beingcoreybayless

“Show me the money” … not some of the money… not most of the money… Just show it to me… Show me all of it. Last time I spoke on accountability and found myself side tracked with the complaints on society.

What is most important here is awareness of your bankroll. In business as in life, if you want success, you have got to have your eye on the prize and to get there you must be in control of the steps you are taking. First and foremost, you must manage your bankroll; you can only manage it if you are truly 100% aware of where it is all at.

People without money think those with money need to manage it while those with money think they have enough that they need not worry about it. There is a reason that so many are wealthy at one point but do not stay there. This isn’t always the case, but it happens far more often than it should.

We are talking about building a business and growing it into something great. It is crucial to your success and prosperity that you are aware of your money… all your money. There are so many programs out there that will tell you of different ways to track your money. There isn’t one way that is the right way. There are many ways; you must find the way that works for you. The key is that you can not lose accountability of even one dollar especially in the early stages of growth in your business. Pick and choose whichever program works for you or design your own but take control of your finances.

It is important that you are tracking all your business expenses, even down to the post-its. It may seem silly, but there needs to be a proper budget in place. You must have a set budget for your business which includes an amount allotted for expenses, development, marketing, overhead, etc.
You must track everything otherwise something will inevitably be left out or forgotten. That something could ultimately be what drowns you for the quarter or the period or sadly drowns your company all together.

You have to control your money not the other way around. I have seen so many begin to make serious money and lose track of their assets by frivolous spending and lack of accountability. They quickly utilize credit cards to pay for things and can easily lose track of their finances if they are not careful. I was doing contract labor for this company for a while; this guy had a company that was seriously on the rise. He was growing and cashflow was not an issue… or at least it shouldn’t have been. The problem frequently was the multiple credit cards that the company was using. He had three credit cards that were his personal cards and one credit card that was the company card. The one company card should have been enough. For many companies it is… but he would allow one employee or contractor use it for a job and more than he would have planned on being put on the card would be added to the card. Then when someone else needed to purchase something, he would easily hand out his personal card only to later try to decipher everything. He not only made things harder on himself and his bookkeeper to reconcile, but it become exceedingly more and more difficult to track his spending until it was too late, and the money had been spent. This is not where you want to find yourself, especially when your business is young and on the rise.

Take control of your money and keep it. Know where your money is and where it is going before it is gone. You should be able to have a grasp of how much you will be spending before it is spent. You make a reasonable budget which allots for a slight reasonable amount of wiggle for flexibility.

You are in charge so take charge. Be in control of your business, your finances, and ultimately your future. It’s all In your hands… it’s up to you what you do with it.

Get Cocky and Get it done.

A good majority of our nation right now is struggling with money. They live paycheck to paycheck or even worse. Unfortunately, many live this way that do not have to.

There is so much money in our society and endless opportunity that so many are not tapping into for whatever reason. Do not allow money to hold you back or you will never get anywhere. Most of us were not born with our pockets full.

A large part of the problem is accountability. Many of those who struggle with finances are not accountable for their finances; either they do not hold themselves accountable and no one else does, or they just feel no obligation to manage their money. I truly believe that this is the biggest problem. So many people who find themselves on the lower end of middle class will tell you that wages are the problem in our society… I will be the first to say that this is far from the real problem. Yes, minimum wage is not desirable to make a true living off and support a family… but it isn’t intended for that. Minimum wage is intended for high school students to put cash in their pockets and learn a little responsibility. There are too many young people getting married right out of high school or even worse, before they get out of high school. They are having babies while they are still babies. This is getting so extremely out of hand. These children are not ready for the real world. That is what that first after school job is for, to help you prepare for the real world; taking orders, following instructions, managing money, paying for gas… all the little things that adults should be able to do without problems arising. At some point if you work hard and get to the level you desire, you will no longer be taking orders and you will be giving them… but that isn’t for everyone.

Okay… I have gotten off on a bit of a tangent… truth is that society is not the problem. The people in this society need to take responsibility for themselves. Sadly you hear these things shouted by the rich and wealthy everyday and they are not taken seriously because how could they understand. Kanye West is criticized regularly because he is very outspoken and he believes that so many suffering choose to stay and suffer… form those in slaved, impoverished, and just the lower middle class…. It is odd to see these all in the same sentence, but it is relevant in this conversation. It isn’t about the level of suffering, it is about the suffering. You will hear from many in the lower middle class about their extreme level of discomfort although the mass majority of them do not know suffering on that level. You would think they were starving the way the whine and complain about how society should change and be doing more to help them. It isn’t society that should change, it is them. They can make the difference. First, whether people like to admit it or not, society is made up of us… that’s right… us… And ‘Us’ includes all those who are complaining about ‘Us’. Get involved and make a difference in society instead of sitting back and complaining about it. Those actually involved do not often complain; they see the little changes that they are making and they know that there is more to come. It is the ones who are doing nothing that is actually valid at all; those are the ones complaining. They sit back and complain about a society that will not save them while they will do nothing to save themselves and will do nothing to aid the society in its progress. It is beyond ridiculous.

Again, I am finding myself off on another tangent as this is just something that has always bothered me. I was living on my own at 17 years old. I fought for every inch I ever got. I am not one of the Kanye’s of the world and I am saying while I do not agree with all of his thoughts, I do agree that many people choose to do nothing to change their status in life. They whine and complain and kick and scream… try making the change yourself. That is what this country is all about. You want things different, make them different. I lived just fine off of minimum wage and had a child when I was far too young to have one and was not ready for it… I didn’t cry and whine and ask the government or society to take care of me… I got out there and got another job and worked hard to get promoted at the job I was already working. I worked at Taco Bell and Burger King to provide for my daughter. A year or so later, I was working three jobs. I worked as a cook at Jim’s diner in the evenings and was a shift manager by this time at Taco Bell and was a bar back at the night club EastWood 2000 which. This was bringing me a good amount of money in. I still wasn’t in the best financial place because at that time, I had yet to figure out how to handle money. I could make money, but it flew out the door. Later, I got myself back into school, finished my diploma via correspondence school through the mail; I took all my high school courses over again rather than transferring any of them because I wanted to do better this time. I got my diploma and took my SATs and got myself registered at ACC and eventually got into the University of Texas. I did all of this while building and developing my first business. I can do it and so can the rest of you. It isn’t society’s fault… I am a part of the same society and I didn’t need you all to bail me out and I don’t want to bail you out. I would rather teach you the skills that you have somehow never attained and aid you in getting where you are going. I am not giving you a fish… let’s go fishing. Are you with me… sadly, there are so many that are saying, “no, someone else will give me a fish.” If you are one of the many would like some help becoming more successful and finding financial freedom, be sure to click the button to the left and follow my blog. I want to help you get where you are going and find the freedom and independence you desire.

So, the place where I started was accountability… and let’s get back there. You need to be aware of your money. You must know what is coming in, when it is coming, and where it will be going. If you are not accountable for your cashflow, it will get away from you and you won’t know why. Take control today and stop allowing this to happen to your finances. You can gain and lose everything simply by money management. If you manage things properly, you can grow your business or your personal finances to great heights while mismanagement can leave everything you have in ruins.

I am going to get more into accountability next time. I just felt compelled to touch on some other things today, so I had to get them off my chest.

Sometimes we need to be reminded the proper perspective that is needed to achieve the success we desire. You are launching and running your own company. You are growing into a great entrepreneur… This is not a job… This is not a career. This is a lifestyle.

You must eat, sleep, think… your business. You must give it your all. You’ve got to put everything you’ve got into growing your business. There is no time to waste.

Late evening, you need to be contemplating your next move; what is it you need to work on tomorrow, what new directions should you be growing, where you should be investing time and capital. Sit back, ask yourself these questions, and find answers. Know what your mission is. Now that you know, pour yourself a drink; you’ve earned it. And marinate on your plans; us Texas boys know everything is better once its marinated. Then grab a few winks… you can’t afford to sleep long. Remember, “money never sleeps.”

When the alarm goes off, your feet hit the ground ready to run; lace your J’s and let’s get cocky. You should already have a list from last night with a rundown of the game plan; you need to be sure it is prioritized appropriately. Then get it going. Get your cashflow going where it needs to go; that always needs to be of the highest priority. If you don’t know where your money is and where it is going, you won’t be able to make calculated moves throughout the day. Be sure you know what you can invest where and how much you have designated for marketing and be sure that money is already on its way where it’s going.

Now start closing. This applies to whatever type of business you are running. If you are in sales, start selling… make your calls, send your emails, market your product. If you in investments, get out there and find the big fish. If you do consulting or copywriting, you‘ve got to market yourself. Marketing yourself is a never-ending task. It becomes a part of all you do. Truth is when you are running your own business, building your company you are always marketing yourself. Even when you are marketing a product, you are the face… you are the name… this business is you, and you are the business.

Throughout the day, no matter what tasks you are working on, you need to remember that all that you do reflects on your business.

Remember if you are going to be an entrepreneur, it isn’t a job. It also isn’t a career. It is a lifestyle. Fully commit yourself and believe it and live it. Get cocky.