With anxiety rising across the nation due to inflation and economic uncertainty, many entrepreneurs find themselves struggling to stay afloat and scrambling for answers. Tiffany Ford, known as “The Small Biz Guru,” is helping small business owners to weather the storm by offering important advice and strategies for financial increase and productivity.
As the owner of two schools (six locations), a performing arts academy, an event space and real estate investment properties, Ford epitomizes what it means to be an entrepreneur. Since starting her first business in 2009, the Southwest Philly native has learned not only to overcome adversity, but also to draw from her creativity to find solutions for overcoming her challenges. From her experiences, she concludes that the lack of proper tools, poor money management, and the inability to delegate is what often hinders many small business owners.
“In my consultations, I have been emphasizing the involvement of team members and delegation. That has been the key for me from day one,” Ford said. “I also assist my clients in understanding how to use project management tools. For example, Asana and Basecamp are two great programs for delegating tasks and overseeing the management and completion of projects.”
With the holiday season ending and the first quarter of 2023 in progress, money can be harder to come by for business owners struggling to manage their processes. This reality will only be exacerbated if they aren’t making the best decisions with their money.
Numerous national surveys indicate that more than 80% of small business owners say inflation is heavily impacting their profits. Even for Ford, the economic landscape calls for spending to be reassessed so that money is not going where it doesn’t need to go. She indicated that recently, she let go of an agency she was paying for accounts receivable, instead bringing the task in-house for a current team member to handle. The cost-cutting measure drastically lowered the expenses.
“In this season what I’m finding is that everyone is on this cusp of change. My best advice is to eliminate those things that are unnecessary, but pay close attention to the things that you need,” she said. “Sometimes in business we have these things we are paying others for instead of trying to get those same services from the people we already have.”
2022 was a year full of mixed messages, so no one truly knows what the future holds. Still, with rumblings of a recession in the air, and remnants of the COVID-19 pandemic still lingering, preparation and proactivity is essential. Everyone is not playing it safe. Some entrepreneurs are actively pursuing the opportunities that may exist in the midst of the chaos.
“I think it is extremely important to be creative and diversify within your own business,” Ford said. “When most people think of different streams of income, they think they have to start new businesses, jobs or side hustles. But, you can and should have seven streams of income within your current business. I show people how to do that so they can scale and stay afloat even when tough times come, and they will come.”
For more information on Tiffany Ford “The Small Biz Guru,” visit her website at tiffanythesmallbizguru.org or follow her on Instagram at @tiffany_thesmallbizguru.