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The beginning of a new year is a time when many of us will make resolutions, some resolutions are intended to improve aspects of our personal life and some are professional life-based resolutions to achieve certain goals. Among the personal and professional resolutions you may be making, consider a resolution to improve the health of your business.

Business wellness is just like personal wellness, when your body, mind and spirit work together to maintain complete health; likewise, business wellness happens when all elements of your business including income, receivables, cash flow, debt and taxes are working together to keep your business at optimum health so you can sustain growth and profitability. And, just as the best way to maintain personal health and wellness is to exercise, eat well and take time to relax, there are keys to planning for and maintaining business wellness. Two important planning tools to maintaining business wellness are a financial snapshot and a business roadmap.

Financial Snapshot The first step toward business wellness is creating a complete and accurate view of your business' financial position; knowing the financial health of your business right now allows you to begin the process of planning for its future. A financial snapshot includes your sales, expenses, debt, leases, insurance, taxes, etc. It's important you know the core costs of your business, where every dollar is coming in from and where it's going. The snapshot is the initial step to know where your business is financially, at this moment.

Business Roadmap From the numbers that determine your financial snapshot, you can then create a cash flow model for today and into the future; this is your business roadmap, your financial plan. Your business roadmap enables you to project and plan for how your business should perform in future weeks, months and years. It enables you to plan to buy new equipment, hire staff, restructure debt, apply for capital or expand your location. The business roadmap is vitally important to the success of your business.

Achieving Business Wellness The financial snapshot and business roadmap are the key tools you need to be knowledgeable and informed about the financial health of your business, where it is today and where you want it to be in the future. These tools enable you to meet your goals confidently and with peace of mind about the stability and success of your business. Here's to business wellness in '06!

About the author:

Monte Zwang is a principal of Wellness Capital Management, providing cash flow and financial strategies to businesses in the wellness industry. Monte has been a consultant for more than 25 years, teaching entrepreneurs and company leaders in health care, real estate, food and beverage, day spa, resorts and hotels, and retail industries the strategies of cash flow management. For more information visit: www.WellnessCapital.com