I’ve been running the business since 1998 and for most of that time cash flow was an issue. It’s not that the business wasn’t doing well, we were generally growing in excess of 15% per year and our assets always exceeded our debts. But we were always short of cash – it was always tied up either in stock or in debtors and the end of the month was always a trying time. We spent a lot of energy balancing who we should pay next.
I tried a number of different solutions. I had be taught early on to avoid sureties – which basically means that you can’t get an overdraft. So I brought in partners – they’ve been great but there’s a limit to which you can keep asking for investment without paying it back. I read a book that showed how to use credit cards to raise capital – and before I knew it I had in excess of R100k in the credit card capital in the business – but the repayments just added to the overheads!
As a family, we have always been pretty regular at giving, but about 5 years ago Joy & I started to implement the principles laid out in the financial teaching (living with margin) received at Southpoint Church in a bigger way – and it showed in our finances. Joy had been challenging me for some time about giving from the business – and eventually I decided to listen & try it. The decision was made more complicated by the fact that some of my partners are not Christians; but we committed to give away at least 1% of our monthly turnover. At the point when I made this decision we were not making a profit. It was a step of faith. It now compares to approximately 10% of our profit.
I don’t know how God does it, but within the year we had paid off all our credit card debt, we were able to pay out our first dividends to shareholders in 10 years, our suppliers are all paid up on time, we sit with cash in the bank in excess of the next months overheads – and we have over R100k in savings!
God had spoken to me about being a conduit – everything we have is His and He is looking for channels to feed His blessing to others. However He can only bless others through us if we keep the conduit open. Water will only flow through a pipe if it’s not blocked. If it’s blocked the water in it will gradually become stagnant & the pipe will rust. And it’s all about trust – having the faith to step out and just do it, even though everything around us screams that it doesn’t make sense. This is God’s economy – to this day I can’t explain how He does it – but He does it.
Giving & Blessing
Hi John
I’ve been running the business since 1998 and for most of that time cash flow was an issue. It’s not that the business wasn’t doing well, we were generally growing in excess of 15% per year and our assets always exceeded our debts. But we were always short of cash – it was always tied up either in stock or in debtors and the end of the month was always a trying time. We spent a lot of energy balancing who we should pay next.
I tried a number of different solutions. I had be taught early on to avoid sureties – which basically means that you can’t get an overdraft. So I brought in partners – they’ve been great but there’s a limit to which you can keep asking for investment without paying it back. I read a book that showed how to use credit cards to raise capital – and before I knew it I had in excess of R100k in the credit card capital in the business – but the repayments just added to the overheads!
As a family, we have always been pretty regular at giving, but about 5 years ago Joy & I started to implement the principles laid out in the financial teaching (living with margin) received at Southpoint Church in a bigger way – and it showed in our finances. Joy had been challenging me for some time about giving from the business – and eventually I decided to listen & try it. The decision was made more complicated by the fact that some of my partners are not Christians; but we committed to give away at least 1% of our monthly turnover. At the point when I made this decision we were not making a profit. It was a step of faith. It now compares to approximately 10% of our profit.
I don’t know how God does it, but within the year we had paid off all our credit card debt, we were able to pay out our first dividends to shareholders in 10 years, our suppliers are all paid up on time, we sit with cash in the bank in excess of the next months overheads – and we have over R100k in savings!
God had spoken to me about being a conduit – everything we have is His and He is looking for channels to feed His blessing to others. However He can only bless others through us if we keep the conduit open. Water will only flow through a pipe if it’s not blocked. If it’s blocked the water in it will gradually become stagnant & the pipe will rust. And it’s all about trust – having the faith to step out and just do it, even though everything around us screams that it doesn’t make sense. This is God’s economy – to this day I can’t explain how He does it – but He does it.
Simon