3 Habits of a Highly Successful Entrepreneur Turned CFO

Whenever I am feeling the crunch of cash flow I review my numbers.

It is a practice I have followed since my early days in business playing many roles and wearing many hats. It is in being a financial manager that I learned to use best practices.

Here are three of the routines that I continue to use today.  

CFO Habit #1: Keep accounting systems running in the background. I love a challenge and each day the top goal for my business is simple — earn more than you spend. Anyone who has ever attended my training sessions will associate me with this line. It is a creed that has become the foundation for my business. Why? It works! On the days that sales are slow (or simply don’t exist), I look at the numbers for sales, pricing model, and costs for inspiration. For me, each one of these is like a business coach — take no excuses, give only results.

CFO Habit #2: Get a power move. When I first started my business I had a mentor in the accounting field. One secret that he shared with me is  never reinvent the wheel. Find a proven model that works and improve from there. Financial models are everywhere, you just have to keep a watchful eye. You do this by monitoring your industry’s numbers to see how your business stacks up. Look at key financial numbers like Sales, Cost of Goods Sold, Advertising/Marketing, and Wages. Being in touch with the numbers alerts you to the bold moves that you can make. 

CFO Habit #3: Put it in writing. Being in charge of finances requires a decisive mind. Financial success comes from knowing what situations are priority  and what actions to take. As chief steward your value not only comes from tracking the numbers and measuring results. It also comes from the policies you create that details how the financial side of business should run. This applies even if you are running your business solo. In fact, it’s best to get policies in place and tweak them before employees come on board. You can begin with policies for handling bills when funds are low. This is a good place to start because although you may have good intentions, you may not have the money to pay vendors on time. Having something in writing to refer to takes the guesswork out of who to pay first and when.

I am sure there are more tricks of the trade from entrepreneurs doing a great job as CFO. I’d like to hear from you. In the comments below, share how you can apply CFO habits in your business.

I look forward to your response.

In the meantime, remember to keep smiling at your future :^)