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Now more than ever, it's important to focus on what you want for your family and yourself and understand what you're doing with your money.
“You have to decide how you’re going to prepare for your retirement or your children’s schooling or whatever. You need discipline. You have to be honest with yourself. There are all kinds of ways [people and things] to get advice on what you need to do.” Muriel Siebert, President, Muriel Siebert & Company, Inc. The money game may seem to be one thing or another depending on whether you are  starting a business or working in a corporation, but in fact there are many basic similarities. Whether you run your own business or department or are just starting out in a company, it’s important to know what constitutes acceptable profit margins, how to interpret daily and weekly sales reports, how to understand profit and loss statements, and how to forecast budgets and cash flow. You can’t make good decisions in any business setting if you don’t have a firm grasp of the basics; nor can you participate at higher levels and advance your career if you can’t speak the language of money and finance. How do you go about gaining financial know-how, especially if it seems a foreign and intimidating subject? Muriel Siebert, first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, know it is simply a process of increasing your sophistication through experience and of actively educating yourself. Muriel Siebert built her entire business life on an aggressive and creative approach to money—its management and its uses. Called the “First Woman of Finance,” Muriel says, “Money is a very important topic.” Yet, she realizes that it is not an area that comes as easily to others as it does to her. “I found in college and after that I have a talent: I can look at a page of numbers and they light up and tell me a story. Business was a natural place for me to be. In my first job I was a security analyst and was studying companies and writing reports. My accounting knowledge was very important in my ability to find stocks through cash flow or for whatever reason.” The first step to developing the kind of discipline needed to become financially savvy is taking responsibility for your financial education. Knowledge of financial issues, in turn, positions you for personal and professional success. Muriel suggests going to financial seminars, continuing education courses, and familiarizing yourself with software programs for managing personal finances. The Internet also offers helpful forums on business and finance. You can’t learn it all overnight, nor do you have to go it alone. Here are five important suggestions that can serve as a basis for developing greater financial skill and expertise: - Understand the big financial picture
- Take charge of learning what you need to know
- Make sure you get paid what you’re worth
- Research and write your own business plan
- Set solid financial goals
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