Author: Jennifer Brazer

Personal financial management is a concept of great significance that helps individuals keep a grasp on their expenses while building savings. This management of finances creates a budget to manage current expenses and help you build funds for retirement and emergencies. As financial management is of high importance when you become a responsible adult, we must teach our children money management starting at a young age. When lessons are taught in childhood, they become a habit for children, proving fruitful as they grow older.

Money management is not taught in school though it is an important subject, so it is up to parents to teach our kids how to manage money to give them a strong financial future as adults. Here are five ways to teach your kids about money management.

Show Your Kids How to Use Cash

Most kids don’t know what credit cards are, let alone manage them, so it is important to start teaching them money management with cash. When they get older, you can give them a debit card with limitations and help them open and maintain a checking or savings account. Cash is easy to deal with and easier for them to count on face values.

Gift Your Kids with a Piggy Bank

Teaching your kids about money management doesn’t have to be a complicated task. They don’t need spreadsheets and complicated budgets. They need a small bit of capital and help with how to manage it. To get them started on the idea of a savings account, you can buy them a piggy bank and show them how to allocate some of their money into their piggy bank. To further teach them about savings, you can have them pick a fairly expensive toy they want to buy and help them use their piggy bank to save towards this goal.

Play Games That Center Around Money

One of the greatest games that teach about money management is the game of Monopoly. It teaches about savings, making good financial choices, purchasing power, property ownership, passive income, and even taxes and interest. While a Monopoly game can last a long time, even if the game is not played to a winner, there are so many valuable money lessons they can get from the game that you can translate into the real world.

Teach Your Kids About Hard Work

To have money to manage, your kids should earn it to get a lesson in hard work and how if you work hard, you can make more money. You can also use this as an opportunity to teach them that if they do harder jobs, they can make more money. This job opportunity will give them the chance to make job choices. It might also give them the chance to start exploring their passion and give them a chance to become entrepreneurs. Being an entrepreneur is ageless, and even children can start their small businesses.

Budgeting

Budgeting is one of the most important aspects of money management; you can teach your kids. Many adults don’t budget, and it is often to her detriment. Though your child’s income and expenses won’t be much, you can use their earning opportunities to show them how to make a simple budget to help them with savings and spending habits.

Conclusion

Money management is a challenging concept, even for most adults. Teaching your kids about money management at a young age and gradually increasing their knowledge and responsibilities as they get older will be a priceless financial benefit for years to come. You can show them how to manage cash, start a savings account, how money works through gameplay and hard work, and teach them how to create and stick to a budget. These lessons are ones that many adults don’t even understand.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Most people have heard of life insurance, and many of those have heard the terms whole life and term life insurance. When choosing life insurance, you must know what you need before you speak with an insurance agent. Most agents, while keeping your best interest in mind, will are at their core salespeople. For this reason, you need to understand life insurance and know what you need, so you don’t buy needless insurance that doesn’t work for you.

Here is an overview of both term life and whole life insurance and the comparison of what each of them offers so you can make an educated decision on what you need before you meet with an agent.

Differences Between Whole Life and Term Life

When deciding which type of insurance to purchase, you should base your decision on your financial goals and your needs along with those of your beneficiaries. Life insurance isn’t just something that will cover your loved ones after your death. It also has some financial advantages you can utilize while you are alive. Here are the features of both insurance types.

Features of Term Life Insurance

• Only provides death benefits
• Only pays if you die while the term of the policy is in effect
• Most affordable life insurance to buy
• Purchased for a specific period or terms such as 5, 10, 15, or 30 years
• Is more expensive as you age
• Once your term ends, you must renew a new term
• Used as additional coverage with a whole life insurance policy
• Can be converted to whole life insurance

Features of Whole Life Insurance

• Covers you for life
• Provides death benefits
• Cash value that builds an accumulation for the lifetime of the policy
• Sometimes requires a health examination
• Can sometimes be purchased without a health examination
• Takes several years to build value
• Cash value is based on the rate of the return value
• During the life of the policy, it can be borrowed against
• Is initially more expensive, but premiums reduce over the years

Reasons to Convert Your Term Life Policy

• You are over fifty, and your term life insurance is about to expire
• You still need life insurance, but due to age or other circumstances, term life is too expensive
• Estate taxes are a concern, or you are hoping to set up your estate and need whole life
• You are establishing or changing your will to include a trust
• You need a non-taxable investment option

Should Carry Both Whole Life and Term Life Insurance?

In most cases, you will want to choose one insurance over the other, but there is an argument for having both at the same time. This is especially beneficial since term life policies have an endpoint, while whole life insurance covers your lifespan.

The Benefits of Having Both Whole and Term Life Insurance

• You need more coverage but can’t afford to add to your whole life policy
• You need more coverage only for a period and not whole life
• You have term life and can’t afford to convert to whole life completely

Conclusion

You should know about term life and whole life insurance that no matter which one you choose, it is essential that you have life insurance. This insurance, while beneficial to you while you are alive such as with financial benefits you can take before death, but the main reason you take out life insurance is to benefit your loved ones after your death.

Many times life insurance covers funeral and debt expenses and gives your beneficiaries income to cover after death expenses and also takes care of them for life. To choose the right kind of life insurance, you must consider the benefits of both and choose the best one you can afford that will cover what you need.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

To start a business with little money is possible, but it is important to consider how to utilize the money in the best possible way. A better understanding and effective utilization of business money are discussed in this article for a normal person.

Starting a business with little cash could be a challenging task, but it is not impossible. Entrepreneurs have great business ideas, but they fail because they do not have enough capital to support their idea. To start a business with little cash works best only if you get paid on an immediate basis.

Having low overhead expenditure, not enough labor expenses, and poor inventory management systems can create terrible situations for the person to handle.

Customer default, fraud, or unexpected expenses can sink the whole business if one does not have any credit account associated with any financial institutions. In some cases, the entrepreneurs use their credit cards to keep things on track. If the same situation happens every time, this will eventually end up in a debt trap. 

If individuals plan to start a business with little cash, they need to make a cautious budgeting plan. Here are some things that the business owner needs to consider before starting a business.

• As a business owner, think before spending a single dollar and how it will help or facilitate the business’s operations. Whatever the expenses may be, if it is not getting enough customers, do not attempt to avoid it. Moving with a lean state-of-mind will help the person to maintain focus towards the business.
• Prepare to face complex situations for at least one year of your business where the owner will be getting either little or no salary. In the business’s initial years, maybe the person will have a workforce with the lowest pay and compensation. So it is important to cut down the personal expenses to almost zero because in starting years of business, the person has to invest more to keep all the things on track. After some time, the business owner will be getting high returns on
• Do not think that to run the business; one needs to buy everything. The person can choose the lease option for inventory management. Utilize this saved amount where it is required the most.
• Try to become the best friend of the business banker. In this way, many of the banking transactions can be sorted out easily, as this approach will help to save time and effort.
• A business owner needs to understand that full-time employees are a huge overhead, particularly when your business is at the initial For starting scenarios, one can use freelancers’ services to save your money.
• Make sure to work with only those customers who pay on time and are easy to work with. Whereas, working with the customers who never pay on time becomes difficult to work with them. It is important to keep track of your loyal customers.

Make this point clear in the mind that “cash is the king,” and net profit owns more importance as compared to patronizing revenue goals. If the person does not have a safe and secure line of credit and the company is running out of cash, it would be very difficult to survive. To become a successful entrepreneur, one has to maintain a focus on investments and high-value activities. This will help in expanding your business more.

Another important aspect to consider is the business behavior will serve in its best way in the upcoming life. If one wants to start a business with little cash, the person must consider the points mentioned earlier to utilize the amount effectively. To run a successful business, all that matters is the potential of the idea.  

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

An elevator pitch or speech is considered a brief but effective overview of the business, service, or product offered. An elevator pitch is mostly utilized in face to face networking. Elevator pitch is supposed to be the simplest, but it should be impactful and compel the listener to take a desirable action.

As the name implies, the elevator pitch should be as concise as possible. It should last as long as a person spends in an elevator.

Characteristics of an effective elevator pitch:

• It should be simple and easy to comprehend
• It should be short but should serve the accurate purpose of marketing

Target the purpose

There is always an aim or objective for pitching an idea. An elevator pitch can be utilized for marketing a product for selling an idea or branding a product. It should be strategized according to the purpose. If it is being utilized to sell a product, it should solely enhance the positive aspects of the product.

Focus on the Length

The perfect elevator speech does not last more than 30 seconds and must incorporate all the product or service characteristics that are the subject of an elevator pitch. If something makes the person or the product stand out, include it in the speech.

Keep it Casual

During an elevator speech, try not to sound like reciting one of the speeches that give the impression of being crammed and are just read without being understood. It is suggested first to say it and then write it down. Most elevator speeches are too formal and are read as the top of a CV. Avoid memorizing all the speech. Instead, memorize the key points and understand each point completely, leaving space for improvisation and personalization depending on the type of audience. Try practicing to pitch it in front of the mirror or record it and then listen to it.

Apply the Tweet Test

This is the era of communicating within 140 characters. An elevator speech should reflect that. Try to describe the company or product in approximately two sentences. If this is not working, then try to polish the speech. This happens because of the lack of clarity in the speech. The ‘tweet test’ is good for finding the approach –  Try writing an elevator pitch on Twitter.

Make it Relevant

In a networking event, do not limit on just shaking hands and start with an elevator speech. For making it relevant, it is advised to know a little about the audience. Ask them what they do or what they expect to get from attending that particular event. With a little information about the other person, it can be customized according to the speech’s tone, making it more relevant.

Close with a Question

End the elevator speech with a question. Ask for advice, a contact, something about the other person, or what the situation requires. Finishing the introduction with a question drives the conversation. It is never appropriate to end the elevator speech by asking for a job. As a minimum, ask to exchange contact cards with the person – or contact them through LinkedIn. The point is to make sure that an elevator speech does not feel like an advertisement, but it should build a human relationship with the other person.

What the Experts Say

Network expert Patti DeNucci suggests losing the concept of “speech” altogether.” Speeches do not attract the majority of people,” she says. “Think of this as your self-presentation -. A concise way for people to realize who you are, what you do, where you can serve them, how they can benefit, and any interesting thing that shows how your product or service is unique.” About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Risk can be defined differently depending on the investor and what is most important to them. For some investors, the potential loss does not outweigh the possibility of gain by not investing. If the risk of loss is high for other investors, the possible gains will not entice them to invest in a high-risk venture. An investor must use risk tolerance and risk capacity to determine where they fall.

Risk tolerance and risk capacity are two concepts that sound the same but are not. These concepts need to be understood before making investments. Used together, risk tolerance and risk capacity can help an investor determine the amount of risk that can be taken in their investments. Once the risk is identified and the investor sets a target of how much money they want the investment to earn, an investment plan can be constructed. Here are the differences between risk tolerance and risk capacity and their importance for an investor.

Risk Tolerance

Risk tolerance is the amount of risk that an investor is comfortable taking. It is also the degree of uncertainty that an investor can tolerate (thus the name.) Risk tolerance varies depending on many factors, such as age, income, and the financial goals of the business owner. Risk tolerance should be taken seriously when making financial investment decisions. If you don’t have millions to spare, your tolerance may be lower than someone who won’t feel the loss. Many methods can be used to determine an investor’s risk tolerance that will help them make riskier investments with the lowest amount of stress possible. Here are some of those methods.

• Self-administered risk tolerance questionnaire
• An online risk tolerance calculator
• Hiring a professional financial advisor
• Videos and other learning tools

Risk Capacity

In contrast to risk tolerance, risk capacity is the amount of risk that the investor needs to take to reach their financial goals. Examining goal time frames and the income required to achieve the financial goals is necessary to determine return estimates. Then, the rate of return estimate is used to help the investor decide the investments in which to invest and the level of risk they will hold. The primary key to determining risk capacity is the income goal.

Balancing the Two

Risk tolerance and risk capacity work together to determine the amount of risk and what type of investments to make. Risk tolerance depends on the investor’s financial plans, job, income, and age. In comparison, risk capacity has more to do with income and financial resources.

The two concepts have to be balanced for the investor to benefit financially from the level of investment they choose. If the amount of income necessary to reach the goals exceeds the investor’s risk tolerance, there will be a shortfall in achieving financial goals. Those with a higher risk tolerance are generally investors who aren’t concerned with losses. Conservative investors have a lower tolerance. Though they are low risk, low reward, they do fairly well with steady returns. Patience is the key for these investments. 

Conclusion

Risk is a part of life in many aspects. When it comes to investing, risks range from imperceptible to losing it all. Using risk tolerance and risk capacity will help investors use their income and tolerance to reach their financial goals while managing the risks (and stress) that investing holds. To get the best assessment of both risk tolerance and risk capacity, do your research but also hire a professional financial advisor to assist in your investment decisions. A professional financial advisor will be able to better inform you of your best investment options. 

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Creating a budget can be a satisfying process if done correctly. When you make one, you will get a feeling of relief that you have finally gained control of your finances. But making a budget is not as important as handling your money effectively; the key to successful budgeting is to stick to the plan you have created. Here are seven keys to successful budgeting.

Set A Realistic Budget

Handling budgets can be a tricky thing, so create one that you are easy in managing. Use your new knowledge from tracking your expenses to your spending habits. Map out your expense categories such as bills, rent, grocery, mortgage, loans, entertainment, etc. Look out for categories where you think you could reduce the amount and increase the money to go into your savings or investment.

Get Family Buy-In

Being the person who enforces the family budget can be difficult, particularly when it comes to activities like eating out. The whole idea of eating out when you are tired and do not feel like cooking seems great. So, give your kids a budget for eating out and let them choose their meal that fits in that amount. Will make your job less a hassle and give the kids a new activity.

Long-Term and Short-Term Goals

Planning month to month is important if you want to maintain a budget. However, preparing for a rainy day or emergencies is a must in budgeting. Consider dividing your paychecks into multiple accounts so that you make sure you are keeping money aside for the long run.

Track Spending

Keeping track of your spending for some weeks is a great way to check that your money is going where you want it is spent.  Writing down every single expense is tiring, but if you are used to spending cash instead of debiting or credit card, you will not track where your money is going.

Additionally, many people find it interesting to maintain a money tracking diary to focus on their spending. Someway, knowing that you must write it down, can act as a discouragement if you are about to binge on something you can live without.

Find Other Sources of Income

Earn a few extra bucks in your wallet by searching for new ways to make money. There are many interesting jobs you can do online or side gigs you can find to earn extra cash. This extra money making can be utilized in saving or in meeting extra expenses.

Using Apps and Software

Managing a household budget is just like managing the finance of a business. Working within the budget is especially important. To remain within the budget, tracking down expenses and identifying irregular expenditures is particularly important. There are many apps and software that make budgeting and tracking down expenses easy. Some apps are free and user-friendly, in which incorporating details is easy.

Traditional Budgeting Methods

There were days when people used traditional methods to plan a budget.  Some of those methods are still used frequently, and they are as reliable as using modern software and apps. Some frequently used traditional methods are as follows:

The Notebook method: This is the most traditional budgeting method, and it does not cost anything. It is about simply jotting down each detail of expenses and then calculating the figures at the end of the month.

The Excel Spreadsheet: Using an excel sheet is an easy way to create a monthly budget and update every detail of the expenditure. It is much easier and less time consuming as there are several formulae available that make calculation tasks simple.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Real estate agents are a great resource when looking for a rental property or an owner looking to rent out your home. They search for a suitable house for you as the client according to your needs and charge a fee for doing so. While this is an extra expense, an agent can save you a great deal of time finding the right property. People looking to renting out their property contact the agents who then provide the details to potential renters, so keep in mind that real estate agents are also working for these properties’ landlords.

Agents are most helpful because they know the real estate market of the area and will be best suited to find the perfect home for the customer and show them options that best fit their needs. Agents familiar with the area will know details like the schools, sewer charges, public transportation, and other concerns related to the area the customer is looking to know before renting.

The Agents Role

People who are renting out their property list their houses with a real estate agent. If the house is rented within a given time, the agent is paid a commission. These agents will often showcase the houses for rent or run ads for their rental listings and show the rentals to potential renters.

How to Find a Real Estate Agent

The first step is to determine where in the city you will be renting your home. Once you determine what part of town you want to reside in. It would be best if you looked for an agent in that area as they will have great insight into the things that will be important to you as a renter.

Here are some ways to find yourself the right real estate agent:

• Try to meet the real estate agents that are going to open houses
• Utilize the internet and search for agents
• Consult friends or family in the area are and get recommendations
• Search and contact those agencies that are advertising houses in the area

Once you find an agent you are comfortable with, you should stay with that agent through the entire process even if you look in other areas.

What to Look for in a Rental

Here are some suggestions of things you should look for when choosing a rental property:

• The average rent in the area
• The neighborhood requirements
• The distance and travel time to your job
• The schools that are in the area if you have children
• The various shopping malls and outlets in the area
• The pharmacies, hospitals, and clinics located in the area

More Ways to Rent a Property

Here are some ways that real estate agents make renting a property easy:

• If in case any legal issues occur, the estate agent takes full responsibility
• You save your time and money that has to be invested in searching the rental property
• Real estate agents act as assets when negotiations have to be done with property owners
• Agents sort through the details, including the state laws, conditions of the market, and the qualification required to qualify as a renter

If you pay your real estate agent the desired fee, they will make your home searching easier along with providing you a wide range of options to choose from. Although, you have to keep in mind that it is recommended to check the houses yourself and make sure that it does not have any legal paperwork, technical issues, or societal issues.

While real estate agents can help find you a good rental property, you will also need to be proactive in your searches. Real estate agents will often be the homeowner’s agent and don’t gain much commission from rental properties, so doing your searches and research will be essential to finding yourself the perfect rental property.

 

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

The small business restaurant is one of the more challenging businesses to own. Chain restaurants have the advantage of national or global ad campaigns that benefit franchise owners, but the small business restaurant must use creative strategies to get enough business to succeed. These strategies also need to be low to no-cost to help the business while not eating away profits. Here are marketing strategies that will get people ordering, eating, sharing, and returning, that won’t break the bank.

Promotions and Coupons

While the taste and quality of the food served will be the biggest draw for a restaurant, customers will be equally concerned with cost. Offering coupons on the next meal or running specials and promotions will keep them returning as much as the excellent food. Even higher-end restaurants can benefit from promotions and coupons. While exclusivity can take a restaurant far, there are certain points in a restaurant’s life when the business takes a dip. All restaurants can be creative in how they make offers to their clients while keeping with the brand’s reputation.

Website

Having a business website featuring your menu and information is a must for a restaurant. The website should be inviting and include pictures of mouth-watering food, and the warm atmosphere customers can expect when they visit. An added attraction that could bring your restaurant more business through the website is to have an online ordering feature. This feature will allow take-out customers to peruse your menu longer, often resulting in added items they may not add if ordering over the phone.

Social Media

The most effective social media platforms for small business restaurants are Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. All of these platforms allow the restaurant to interact directly with both regular and potential customers. Posts on social media should focus on the restaurant, the food, information, and engagement. The goal is to increase your online presence to help potential customers find your restaurant.
 

Reviews

Don’t be afraid to ask customers to review your restaurant. Many potential customers use search engines to find new restaurants to try in their area. When deciding to try something new, online reviews play a significant role in driving your restaurant’s traffic. Giving special offers, discounts, or free food or drinks in exchange for a review is a low-cost way to drive significant traffic to your restaurant.
 

Blogging

Adding a blog to your already engaging website can bring more traffic to discovering your restaurant. The content needs to be keyword-heavy, simple, and engaging. Use your website analytics to discover what search words bring traffic to your site and make sure every blog includes those words. Using humor and including community interests, and featuring food and restaurant staff will have people want to try you out.

 

Recipes and Cooking Classes

Believe it or not, though many people love eating out, so they don’t have to cook when they cook at home, they like to duplicate some of their restaurant favorites. A way to get more customers in the door is to offer your top chefs cooking demos while not giving away all your secrets. Even sharing recipes online for favorites will get people coming to your site and either ordering food or bringing them to your restaurant. The bottom line is, people love to learn something and interact with the chefs. This could be an easy way to draw in new and returning customers.

 

Interaction

Outside of digital marketing strategies, you should employ other tried and true marketing approaches. Run ads in local publications as can be afforded, attend community events, hand out free samples, and use flyers and signage.  Interacting with potential customers will get them in, and your food and atmosphere will keep them coming back.

 

Conclusion

When running a small business restaurant, marketing is the most important element in your business’s success outside of the food quality. Everyone knows most restaurants fail within the first three years, but your restaurant doesn’t have to be part of that statistic. Implementing these simple marketing strategies will make your small business restaurant the hottest game in town in no time!

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Being an entrepreneur in itself is a risk. You risk money, time, and sanity, deciding to own and operate your own business. But most entrepreneurs will say that the risk is worth the reward because owning your own business and having some control over your career and financial destiny is a powerful position in which to be. Here are some risks every business owner should be aware of and how to manage them to lead you to success.

Market Risk

Market risk refers to the risk of loss due to fluctuations in the market. Everyone knows that if you are in business, your business is vulnerable to what is happening in the market. To minimize this risk-taking a toll on your business, an entrepreneur needs to plan how to ride out market downturns. Most successful entrepreneurs navigate the downturns by prepping a safety net when the market is strong. You know your business better than anyone else and should know your business’s strengths and weaknesses and what it offers. Having a strategy in place to combat market fluctuations will lessen or even eliminate this risk and thus limit stress.

Competitive Risk

Competitive risk refers to how direct or indirect competition impacts your business. Unless you have a product or service that no one else in the world has, every business has a competitive risk. Start-ups, in particular, are vulnerable to this risk due to competition with well-established companies with the same product or service. However, this risk can be seriously diminished by researching the competition. Learning what works for them and their weaknesses can help you form strategies to give you a competitive edge over the competition, even if they have been in business longer.

Credibility Risk

Credibility risk refers to the risk when putting out a new product or service in the market. It is a proven fact that consumers are more willing to try a new product from a brand they already trust. Building your brand from the beginning will eliminate any risk when offering new products or services or making any significant changes to the business. Even if a new product or service fails to be a hit with consumers, you will retain loyal customers if they trusted your brand before the failure. 

Technology Risk

Technology risk refers to the risk of losses due to technology failures. This risk is incredibly risky for those businesses that are technology-based or dependent. Even if your company is not technology-based, even a website crash could spell significant revenue loss for a business. This risk is easy to minimize by investing in reliable and up-to-date software and performing regular security checks and maintenance. Data breaches are a huge technological risk due to how much sensitive data can be accessed. 

Financial Risk

Financial risk refers to the risk that the company’s cash flow will not meet its financial obligations. This risk is shared by every business that exists and is the biggest concern of an entrepreneur. Financial risk isn’t limited to cash flow issues; it also relates to funding sources.  Financial risk for the business owner can never be eliminated. However, it can be minimized by having a stable accounting system and by vetting investors.

Conclusion

Risks are a part of life, but that is especially true for the entrepreneur. Knowing what the business risks are and how to minimize or eliminate them will keep you in business despite the risks. Knowing the different types of risks and how they affect your business can help you ride out the fluctuations and sail through a downturn.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Most people don’t think of death in terms of their funeral and the costs associated, and often leave family members unprepared for the costs. Some life insurance policies will include death benefits that can be used towards funeral and final expenses. When choosing a life insurance policy, if you already hold life insurance, ask your agent about adding death benefits to your policy. The main importance is to get something in place now. The burden that a funeral and final expenses can have on the loved ones left behind can be overwhelming.

If you don’t carry or cannot carry life insurance or you want to carry separate insurance for end of life expenses, there are two funeral life insurance policies that are specifically designed to relieve your loved ones of this expense in their time of grief. Burial insurance and preneed funeral insurance. These life insurance types allow you to finance your funeral in advance, but there are some differences between the two you need to understand before deciding on which will best suit you and your family’s needs.

Burial Insurance

Burial insurance is a policy designed to cover your funeral or cremation expenses when you die. Burial insurance policies can vary between companies that offer life insurance, and like other life insurance policies, it comes in both term and whole life. Generally, death benefits for burial insurance are low, ranging anywhere between $5,000 up to $25,000.

Burial life insurance pays the death benefit directly to your beneficiary. It can then be used to finance your funeral and cover other final expenses in any way the beneficiary chooses. If they receive a higher benefit than the funeral cost, it is up to their discretion on how they use the remaining amount. It is often used to pay debts left behind or other final expenses.

Preneed Funeral Insurance

Preneed funeral insurance is also designed to finance your funeral before your death, similar to burial insurance. The main difference is that the funeral costs are predetermined, including services, merchandise, and church and burial services. It can also protect the costs from going up on the funeral expenses. These expenses are a locked-in, negotiated cost at the time of the insurance purchase.

Another difference from burial insurance is that instead of paying your beneficiary benefits when you die, the money goes directly to the funeral service provider of your choosing. This policy is paid in full once the negotiated amount is met through premiums, and the policy remains in effect for the entirety of your life. This policy will relieve your loved ones of the funeral costs and stresses. 

Conclusion

The arrangements are premade, which leaves little to deal with for those left behind after your death. However, there is no additional death benefit that can go towards final expenses or unpaid debt.

Both burial and preneed funeral insurance are beneficial to your loved ones after your death. It would be best if you determined which would better benefit them by deciding whether you will leave behind debt or other expenses or not. You also can prepay and plan your funeral directly with the funeral home of your choosing. This option would be similar to preneed funeral insurance. Instead of the funeral home receiving the payment at the time of your death, you will pay the costs in full directly to the funeral home, who will execute your plans once you’ve passed. Whatever option you choose, financing your funeral before your death is a great relief to your loved ones once you are gone.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.