieces. But if you add another step to the article and give it a theme, your post will be more unique. For instance, you might say write a post about how fixing a leaky faucet will make you feel better about your contributions to the environment. That little direction makes your article slightly different from everyone else. It will help give context and drive action on the importance of prompt repairs. AI is one of the best productivity tools you can implement in your business. But you want to do it in a way that does not jeopardize the quality of your content. Adding emotion and placing your personality into the piece will make it your own. Finally, while there are a lot of AI tools out there, be consistent in the ones you use for your business content creation. Speak to it the way you would a friend or a long-time employee. Show your personality. Upload pieces of content you’ve produced that you like. AI will respond to you in much the same way a beloved friend will learn your preferences and personality over time. If you do this, eventually the narrative and adding personality suggestions in this article will happen naturally with AI. Now if only I could get it to fold my laundry. That would be a real win.