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Do you know the in’s and out’s of your income statement? Are you too afraid to look at the numbers because they don’t make sense? Need a little help balancing your books or even just getting started?
In this podcast episode, Joe Sanok speaks with Greg Higdon about his transition from teaching to bookkeeping and how you can get a handle on your finances.
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Meet Greg Higdon
Greg Higdon is the Founder of Grow the Books, a bookkeeping company for small businesses. With over 13 years of experience in education, he teaches his clients so they are empowered and armed with a clearer understanding of what their numbers mean for their business decisions. When he isn’t balancing books and helping clients you can find him roasting coffee, drinking coffee, and reading about coffee.
Greg Higdon’s Story
Since his early 20’s, Greg has been running his own businesses off and on, wherein he has always done his own books. Later on he decided to become a teacher and taught middle school for the past 13 years. When Greg was laid off from his teaching job he decided to dive head first into making a living from doing books.
In This Podcast
Summary
In this episode Joe Sanok speaks with Greg Higdon about how he helps other business gets their books in order and how you can get comfortable with numbers.
Really Knowing Your Numbers
Its important to get comfortable with and know your numbers. These are the most important ones:
- Profit and loss sheet (income statement) – helps to know where your income is coming from and where you are spending money
- The bottom line – knowing how much money you need to make to support the lifestyle you want
- Payments for contractors/employees
- How to save for your retirement
Why People Struggle To Know Their Numbers
I like to create visual pie charts or graphs so that clients can visually see what the percentage of money is they’re spending.
Many people struggle with getting to know their numbers because they are more ‘visual’. Sitting down and looking at numbers may come across as a big math problem, but it need not be.
Planning When You Know Your Numbers
Once you know your numbers you are aware of where you could potentially be spending more money i.e your advertising or where you should be cutting back i.e client dinners.
Rules Of Thumb
When you are budgeting for your practice you should keep the below in mind:
- 20-25 % goes towards rent
- 25% goes towards tax
Many businesses also don’t set aside emergency funds, this is vitally important and it should equate to around 3 months worth of income.
Become Informed
Don’t be afraid of your numbers!
It’s always beneficial to consult with a money manager or book keeper before you hit the ground running.
Click here to book your free 30 minute consult with Greg!
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Meet Joe Sanok
Joe Sanok helps counselors to create thriving practices that are the envy of other counselors. He has helped counselors to grow their businesses by 50-500% and is proud of all the private practice owners that are growing their income, influence, and impact on the world. Click here to explore consulting with Joe.
Thanks For Listening!
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