Staying Afloat: Finance K.I.S.S

Dear Reader,

Consequent to the IPO post, I have gotten requests to blog on personal and start-up finance per how to stay afloat in this Covidian times. LoL, yes! Covidian! Apparently, that’s the new theme for this era. In addition to giving my two cents on the finance techniques, I have learnt and practiced over the years personally and for start-ups, I’ll also add strategies for companies to the extent I am capable of.

Growing up, I wondered how people were categorized into the “haves” and the “haves-not” in the society and this sparked an interest into being in the most favorable class when I grow up. Fast forward to growing up, in the university, I was a saver! Yes, I’d like to call myself that. Always putting money aside and planning for the rainy days.

As I matured, I began to question the basis of just saving away and denying myself of immediate pleasures. So again, growth made me start saving with a purpose, tying my saving to different milestones and projects I wanted to achieve within set timelines. In my final year, I noticed that the interests on my savings were not substantial and I did not have multiple streams of income to “boost” it. This lead to me seeking internships for more money.

Furthermore, I got two internships and afterwards was slated for youth service for a year, I thought to myself “at least another source of income” LoL! I was OMO. During my service year, I applied to work in a start-up and was opportune to use some of the accounting skills I had. From managing expenses, development of new sales strategies’, staff remuneration, expansion plans, budgeting, bulk purchasing and discount haggling, inventory management to managing the finance for the business owner at some point. Being involved in all these finance plays led me to creating a better structure around my own personal finance and seeking knowledge as the times change by reading finance texts and speaking to experienced finance people around me. Shout out to Akinola Akinboboye! J

I’ll be summarizing some strategies that can work for the different finance groups listed below;

PERSONAL FINANCE

• Pay your Tithes/Partnership Offerings;
• Plan your expenditures reasonably;
• Apportion a fixed percentage to investments; and
• Have contingency amounts to fund unplanned expenses.

START-UP FINANCE

•  DO NOT sell on credit;
• Plan all expenses (no matter how little) and DIY instead of outsourcing;
• Leverage bulk purchase and discounts;
• Set a daily stash percentage into the business’ savings account; and
• Invest in risk-free mutual funds.

COMPANY FINANCE

•  Collect all receivables for work done, especially as milestones are reached on your engagement letter;
• Plan for salaries three months ahead in case of any unforeseen circumstances;
• Renegotiate contracts like rent – in case of a pandemic as staffs are working from home; and
• Build potential and new services to help Client’s through the normal business operations / pandemic from the current service you offer to increase your steams of income.

In conclusion, planning your finance both for your business and personally depends on different factors, which range from personal savings culture, earning capacity, savings strategies, risk appetite, streams of income, little or no family pressure among other factors. However, the best time to start a financial plan is NOW. 

A little drop (savings and investments), over the span of some days, months or years will make a mighty ocean (millions, in whatever currency you want) sometime soon.

Finance texts;

• The Richest Man In Babylon – George Samuel Clason
• The Smart Money Woman – Arese Ugwu
• The Smart Money Tribe: An African Woman’s Guide to Making Bank – Arese Ugwu

This article just scratches the surface; I have more tips in my finance arsenal and will be writing about more soon.

Please for further questions, comment below or mail me (aramideoluwole@gmail.com).

Stay safe in this Covidian times!

Aramide. J