Square Zebra

Mula for the Muncher...

Financial fitness is something that might appear to be a strong point for me but in reality it's a high learning curve consisting mainly with "fear of failure" motivation. But for those of you who would enjoy being smarter then me - Financial Fitness for Entrepreneurs:

1. Cash is king
2. Put in real financial systems from day one
3. Measure everything
4. Build an annual operating plan
5. Use your vendors to fund your business
6. Use your customers to fund your business
7. Be careful of personal guarantees
8. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is
9. Finance your business appropriately for what you are trying to create
10. Choose professionals carefully
11. Don’t take anything for granted
12. Pay your taxes on time - Blog

Even USA Today seems to think this is a good list. (Never thought I would agree with the USA Today)

I'm just so flustered:

As mentioned in the previous post, I was at the same table as Mikelann Valterra today at lunch. Now you might ask yourself - Who is Mikelann Valterra? Why let me tell you - She is a future Oprah guest! (Oprah might not be aware of this.)

Mikelann wrote one of those books where light bulbs go off and you say "Whoa!" Basically the one that hit me was the acceptance of "Thank you" rather then monetary value. As a matter of fact, I remember stating in review once (ok, maybe every review I have ever had) that I would prefer the thank you rather then a raise. How stupid was that? Please don't mistake, a thank you is an important part of doing your job but don't substitute them for paying your bills.

Barabara Stanny eats lunch too!

I was lucky enough to score a seat at a luncheon today with presenter Barbara Stanny at the WAC. (I also sat one seat away from Mikelann Valterra! But that's for the next post.) One of my favorite Stanny books is "Prince Charming Isn't Coming." I really like that book. But today she went over 4 points of making money. Thus listed:

1 - Have the intention to earn: Say it - do it.

2 - When you think you can't... do it anyways: Be a bit uncomfortable - stretch yourself to make things happen.

3 - Ask for what you want: If your mouth is shut nothing will happen.

4 - Create a support system: Cast out those that demean your goals.

Even saying as such I think the most important point Barbara made was: "If you don't deal with your money, your money will deal with you."

Net:

I was having a quick conversation with my CPA the other day over at B&N and I mentioned to her that I wasn't sure how to prepare for taxes with Square Zebra. She smiled and said "Oh, Danielle... you don't have to worry about taxes till you make Net." To which I replied... "I don't have any other choice but to make Net!"

She's driving over Saturday to go over my accounts with me. *whew*

House Sitting...

For the next two weeks or so I am house sitting for one of my former bosses/friends her fabulous condo in the old money part of downtown. I have always found the rich a very 'rich' topic of observation. For example, my friend drinks tea out of 1800's English teacups. The middle class would simply display them in a china cabinet, not use them as every day dishes.

So last night, I'm drinking tea (out of a porcelain tea cup of course) and pondered how she got to where she is finically speaking. Here's what I have observed:

1 - She buys once. Quality over quantity.
2 - She buys small number of items that have longer return value. A hypothetical example 3 coach hand bags bought over a 15 year time span opposed to 233 target handbags.
3 - She doesn't have daily money hogs. The espressos, eating out every night, movies, etc.
4 - She sticks to a budget
5 - She invests (This is an important thing to talk about another time.)

I've been following Money Magazines "Millionaire in the Making" series. One of my favorite quotes is

"Shelly and her husband share a common philosophy when it comes to money. They don't buy anything unless there's money in the bank to pay for it. They prefer to spend more for quality even if it means waiting to buy. They shop locally whenever possible, and they discuss buying anything that costs more than $100." - article

Summery: Be a wise shopper and you too can drink out of the porcelain tea cups.

Shoe sale!

I met with a client the other day to go over, in dollar format, what was needed to get her network up to par with her current and future company goals. And even though I was only quoting hardware prices, not even my own fees, she was somewhat overwhelmed by the costs of technology.

As a teenager I believed if I made 36K a year I would be rich! Apartments only cost like 300 a month, right? And food... heck I can live off mac n cheese you just watch me. (Actually I am living off mac ‘n cheese.) Now I’m asking people to chuck out 36K for a hard drive. (OK, maybe not that much but you get the point.)

What we value in life is usually where our money goes. That’s the theory anyways. For example, I value Prada shoes. But I don’t own one darn pair. Instead I pay the PUD bill and shop the day old bread aisle in the supermarket. Thing is, even though I value Prada I understand where the money has to go.

Might not value your computer system as much as your passion in life but it sure is nice knowing you have a reliable server and an emergency battery power back up system in place. (Especially if you forget to pay your PUD bill.)

Prada shoes I would look good in...

PS - Little article mentioned in Curt's blog about re-thinking value of money which kicked off my own shoe shopping desires...