As small business owners, we are often the target of unsolicited financial advice. Invest in this product, purchase this superior equipment, don’t waste your money on that course. The list goes on and on. With so many voices telling you what to do to get ahead, it can be hard to sort out the good advice versus the bad.

Some of that financial advice you may have actually listened to. Maybe you invested in a poor product or maxed out a business credit card just to get the points. Maybe you paid for a workshop and received zero value from it.

Today, I’m going to call out some of those long-believed “truths” for what they are.. myths. Let’s walk through 5 business money myths you may have heard about running a business, and the truth behind them.

5 Money Myths & The Truth Behind Them

Myth #1
I have to spend money to make money

Raise your hand if you’ve heard this saying before! I know I have! While this might sometimes be true, spending more money won’t always give you the best return on investment. Take for example the use of an office space. There are many businesses that lose money to overhead costs such as rent, utilities, and internet because they believe they need to have an office space to run their business out of.

In reality, they could get by perfectly fine by creating a space in their home to run their business. Many of them have this preconceived notion they will make more money, bring in more clients or look more professional because of having an office space. If the business isn’t creating enough cash flow, having an office building isn’t the best use of funds when it could be used elsewhere in the business.

Knowing where to spend your money, when to spend it, and what to invest in is a major key factor in the growth of your business.

Myth #2
Spending as much as I can will cut my taxes

I’ve heard this question a time or two: should I run up expenses to cut taxes? The answer is a big fat no! This myth is probably one of the most damaging myths of money management.

Spending as much money as you can to reduce taxes is basically the same as spending ten dollars to save three. What sense does that make? Don’t go spending as much money as you can at the end of the year just so you can save a little bit on your taxes. The goal of running a business is to run it as profitable as possible (and achieve financial freedom).

Myth #3
A business credit card provides me with free things!

Now, I may ruffle a few feathers with this one and I’m good with that! Credit card incentives such as points, cash back, and miles are nothing but bad news.

The credit card reward system goes a little something like this: the more money you spend, the more points you rack up toward whatever prize you have your eyes on. Once you hit a certain amount of points, you can trade those in for some kind of reward.

Those miles and prizes are all determined by the head honchos at Visa, Mastercard or Discover. That means just when you finally saved up enough points to fly to Europe for a backpacking trip.. the point system could change. Just like that! So, after overspending on everyday purchases, paying interest, plus not getting to go on your trip, the credit card companies didn’t deliver on their promise.

Expiration dates, annual fees, interest bait and switch, and the allure of free stuff are just a few credit card dangers. Make sure to do your homework, because what you don’t know or understand as a cardholder can hurt you. If you ask me, credit card rewards (and credit cards in general) are a trap!

Instead of relying on the credit card industry to reward you for spending . . . why not reward yourself? Live on less than you make, keep a budget and refuse to go into debt for your business. You’ll be racking up so much more than you’d ever get with credit card rewards. You’ll be running a business you love with money you have in the bank.

Myth #4
I don’t need a budget for my business

Um, excuse me? Yes, you do! Being good with money is one thing, but having a budget for your business will help you to stay in control and know where your money is going.

A budget for your business is basically a plan for how you’ll spend your business dollars month to month. You take a look at your upcoming months, anticipate what is going to happen with your expenses and revenue, and decide how to spend those dollars before the month begins.

According to various sources, 8 out of 10 businesses don’t make it five years. The reason why most of them close? They don’t have a grasp on their finances. Either they didn’t have a proper cash flow plan (i.e. enough money coming in each month to cover bills), didn’t save enough for taxes, or had a poor pricing model.

Having a plan in place for your business helps you stay in control of your finances and provides you with peace of mind. Not having a good handle on your cash flow or expenses could cause you to spend more than you make, take out unnecessary debt, or cause you to not be able to cover your payments. Putting together a budget each month will help you to stay in control, which in turn will lower your stress levels and keep your confidence up.

If you need some tips on how to start your first budget, read through my post 7 Tips To Creating A Business Budget.

Myth #5
Debt is a tool to help my business prosper

How many times have you been told you can use debt as a tool? Debt has been sold to us so aggressively, it’s often hard for most people to imagine starting a business without a business loan, having a car with a car payment or going to school without using a loan to pay for it.

As Dave Ramsey says, “debt adds considerable risk, most often doesn’t bring prosperity, and isn’t used by wealthy people nearly as much as we are led to believe. The one thing most people don’t take into consideration when taking on debt is risk. Debt brings on enough risk to offset any advantage that could be gained through taking on debt.

The pandemic cracked this issue wide open, especially in the wedding industry. Many of us lost weddings, which led to losing out on income, which led to not being able to pay bills or loans. Those of you who had debt were probably scared, anxious, and stressed about what you were going to do to make ends meet. Maybe you even had to close your business! Then there are others who saw debt as a major risk to their business, and ran things with cash. Those businesses are the ones still prospering, financially stable, and was able to withstand the turbulence brought on by the pandemic.

See debt for what it is.. a risk to your business and not a financial tool.

Leave These Money Myths Behind

Whether you’ve bought into some of these money myths or not, the truth is that they’re still . . . myths. You don’t have to spend money to make money, run up expenses to cut down taxes, have a business credit card, or use debt as a tool to prosper. You can be on the road to running a profitable business and leave these myths behind.

Are you needing help with your finances? Check out everything that I offer over on my education page!