This is the first of the “Epic Win” posts. For these posts I’ll discuss the triumphs I have made while trying to open my box. There will be far less of these than the Epic Fail posts.

It’s hard to know exactly how useful a projection really is. I SERIOUSLY doubt the projections I have made are going to be even remotely accurate. But they are EXTREMELY useful for keeping information together and keeping your eye on the prize.

A Cash Flow Statement is a way of tracking the cash that is flowing in to your business and the cash that’s flowing out. The incoming money is called income (I know, suprising) and the out going cash is known as expenses. I know that seems obvious but it’s important to know terms and use them correctly. Messing up simple business terms makes you look like a fool and you need to get used to the language.

My sales information came from a contact I made and they were generous enough to show me how their sales grew from their 1st to their 12th month. At first I assumed my business would just magically grow by 8 people a month! 8,16,24,32,… Kind of ridiculous looking back on it.    I pulled that number out of the air and expected other people to believe it.  Having actual sales data is much more professional and accurate than just assuming how it would work. Again, most boxes are more than willing to help a start-up in any way possible. It looks good to people you might be trying to court as investors and/or business partners. Sales data is pretty personal but if you ask enough people someone will most likely share.

This may sound nerdy, but I can think of multiple times when I was a bit disheartened and wondering how I was going to do it and I’d play with the spreadsheets and it would genuinely make me feel better. It’s basically like virtually watching your business grow. It’s encouraging to see how bad it could be and still be successful.

Your projections will probably in no way represent how your business will perform. Unfortunately there’s no way to project the amount of effort you’ll need to invest. But you can mess with all the other numbers.

I’ve included a blank template of my Cash Flow Spreadsheet here. Feel free to play with the key and plug in your own numbers. Most all the inputs are found on the Key sheet. Check the cell before you just input data. I have a lot of formulas and you don’t want to unravel the whole thing. I made this from a combination of a few different sheets I got from the local Small Business Administration.

One thing you should keep in mind is to OVERESTIMATE THE BAD. You definitely don’t want to get caught thinking you’d only be spending $5,000 on something and end up spending $8,000. Again, OVERESTIMATE THE BAD.