Smart business focuses on creating strategic money systems that guarantee the accumulation of wealth and profit over time. Instead of magically appearing in one big whopping check, this growth is incremental. But its consistency pays off.

The most important component to running any business is consistent cash flow. Without this basic foundation, every other part of your vision will crumble. The key to ensuring a constant stream of support for your business is establishing a financial wheelhouse. What does this mean, exactly? A financial wheelhouse is a steady flow of cash on which you rely to support your basic financial needs. It’s the tried-and-true product or service that generates consistent revenue for your business month after month. It isn’t necessarily glamorous or trendy, but it’s reliable. You can count on it to keep your business afloat.

Many companies make the sad mistake of flip-flopping their services and products, trying to stay on top of the most current trend. They become enamored of chasing shiny new objects, and ditch their financial wheelhouse for the latest craze in an attempt to stay ahead of the game. Ironically, this is the exact recipe for falling behind.

For example, a window and door company showing consistent sales on these two products would be foolish to suddenly invest all of their resources into a screened-in porch service, just because porches may seem to offer more revenue and are a new trend in the market. What if the screened-in porch venture is a big hit today, but dies out in three months? The business has no financial security to fall back on because it committed the cardinal financial sin: it abandoned its bread-and-butter wheelhouse.

Gambling your company’s livelihood on a trend is never a smart move. It’s a dance with stupidity and financial disaster. Remember, a fad is just that. It won’t last. Don’t invest all your money in a product or service that’s not going to be relevant in a year or two. Trendy opportunities that dangle large profits before you may be seductive, but they don’t guarantee that money will always be around when it’s time to pay the bills. We like to quote the 90s pop trio, TLC, when talking about this concept, “Don’t go chasing waterfalls [big chunks of commission or profits that you may end up chasing forever]. Stick to the rivers and lakes that you’re used to [your wheelhouse!].”

Investing in what consistently sells, no matter how bland or unremarkable it may seem, is an investment in your company’s longevity. Never ditch your wheelhouse. Cash flow is more important than a hip image. Appearances get you nowhere if you can’t pay your mortgage.

 

 

This article is an excerpt from the book “The Whiteboard: Go from Blank Canvas to a Productive, Leveraged, & Highly-Profitable Business” by Chris Haddon and Jason Balin. Please click here to see more.