Episode 260

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Published on:

23rd Feb 2025

Financial Jargon: Breaking It Down for Business Success

Understanding Financial Jargon

Financial jargon can often feel overwhelming. However, learning these terms is crucial for business success. Comparatively, understanding financial terms is like tending to a garden—each concept plays a role in keeping your business healthy. Additionally, knowing these terms allows us to make better financial decisions.

Revenue: Planting the Seeds of Growth

Revenue is the money a business earns from selling products or services. Essentially, it acts as the seeds we plant to grow our business. The more revenue generated, the larger and stronger the business becomes. Moreover, steady revenue ensures long-term sustainability.

Profit: Harvesting the Rewards

Profit represents what remains after covering all costs. Similarly, it is the fruit of our efforts, showing whether our business is thriving. Therefore, managing expenses wisely ensures that profits remain high. Furthermore, reinvesting profits can accelerate growth.

Expenses: Nurturing the Business

Expenses are the necessary costs of running a business. Likewise, just as plants need water and fertiliser, a business requires investment in resources, marketing, and operations. However, overspending can harm financial stability. Consequently, tracking expenses closely helps maintain profitability.

Cash Flow: Monitoring the Forecast

Cash flow measures the movement of money in and out of a business. Notably, it is like watching the weather forecast—ensuring there is enough liquidity to cover expenses and avoid financial droughts. Furthermore, positive cash flow allows for expansion and new opportunities.

Assets: The Essential Tools

Assets include valuable items a business owns, such as equipment and inventory. These are the tools that keep everything running smoothly. Therefore, managing assets properly strengthens long-term stability. Additionally, maintaining assets well ensures they provide long-term benefits.

Liabilities: Controlling the Weeds

Liabilities are the debts and financial obligations a business must handle. Just like weeds in a garden, they must be controlled to prevent them from overwhelming the business. Consequently, effective debt management ensures financial health. Moreover, reducing liabilities improves financial flexibility.

Keep Your Business Thriving

Financial jargon does not have to be complicated. By understanding these essential terms, we can make informed decisions and maintain a strong financial position. Furthermore, keeping our business well-managed ensures long-term growth. Additionally, a strong grasp of financial jargon builds confidence in decision-making.

Listen to the I Hate Numbers podcast for more insights on financial success. Let’s keep our businesses thriving!

Transcript
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Understanding financial jargon. Think of your business as a garden. Imagine your business is a garden. Just like plants need water and sunlight, your business needs money to grow. But in the business world, money has its own language, financial jargon. Let's break it down simply. Revenue. It's those seeds that you plant.

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Revenue is the money your business earns from selling products or services. And just like seeds, the more you plant, i.e. sell, the bigger your garden, i.e. your business, will grow. Profit. Think of that as the fruit you harvest. Profit is what's left after you pay for everything else. Think water, think soil, think tools.

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It's the reward for all your hard work. No profit, no harvest. Expenses, equivalent to the care that you give. Expenses are the cost of running your business, just like water and fertilizer for your plants. These are necessary to keep your garden healthy and you don't want to overspend. Cash flow. Just like the weather forecast, cash flow is the movement of money in and out of your business.

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Just like you watch the weather to know when to water your plants, you need to watch, you need to track your cash flow to ensure your business has enough money to thrive. Assets. It's the tools in your shed. Now assets are the valuable things that your business owns. The equipment, the inventory, or even patents.

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These help you to keep your garden, i.e. your business, running smoothly. Liabilities. Those are the weeds in your garden. Now liabilities will represent what your business owes. The loans, your bills, just like weeds, you need to manage them carefully so they don't take over. We wouldn't want that, would we?

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By thinking of your business as a garden, financial jargon becomes easier to understand. Keep your garden well tended and your business will flourish.

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About the Podcast

I Hate Numbers: Simplifying Tax and Accounting
Helping you and your business make more profits and reduce your anxiety
For some, watching paint dry, or a poke in the eye is better than dealing with their business numbers. I get it, numbers can be scary, confusing, and boring, not what your business is meant to be about.

But here’s the thing. If you’re serious about your business, you need to grab hold of your numbers, and connect with them. Falling in love with them may feel weird, but at least be on friendly terms with them if you want your business to survive and thrive.

Numbers make you accountable, showing you the financial impact of your successes, a route map to success and highlighting those flip-ups. Above all, learning to love & use your numbers means you have a better chance of making money, what’s not to love.

Fundamentally business is there to make money. You need to make money to survive and have impact. It’s about knowing how your future is going to pan out.

As a business finance coach, financial story teller and tax advisor, I've helped thousands of businesses over the years.

I love numbers, but I get it that not many businesses will do so. I want to share my love of numbers through my podcast, to make it accessible, to help you and your business power forward.

My aim is to make this podcast listener friendly, jargon and BS free.

In the words of W.E.B. Dubois “When you have mastered numbers, you will in fact no longer be reading numbers, any more than you read words when reading books. You will be reading meanings.”

About your host

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Mahmood Reza

Hi, my name is Mahmood, accountant, educator and author of the book, I Hate Numbers !!
I actually love numbers and what they can do for my business – and every business - but I come across so many people who have a real fear of numbers/maths/accounts (and accountants), and therefore, their business struggles to survive, never mind thrive. If only they knew how to get a fondness and some kind of control of those numbers!
Why am I so passionate about all of this stuff I’m putting out into the public domain? It’s my belief that once you understand what your numbers are, where they come from, and what they mean, you can use them to make better decisions and ultimately make (or keep) more money. What every business owner wants, right?
The one thing I’ll always guarantee you, is that whether you’re the CEO of a global corporation, or a market stall trader in your local town, your numbers matter – and you simply can’t get away from them. This book is your chance to get them all in one place, face your fears, and start making those numbers work for you.