Financial reports can feel intimidating, especially for founders without a finance background. But understanding the basics can dramatically improve decision-making and confidence. In this practical guide, Rebecca Nankya Ssemugabi breaks down how to read a balance sheet in simple, everyday language, supported by a hands-on balance sheet generator you can try yourself. M ost founders don’t struggle with running a business. They struggle with understanding the numbers behind it. And few reports feel more intimidating than the balance sheet. But here’s the truth: a balance sheet is simply a snapshot of what your business owns, what it owes, and what’s actually yours at a specific point in time. The Balance Sheet in One Line Every balance sheet is built on one simple equation: Assets = Liabilities + Equity Assets are what the business owns Liabilities are what the business owes Equity is what belongs to the owner(s) If this equation balances, the balance sheet makes sense. A Simple Exa...
If you have been active on social media especially LinkedIn you must know Gary Vaynerchuk. He doesn't need an introduction but for the people who are unfamiliar with him let me tell you a bit about him. He is an entrepreneur, writer, CEO, marketer, founder, social media guru, and investor. He began his career on YouTube when some of you were in their diapers. He talks succinctly and his talks are inspirational and motivating not to forget - sagacious. Here are his few recent posts on LinkedIn that were full of wisdom and resonated with me.
This is obvious, but we usually forget this beautiful principle. This is the era of specialization. You can't be everything. Identify your strong points and skills and hone them. Ideally, you should concentrate on one thing initially. Once you conquer it then move to the next target. This is not only applicable to an individual but to brands and businesses as well. That's why they say that you should clearly outline your unique selling point, i.e., what sets you apart from the competition.
Empathy and Sympathy are closely related. While sympathy is good, Empathy is gold! When you see things from your audience's view, you can understand their hopes, fears, pain points, and expectations. When you understand your audience you can modify your message accordingly.
This is very true, especially for young professionals and entrepreneurs. They want to have success and have it now. But things don't work like that. It is similar to planting a garden, no matter how much acrobatics you do, you can't make a plant grow fast. It will take time. Although, the journey can be shortened a bit by following the advice of sages and mentors you need to keep your calm.
We usually think the more aggressive a leader the more successful he will be. But this is far from the truth. We have examples from religions such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and other faiths that had very compassionate and meek leaders. This doesn't mean that you should remain silent if you see something abhorrent. It does mean that you deal with this situation sympathetically. This is also applicable in the professional world as well.
In today's world where competition is fierce, we think the only relationship between competitors should be rivalry and hostility. But it shouldn't be always. You can collaborate. From the personal level (e.g., freelancers, solopreneurs) to multi-billion companies, we can collaborate, cooperate, and grow together. However, this requires an abundance mindset. I believe there is enough for everyone if we just learn to cooperate and share.
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