Financial Literacy for the Entrepreneur

Every time I open my mailbox, it is stuffed with advertising asking me to spend money on financial products from banks, investment firms, insurance or credit card companies. The disclosures would require an MBA to translate; and most of them are capitalized over a decade or more.

To create enticement to follow their advice, many of these companies offer free seminars, dinners, or brochures to gain your trust and access to your wallet. Given all the often conflicting and obtuse information, how does the average businessman or woman decide on the most profitable ways to spend money in today's business market?

Be aware that most of these financial literacy seminars, etc. do not work and the sponsors know it. They also know that an "informed investor" is often a less profitable one. Think about it. It is a rare naive thought that these financial literacy 101 seminars will produce a nation of empowered consumers who will consistently make smart choices, spend money wisely, and be able to see the innate abuse of the system. The banks know this and counts on people becoming over-confident and them taking risks that the banks would never make ... or be allowed to make.

Why? Because too little knowledge can be dangerous. These programs are meant to boost your self-confidence and make you think you understand the financial industry. The truth is most of these suspects only tell you one side of the story ... and completely disregard the downside of their investments.

If you were really going to make an informed decision, you would need to understand not only the terminology and the arithmetic calculations, but have excellent comprehension of probabilities, fractions and percentages. You would also need to be able to accurately predict the future. Crystal balls anyone ?!

Business entrepreneurs do need good business savvy and financial literacy; and / or a coach who has these skills. If they have taken time to do the research, they will see that spending money on their own opportunity makes far more sense than investing in an industry where payouts are less than 1% for savings accounts and CD's and the commodities and stock market are still a fairly unregulated and volatile mess.

The financial literacy you really need is how to capitalize your own business, how to drive more traffic to your door or opportunity, and how you can increase your profits, and decrease your tax implications.

When you opt to spend money on these things and to really understand your market, competition, and the growth potential of your niche market, you will have realized real and practical financial literacy.

A recent survey done by Loyola Law School followed a group of students for 10 years post high school. The results showed that students who had financial literacy courses in high school or college actually took greater risks, incurred great debts, and filed for bankruptcy more often than the students who did not take these classes, but relied on common sense and familial knowledge when investing . This second group of students was also twice as likely to be successful entrepreneurs ... by spending money on their businesses and their dreams!

Now is the optimal time to start a new business or to expand your existing business. Investing in yourself has never made more sense. Let me work with you to make your financial dream your financial reality.