Financial Literacy 101
Financial literacy is the ability to be fully aware of your financial status as a business. It involves having full awareness of your savings, investments, loans, debts and other financial involvements that would eventually lead to having self-trust when it comes to your business’ financial well-being. When you are financially literate, you are able to know what to do with your finances—how can you allocate your income? How can you earn aside from your regular source of income? How can you manage your credit score? How can you reach your financial goals?
You might be wondering; how can I gain financial literacy? It may not be as easy as 123 but here are some tips on how to achieve it for the sake of your business.
1) Maximize the wonder of the Internet. There are several free resources that you can find where you can learn more about financial literacy. Almost all business skills are searchable on the web so make use of this advantage to improve your knowledge about the topic. There are financial newsletters, podcasts, finance books and even videos that can help you gain enough knowledge.
2) Expand your network. It is necessary for you to also learn from financial experts who have been in the business for quite a long time. Follow them on different social media platforms such as Linkedin, Instagram, Twitter or even Facebook. You can also join live sessions that these financial experts are normally having in their respective sites. Eukeethia Barnes, the owner and CEO of Fresh Start is the perfect example of an expert that can help you with your financial literacy!
3)Be fully aware of your expenses. Make sure that you have a grasp of what you do with your company money. All of the learning that you can gain will be put into waste if you are not aware of your own financial status. Start tracking your expenditures by going back to your books and reports.
4)Hire someone as your business coach. A financial professional is someone who can dedicate his or her time to coaching you with your operations. It is also a big help if you will be able to have direct contact with a business coach. Luckily, in Fresh Start Business Services, we offer Business Coaching programs to aspiring entrepreneurs. This program will definitely cover how you can gain financial literacy and take control of your credit standing and financial capacity.
With our current scenario, having this ability would definitely improve your business’ financial status. You will be able to understand your company’s earnings and disbursements. You will be able to perform forecasting and budget efficiently. This can help you track everything and help you mitigate risks in the future. Financial literacy can also help you with your credit standing. It is definitely normal that you have loans for the sake of your projects and expansions. But being in debt for quite a long time might affect your business, particularly in the area of interest expenses. Knowing your business financially can help you make wise decisions when dealing with loans and creditors, therefore protecting you from too much debt and even bankruptcy.