Learn the fundamentals of budgeting for small business. How to create an operating expense budget for your small business, with host Henry Lopez.

Show Notes page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/506-budgeting-fundamentals-small-business/ 

Why should you create an operating budget, and how to create an annual budget that helps you maximize profitability.

Henry shares some best practices and tips and the key steps to create a small business operating budget.

Creating an annual budget is a crucial exercise for small business owners, as it provides a financial roadmap for the year ahead. Here are the key steps to follow:

9 Steps to Small Business Budgeting:

1 - Review Previous Year Financial Performance 2 - Define Your Business Goals – including Revenue and Profit 3 - Estimate Fixed Costs 4 - Estimate Variable Costs 5 - Plan for One-Time Expenses 6 - Calculate Working Capital 7 - Assemble the Budget 8 - Review and Adjust 9 - Monitor & Adjust

Henry Lopez is the host of The How of Business podcast – helping you start, run and grow your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com  

Justine shares her experiences and insights from selling her small business, a successful bookkeeping business.

Show notes page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/505-justine-lackey-selling-her-business/

Justine Lackey is back on the show to share her experiences from selling her successful small business, and how she is currently helping people run and scale their own bookkeeping firms.

Justine Lackey founded one of the very first virtual bookkeeping companies in all of America, Good Cents Management. Over fifteen years she grew her firm from a one woman show to a multi-six figure, multi-state firm which she sold in 2023.

The freedom of owning her own company allowed Justine to raise her three children while never missing a school play or scrambling to find childcare on a snow day. One of proudest accomplishments though was creating an all-mom team - and giving her employees the freedom to build their job around their lives, and not their lives around their jobs.

Today, Justine teaches bookkeepers (especially moms) how to run wildly efficient, highly profitable bookkeeping businesses while staying sane and having fun.

Henry Lopez is the host of The How of Business podcast – helping you start, run and grow your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com

How to create an Annual Strategic Plan for your small business, with host Henry Lopez. Why you should create a strategic plan at the start of the new year and how to do so.

Show notes page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/504-annual-strategic-plan/ 

Henry shares best practices and tips and walks through the 10 steps to create your strategic plan – giving you a clear strategy and actionable plan to help you achieve continued success with your small business this year.

Visit the Show Notes page for this episode to get the free Strategic Action Plan Outline download.

Creating an annual strategic plan for your small business involves several high-level steps. Your annual strategic plan is a crucial tool for guiding the direction, priorities, and actions of your business over the course of this coming year.

Henry Lopez is the host of The How of Business podcast – helping you start, run and grow your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com  

How Adam Siegel launched Recurate, a tech-enabled resale service that empowers brands and retailers to establish their own integrated resale platforms directly on their e-commerce sites.

Show notes page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/503-adam-siegel-fashion-resale-business/

From Aerospace Engineering to starting a business in the fashion resale business, Adam shares his fascinating entrepreneur journey.

Brands they work with include Steve Madden, Michael Kors, Christy Sports, and many others.

Adam shares the details of co-founding and launching this business and their current business model.

Henry Lopez is the host of The How of Business podcast – helping you start, run and grow your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com  

Business owners share their Small Business Success Highlights, and host Henry Lopez shares popular resources from The How of Business.

Show notes page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/502-business-success-highlights-pt2/

On this special episode Henry Lopez (Serial Entrepreneur, Business Coach, and Host of The How of Business podcast) shares some information about The How of Business podcast and popular resources to help you start, run and grow your small business - including top book recommendations and most popular episodes from the past year.  

He also features a few of his small business coaching clients as they share their small business success highlights – they share some of the challenges they have overcome this past year and insights into how they have grown their small businesses.

Business Owners featured on this episode:

Thomas Erickson, owner of Clark Distributing Company and Vegefood.com McKay Coombs co-owner of Coombs Landscaping & Hardscapes Natasha Londono, owner of Rumbita

Top resources featured include:

Trusted Service Partners for Small Business Top Book Recommendations Most Popular Small Business Podcast Episodes of 2023

Henry Lopez is the host of The How of Business podcast – helping you start, run and grow your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com

CPA Matt Chiappetta shares Year-End Tax Considerations for Small Business Owners (starting at 10:00).

Show notes page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/501-matt-chiappetta-tax-considerations/

Matt is Henry's CPA, and he is excited to have him on the podcast to share his tips and advice on year-end tax planning for small business owners. He also shares his entrepreneur journey and why he decided to open his own business.

Matt is the CPA for Solopreneurs and small business owners.

Matt Chiappetta helps optimize the financial lives of Solopreneurs by focusing on personal and business tax planning, and all the other little details that encompass their financial life.

In his past life, Matt was the CFO of a Registered Investment Advisory firm, and Corporate Controller for a manufacturing business where he assisted with a healthy 8-figure exit for the owners.

Henry Lopez is the host of The How of Business podcast – helping you start, run and grow your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com  

Featured business owners share their Small Business Success Highlights, and host Henry Lopez shares popular resources from The How of Business.

Show notes page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/500-business-success-highlights/

On this special episode Henry Lopez (Serial Entrepreneur, Business Coach, and Host of The How of Business podcast) shares some information about The How of Business podcast and popular resources (including Top Downloads and Trusted Service Partners) to help you start, run and grow your small business.

He also features a few of his small business coaching clients as they share their small business success highlights – they share some of the challenges they have overcome this past year and insights on how they have grown their small businesses.

Featured businesses include:

• Eva Stoeger owner of Maui’s Finest Gifts
• Kaiden Routh owner of Routh Sales & Rentals
• Haley Johnson owner of Whatley Swim

Henry Lopez is the host of The How of Business podcast – helping you start, run and grow your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com

From auto garage owner to becoming a hair replacement entrepreneur, Helena Gibson shares her inspiring journey.

Show notes page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/499-helena-gibson-hair-replacement-entrepreneur/

Helena is a highly successful serial entrepreneur, operating several businesses in the cosmetology and hair loss industry.

The global hair care market size was valued at over $91 billion in 2022! And the Hair Loss Treatment Products Market is expected to grow from USD 1.90 billion in 2023 to USD 2.80 billion by 2028.

Helena shares her entrepreneur journey, including her experiences in these industries, and how she developed her latest restorative hair care product.

Helena is a licensed cosmetologist with over 18 years of experience in the hair loss industry. She is a certified wig and hair replacement specialist and seamless extensions. She also has certifications for men’s hair replacement, women’s hair augmentation, and medical hair loss.

She is a serial entrepreneur, creator of the 7-Figure Salon Academy, founder of Strut Hair Solutions, founder of Unveil Restorative Hair Care, and a single mom. She is the host of The 7-Figure Salon Podcast. And she is the author of “Lead Like a Woman: Tales from the Trenches” and “Secrets to Beautiful Hair”.

Henry Lopez is the host of The How of Business podcast – helping you start, run and grow your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com

How to price your product or service. Henry Lopez shares the fundamentals of pricing your products or services to operate a profitable small business.

Show notes page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/498-pricing-fundamentals/

Downloads available on the show notes page:

• Pricing Fundamentals for Small Business Owners
• Priceless BizNotes

How do you price your product or service to find that balance between what your target market will pay and what you need to charge to make a profit?

On this episode of The How of Business podcast for small business owners, Henry Lopez shares his approach to pricing and what he has learned from other experts about pricing for small business products and services.

Pricing Markup Calculation - 6 Steps:

1. Calculate Indirect Expenses (Overhead).
2. Calculate Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) or Cost of Sales.
3. Set Target Selling Price.
4. Calculate Break-Even Point.
5. Determine Markup.
6. Adjust Selling Price.

Henry Lopez is the host of The How of Business podcast – helping you start, run and grow your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com

Workers' Compensation Insurance for small business owners with Kevin Ring. Understanding and managing Workers' Compensation Insurance is crucial for small business owners, balancing both employee safety and benefits, and the financial impact on a small business.

Show notes page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/497-kevin-ring-workers-compensation/

Kevin shares his expert tips and in-depth knowledge on managing Workers' Comp effectively. Kevin is the Lead Workers’ Compensation Analyst at the Institute of WorkComp Professionals (IWCP), which trains both insurance agents and employers in how to build a successful workers’ comp program.

Employers have been taught that because workers' comp is mandatory, and the policy is the same no matter who they work with, that they have no control and should just shop for the lowest price. But nothing could be further from the truth!

Kevin has reviewed and analyzed over 1,200 experience mod worksheets with clients and has served as an expert witness in litigation involving the workers' comp premium audit.

Henry Lopez is the host of The How of Business podcast – helping you start, run and grow your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com