Wedding venue owners are talented humans. They juggle hundreds of events, work tirelessly throughout the week and weekends, balance communication to brides and venue owners, all while maintaining a beautiful property. Some handle the stress of adding on food and beverage services, complicated wedding events, and stressful weekends to make dreams come true.
This is not an exhaustive list of their talents, but this does show there is a lot on their plate. (Bravo to you if I just described you!)When so much consumes your time and attention, other important items are shoved to the back burner. The most tragic flaw I see among Wedding Venue Owners is that they do not know their numbers.
Not knowing your numbers can lead to serious business danger. Some examples include:
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Spending more money than you make;
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Overpaying for items;
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Underpricing services;
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Accumulation of debt (and interest expense);
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Tax penalties .
You can conclude that these dangers lead to less income, less net profit, possible negative reputation, and can lead you to dig yourself into a hole that is hard to crawl out of.
We see many small businesses and venues gradually fall into a trap of “ignorance is bliss” in terms of finance. They believe that, if they do not look at their financial statements with a critical eye, they will not find danger.
This belief is fixed with the bandaid of “If I have cash in the bank then I must be doing okay” This belief is totally FALSE! It\’s a lie, and cash in the bank does not reflect true cash flow.
Wedding venue owners understand that money is coming in and money is flowing out, and they might even have a guess at how much income they brought in per year or per quarter. What they do not know is their CASH FLOW. Cash flow can answer every business’ questions about their financial stress. A few of these questions include:
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Which part of my business is most profitable?
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Which part of my business is least profitable?
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Which part of my business am I spending the most money on? (Advertising, payroll, mortgage, landscaping, etc)
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Are there monthly recurring expenses I have forgotten to cancel?
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Do I use each expense to its fullest to bring in more clients or increase employee satisfaction?
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What expenses are unnecessary compared to industry standards?
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Can I afford to pay myself more?
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Am I prepared for the unexpected ?
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Are we ready to open another venue?
…And many more! Having an extra set of eyes that is unbiased to review your financial statements is critical for making wise financial decisions in your business. They will help you KNOW YOUR NUMBERS. They will help you answer those tough questions. They also will help you be aware of potential roadblocks in the future. A business is only truly a business for as long as it can consistently pull more money in than it is spending.
Do you know your numbers? If not, maybe you know and trust someone who can help- and if no one comes to mind please reach out to us! We are here to help you know your numbers.