1st Rule in Business Success~Fiscal Responsibility (not a Louis Vuitton)

Fiscal Responsibility is often easy to understand but hard to execute and implementing it into your life can be one of the hardest tasks you will ever have to accomplish.

What does this really mean, fiscal responsibility? And how can I become fiscally responsible?  

Fiscal responsibility at its core has a simple meaning: To be fiscally responsible, you need to live within your means today, tomorrow and in the future, and it is essential to creating a better, stronger and more prosperous financial future for the rest of your life.  The choices you make today will determine the kind of future you have years from now.  In short it means, you need to live within your financial earnings and to live within your earnings, you must spend less than you make.  In today’s society that is easier said than done.  With so many goods and services taunting us with their beautiful packaging it is hard to stay focused on our fiscal goals and don't even get me started on our need to stay neck-in-neck with the the women around us.  The saying, "we are in debt up to our earrings," is the just a drop in our Louis Vuitton bucket purse, the one we just couldn't live without.

Photo Courtesy of fashiongonerogue.com

So where do I start?

First you must take a look at your current credit debt, is it larger than you can pay off in a single month?  If so than you are already living beyond your financial earnings. Carrying large amounts of Credit Debt can make you feel trapped and often frightened about your future, carrying large amounts of debt can feel like a weight upon your shoulders that just never really goes away.  Removing credit debt can make you feel more alive and more in control of your future.  It is a sense of freedom very few people get to enjoy.

What can I do next?

Printable Expense Worksheet

You will need to sit down with pen and paper in hand and work out your current expenses on an income and expense worksheet, scary yes.   But this is a tool you will use to create a new approach to your spending habits.   Fill in every box on the expenses worksheet and if you have more expenses then by all means add those too.  Leave nothing out: This is where you have to be honest with yourself.  If it is a part of your monthly expense habits it needs to be on your sheet.  If you have quarterly or yearly expense then break those down by 12 months and add those to the sheet.

How can I stay on track?

Look at ways to limit your personal spending.  Cut down on those items in your life that just do not fit into the budget you have created.  Get rid of the wants in your life and focus on the needs.  Remove the clutter your home and make room for more time instead of more stuff.   Manage your personal expenses as if you had no idea how much money you were going to make in the next 30 days.   Find free and interesting entertainment ideas.  And by all means focus on the important essential items instead of those unnecessary items.

Living life in a more simple approach is never easy but with hard work and a commitment to your financial future the end result will give you peace of mind and a stronger financial foundation.

Be fiscally responsible and feel financially free.

Cheers,

Toni

Business Organization On-the-Go

Running a business is difficult enough but running a business while you are traveling requires careful planning and staying organized on-the-go can be relatively challenging. Technology gives us the flexibly to run our businesses from just about anywhere and selling our products has never been easier. But how do we stay organized with so much to do and where do we go to find the resources we need to stay connected and on track?

Here are a few tips to make running your small business on-the-go a little easier.

Invest in the right hardware and mobile devices that you will need to access your online business accounts. This essential element can pay off for you long after the initial investment, but only buy the hardware you need. In most cases a good smartphone may be all you need to stay well connected.

Download the right software apps to assist in your business needs.

You will need a good photo editing app like WordSwag, BeFunky or PicMonkey to create professional pics and collages.

You will need an online calendar to remind you of those essential meeting or conference calls you will be attending. I use Jorte Calendar and organizer but there are many many may online calendar apps to keep your calendar organized.

You will need an online file sharing app such as Dropbox, Evernote or Google Drive to access docs and or pictures.

You will need a payment processing app or device. I use SquareCard Reader but paypal has a new payment processing device called PaypalHere and intuit has a reader device called GoReader.

You may need an online auto posting app to post to all your social media while you are on-the-go. I use Pagemodo for my auto posting to my facebook business pages and even to my personal page when needed. I do not like to go more than one day without posting. Here is a short list of auto posting apps. Hootsuite, Tweetdeck and Buffer.

Office supplies are still needed even on-the-go, in fact they are even more essential. I never leave home without my three ring binder and my notebook with pockets for receipts and notes and business cards I collect. Pens in two colors as well as a small stapler and push pins. I never leave home without my push pins. How else do I hang-up my blitz card to a cork board. And never ever leave home without your business cards and a small stack of catalogs if you have them. I have kicked myself many times for never having enough of these items.

Set a schedule for yourself with regular office hours, then stick to your daily business routine and focus on your to-do list each day. Once you write it down you are seven times more likely to complete it then if you don't.

Staying organized is essential for your success and even more important when you are on-the-go. Becoming a mobile entrepreneur is easy. Staying a mobile entrepreneur requires attention to the details and a great ability to stay on top of all the required aspects.

Cheers,

Toni

10 Habits of the Uber Wealthy

Let's face it being wealthy and acting wealthy are not the same but following the habits of the wealthy could be the beginning of a bright future.
What habits do the wealthy do that separates them from the average person?

For many people who dream of riches wealth means fancy cars, fabulous clothing, expensive shopping trips and luxury travel.
But to the uber wealthy it is about the relentless pursuit of a future that is secure and stable. For them it means being ruthless in their goals with a laser focus on what they want and how they are going to make it happen.

Here are just 10 habits of the uber wealthy

1. The uber wealthy tend to be early risers. They usually wake up when most of us have just settled into our best REM sleep. As early risers they get the most from their mornings and utilize this time to build their daily to-do list. One study shows that 44% of the uber wealthy get up three hours before the mortal man.

2. The uber wealthy always have a to-do list, statistics show that most if not all uber wealthy people keep a to-do list and carry it around in a logbook with them with the intention of completing the tasks before the day is over. Now we know why the filo fax was created.

3. The uber wealthy have a strong tendency to focus on the future. Not just tomorrow but what will pay off in the long run with the thought process that what I do today will pay off in twenty to thirty years. Their ability to look far into the future and work toward that goal puts them in the in that 1% population, those who can focus for longer than a bat second.

4. The uber wealthy are self made and self employed. More than two thirds of those on the Forbes 400 list are self made. Let's face it getting to the top means you don't have time to climb over all those in the corporate world to get there. Creating your own business means you start at the top and work hard to stay at the top.

5. The uber wealthy network network network and then they network some more, spending up to five hours per day reaching out and shaking hands with people who can help them make things happen.

6. The uber wealthy have an uncanny ability to never forget a name or a face. This simple memory technique opens many doors and as we all know using a persons first name is music to their ears.

7. The uber wealthy have little time for romance novels but spend up to two hours per day reading goal based books or listening to audio books during their commuting time. Personal and professional development is high on the list of priorities. We all need a cheerleader in our ear.

8. The uber wealthy know that health and fitness are key to a strong mind. Most wealthy people eat less than 300 empty calories per day. Yes, that includes those high calorie cocktails we all love so much.

9. The uber wealthy get to the top on their own but they never do it alone. They find mentors and role models and spend time digging out the secrets to success. Having someone to bounce ideas off of gives the wealthy an edge we mere mortals never think about doing. We tend to keep our great ideas inside, they tend to talk and talk until the idea is rock solid.

10. The uber wealthy sock it away, saving for the future is not an option it is a way of life for the super rich. Where most of us put away 6% they tend to save an average of 19% of their income. Remember the uber wealthy are always looking into the future, way into the future.

Not everyone was meant to be in the uber wealthy world but if you are looking to have a more secure future following a few of these habits might just be the key to your future success.

Cheers,

Toni