Are you in control of your numbers in your Short Term Rental biz? This week I paid all of my taxes, and let me tell you, nothing makes me feel more like a grown up than this! Sure taxes are a pain but getting ahead of your numbers is just good business. I learned this the hard way. Read on for my story.
Full Disclosure:
I am not an accountant and I have never trained as a book-keeper so, I used to be really afraid of my numbers. They were too hard and not fun. It was confusing trying to figure out what was a private expense and what was a business expense. Plus I really wasn’t watching my costs as the revenues were just blinding my judgement.
Don’t get me wrong, I kept busy doing the fun things like buying furniture, getting to know guests and designing spaces. I was an accidental STR host and it was a side-hustle – or so I thought. So the non-fun things just took a back seat.
Shame, Audits and Recovery
Whenever I thought about my accounts, I felt helpless – like I was in a pit of despair. Oh and the shame I felt each time I had to submit my taxes. I really had no idea what I was doing. I was just using Airbnb and collecting the revenue, paying the bills when they needed paying and really not being a responsible business owner.
But then I was audited and really needed to face my shortcomings. Yikes!
The government accountants did see how ill-prepared I was and took some pity on me but I was completely out of my depth. It was awful. If you have ever felt like this, you are not alone. If you hide from your numbers and the thought of doing them makes you want to take a nap, I have been there.
But STR IS a business. And I needed to be a grown up and pull on my big girl panties.
So I enlisted some outside help and got my books in order. I also created a super simple system that would work for all of my houses and just take very little time each month.
It felt so liberating to be out from under my shame cloud.
I wish I had done it sooner. It was not as painful as I imagined.
From side hustle to proper business
Going through the audit and then facing regulations forced me to look at the profitability. I needed to make smart decisions about which houses I would take through regulation – obviously, the most profitable ones. I couldn’t be emotional about it and just pick my favourite house. It was surprising that even houses that were making great revenue were not actually super profitable.
That is when it started to get fun again, I could see immediately how different add-ons, upsells and other tweaks affected my actual profitability.
Numbers don’t lie. You can see if the squeeze is worth the juice.
Knowing your important metrics can be used to help you make decisions and identify additional opportunities to increase profitability! In fact, it is the key to feeling in control and also enables you to find all the extra ways to squeeze profits from all areas of your business – some will even surprise you.
It is like finding cash under the sofa cushions.
With the right metrics, you too can uncover extra ways to squeeze out profits from your business. You’ll be able to track your sales trends and changes in customer behavior and adjust accordingly. Plus, you’ll have better insight into when and how much money to put aside for taxes – saving yourself time and headaches down the line. Plus if you’re ever audited, you can be in control.
I do not wish audits on anybody. But they do happen and it is best to be prepared. Take it from me.
More Profits and More Control
I know that making sense of your numbers isn’t always easy or fun, but this is where I come in! I have a very simple and yet powerful system that will adapt to any STR business. So many of my clients are using this in their businesses too. They have moved from being bewildered to being empowered.
If you are afraid of your numbers or you just don’t know what is important to track have I got something just for you. I have created a program of ALL my best stuff around profitability, SQUEEZING extra revenue from each area of your business and tracking your success quickly and painlessly. It is designed for people who do not like numbers.
Re-introducing The 6 hour STR PROFIT Accelerator
Everything you need to know about SQUEEZING all that juice from your business in just 6 hours. Click here to register your interest and I will follow up with you personally.
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