With consumer debt on the rise, and some Federal laws making it harder for small businesses to get loans in smaller amounts, many people are struggling to build or sustain their business. In an effort to find a solution, business owners are constantly looking for the best systems and the latest tactics in marketing to get more sales.
While many of the marketing strategies out there are valuable tools, they aren’t the only things that drive sales. If you’re a business owner looking to drive your success, there’s something else you can do to help your situation – get out of debt.
You may be wondering what getting out of debt has to do with building a successful business. Well, success isn’t something you can buy for $97 on the internet and deploy out of the box. Success is ultimately derived from developing specific ways of being.
Here’s how it’s all connected:
- Getting out of debt creates the space for creativity. Nothing takes up your mental capacity like stress, and nothing creates more stress than worrying about financial obligations to your creditors. Having personal debt hanging over your head can create a subconscious weight that clouds your creative faculties. When this weight is lifted, you can regain your creativity and more business ideas will flow.Getting out of debt also helps you regain happiness that seems to disappear in direct proportion to rising debt. According to Ryan Howell, the Associate Professor of Psychology at San Francisco State University, being in debt “may even completely eliminate all the happiness that you can get from spending your money.”In other words, if you’re in debt, the stress that comes from being in debt might eliminate the joy of spending your hard earned cash. What’s the point of building a business and generating more sales if you’re not going to be able to enjoy it?
- Getting yourself out of debt forces you to become more resourceful and strategic with your finances. This is a skill you can heavily apply to your business. If you can’t figure out how to get yourself out of personal debt, you’re going to have a difficult time figuring out how to run a successful business.
- Getting out of debt fosters integrity. People who make the effort to pay back their debts are acting in integrity and that integrity is the foundation of their business life as well. Create integrity in your personal life and it will develop in your business life, too.One of the ways to show integrity with your debts is to pay off debts that have been charged off. There is a common misunderstanding that once a debt has been charged off, it’s no longer owed. You are still legally obligated to pay charged off debts, they’ve just been removed from the books as an asset. This usually happens when a debt is over 180 days past due and the creditor believes it’s unlikely to be paid back.Integrity is the foundation for success, period. It’s the glue that holds both personal and business relationships together. Without it, there’s no real trust, and people don’t like to do business with people they can’t trust.Every little thing you do to restore your integrity in your personal life makes a huge difference in your business because the common denominator between you and your business is always you. You’re running the show, you’re driving the ship. Since you are the engine running your business, your integrity is the lifeblood of your business.
Financial and material success may come and go, but integrity is forever. When you build a reputation on integrity, you’ll have long-term loyal customers and clients who will be there, even when you go through tough times. Besides, many people prioritize service over price, so even if your prices are higher, when you have a high level of integrity, those people will always choose you.
You are your business
At the end of the day, getting out of debt can give you the space you need to achieve your dreams both in your personal life and your business life. When you find a way to pay down your personal debt, you’ll achieve a sense of resolve that you’ll carry with you when handling your business finances and debts. You’ll know that anything is possible, and you won’t be carrying around your past and letting it affect your future.
