This is a good time of the year to get your company’s budget for 2014 in place. Some of you started this process a while ago and have likely been doing it for several years. Others have probably never done a budget for their businesses.

Where do you start? Start with your personal goals relative to your business. These questions can help:

  • How much annual salary do you expect/want the company to be paying you?
  • How much net profit do you plan on the company generating so that, among other things, you will be able to bonus yourself?
  • What jobs/tasks do you want to be doing in your business?
  • What jobs/tasks do you not want to be doing in your business?
  • How many hours a week do you want to be working?
  • How many weeks a year do you want to be working?

Simply thinking about the answers to these questions will help you “remodel” (or create, as the case may be) your business budget and plan to serve your needs better. By the way, if you don’t focus on making sure your needs are served well by your business nobody else will!Paul Winans, a veteran remodeler, is a facilitator for Remodelers Advantage and a consultant to remodeling business owners.