In my last blog post, I shared the importance of asking for and listening to feedback from your coworkers, employees and superiors in order to gain a better understanding of how well you do your job, what you can improve on and areas you can grow. After gathering and listening to this feedback, you can move on to my fifth tip – managing your cash flow.

5. Manage your Cash Flow

Managing your cash flow can be a bit intimidating, especially for those who are not necessary financially savvy. Even the most successful business can run into cash flow issues. Fortunately, by taking a little bit of time to plan ahead now, you can avoid running into cash flow pitfalls in 2017.

Start the New Year by creating a 12-month cash flow plan. Use this plan to evaluate your financial projections and track incoming and outgoing funds. Make sure to update this plan at the end of each month with actual numbers to measure your results.

Once you’ve created your 12-month plan, start looking for ways to reduce your expenses and increase your revenue. It might be time to shop for more cost-effective suppliers or raise your prices. Or you may realize you need to increase your pipeline and hit the pavement to find new clients to fill the gaps. Whatever route you choose to take, as long as you’re seeing the numbers move in the right direction, your bottom line will thank you.

Although getting on top of your cash flow may feel like a daunting task, the benefits you will receive from taking control of your finances and getting a clear picture of your company’s financial health is worth it. Similar to losing weight, you don’t know how well you’re doing unless you get on the scale.

Next week, I’ll share my tips for letting go of employees that bring you down.