The foundation of any prosperous business is finance knowledge. If you don’t play the finance role in your enterprise, you’ve probably fallen into the trap of assuming that financial literacy isn’t of much concern. However, you shouldn’t hesitate to gain a robust level of economic know-how to take your biz to the next level. By expanding your knowledge about how money works in business, you can increase the odds of achieving success.
What is financial knowledge?
Financial knowledge is the proper understanding of financial terminology, concepts, and statements, and learn how to apply this acumen to make an impact in your business. The first step involves reading up on the language and documents your enterprise uses to communicate and track finances. Once you understand the basics of funds, you can leverage your knowledge to help your business.
Your financial knowledge can help you succeed in business by helping you understand the impact of your actions, assisting you to make informed and unbiased decisions, honing your vast negotiation skills, advocating for your company’s budget, and becoming financially efficient.
Understanding convertible debt
If you’re a new investor amid investing in a startup, you’ll likely run into several rare terms on the public markets. Convertible debt is the most essential and frequent statement you’ll come across. You’re likely to run into this term when the investment company is in its initial stage of existence. When a new business is seeking financing, it isn’t advantageous to both the investor and founder to spend their time and money working on the information of an equity round.
To avoid all these costly processes associated with negotiations and complex legal structure, your company can opt to use a note round between equity financing rounds. If the revenue turns to be low than projected or the burn rate becomes high than the founder hoped, your company may find itself short on cash. A note around will allow your company to receive prompt financing without putting lots of effort into an equity round. There are some important convertible note terms you need to understand as an investor. These include:
Maturity date: This is one of the ways in which your debt converts to equity. It’s a functional backstop for you as an investor, which guarantees that, at some point, you’ll have the option to convert your interest even if your business isn’t going through a qualified financing event.
Qualified financing event (QFE): The QFE is a set sum negotiated in your debt’s instrument that sets a particular limit withing the next equity financing round.
Valuation cap: This is simply a protection for an investor being diluted in agencies that have high-growth fundraising rounds.
Discount rate: Convertible debt often has a written discount rate into the terms. This is simply the benefit to your business that values the shares issued in the future financing round at an affordable price than what new investors will be paying per share.
Liquidation preference: This is an essential term, especially when there’s an exit or some kind of payout. This term determines the proper order and how much cash a preferred stockholder will get over common stockholders. Generally, liquidation preference is expressed in terms of multiples of your investment and sometimes stated on price per share.
How to increase your financial knowledge and help your business
Selling your products or services for a profit isn’t enough for an efficient financial acumen that can make your business successful. There’re many excellent ways to help your business prosper if you’ve got financial knowledge. Luckily, numerous resources can help you improve your financial literacy and promote your small or large business.
You can boost your financial literacy through various ways like subscribing to financial newsletters reading personal finance books, listening to educational, financial podcasts, use social media, schedule appointments with reliable financial experts, or start keeping a budget.
Bottom line
Increasing financial knowledge means gaining the right proficiency and confidence to manage, save, spend effectively, and invest finances to help your business. If you’re struggling with managing personal finances, deciphering the stock market, reducing debts, and improving your enterprise, consider getting reliable resources and learn more about gaining financial literacy. You’ll get this knowledge through education, life lessons, and practical experience.
