How to convey ideas to self and others?

Just this morning I was reading the NYTimes on-line and ran across a great visual addressing all the ideas of money, finance, planning for the future that each and every one of us considers.  It was done in such a unique and creative way I just had to share it.

Here it is -  The Sketchpad: Personal Finance on a Napkin  It draws you into exploring what the ideas are about and hopefully gets you thinking about where you stand and how you would rate yourself.

As we have all learned over time, no one person has the correct answer for all which is why it is important that we take responsibility for educating ourselves about money and the ideas around managing it.  Not that we have to be a whiz at every aspect of financial planning, investments, life insurance, as that makes no sense, but it is our responsibility to ourselves to have at least a global understanding so we can choose people who can help us get to where we want to go.

That, of course, suggests that we know where we are going.  I think that answer isn't always available to folks who work hard in a jobs that only allow them to cover their basic needs.  If you are just living check to check, you may not be able to take the time to think about the future or even believe there is a financial future for you.  But believe me, even those folks who can only save a few dollars here and there are trying to plan for tomorrow.

Take a look at this article and enjoy it's message.  Hopefully for those of you who, like myself, are visual learners, you'll start thinking again how you can better manage your own personal finances.

Tracking your Progress

How do you keep yourself motivated?  How do you link your marketing efforts to results? 

Without thinking we are always working to build our business.  When you are relaxing or cycling, taking a walk or even watching your favorite TV program...your mind is probably drifting to thoughts on how to get more business and create more success.  I don't know about any of you but I am always thinking about how to build my business.  Sometimes I wish I could shut my brain off and stop the process but right now it is so important to me to make ends meet that I am almost obsessed with the idea.

One thing I have done from the very beginning is to keep a journal of everything I do.  If I send out marketing letters I write down how many and to whom they went.  If I put an ad on Craigslist I write it down.  If I call someone and have a conversation about business...I write it down.  If I am actually working for a client I write it down.  Writing it down is important for me.

Why???  Because I review constantly what I've done and where I need to follow-up.  As I've said before and stressed over and over following up is key to getting to where you want to go.  If you have no record of all the effort you've made to get clients, there will be days when you feel like you're going nowhere...spinning your wheels and it "just ain't so!" 

So to stay motivated and feeling good about moving forward find a way that works for you.  Track your progress so you can evaluate results.  What did you do that got you a client?  What did you do that provided nothing towards your effort?  Did the cold calling prove to be a good investment of time?  Did you follow up with these people?  Continue to search your book and you'll find the questions that are specific to your efforts and they will show you that you're working hard to build your business...and that will get you up and working each and every day!

How do you think about money?

Sometimes I like to discuss the role money has played in a client's life.  When they were growing up how did they view it, experience it?  How did their parents manage it?  Was there secrecy around it?  A sense of never having enough?  Did your parents ever have problems related to money?

The reason these types of discussions are valuable is because the answers are filled with reasons as to why you may be challenged with managing money or paying bills or never feeling like you have enough or feeling like you're entitled to spend as much as you want.

Relating back to your business or self-employment, if you are not sure of yourself and feel like managing money is overwhelming, it will be a challenge to take charge of both your business finances and personal finances.  Some spending habits may begin to creep in as you make money in your business but don't really know where all the money is going.

Business and money go together and learning how to do simple things that help you account for your income and manage your spending will lead you to feeling better about the process and increase your confidence in the fact that you can manage your money.