Recently Chas, a reader of my articles, asked me if I had any advice to offer “someone stepping down the scary road of keeping track of the ins and outs” of business and life.

This weekend, while I worked on my personal and business budgets for the year, I thought back to this question. And then while working with a client on her plan for getting back on track in 2009, it popped into my mind again.

And then, once more, when a prospective client confided that he simply has no idea how much he’s been making or spending in his business (or his personal life), choosing instead to use a method I refer to as “bank balance budgeting.”

That amazing question kept coming back to visit me and give me food for thought.

So I’ve been thinking about it and it’s really clear to me that Chas is absolutely right. It really is scary at times, isn’t it?

Sometimes not knowing how much you’re making and spending feels like safety. Sometimes it feels better to just coast along – hoping, praying, doing.

But after my budgeting exercise this weekend, which refreshed my memory… and seeing the difference the process of bringing clarity into your dealings with money has with my clients… I’m certain that walking through the fear to come out on the other side with an understanding of your fiscal reality is crucially important.

Sometimes it’s those first few steps down the path that are the most difficult to take.

It’s a new and different path, one you may not have ever traveled before. And you’re uncertain. You’re a bit cautious and maybe even fearful. Which makes total sense to me.

I have also found, that in most cases, the fears we have of the things we don’t want to face? They are often much worse than the true reality at hand. Many people I’ve worked with first arrive in my world with a paralyzing fear that their business is losing money every month and that there’s simply no way to turn it around. They are so certain that the numbers are going to be horrible that they don’t even want to take a peek, not to mention really look at all of those figures in one place.

But what we find to be true almost all of the time is that their business is actually doing better than they expected and now that we have some clarity and insight, we can actually make really effective choices that substantially improve their fiscal reality.

Whether we look at the facts or not, they are still the facts. And if we do look at them, and seek to understand them, then we have empowered ourselves to make a difference and change our fiscal reality for the better.

So my simple advice to “someone stepping down the scary road of keeping track of the ins and outs” of business and life is “GO FOR IT!”

Take that first step. Ask questions if you’re not sure how to move ahead. Find someone who can support you as you travel down this new and different path. Face the fear, knowing that it’s worth facing.

Don’t turn back. Forge ahead and know that only good can come from your willingness to see the details of how money is flowing in and out of your business and your life. Know that this is a path that will lead to informed decisions, fiscal clarity, and the potential of increasing abundance!

We cannot fix what we do not face. If you’re wishing for change in your fiscal reality, start down this new and yes, sometimes scary, path today. You’re not alone and you can do it. Go for it!

 

By Jessica Reagan Salzman