Small Business Lessons to Learn Before It's Too Late!

Lessons Learned
"Read these real life stories so you don't be caught making the same mistakes".

-A Retail Story-

Lesson: "don't expect someone to come in and do something you can't do and then expect positive results."

      Just recently I walked into a disorganized disaster. There were piles of documents all over, files stacked up on racks, in and on boxes, in corners, on the floor, on the chairs - it seemed they were everywhere you looked. When I opened a file drawer it was full of everything but file folders. This business owner allowed her bookkeepers to take her books home and when the books were returned they were piled up everywhere. You couldn't tell a current pile from an old pile. She was told every time books were returned that everything was taken care of and balanced. She couldn't understand why checks were bouncing and why she was getting really nasty threatening phone calls from vendors. The owner had no idea who owed her money, who she owed money to, when the last time her payroll and sales taxes were paid - or if they ever were paid. The only thing she knew was that everything was getting worse and she could possibly lose everything.

      We rolled up our sleeves and implemented my Small Business Pak. We removed all the junk from her drawers and put it into Boxes. The drawers were wiped down and cleaned to prepare for the new files being installed. One pile at a time, we transferred all her data into new labeled folders. This was quite a learning experience for someone who had never filed documents before.

      The next thing we did was set up her bookkeeping with my customized chart of accounts. She can now write a check, make a deposit, enter bills, pay bills, create an invoice, and even create statements. She knows her checking account balance anytime of the day. She can even read her profit and loss statements and understands a balance sheet. She calls my chart of accounts a shopping list - she goes shopping for what it is she needs to code her entries. The chart of accounts taught her why the numbers do what they do. She uses her reports to run her business now.

      When I first met her she was literally in tears and shaking. She was feeling helplessly out of control and afraid she was going to lose everything. Not anymore. She never dreamed she would be doing her own bookkeeping and filing and gets it done in just a couple hours each day. Her office is organized and everything in place. She is saving lots of money and time now - allowing time to focus on what she does best - make money.

Read more Lessons-Learned here.