THE CASH

p r i n c i p l es
50 Cash Flow Tips To Survive The Market Shift

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 T H E STAT E O F
S M A L L B U S I N ES S

It’s a wild time to be a business owner right now.

COVID-19 has impacted the globe unlike anything in a very long time, and
every business is feeling the effects, directly or indirectly.

Whether you’re worried about the current economic trends, regulations, or

political rumblings, you will need to shift your perspective towards the short-
term much more than normal in order to ensure that you can keep the lights
running when disaster hits.

And one of the most important things to focus

on is maintaining a healthy cash flow —
the lifeblood of your business.

So, to help, we’ve put together a list of the top 50 cash tips to help you
survive… and THRIVE in this crazy market.

Copyright 2X 2020 | Scale2X.com

 ABOUT
2X

ENTREPRENEUR.
INVESTOR.
AUTHOR.

Hi, my name is Austin Netzley and I’m the Founder of 2X - a company

specializing in helping 6 and 7-figure entrepreneurs all over the globe achieve:

 More Freedom
 More Cash Flow & Profits…
 And a lot more consistent (and fast) Growth!

How?

By focusing on what really matters in business - the principles that have

withstood the test of time.

Of those principles, one that stands out in this wild market is that “cash is
king” — now more than ever!

My hope is that this list and these ideas will help you weather the storm, and
come out thriving more than ever. Get started now and let me know how I can
support you.

Cash Principles Training Video: scale2x.com/cash-video

Contact: [email protected]

Copyright 2X 2020 | Scale2X.com

 T H E TO p 5 0
CAS H T I p S

Here are the top 50 cash flow tips that you can implement NOW this week
during this uncertain time...

Take over handling the accounts receivable (A/R - AKA money owed to you)
1
yourself and get the payments in!

Your focus should be where the company needs it the most, and right now,
it’s getting money in the door ASAP.

If you aren’t comfortable going after money that is behind due and owed to
2
you, get someone who is.

Now’s the time to collect what’s rightfully yours. Everyone will want to hoard
cash at this time, so make it a priority to contact them early and often.

Don’t be apologetic about asking for payment! You are in business for a
reason, if you’re providing value don’t be afraid to ask.

3 Increase the frequency of follow ups.

Whether it’s following up on sales calls, vendors, or customers, time is of the

essence.
You need to make sure that things happen quickly.

Add an invoice to show the extra charges or balance due; this helps make it
4
more “real.”

5 Start adding fees or interest for anything past-due or missed.

This will incentivize people and businesses to pay you back sooner.

6 Discount if someone pays in full instead of spreading the payments out.

Most will be looking to stretch their resources as far as possible, so provide

incentives for those who pay in full instead of in payments!

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 Call any past due customers; most want to do what’s right and get things
7
handled.

If you let it go unchecked, customers aren’t going to be knocking at your door

telling you that they owe you money. However, if you remind them, they’ll
most likely pay.

8 Pay close attention to your A/R; be monitoring on a weekly basis (or more!)

Be vigilant and keep a close eye on your A/R numbers.

For extreme measures of big monetary value, send a legal letter with it from
9
your attorney (ideally you don’t have to get here!)

9 times out of 10, this will be enough to get most customers to pay up if they
aren’t responsive to a phone call.

If offering a payment plan, be sure to add extra (i.e. we offer a 20% discount
10
for paid-in-full customers vs. a 3-pay plan).

Remember to make it a bit more expensive for customers to opt for the
payment plan. This gives them a bit of an incentive to go for the paid-in-full
option.

Get your products out faster or service done faster so you can get the
11
(remaining) payments faster (i.e. for web design that’s paid on fulfillment).

By speeding things up on the fulfillment side, you get money quicker, and you
also free up company resources to focus on a new project.

12 Get paid more often (invoice more frequently or collect upfront!)...

For example, instead of offering a quarterly payment plan, have a monthly

payment plan.

Go for longer-term contracts (and offer a discount). So, instead of having

13
clients for 6 months, maybe you could consider extending that to be longer.

Long-term contracts can guarantee cash flow for a longer period of time!

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 Train your team to ask for discounts, price-matching, and extras from
14
vendors.

You get what you ask for… Have your team get in the habit of asking!

15 Strategize ways to improve your margins.

Have a meeting with your leadership team and find creative ways to increase
margins and cut the non-essential elements. And definitely involve your team
on this. They often have some great ideas you haven’t considered.

16 Focus on retention (it’s cheaper than the cost to acquire a new customer).

Call up all of your clients and customers (or at least your top customers) and
see how you can best support them. Strategize other ways to provide value
and be indispensable so they stick around.

Your best customers are… your best customers!

Keep them.

How can you over deliver and create customers for life? Use this time to
separate yourself.

Review and cut out any potential waste (services, subscriptions, etc.) that
17
are not:

a) Needs
b) ROI-driven investments into your business

Look at your business credit card bill and cut out what you’re not currently
using. Tech is a great place to minimize. You can always resubscribe later
on.

18 Look for opportunities to cross-sell.

Look at what else you can offer your customers without using up too much
of your team’s capacity.

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 Shift your team resources -- to have more people focused on generating
19
revenue. Odds are you have the resources there, now it’s time to better
utilize them.

20 Create upsells (or downsells) for more ways to bring in cash.

Test different ways to solve your customer’s pain points at different price
points, and get creative. What pains and needs are there that you can solve?

Create an “all hands on deck” culture (so the entire team is focused on
21
short-term cash flow).

Rally your whole team around this. Let them know the enormity of the
situation, but also ensure that there’s a high morale and buy-in as well.

You may have to pivot your business completely to go to a market that does
22 have a budget to spend with you, or create a whole new product from
scratch. What is a need you can solve in a big way? Do that.

23 Turn your offers into a recurring, subscription-based model. This

encourages customer retention, and also provides a stable source of
consistent cash flow.

24 Use your business credit card to preserve cash in the meantime.

You could consider paying the minimums only (and not full balance), but this
guide is not about building debt! Consult your advisors for the best decision
here.

25 Stock orders “just in time” rather than “just in case.”

Don’t have stock just laying around, consuming space and precious money.

If you can run a promotion and produce cash quick, then consider running
26 an advertising promotion so you make $2 in the next few days… and have to
pay $1 on the credit card balance in 30 days.

This is the mecca to get to where you produce sales before you have to pay
for the leads, but few businesses get to this point.

Copyright 2X 2020 | Scale2X.com

 Use this time to refocus your product slate, cutting the weakest selling
27 offerings or unprofitable products… and double down on what works best —
your main money maker.

Run a special marketing promotion either to your audience, on ads, to your

28
email list, or whatever. Do a marketing blitz to inject some cash!

29 Focus on building a solid reserve of cash.

This is the #1 focus! Make sure you stay focused on this at all times to get
ahead so that you have a longer runway to be able to survive the storm, as
nobody knows how long the market shift will last.

30 Hire an accountant to help see where the opportunities are.

A good accountant will save you much more than what they charge.

31 Cut back on your personal salary.

See what your current personal expenditures are and where you can cut back
for now.

32 Use technology to automate and systemize recurring tasks.

Software like Asana, Zapier, Loom, and Google Drive can help increase
efficiency, freeing up your team for other tasks.

Look at doing an exchange instead of paying out of pocket. Where can you
33
exchange services or resources?

Cut out low-margin services, products, and clients that are taking too much
34
company resources.

Review your current products/services and see what you can cut out. That
way, you can direct resources towards something that yields a better ROI.

Create a higher-end package and offering. Get an irresistible offer in front

35 of the right target audience who could use your skills and bring in some
more cash!

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 36 Utilize cash flow projections to have a big-picture view.

Have a spreadsheet with projections in order to see whether or not you’re on track,
or whether you need to make adjustments. Use the numbers to make the right
short and long-term decisions, as a lot of people will not be making objective
decisions right now so you can differentiate yourself from your competition.

Consider getting a loan or line of credit. Debt is usually not a great option, but
37 right now having cash and liquidity is paramount, just be cognizant to make the
right long-term decision.

38 Negotiate discounts for using cash to buy.

Cash is very valuable right now, so make sure to get some kind of discount for
using it.

39 Ask about incentives for early payment.

Make sure to inquire about discounts or other things that they can provide you in
exchange for paying in advance.

There are various ways to handle your team expenses, as this may be your
40 biggest category of expenses.

Maybe you delay their payment, reduce their salary, pause their work, go from
weekly payments to every two weeks, or have to cut staff.

Work to stretch out your payables so that the money isn’t due right now. This will
41 buy you more time, and save you money in the short-term -- but be wary of any
interest or fees.

42 Consider selling a portion of your company to raise some capital.

This is another important longer-term decision to consider, but may be worth it to

bring the right partner in who has cash. There are always people with cash looking
for the right opportunities.

43 Improve your marketing and sales conversions.

Take a look at your current marketing strategy and sales calls. Find the low-
hanging fruit that your team can implement immediately to produce better results.
Sales is one of our favorite levers of all to help drive growth in a company!

Copyright 2X 2020 | Scale2X.com

 Make it easy for people to pay you. Set up mobile and online payment
44
solutions to get paid quicker.

Speed is the name of the game right now. Make sure that you reduce the
friction of getting paid as much as possible, and make it easy for your
customers.

Consider getting an SBA loan for this time. They have a special disaster
45 loan relief program that you can get for financial hardship caused during
this wild market. Learn more at: SBA.gov/disaster

Shorten your sales cycle. Maybe in the past it’s taken months or weeks,
look at adding urgency with a deadline for people to decide and shorten
46
your sales cycle to drive more cash in the short-term, even if at a minor
discount.

Work with your merchant account to get next day funding instead of having
47
it take two, three, or more days to settle into your bank account.

Get JV (joint venture) partners - how can you create a win-win-win by

48 partnering up with others who you can collaborate with and serve their/your
audiences?

Now is a beautiful time to create synergies and collaborate, and can be a

way to get more done faster to inject cash.

Make deposits mandatory; if you can’t get paid upfront, then at the very
49
least, get a deposit.

Review the numbers and targets regularly, especially as it relates to your

50
cash.

At the beginning of each day, look at the overall numbers to have an accurate
picture of the current health of your business.

Make sure you’re aware of your cash flow at all times. I get a text update
every single day with our business cash balances to keep it front and center
in my mind. With most banks this is easy to set up.

Having this clarity will have you making the best decisions possible.

Copyright 2X 2020 | Scale2X.com

 3 M U ST- H Av E
F I N A N C I A L SYST E M S FO r C EO S

The number one rule of business?

Don’t run out of money.

You need cash in order to keep the company running in the short-term… and
for investing in long-term growth… and because you want to generate some
wealth too, right?

As a result, some of the most important systems you can have are related to
your finances.

However, it’s alarming how many business owners don’t take this seriously.

To some degree, it's totally understandable.

You’re so busy actually running the company that you feel like there’s no time
to manage the finances on top of the overwhelming to-do list.

However, not doing so can be catastrophic-- and it is for many, as running out
of cash is the #1 reason for small business failure.

With the right financial systems in place, not only does managing your
business’ cash become easy to do, but it helps drive better decisions and
way less stress… so you can focus on taking your company to the next level.

To help, here are 3 of the essential financial systems that you should use for
your company.

Copyright 2X 2020 | Scale2X.com

 1 The Weekly Financials Review

Many entrepreneurs only review their finances in detail every year during tax
season.

That is not going to get the job done.

I’ve been in a few situations where my business was quickly hovering

towards a $0 bank balance with bills to pay on the horizon. This is not a fun
position to be in.

If I knew the numbers, I would have seen that coming from a mile away (and
pivoted in order to proactively address it before it became an issue).

A few key metrics I review on a weekly basis are:

1. Cash balance in all business accounts (I get a daily text on all

of these)
2. Open A/R (accounts receivable - money owed to us)
3. Forecasted revenue for this month
4. Total sale value produced this week (assuming paid in full)
5. Total revenue received this week (actual money received)

Plus, I also review my personal net worth at this time--since your business
should be driving wealth for you, add this to the list to have it keep as a
reminder what you’re trying to build.

This full review doesn’t take more than 15 minutes per week, but it makes a
monumental impact on your decision making and peace of mind.

Figure out the top financial metrics that are applicable to you and your
business, create a simple spreadsheet, and then set a recurring meeting on
your calendar to review these in detail.

It’s some of the best time you can spend as CEO all week!

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 2 Core Capital

‘Core Capital’ is a term I learned from Greg

Crabtree, author of Simple Numbers, Straight
Talk, Big Profits!

Put simply, it’s the amount of money you have

in your business account versus your
upcoming operating and labor expenses.

The minimum suggested core capital target

(cash in the bank) is to cover two months of
expenses.

With the proper cash set aside, even if no

new revenue comes in at all for over a
month, you can rest assured that you don’t
have to make short-term decisions just to survive.

This keeps you focused on taking the right actions to

grow the company… without holding back due to
fear of running out of money.

Most are fighting week-to-week and month-to-month in their business for

years. Get ahead and stay ahead, making two months of cash your new “zero
balance.”

Copyright 2X 2020 | Scale2X.com

 3 Forecast The Future

Not only is it important to know how your business is currently doing, but you
need to project into the future.

This way you can better analyze investments into your business, give your
team clarity and targets, and simply start making better long-term strategic
decisions.

Most business owners are too stuck in survival-mode that they don’t plan out
the future.

But one thing is fact: The future arrives much sooner

than you often think!

Start by estimating your costs. Be conservative with the numbers, potentially

doubling or tripling your expenses in order to provide breathing room in case
costs are more than you expected.

Then project your future revenues. The key here is to have two numbers: a
conservative baseline (minimum) and a more-aggressive target.

That way, you’ll have a conservative forecast to guide financial

decisions...while shooting for growth numbers that excite you and your
team.

To summarize, with three simple financial systems, you can make better and
faster decisions, have more clarity, spot problems ahead of time, reduce your
stress as a business owner, AND drive a lot more profits.

Systems are the key to scale… and not many are more important than these
three!

Start here and get on the path to growth.

Copyright 2X 2020 | Scale2X.com

 FINAL
THOUGHTS

As a business owner, you’ve heard the phrase, “cash is king”.

Maintaining a healthy reserve of cash ensures that you can keep your doors
open… and most importantly, provide for your family and sleep soundly at
night.

It’s pretty wild times that businesses across the globe are feeling the
effects… so do yourself a favor, and put these tips into action TODAY!

Want help in navigating the uncertain times of 2020 and

getting the guidance, support, strategic planning, and
proven methodologies to not only survive this time…

But come out thriving more than ever?

We are here to help.

I created a brand-new program to serve entrepreneurs all over the world with my
friend and elite marketing strategist, Scott Oldford, with a 6-week program called:

To learn more and see if you’re a good fit, please visit:

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