Welcome to another edition of The 4AM Report – our weekly look at what’s keeping us marketers and fellow business peeps awake at night.
I don’t know many getting great sleeps these days – what with the Covid-19 virus, social distancing, and (lord helps us) some of us having kids at home 24/7!
Hence, we’ve shifted our focus a bit these past few weeks – and want to talk about the things affecting small businesses and entrepreneurs right now.
BONUS!!! This week is also a 4AM Report double header – two exceptional guests will share tips on how to stay financially sound during this crazy time!
Today, our guest is Wendy Brookhouse, founder of Black Star Wealth and quite simply a brilliant business mind!
We talk:
How businesses can tweak financials to ride out this storm Steps to reduce the amount of money you need each month to run your company And things to think about as we look to the future – because this too shall pass!Press pause on the stress and worry and have a listen !
Or if you prefer, read on for some tidbits from the full podcast.
Time for A Quick Self-Audit
“Step one, take a look at your current expenses. Take a look at your subscriptions. This is an area in particular where I find we can all get a little out of control because we sign up for the free 30 days. And next thing you know, it's been on our credit card for months, and we totally don't even know why we used it, or maybe it made total sense to subscribe six months ago, but now your business has pivoted so you don't need it anymore. It's really important to go through line by line all of our expenses and see what’s still needed.”
Tighten the Personal Belt
“We could also be looking at how we can cut our expenses on the personal side - if you can reduce those expenses, you can reduce the amount you actually have to take into the company to support your life - which may allow both of them to proceed for a longer period of time. The first place to start is your housing costs. So, if you have a mortgage, look into the mortgage deferral program, and see if you're eligible, what that would mean for your personal bottom line. If you are a renter, you may want to talk to your landlord because the landlord may be able to take advantage of that program and provide some relief to you.”
If You Don’t Ask You Won’t Get! Check Out Available Government Help
“Are you eligible for the $2,000 subsidy that is now available through the government? You should check that out? That could help your expenses immensely. And now the government is also announcing additional wage subsidies - you should be investigating those - it started out at 10%. And now it's up as high as 75%. Again, these programs are changing on a regular basis. And you just want to keep your finger on the pulse of those, because every little bit will count! Then you might want to look at different financing options. You may want to start with your bank and see if there's any levels that you can qualify for, because there may or may not be relaxed credit adjudication. Then you can look at the Business Development Bank of Canada, which is all about being the business bank for entrepreneurs. They have programs that you may want to investigate as well. Credit Unions actually have loans that are guaranteed by the government already, so maybe that would make some sense.”
This Too Shall Pass – Relationships Matter More than Money (like, for a short time! 😆)
“What we've been working with our clients on, it's kind of like, you know, reading the room, what was right today might not be right tomorrow, what's right yesterday might not be right today - turn off automation. This is when really, really, really, smart marketing is gonna really matter. And while you're not able to necessarily sell to your customer right now, you've got to keep that relationship going. You've got to be offering them up things that you have a compelling reason to actually offer them right now. No strings attached help. And think about the long-term relationship with that customer, right? It's gonna be tough, but you want when this is all over, for them to still remember you and you know, you want to have been there with them along the way. So, we're really tweaking and changing things up as we go. And I think that's a really important message for businesses.”
We hope you enjoyed – for more financial advice check out the entire podcast! And get yourself over to Apple Podcasts for more 4 AM Report insights and subscribe to us – you won't regret it!
AND don’t forget to check back in tomorrow for another special guest!
Plus, if you're losing sleep over a particular marketing/business related problem during this Covid-19 economic uncertainty, let us know. Drop us a line at C+P Digital. Sweet dreams….well, hopefully!
About Wendy
Wendy Brookhouse is a behavioural finance focused advisor who helps smart, ambitious people unleash their money power. Wendy believes that we all have money power. It is buried under life’s pleasures, unconscious spending and the desire to have the lives that everyone else’s social media says they have. She invented the One Number Solution, a trademark system that unleashes money power with strategies around spending, debt, saving and safety net.
Connect:
Black Star
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlackStarWealth/
LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/company/black-star-wealth-partners
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BlackStarHFX
Wendy
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wendybrookhouse?lang=en
LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/wendy-brookhouse-4210701
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wendy.brookhouse.370
