How To Know Your Numbers With Kristy Gayton
Numbers Expert and Entrepreneur, Kristy Gayton
Kristy Gayton is an entrepreneur, investor, mom of three boys, author, CEO of The Start Companies (STARTbrands), owner, and developer of many residential and commercial companies, among other online entities. She has created solutions that work by taking creative visions, a financial plan, and implementing systems. Helping others to create a plan, get organized, and start or restart!
Kristy has been a sought-after keynote speaker and voice due to her relatable story, no excuses tone, valuable advice, and upbeat personality that she interjects in all aspects of her brands. She is an expert on productivity, organization, and finances who has been featured in business publications such as Forbes, Entreprenuer.com, and Inc.com, as well as speaking to private companies and universities such as Harvard. Kristy holds a financial and business degree from Kennesaw State University, but she attests it is her vast business and life experience that is giving her her “degree’’ where growth was fortified from the struggle.
Her heart and goal is to empower others to make calculated decisions on data. Kristy helps others understand finance in a simple way and even has a huge heart for helping our youth understand it to make decisions better for their life.
Because visuals are always better! Here are some of the companies she owns! Start HQ is a commercial leasing company. Marble Ridge is a residential development and Vision Properties is a commercial development. She also has two online retail companies Startbrands.com and JmStorm.com
Kristy’s Top 5 Tips for Better Financial Decisions
Tip 1: MAKE INVESTEMENTS
Anything you do or purchase or allocate time to, do you know the ROI(return on investment)? By purchasing X, do you know what it will give back to you? You want to start thinking about investments. If I purchase this education, will it give me more knowledge to make better decisions? If I buy this building, what is its return, and when?
TIP 2: START A COMPANY
I genuinely believe that everyone should have a company. Or even two companies. Everyone has a service to offer, and there are many benefits from a tax perspective when you own a company. You can control your taxes and income if you make calculated decisions. There is an excellent book by Sandy Botkin called Lower Your Taxes. I would encourage everyone to read it!
TIP 3: OFFSET INCOME
This goes hand in hand with the above. The goal in life is to get more assets. To me, assets put money in our pockets. Liabilities are things that take money away from you. It is an obligation you owe to others. Liabilities are needed at times to generate income and growth. You then have income(money coming in) and expenses (money going out.) By owning your own company you can offset income.
TIP 4: KNOW YOUR NUMBERS
You have to know your data. To my business owners, you have to know them to make the right business decisions. For everyone else, you also need to know them so you are just not winging it or living paycheck to paycheck. I teach this in both Business Finance and Personal Finance. But you have to have a system for organizing your data. I automate it all using Quickbooks online.
TIP 5: PLAN INTENTIONALLY
All the prior steps are leading us to this step. Knowing your numbers, having a company, knowing ROI… all of this allows you to plan intentionally. Using profit and loss statements, looking back, and planning forward empowers you to make decisions intentionally!
I get that finance is overwhelming to some. I love it. I love making it simple and I love seeing others thrive by having all this in place because I don’t believe much happens through luck. The harder you work and the more organized and intentional that you are, the more ‘luck” you will have!
