Economy
Bad Money Habits That Can Ruin Your Business
To be successful as an entrepreneur, good money management practice is crucial. Entrepreneurs start their business with an idea and lots of energy, however as the business gets very engaging, they start to unconsciously develop bad financial habits. Here are some of those habits and how you can break them:
Keeping one account for both personal and business funds
A lot of small business owners often make the mistake of combining both business income and expenses with personal income and expenses. This is a very bad practice as it is almost impossible to monitor your business funds and performance in general.
Solution: Get your business registered and open a business account solely for business funds.
Not keeping financial records
How do run your business if there are no records available for checks and balances? Some business owners think they can keep track of expenses and incomes in their head but thats impossible. It can never be accurate and will only lead to business decisions made based on wrong statistics. You would also end up spending more than you earn and will eventually end up in debt. Note that without financial records to back your decisions, you cannot approach an investor to request for funds.
Solution: Start keeping records so you can plan more effectively for your business. There are tools out there that help to automate your records.
Making late payments
Taking a loan and not paying as at when due is bad for your business. This affects the reputation of your business and lowers your credit score. A credit score shows your credit worthiness. Banks and investors make use of this score to evaluate the risk posed by lending money to a business and the probability of paying back.
Solution: Ensure you keep records and make repayments when due. If you are not sure of when you are to pay back, clarify with your account officer or the officer in charge.
Excluding yourself from your business payroll
You might think you are managing your funds well but in actual fact, you are not. You end up dipping into business funds with no proper structure to guide you. Therefore, it is better to set aside an amount for yourself. Besides, you are also working so you are entitled to it. You have needs and you will need funds to fulfil them.
Solution: Put yourself on your business payroll. You can choose to pay yourself bi-monthly or monthly, whichever works better for your business. This can be adjusted based on the business income.
Impulse purchases
Some business owners do not have control over their spending and want almost everything they see. Sometimes you just need to sit back and evaluate the importance of the item and if it will add value to you and your business. You need to be able to distinguish your needs from your desires. If you listen to a lot of successful entrepreneurs today, they all say you should spend less than you earn. That is your key to financial success.
Solution: To curb your spending, give yourself a certain period to think that purchase through before making a decision. Chances are that you will realize you never really needed that item.
Not delegating tasks
Every entrepreneur should know how to delegate. When a problem or task arises, you spend both time and money on it and the more you spend on one, the less you spend on the other.Consider this scenario: You spend a day doing a task that costs N5,000 when you could have just hired someone to do it and spend time on other tasks more specific to your expertise and worth much more.
Solution: Consider the time versus the money that will be spent on a task. Will it be better to pay someone to do it or do it yourself? You can hire someone to work on tasks you are not skilled enough to handle so you can spend time on other important tasks.
Forming good habits are how successful entrepreneurs achieve their goals and manage to run their businesses effectively. Avoid and break off these habits to become better with your business finances.
Source: http://635.gtbank.com/2016/10/financial-habits-that-can-harm-your-business/
By Adedapo Adesanya
The United Arab Emirates has announced its decision to quit the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to focus on national interests.
This dealt a heavy blow to the oil-exporting group at a time when the US-Israel war on Iran had caused a historic energy shock and rattled the global economy.
The move, which will take effect on May 1, 2026, reflects “the UAE’s long-term strategic and economic vision and evolving energy profile”, a statement carried by state media said on Tuesday.
“During our time in the organisation, we made significant contributions and even greater sacrifices for the benefit of all,” it added. “However, the time has come to focus our efforts on what our national interest dictates.”
The loss of the UAE, a longstanding OPEC member, could create disarray and weaken the oil cartel, which has usually sought to show a united front despite internal disagreements over a range of issues from geopolitics to production quotas.
UAE Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed al-Mazrouei said the decision was taken after a careful look at the regional power’s energy strategies.
“This is a policy decision. It has been done after a careful look at current and future policies related to the level of production,” the minister said.
OPEC’s Gulf producers have already been struggling to ship exports through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow chokepoint between Iran and Oman through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas supplies normally pass, because of threats and attacks against vessels during the war.
The UAE had been a member of OPEC first through its emirate of Abu Dhabi in 1967 and later when it became its own country in 1971.
The oil cartel, based in Vienna, has seen some of its market power wane as the US has increased its production of crude oil in recent years.
Additionally, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have increasingly competed over economic issues and regional politics, particularly in the Red Sea area.
The two countries had joined a coalition to fight against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis in 2015. However, that coalition broke down into recriminations in late December when Saudi Arabia bombed what it described as a weapons shipment bound for Yemeni separatists backed by the UAE.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc bested four price decliners on the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Monday, April 27. The alternative stock market opened the week bullish during the session with a 0.03 per cent uptick.
According to data, the security depository company added N2.61 to its share price to close at N76.26 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N78.87 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation of the platform increased by N820 million to N2.425 trillion from N2.424 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 1.38 points to finish at 4,053.97 points compared with the 4,052.58 points it ended last Friday.
The four price losers were led by NASD Plc, which slumped by N3.80 to sell at N34.70 per share versus N38.50 per share. FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc fell by N1.45 to N98.10 per unit from N99.55 per unit, Food Concepts Plc slid by 27 Kobo to N2.43 per share from N2.70 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc dipped by 9 Kobo to N2.91 per unit from N3.00 per unit.
The value of securities transacted by market participants went down by 82.0 per cent to N7.4 million from N41.3 million units, the volume of securities declined by 28.5 per cent to 319,831 units from 447,403 units, and the number of deals dropped by 34.1 per cent to 29 deals from 44 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units sold for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Also, GNI Plc was the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with a turnover of 400 million units worth N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The first trading day of the week in the currency market was bearish for the Naira in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, April 27.
Yesterday, it lost N5.80 or 0.43 per cent against the United States Dollar to trade at N1,364.24/$1, in contrast to the N1,358.44/$1 it was traded last Friday.
In the same vein, the Nigerian currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N13.70 to close at N1,847.72/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,834.02/£1, and slumped against the Euro by N11.56 to sell at N1,602.29/€1 versus N1,590.73/€1.
Also, the Nigerian Naira tumbled against the greenback during the trading day by N5 to quote at N1,385/$1 compared with the previous rate of N1,380/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it traded flat at N1,370/$1.
The poor performance of the domestic currency could be attributed to liquidity shortage at the official currency market on Monday, which came amid surging demand for international payments. At $76.50 million, interbank liquidity printed higher across 79 deals, up from the $43.572 million reported on Friday.
Nigeria’s gross external reserves declined to $48.45 billion amid a month-long decline in inflows, amid uncertainties in the global commodity market. The depletion of foreign reserves could be partly attributed to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention in the FX market.
The market remains perturbed by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market, while boosters, including oil prices, continue to look rocky due to stalled discussions and unclear ceasefire negotiations between the US and Iran.
A look at the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) has been rejected near $79,000 three times in eight sessions, leaving the level as the de facto ceiling of its current trading range even as major cryptocurrencies trade lower over the past day. It lost 0.9 per cent to sell at $77,003.61.
Analysts say that upcoming US Federal Reserve policy decisions and top tech firms’ earnings this week could provide the catalyst to push bitcoin decisively above $80,000.
The market also continued to weigh Iran’s interim deal proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which failed to advance over the weekend. The White House said US officials were discussing the latest Iranian proposal but maintained “red lines” on any deal to end the eight-week war.
Solana (SOL) dropped 1.8 per cent to $84.25, Ripple (XRP) went down by 1.6 per cent to $1.39, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $2,290.00, Binance Coin (BNB) declined by 0.5 per cent to $625.18, and Cardano (ADA) fell by 0.2 per cent to $0.2480.
However, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 2.0 per cent to $0.1002, and TRON (TRX) appreciated by 0.2 per cent to $0.3242, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
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