Time & Dime Audit: Simple Marketing Budget Template
The number one budget killer for small business owners - spending your time like it's free. The second biggest budget killer - hidden expenses.
Here's the deal. Not one business owner, of the thousands I've met, has EVER come to me complaining that they had a stack of marketing money sitting around waiting for someone to tell them how to spend it. The fact is that 86% of small businesses don't have a marketing plan or budget. Business owners usually come to me, because they're spending money and "it's not working" or they've used all their DIY resources and don't know what to do next and are fearful of making mistakes, because guessing is expensive.
We have to start with where you are at in order to figure out the right strategies to get you where you want to go. No B.S. Sounds stupid simple, but you will be shocked when you work through this simple exercise to start gathering all the places and ways you're oozing time and dime because you have never written it all down in one spot.
And yes, that's right we track TIME. Not just for vendors or employees on the payroll either. Business owners - I'M LOOKING AT YOU.
Time is a finite resource and EVERY business owner, yes EVERY ONE I've met is oozing time. Yes, the DIY is how we all got here, but as we've scaled we've trapped ourselves in DIY death swirls that are costing us more money than if we'd farmed out resources. As the business owner - you have to spend time in your business, but we want you focused on the tasks that bring the most/best revenue not down in the weeds executing the smalls. This TIME & DIME AUDIT exercise is to put it down on paper with this marketing budget template so you as the business owner can see in black and white where you're at. The awesome fun is when I parachute in and help you streamline all these resources and literally find marketing money for you to reallocate to new revenue and reach strategies.
MARKETING BUDGET TEMPLATE WALKTHROUGH VIDEO:
Watch the video for a quick walkthrough of how to use the spreadsheet, what to include, and why this exercise can uncover some pretty kickass opportunities for your business. Then download the free Time & Dime Audit Template, make it your own, and start whipping it together. No shame. No perfect math required. Just start.
QUICK SNAPSHOT:
Make it yours. The Time & Dime Audit is a starting point—customize it for your business, team, and industry.
Know where you’re starting. Get a clear picture of where your marketing time, energy, payroll, and money are actually going.
Find hidden savings. Spot expensive, redundant, or overly complicated tools that could be replaced with simpler or cheaper options.
Escape the DIY death swirl. Identify tasks that can be automated, delegated, outsourced, or eliminated so you can focus on growing the business.
Skip the shame. You don’t need a perfect marketing budget or spreadsheet—you just need an honest picture of where you are today even if you're a soloprenuer.
Think monthly. Convert annual and one-time expenses into monthly costs so everything is measured on the same playing field.
Get your team involved. Employees and vendors can help uncover forgotten expenses, subscriptions, tools, and better alternatives.
Use it to communicate. This worksheet helps everyone understand what you’re working with and can help spot opportunities to automate and/or save.
Remember, it’s not accounting. This is a marketing planning exercise designed to help connect the dots between where you are and where you want to go and doesn't need to be perfect.
HAVE QUESTIONS?
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