Want to learn something? Build something

If you want to learn how to use finance to run your business

Don’t start by studying the stock market

Or by hiring a fancy analyst.

Start by setting business goals.
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Why?

For my programmers in the room:

How do you learn a new language most effectively?
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Do you:

A. Take classes and learn about each syntactical concept and best practices before ever writing a line?

B. Start with a blank slate, not really knowing what you’re trying to build?

OR

C. Pick a project for something you'd like to create and try to write it in that new language you’d like to learn?
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From my short time as an engineer, I found the best answer is C: You learn fastest by trying to build something that does something. ​
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It’s the same with finance.

If you just start willy nilly putting numbers on the page, you won’t get anywhere quickly.

But if you start with a goal or question:

• How much profit do I make per product?

• I want to hire 3 people in January. How much cash will I have left in April?

• How much am I likely to make in revenue next month?

• I'd like to increase overall company profit to $100k. How can I do that?

That’s when you really get somewhere.

Start with the goal,
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The rest of it will follow.

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