missionincdevelopment

It makes the world go round. It is the root of all evil. It makes dreams come true. It has such an impact on our lives and on our businesses that I had to write about it twice.  That’s right money. And everyone wants to know how to get it and how to keep it. 

Now I won’t call myself an expert by any means on money.  But with over 11 years experience raising money for nonprofit organizations, I can tell you that being better than I am at managing money is the way to achieve success in business.  (Now I just need to take my own advice)  Here’s why: An organization of any kind will have someone it has to answer to whether it is the Internal Revenue Service, a Donor, and Investor, a Client, or a Customer.  These are our stakeholders.  They depend upon us to make good decisions that will allow them to continue to benefit from the outstanding products and services we provide.

So first we have to get the money, And it is not as simple as reaching our hands out and asking for it.  Funders of any kind are going to require that you demonstrate the capacity to handle the responsibility they will give you. In the nonprofit world it is the responsibility to take that money and make a difference in the community. In the for profit world, it is making sure that they see a return on their investment.  In Government, it is showing that you are in fact the best man for the job and that you have the capacity to handle big projects or will most likely some day soon.

So let’s say you get the money. I almost think that is the easy part.  Business by its very nature generates revenues. But business also generates expenditures.  Expenses can be the most difficult part of managing your business. Expenses are fixed, and expenses are variable, and some expenses are unnecessary or untimely to say the least.  Businesses like people have needs and wants. It is important for a start-up business to manage those needs and wants and to try to “do without” if necessary. 

Doing without is something that comes natural to me. Not just because I came from very humble beginnings where my grandparents tried to provide for me and 8 other grandchildren, but because in the nonprofit world and in the theatre world we rinse, reuse, and recycle all the time. Don’t buy the shiny new 3 in one printer until your old ones dies. Don’t join every association just because you want people to like you, don’t meet every single person you come into contact with for lunch, and don’t purchase office space or a building until you are bringing in more than enough money to pay for it.

Like I said. Getting the money is almost the easy part. Keeping the money, not so much.

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