Keeping on track of your numbers (finances) determines your success or failure. If you are constantly avoiding your bookkeeping you’ll never get a handle on your financial numbers.
Bookkeeping & how to overcome your fear of numbers
Bookkeeping & how to overcome your fear of numbers is this weeks topic, because I hear things like this all the time:
- But I’m not a numbers person.
- Keeping track of my numbers is just so hard and/or time consuming.
- I’m so afraid I’ll make a mistake.
- But I’m not a bookkeeper.
- Bookkeeping is so boring, how do I motivate myself?
I read a blog post this week from The Yarnpreneur Society on Success Blocks. It talked about how the most common success block is financial and if you’re constantly avoiding your finances, you’ll never have control of them. This is so true.
What this article didn’t say, is that bookkeeping and keeping track of your numbers SOUNDS much harder than it really is.
- You don’t have to be a math genius – you really only need to know basic math and have access to a calculator.
- If you think keeping track of your finances is hard – think about how hard it’s going to be when you don’t keep track!
- Being afraid you’ll make a mistake is a normal feeling – especially when you are doing something uncomfortable.
- Hate to say it – but if you own your own business – you need to be a bookkeeper.
- Motivation aside – bookkeeping is just something you have to do.
Your handmade or creative biz is your JOB – and part of your job is to do your bookkeeping
Most handmade or creative businesses start out as something we did for fun or to relax. It was our hobby.
But when we decide that we are going to turn our hobby into something that will make us some money – it becomes a business. We need to change our mindset and treat it like job.
As with any job that any of us have ever had – there are pieces of that job that are boring, tedious, and perhaps even out of our comfort zone. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t do them.
So, how do you motivate yourself to do your bookkeeping and other boring tasks?
- Pick a day, once a week and put it on your calendar or to do list.
- Make it the FIRST thing on your list.
- Do not let yourself do something else until you’ve done your bookkeeping.
- Complete your bookkeeping, mark it as done and THEN continue on with the more fun stuff as your reward.
- Do not allow yourself to cheat or procrastinate.
- Don’t lump all the boring or mundane tasks into a single day, spread them out over the week and always make them the first thing on your list.
Overcome your fear of numbers
Most bookkeeping tasks involve simple addition and subtraction. We’re all capable of doing that basic math. If you have bookkeeping software, it will do the math for you – all you have to do is plug in the numbers and categorize them correctly.
If you don’t have software, well no biggie. You can start small and easy.
- Grab yourself a piece of paper, create a spreadsheet, and go old school and create a check register.
- Create columns for income and expenses.
- Write down who the money was from or who the money was paid to and for what.
- Keep a running total.
Bookkeeping and numbers are your friends
Believe it or not – bookkeeping and numbers are your friends and it’s NOT enough to log into your online bank account as see that you have money to spend!
That doesn’t tell you (or the Tax Man) where your money came from and where it went – with specifics!
Stop and think about it.
Sure, you log into your online bank account and see that your wrote check #1234 to Michael’s on 4/30/2019 – BUT does it tell you what you bought? NO. And saving your receipt isn’t enough either.
Start a simple bookkeeping system today – gather all your info and put it down on paper. Go back to the beginning of the year and document everything.
It’s really not all that different than making sure you have proper stitch counts for your latest design.
You’ll thank yourself later 🙂
