How Financial Forecasting Helps Improve Profits

Photo by Alev Takil on Unsplash

I am grateful that our paths have crossed!

I’ve been talking a lot about Financial Forecasting lately, and maybe you are wondering why you should listen to me anyway? So, I wanted to tell you a little about myself, why I started Love Your Numbers Now, and how I became so passionate about helping entrepreneurs have up-to-date financial information they can use to their advantage.

I'm a CPA and have been in business for myself, working with small business owners like you for the last eleven years.

Before starting my business, I worked in tax and audit firms for fifteen years. I prepared the business tax returns and saw many people getting their numbers together at the last minute and often with an extension, meaning they were looking at their numbers for the past year in September or October of the following year!

(Side note - It’s not wrong to get an extension. Extending your tax return can be a good tax planning strategy, but you can get your numbers together sooner rather than later, no matter when you file your tax return.)

This means that one of the only times they really sat down and looked at what happened financially in their business was nine or ten months after the year had ended!

I saw they didn't have a good grip on their profits and were often surprised at the bottom line.

They would ask, how could I have that much profit and no cash left in the bank? And often, they didn’t have money saved for taxes which was super stressful.

I have also seen the opposite, where profits were much lower than they thought, and that was because their debt had increased. They thought they were making enough money because they could pay themselves while ignoring their debt climbing.

In addition to these surprises, they didn't get much value from looking at those numbers because they were months old.

Financial Forecasting will not only inspire you to get your bookkeeping caught up, but you will have reliable data to use to plan your profitability.

We can learn a lot when we combine what has happened in the past with what we think will happen in the future.

The past is easy to measure but hard to change.

The future is harder to predict (and you can get good at predicting when you do it every month!), but you have an opportunity to affect the future. If you don’t like what you see on the forecast, you can change it.

And, you will get clear on what expenses you can cut and how much revenue you need to make. Knowing these numbers specific to your business helps to call them in.

And it's simple. I'm going to keep saying this because it can be really simple.

The hardest part is showing up and committing to do it and facing the fears that keep you from not wanting to look at your numbers.

Along the journey we will take together in The Financial Forecasting Experience, things will come up, and you will be in a safe space to let the magic that happens when you spend this time with your numbers work on you and your business.

I have heard many reasons why people don’t look at their numbers. Can you relate to any of them?

• You may have been told you aren’t good at math.

• You may have bought into the story that you are creative, so you aren’t good with numbers.

• You may believe you have money blocks and have tried everything to break through them.

• You may not think this could possibly work because you have tried so many times to master this part of your business and life.

Don’t let these things or other negative thought patterns keep you from being in a closer relationship with your financial information!

And, you don’t have to memorize your numbers! No one is going to quiz you like on Shark Tank. Spending time with your numbers and getting the critical information you need to execute is enough!

Here is what Cindy Ingram of Art Class Curator says about her experience with Financial Forecasting:

“I cannot even begin to explain the impact that the Financial Forecasting Experience and Carol LeBlanc have had on my business (and my personal life). It is MASSIVE. I've been working closely with Carol as she has been creating this course and putting it out into the world, and you will not find a more gentle, supportive, and knowledgeable teacher to help you through what is such an emotional and trauma-filled subject. She will help you with the process, the numbers--the WHAT and HOW, but she will also be there for the WHY and the emotional support and education as you do it. Facing your money brings up a lot of emotions.

The process is magic, and since this is her first run of the course, you will never see a better price on the experience too! Happy to recommend this to anyone with a business, big or small, who needs help understanding what is happening with their money and who wants to be able to learn to predict what is happening next. It's so good, y'all.

I would bet money on you making back the cost of the program in saved expense and/or increased profits.”

As Cindy said, there is an opportunity right now for you to join the first-ever Financial Forecasting Experience. The price will never be this low, and the group will never be so intimate.

Be the first to hear when the next round of the Financial Forecasting Experience goes live. Sign up here.

Love,

Carol