Does saving and allocating money ever feel tedious? Like your money habits are working, but maybe not serving you as well as they truly could?
At the same time, is it scary to think about doing anything different because you don’t want to break the healthy patterns you’ve finally begun to establish?
Especially if you use the Profit First method for your interior design business’ finances already, it can feel uneasy to change it once something has finally started working for you.
Well, we have good news. Profit First is built to grow and change with you and your business. You don’t have to stay stagnant or get stuck in the patterns you established one, two, or three years ago.
Maybe you’re finally seeing profits come in for your company and you feel in command and aware of what’s happening with your business’ finances, but you’re unsure of how to grow beyond where you are now.
That’s what we’re here to talk about today!
You don’t need to go through and change your foundational five bank accounts that have been serving you well for all this time. Those accounts are established well and can continue.
Aside from those accounts, it may be time to consider adding a few new accounts to your Profit First system.
If that feels scary or like it might mess everything else up – it’s okay. Truly! Profit First is built to be a “fully yours” system – customized to fit your business’s particular needs as they grow and evolve.
Here are some of our favorite ideas for implementing bank accounts that will serve your business now and in the future:
- Fun account
This is not a “frivolous” account as some may think of it. One of the core beliefs of Profit First is that setting aside money for “fun spending” shouldn’t be an afterthought!
If we only save and never experience what it’s like to reap the rewards of hard work, it’s extremely difficult to remain motivated. As humans, we’re driven by seeing the fruit of our work – and there’s nothing wrong with that!
An account like this will help you and your team celebrate when you want to, rather than wishing you had set money aside when celebrations are in order.
- Vault account
The goal of this account is to have savings for 3 months of expenses for if (or when) you face an inevitable hardship in your business.
This account is intended to be kept on true lockdown until absolutely necessary – maybe you’ve heard of an emergency fund? This is the same principle! With this account, you’ll have a safety net for the times you desperately need one.
- Labor account
This account is for clients who anticipate hiring team members in the future and want to set aside funds (and test out if it’s feasible to do so) for that purpose. Rather than suddenly realizing you need an assistant or store associate with no idea if you’re equipped to hire an employee, you can know ahead of time when it’s truly possible to hire someone new.
- Real estate account
Maybe you have a long-term goal to buy or build your own showroom rather than renting! Sometimes these dreams can feel so far away that we don’t know where to begin – so we never start saving.
Even if you only deposit 1% of your income into this account once or twice a month, that will move you further ahead than you were before. The only way to reach a goal like this is to start saving and planning in even the smallest ways – it’s always worth it to build that habit of saving for something as important as a storefront.
These bank account examples are simply ideas of how you can continue to build out your Profit First plan. Your unique business needs will determine which accounts you choose to open, but that’s the beauty of it. It gets to be up to you, because no one knows your interior design business better than you do.
The tricky part of opening new accounts can be determining how your Profit First allocation percentages have to adjust accordingly. If you need a hand crunching those numbers, you can always refer back to Profit First by Mike Michalowicz or you can give us a call! We’d love to help your company continue to thrive.
