Be That Business Newsletter #29: Know Thyself

This Newsletter we will take some time for philosophical reflection. Our reflection is to "Know Yourself" and how knowing yourself better can increase not only productivity, but can decrease stress and increase happiness!
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3 Business Hacks:

1. What Type of Business Are You Running?: Different types businesses require different types of education for the business owner. What your 'need to know' list will vary depending on what business you are running. Are you a professional providing services that are activities-based, such as design, marketing, consulting or home cleaning services? With no large materials costs to consider, the way you view an analyze your business will be different from an individual who installs landscaping or has employees. An activities-based professional with no employees may not need the more complicated bookkeeping application, but can lean on their credit card and bank feed transactions, utilizing a cheaper bookkeeping app. The way you analyze your business's income model will be different too. If your business is not activities-based, but includes purchasing materials for production of goods and installation, or purchasing inventory, or if the purchases are not predictable, you will need to consider a more detailed bookkeeping software, and have a deeper understanding of how that bookkeeping works. You will need to analyze your business's ratios and consider the overhead as well as the direct costs. Size is important too. As your business grows more complex, outsourcing the bookkeeping may not be an option, and there is a transitional time when maybe outsourcing a Financial Controller is important to consider (and eventually hiring one full time if the growth continues to that level). This means that the type of business you are running will change over time, and you need to be mindful of that. What worked in the beginning will likely not work as your business changes. An activities-based business may hire employees, a smaller businesses grows. An unincorporated business may incorporate. One thing remains constant though for all businesses, from side hustles to those with multi-millions in revenues; ALL need to understand how the business is taxed, how the owners or shareholders are taxed, what the deadlines are, and how to set up processes and routines to keep these front of mind instead of an afterthought.​
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2. What Type of Tendencies Do You Have?: Often we hear about different methods of productivity and routines that are "THE ONE WAY TO..." get things accomplished. But if that one way does not fit your tendencies, it's not going to work for you. Knowing how you instinctively and subconsciously respond to your environment and situations is key in setting yourself up for success. Combining understanding yourself with creating a happier life, author Gretchen Rubin has created an insightful tendencies framework that looks at four main personality tendencies. She then discusses how understanding which tendencies you align with, (and those people you work and live with) can greatly improve happiness, and also can be used to set yourself up for success for the many different goals you may have. For example; some people benefit from lists, others don't. Don't force yourself to be a list maker if it's not going to be of help to you, and don't be critical of yourself is lists are not your thing, (or critical of others if lists are not their thing!). The four tendencies Gretchen Ruben has recognized are: Upholder, Questioner, Obliger, & Rebel. Find out more and take the quiz here! (No affiliation, but I've found this useful for my own business!)
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3. What Type of Bookkeeping Application do you have?: There are two approaches to bookkeeping that bookkeeping applications have: They are either "Entry-Based" or "Transaction-Based". Entry-Based bookkeeping applications rely on the bookkeeper entering the transaction entries, either manually or with a syncing document management app. This is very useful for more complex businesses that carry a balance with suppliers, and purchase many different categories of expenses from various vendors. Transaction-Based bookkeeping applications rely on the bank and credit card information to record bookkeeping entries (the bookkeeper still being the one to categorize the transactions). This is very useful for businesses that do not carry any balances with vendors, or do not have complex purchases. The danger of these applications though, is that they market to all business types without the information that, in order for these to provide accurate financials, the real life processes need to be set up in specific way. If a content marketer has just basic transactions in a predictable manner, (Re-occurring subscriptions, office supplies purchases from the same vendor, etc), then there isn't much need to change processes. But if a business has more complex transactions in the bank that are not predictable, and are actually related to costs in previous months... they need to either change the processes to enable the "Transaction" based approach (pay a bill the same day it is issued for example), OR change their bookkeeping application!​
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What are your personal tips and tricks for creating efficient processes? I'd love to share them in an upcoming newsletter, and give a shout out to your business!
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When I took the Four Tendencies Quiz by Gretchen Rubin, I was not surprised to find out I was a "Questioner". I am MUCH more likely to do something if I know WHY it is something I need to do! I'd love to hear what your tendency is! Let me know on Instagram!

Be Intentional Today!
Get out there, and Be That Business That Thrives!
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