Let’s thoroughly manage how we spend money! Both companies and individuals collapse when they ‘cannot protect’ (their finances).

The other day, Mr. Son shared a good story about when a company goes bankrupt.
He is the well-known CEO of SoftBank.

"Most presidents are good at attacking. But they fail because they can't defend."
"They fail especially when cash flow doesn't go well."

I was startled because it resonated with me.

Including myself, many of the entrepreneurs around me are also 'attack' types.
When a new idea comes to mind, we want to implement it immediately.
That's why we become entrepreneurs, but even so, many are not good at managing outgoing money or administration.
Even if they don't realize it themselves, I sometimes feel that they must be bad at it.

It's precisely those kinds of entrepreneurs whose cash flow always seems to be tight.
There are many things that make perfect sense.

A pattern where one is good at attacking but bad at controlling expenses.

I myself have also fallen into the typical pattern of a failing startup.
Now, fortunately and at the right time, I have excellent colleagues supporting the company, and they are thoroughly covering the 'defense' aspect.
It sends shivers down my spine to think what if I were alone.
I think by now, I would have been facing the end.

To run a company, just earning money is not enough.
You must properly manage outgoing money.
If you don't manage outgoing money, you'll fall into a pitfall at an unexpected time and end up thinking, 'This wasn't supposed to happen.'

My current situation is, by chance and fortunately, supported by people who properly understand management at the right time.
That's why I can firmly look at the present and the future and act accordingly.

"Defense" and "Offense".

The ongoing back-and-forth, the repeated offense and defense, quickly drags us into pitfalls.
That's precisely why we need someone who can calmly and carefully observe.
So that when we realize it, we don't find ourselves in a situation where there's no turning back.
I'm glad I learned firsthand what "defense" truly means.

By the way, income and expenditure, defense and offense, also apply well to individuals.

It's not just companies; it's the same for individuals.
If you have a habit of wasteful spending or don't carefully consider what you're spending money on, you'll always end up in financial trouble.
The reason individuals can't save money is also because they don't properly manage their outgoing money, not just their incoming money.

Honestly, I myself used to think, "Just earn more."
Even if I spent money, I had a careless attitude towards expenditure, thinking I could just earn it back.
It's not that I was in financial trouble, but I could have created even better conditions than I have now.

That refers to the skill of "how to use money."

Expenditure, or outgoing money, is essentially how you use money.
How to use it means what you invest in and how much benefit or profit you get back.
For example, attending school to acquire special knowledge or skills.
This is clearly an investment in your future and a proper way to use money.

People who are truly good at using money, or who make money with money, are overwhelmingly skilled at how they use it.
Because, fundamentally, they only spend money on things that will grow.
For example, let's say you bought a car, right?
Basically, cars also deteriorate over time.
In other words, its value steadily decreases with time.
Basically, when you buy something, its value drops or it gets consumed when you use it.

However, truly wealthy people spend very little money on things that depreciate in value or are consumed.
They only spend on things whose value will increase or accumulate.
In other words, this is an investment, isn't it?

If you only choose and use things whose value increases, it's bound to grow, naturally.
Certainly, you might misread things sometimes, but just being aware of it might significantly change how you spend money compared to now.

Just a state where the average cost of living increases, and money is constantly flowing out without accumulating anything.
This is a way of spending money that you should not do.
You must turn off the tap and escape from the state where money is constantly flowing out.
And it's important to carefully consider what to spend money on to be beneficial.

From the perspective of investment, 'protecting' money can also be seen as 'offense'.
Money makes money.
Through accurate investment, what comes back to you will be greater.
You must acquire the skill of consciously and strictly managing your money on a daily basis.

A painful tax-related failure caused by careless tax filing.

By the way, when you first become independent, you tend to handle taxes quite carelessly.
As for my failure story, because my understanding of what taxes actually were was naive at first, I ended up paying more taxes.
Well, I had the perception that taxes wouldn't be a big deal.
That's why I filed my tax return haphazardly, without going into the details myself.

Then, a huge amount of tax came.
The amount was close to 2 million yen.
I completely and intensely regretted not asking a tax accountant for help.

Moreover, I pay a tax called withholding tax, and since I had paid a lot of withholding tax, I should have definitely gotten back close to 500,000 yen.
However, because I hadn't done that procedure either, I ended up losing a full 2 million yen.
Thinking about it afterwards, I deeply regretted it.

If you say I was foolish, then so be it, but I think many people who think vaguely about taxes often suffer later on.
After all, when it comes to taxes, it's ultimately cheapest to rely on a professional.

I made many mistakes regarding money.
I was completely naive about both where to spend it and how to manage it.

Especially those who have become independent from specialized professions, like designers and engineers, often have a naive understanding of money.
When you first become independent, you're often swamped with your current work, and it's hard to pay attention to taxes.

However, if you don't manage it properly, you often suffer later on.
Let's thoroughly study tax returns.
Let's carefully consider how much tax you need to pay.
If you don't understand, you should definitely ask a tax accountant.

That's why I think those of you who were able to realize this early through this article or some other information are fortunate.
Try to thoroughly consider 'what you are spending your money on' as soon as possible.