On the mind.

Two things this week, both related to money, Bitcoin and Business Budgeting! Before that, my newsletter turned 21 this week. Time for a 🍺.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin hit an all-time high, surpassing $75K per digital coin! Kind of crazy, and I had to share in case you didn’t already know. Check it out!

This week, I had dinner with someone who stated the following while we were discussing cryptocurrencies, “I don’t understand how Bitcoin is valued.” I told him the market dictates the price, scarcity of coins released, etc. He said, “I understand that, but what is it based on?” We then asked ChatGPT, which gave a much better answer than I did but it was kind of the same answer.

We looked at each other and well, aside from the typical "market dictates price" explanation, we scratched our heads, laughed, and both still didn’t truly understand how it has a $1.5T market cap.

Bitcoin isn’t based on anything other than its credibility as a usable currency by the people and its unique technical and economic features. The point is, at its core, I get it but I also don’t.

Business Budgeting

I’m not a fan of budgets for all areas of an operating business. You’ll never hear me fully say, “Here’s a sum of money to spend, go for it.” Budgets can often add unnecessary complexity.

Now, before I hammer in why strict budgets can be problematic, don’t take this as me being entirely anti-budget. Budgets are critical for any and all companies, especially as it scales and becomes more of a numbers game. At White Rabbit Group, we do a large budget exercise each year and touch base on our spending throughout the year. We keep a close eye on the numbers.

As the person who manages all our finances, let me explain where I think some areas of budgeting can hinder agility:

1. Loss of Control: I like to stay closely involved with our money and spending. For our size as a company, it’s better for me to be in the weeds when it comes to spending decisions. Every dollar we spend is questioned and needs validity.

2. Time-Consuming: Precise budgeting can be a waste of time when you know things will change. Spending too much time on rigid budgets can drain your energy better spent on other areas of the business.

3. Waste of Spending: If the money is there, people will spend it. Not all managers are finance people and that’s ok. I’ve seen it with our own customers budgeting mentality, “We have X amount of budget left before the end of the year; we need to spend it!”

4. Lack of Agility: Real-world changes happen all the time. A set budget often doesn’t align with these changes and can hinder adaptability. Inflexibility in decision-making when situations arise can lead to poor outcomes based on outdated assumptions.

Budgets have their place and are important. But traditional, fixed budgets for all departments are typically rigid, prone to inflation, and can quickly become irrelevant when faced with real-world challenges.

Sometimes, I think people overcomplicate businesses. Just get out there and do it.. and keep a close eye on the money.

PS: To our Director of Marketing, yes, you still have your monthly budget spend.

Weekly moments.

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Thanks for following along!

The Weekly is a newsletter that goes out each week written by Greg Bellinger, currently building and CEO of White Rabbit Group and The Labs.

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