March, 2021 - EFC Uganda

25Mar2021

Personal finance tips every entrepreneur should know.

Personal Finance Tips Every Entrepreneur Should Know

Being an entrepreneur is a lot more demanding — both physically and mentally — than most people think. The majority of entrepreneurs work far more than 40 hours a week, and most don’t make nearly as much money as they would if they were working a corporate job in a comparable field. Entrepreneurs are also responsible for all of their financial obligations outside of the business, including insurance, savings and retirement. While it can be easy to remain laser-focused on your business, it’s important to look to the future and plan accordingly.

Eventually, retirement will face you head-on, and if you aren’t prepared, it could be a rude awakening. There are also surprises that you could face while running your business that you need to be prepared for. Being prepared for the worst-case scenario is always the best approach.The entrepreneurial path can be rewarding, and it can also be extremely stressful and full of challenges. Here are some personal finance tipsthat will help you navigate the entrepreneurial journey and prepare you for the future, as well as protect you along the way.

Create a personal monthly budget

It’s important to be disciplined when it comes to your finances, especially when you are starting a business. The leaner you can run both your business and your personal life, the more money you can continue to roll back into the business and fuel its growth. Many entrepreneurs focus on looking successful rather than becoming successful. Avoid large homes, fancy cars, expensive dining and other unnecessary expenses.

Create a budget containing the bare necessities along with a little extra for entertainment (you have to get out and enjoy yourself on occasion)! When you have a set plan and stick to it, you set yourself and your business up for success.

Invest in quality insurance products

When you are your own boss, that leaves all outside responsibilities on your shoulders, and one of the most important is insurance. Don’t try to take shortcuts when it comes to protecting yourself and your business.Get a strong health insurance policy that covers you and your family, and be sure to have life and disability insurance in place. It is always better to prepare for the worst possible situations rather than try to save a few shillings.

One thing many entrepreneurs overlook is business insurance. It doesn’t matter if you have a global business with thousands of employees and you are selling millions of physical products a month, or you are a solopreneur. Protect yourself with a business insurance policy that covers liability for whatever it is you sell.

Allocate money towards an emergency fund monthly

Most business owners don’t have a reserve saved up that would allow them to operate for several months without revenue coming in. The COVID-19 situation forced a lot of businesses to close for good because they couldn’t keep the lights on. Put money into a business savings account each month. Hopefully, you will never have to touch these funds, and they will continue to build over time. But, in the unfortunate event of an emergency, the savings will help you stay above water.

It’s also a good idea to have at the very least 3 months’ worth of operational expenses saved up to cover everything, assuming there will be no incoming revenue. If you can, 6 months of reserves is ideal.

Avoid personal debt at all costs

To build and run a successful business, you need to eliminate as many stressful situations as possible. This allows you to focus more on the tasks at hand. One of the biggest real-life causes of stress involves debt.Mountains of personal debt can pull your focus away from your business. Avoid debt at all costs, and if you must borrow some money, do everything possible to pay it back quickly.

Many entrepreneurs try to live beyond their means, and if they just cut back in the early stages and focused on building a successful business, the money and financial freedom would come faster.

18Mar2021

How to stay safe while banking and buying online

How to stay safe while banking (and buying) online

The internet has undoubtedly made banking and finance more accessible than ever before. Now, anyone can quickly access funds or make purchases online with just a few clicks.But that convenience also means that your private financial information is vulnerable to being exposed online. And with identity theft and other financial related crimes resulting in billions of losses every year, it’s important to make sure your financial information is as protected as possible.

Luckily, there are a few easy steps you can take to make sure you are in a better position to protect your financial information. In a lot of ways, the easiest way to do that is to adopt some easy online safety habits to use with your financial-related information.

Your first line of defense when it comes to your financial life is your bank account. With the majority of people now using online banking, ensuring that your account is well guarded is of the utmost importance. Although the digital security of banks has improved, like most things online, your account is only as safe as your password is strong. The simplest and arguably most important step you can take to lock down your account is to use a strong and unique password.

Step 1: Creating Strong Passwords with a Password Manager

Given how difficult it can be to remember all the passwords you use online, many people resort to using the same password or similar passwords across services. This is the biggest mistake you can make. If another service you use online is compromised and your password uncovered, hackers can then use that information to break into your other accounts.

In order to stay protected, your best bet is to use a password manager.

These tools will not only generate unique and strong passwords for you, but will store them safely on your computer or phone as well. All you have to do is remember a master password that locks the password manager itself.

Step 2: Further Securing Your Account with Two-Factor Authentication

Now that you have set a unique and strong password, your next step is to enable Two-Factor Authentication, or what is often referred to as 2FA.

This is a security method that requires you to provide a second way of authenticating your identity in order to access your account.

To enable 2FA, check the security settings in your bank account or reach out to your bank for help. While most banks offer 2FA, some smaller banks may not. If 2FA is unavailable, make sure to let your bank know that it is a feature that should absolutely be offered to customers.

Your bank may offer multiple types of 2FA.

One example would be SMS-based 2FA. In this instance, after you put in your password, your bank would text you a unique code (One Time Pin-OTP) to enter online in order to prove that you are the one logging into your account.

11Mar2021

Here are five reasons to get a business loan.

Here are 5 reasons to get a business loan.

1.To expand your business

If you’ve grown out of your old shoes, it’s common sense to go up a size and the same is true in a business sense. If you have too many employees squeezed into one room, or perhaps your restaurant has become over-crowded, these are classic signs that it’s time to expand.

2.To recruit and hire new talented employees

When initiating a startup or running a small business, the term ‘multitasking’ will take on a whole new meaning. You’ll reach a moment where you realize that expanding your website, dealing with customers, trying to put yourself on the map, all the while bookkeeping can become overwhelming. This will surely take a toll not only you -but the business.

If you or your employees are juggling too many things, it eliminates work quality and focus. A business model overhaul is definitely in order; investing in talented individuals will surely lead to an increase in revenue and more importantly, help to build the core foundations of your business. What’s more, is you’ll amass extra time to focus on the ‘bigger picture’ – that alone may be a solid reason to need business loan options, and there are plenty of them to be found.

To improve your business’s cash flow.

The largest percentage of businesses fail due to poor cash management. It’s all well and good building your dream business, but at the end of the day, it’s all about the money coming in that’ll help to keep your business standing tall. When obstacles stand in the way of meeting your business goals, you’ll need business loan options to keep the money flowing which will allow you to continue marketing, increasing conversion and seeking new customers to drive revenue.

To get rid of unpaid invoices

Different types of businesses come with different obstacles to overcome. For truckers, construction workers, manufacturers, and contractors, it’s fairly common to have slow-paying customers. Having too many unpaid invoices can create a drag on your business’s cash flow, which will also keep you from taking care of other important aspects of your business.

5.To update and upgrade your business equipment

Keeping your business running at full capacity oftentimes relies heavily on having properly operating equipment. But, even if your machinery is working correctly, the rate at which it completes its task may be significantly slower than a newer model. Updating your equipment can make a crucial difference to your business’s cash flow.

Here we’ve mentioned some of the most popular reasons that SMEs may need business loan options. If you’re thinking ‘that’s not why I need one’, don’t sweat. If the pros outweigh the cons and a loan will keep you from closing shop or better yet, business expansion then it’s the right way to go. You’ll have no issues in getting funding from one of our alternative business lenders who are happy to provide loans for any old reason – so long as it goes into your business that is.

At EFC, we can help you to expand your business or to simply keep it going. We business owners fast and easy access to the loans that are best suited to their business needs.

MDI

Monthly Archives: March 2021