Personal finance is (need COLIBRI state the obvious?) an area of critical importance for both women and solopreneurs.
However, just because it’s critically important doesn’t mean it needs to be boring, dry, or scary. Standard advice usually includes some version of the Wikipedia article below.
Read it. It has plenty of useful information to help you get together before you launch your new life as a solopreneur.
The Wikipedia Version of Personal Finance Tips for Solopreneurs
Here is what Wikipedia has to say about personal finance and the tips they offer:
A key component of personal finance is financial planning, which is a dynamic process that requires regular monitoring and reevaluation. In general, it involves five steps:
Assessment:
A person’s financial situation is assessed by compiling simplified versions of financial statements including balance sheets and income statements. A personal balance sheet lists the values of personal assets (e.g., car, house, clothes, stocks, bank account), along with personal liabilities (e.g., credit card debt, bank loan, mortgage). A personal income statement lists personal income and expenses.
Goal setting:
Having multiple goals is common, including a mix of short term and long term goals. For example, a long-term goal would be to “retire at age 65 with a personal net worth of $1,000,000,” while a short-term goal would be to “save up for a new computer in the next month.” Setting financial goals helps to direct financial planning. Goal setting is done with an objective to meet certain financial requirements.
Creating a plan:
The financial plan details how to accomplish the goals. It could include, for example, reducing unnecessary expenses, increasing the employment income, or investing in the stock market.
Execution:
Execution of a financial plan often requires discipline and perseverance. Many people obtain assistance from professionals such as accountants, financial planners, investment advisers, and lawyers.
Monitoring and reassessment:
As time passes, the financial plan must be monitored for possible adjustments or reassessments.
Typical goals most adults and young adults have are paying off credit card and/or student loan debt, investing for retirement, investing for college costs for children, paying medical expenses, and planning for passing on their property to their heirs (which is known as estate planning).
The COLIBRI Rewrite
COLIBRI has issues with this version of personal finance tips for solopreneurs because it lacks beauty, imagination and, well, juice. The Wikipedia version might actually discourage you from taking responsibility for your finances because it sounds so boring and unpleasant.
Yes, COLIBRI gets the importance of paying off credit card debt, but, seriously, it’s no way to vision your life.
When you think of personal finance, consider thinking BIG (and COLIBRI isn’t talking big in terms of dollar amounts, although that might be important, too.) and BOLD. Here goes:
Appraisal.
Doesn’t this recall fine gems or works of art? Think of your life as an art collection and appraise it. How much is it worth? What needs to go? How can make it really world-class? Go on; you get the picture (tee hee, get it?).
Desire mapping.
What do you really, really want? What truly motivates you? How would you express it in dollars? Or euros? Be brave and be honest. No one else has to know.
Create a design.
Go no further than Apple. Great design is great for business. Design your life and your finances. Think about how you want it to look and feel. Remember, all great design is based on smooth functioning. So make it beautiful and make it work.
Fulfillment.
Now get going. Fulfillment means that you achieve your desires through actions. No, this isn’t the part where COLIBRI says it will be easy. This is the part where she says it will be worth it.
Revamp.
Revamp means renovating and reconstructing. Plus, it sounds like vamp, which is a seductive woman. So, my little vamps, take time regularly to renovate and reconstruct your life.
The above steps were meant to be repeated. You will never stop reinventing yourself. So, as COLIBRI likes to say, get going!
Your Turn
If you were to rewrite Wikipedia’s personal finance tips for solopreneurs, how would you say it?
P.S. You may have noticed that today is Thursday and not Saturday. COLIBRI is now publishing on Thursdays instead of Saturdays.
P.P.S. Look forward to a guest post by Chloe Bregman next week.
Citations
Tabaka, Marla. Survival Tips for Solopreneurs. Inc., February 7, 2011
Wikipedia. Personal Finance.
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