Have You Been Caught Stealing?

By Carl Woolston • April 10th, 2009 • Email This Post • Print This Post

In the world of business accounting, balance sheets, and profit and loss statements it can get pretty complex at times. Having personally had businesses that have had excess and other businesses that have suffered for cash flow there is a basic rule I believe is a key to business success (it can be applied to personal finances as well).

Don’t steal from your business!

“What do you mean”, I hear you saying. Well, it’s like this, temptation is part of life. We want that extra cookie before bed, even though we know we shouldn’t. We might want to stay in bed and sleep in, even though we could be exercising. Discipline is a reality of life we would often like to sweep under the carpet.

One of the temptations in business (or personal) is as soon as there is a little bit of extra cash flow we spend it. Our minds start to create solutions for that problem (tongue in cheek) of extra cash. And boy, it is a good problem to have! After all, building that business and career has been hard work and has been hard. “I’ve always needed a nicer car,” we say to ourselves. Or, “I deserve a really good vacation.” Our minds are incredibly inventive on figuring out things we “need” when we have a little bit extra.

Taking this money before our business has matured and at the wrong time is the equivalent of stealing. You might be saying, “That’s harsh” or “That isn’t really stealing”. Here’s the reality - you’re stealing from your future. What if you put that money aside to seize a new opportunity that is going to need some extra cash? What if that deal doesn’t come through next month you are counting on? Business and life has ups and downs (as we are seeing in the economy right now) and creating a stock pile of extra cash is absolutely necessary to long-term financial success.

Here’s a law to live by. Decide how much you need to live on and no matter what you make, only take that much out of the business. Take the extra money and let it build within the business as cash or invest in becoming more productive. As you do this your entire mindset will begin to shift towards abundance instead of scarcity. It’s amazing the opportunities that present themselves when you’re not figuring out how to just get by.

Make the business the boss.

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Carl Woolston is a business and marketing consultant with KGaps Consulting, a co-creator of the proprietary marketing methodology “Hub Mentality,”, and a co-founder of The Center for Social Leadership.