Newsletter: March 01, 2006

Business Q & A Q. What is a budget and why do I need one? A. The budget process is a vibrant and necessary tool to building a successful company. A budget is the combination of your current financial status and where you want to take your company financially; a budget enables you to chart this course strategically. After creating a snapshot of your current business health you then can have fun charting your financial course into the future: "what if" scenarios, expansion plans, growth or turn around actions are all part of the budget process. Without this tool you are on a Sunday drive with no destination; but with the budget tool you have goals, and measurements of success are readily available. The process should include your management team and employees. The better you perform at bringing everyone on the same "budget page", the better chance of meeting your financial and business goals. Planning your budget should be an annual event that is looked forward to as a tool that has the power to make the greatest impact on your practice. Personal Tip The Impact of the HEART Here is a simple exercise to try: breath deeply through your heart and out, like rays of light through your head. Hold it and experience what it feels like to be from your heart rather than from your head. It is this simple tool that can be used to move out of the issues and dramas of the day. The heart is a choice and the more frequently you allow the heart to flow through the head, the more likely you are to be capable of moving in and out of the brain/mind at will. You can become master of the brain rather than it leading you through the day. Of course, we can't do without the brain – but we can do with a little more control over it! Language of Cash Flow COST OF SALES EXPENSES Cost of Sales Expenses are the direct costs of your business. These could be seen as the core costs and fluctuate with sales volume. Items like direct labor, payroll taxes, employee benefits, materials, inventory purchases and subcontractors are all examples of direct expenses. These should be no more than 70% of revenues. Budgeting will identify if there is a direct cost problem and then address a strategic cure for what is ailing your practice. Your other expenses, administrative & overhead will be covered in our next newsletter. Tools Q&A FOR HIRE – FREE!   Mark@WellnessCapital.com Send me a question and I will answer it in a short e-mail response. If I use the question in our newsletter, I will trade you an hour of my time! You can't loose on that offer. If you are interested in the "BUDGET PROCESS" consider having WCM provide an individual budget workshop for you. It takes only a few hours and you will have a planning tool that is indispensable to the health of your business.