How to Set Business Goals to Finish 2020 Strong

Here we are – the last quarter of the year! 2020 has been strange and challenging for many of us, but it is definitely not cancelled. Many small business owners have been hit hard financially this year. That means the need to pay attention to business finances is greater than ever. Below, I have some ideas for goals to set to finish out the year strong.

What Do You Need to Succeed?

When setting any goals for your business, it’s important to consider what you need to succeed. If you’re at a point where you’re unsure about that, I suggest doing a business check-in first. If you feel like you’ve got a good picture of your business’s current strengths and needs, you can go ahead with the goal-setting.

When setting a goal concerning your business financials, here are a couple tips. First, set one goal, not a dozen. This will make it easier to manage and complete the goal. Second, identify the thing to do in your business finances that would make everything else easier or irrelevant. This advice is from the book, The One Thing – you can read my book review here. In a small business context, this could look like setting up a money system, finding a good bookkeeper to work with on a regular basis, or building a money team. We’ll talk more about potential goals below, but the important thing is to set your sights on the thing that would make the biggest difference to your business.

Create Good Habits

One potentially life-changing goal you could set for your business in 2020 is to finish out the year with good money habits. When I say “money habits,” I mean checking in with your business finances on a weekly basis. The more aware you are of where you stand financially, the better. I’ve written about the stressful weight that feeling vague about numbers can create for business owners. If you look at your records every week, this won’t be an issue for you! In fact, you’ll be better able to make financial decisions in your business, because you’ll be more aware of the information you need. If you need more ideas about what to look for during your weekly check-in, read my articles on knowing what your numbers are telling you and creating more revenue.

Make a Plan

If your business is feeling the effects of the pandemic, perhaps your goal to finish out the year can be to create a financial resilience plan. The most important thing to do when creating a resilience plan is to first take stock of where you are. I recommend reading my article on finding financial clarity if you want some guidance here. Perhaps your resilience plan will include seeking small-business relief opportunities, or adapting your offerings to our continually changing conditions. For ideas on what to include in your plan, I’d recommend checking out the SBA’s resources on preparing your business for emergencies, and my free guide, Cash Flow Flow Reboot Guide: A Guide to Thriving in Uncertain Times.

Stay On Top of Your Books

If you received money from Paycheck Protection Program or other forms of small business support, it’s very important to stay on top of your record keeping this year. Especially if you’re applying for loan forgiveness, it’s important to keep your financials tidy. The SBA has specific stipulations about what they money can be spent on in order to qualify for forgiveness. Keeping your books in order will help you stay on top of where that money goes so you can qualify. I recommend consulting with a bookkeeper for assistance.

I hope these ideas have given you some thoughts on what the best goal to finish 2020 strong is for you and your business. In my private work with clients, we do a lot to make sure they meet their goals. If this sounds like it might be helpful for you, reach out and schedule a free discovery call.

☮

Angela

By |2021-04-08T15:02:18-07:00September 25th, 2020|Categories: Money Mindset, Small Business, solopreneurs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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How Starting My Business Helped Me Live My Motorcycle Dreams

Earlier this month, I completed my fifth annual 1,400-mile cross-country motorcycle road trip. This is my third year riding my own bike, and my third year riding on my dream motorcycle, a red Indian.

I haven’t always been a motorcyclist. The first two years of this trip, I rode on the back of my husband’s bike. But after that second trip, I decided I wanted to learn how to ride. I completed my local motorcycle safety program and got my license. We bought a Honda Rebel 250 and I set a goal to ride my first 500 miles. Then I set my sights on a bigger bike, more mileage, and a longer trip.

Living my motorcycle dreams involved a long process of incremental growth, a flexible schedule, and some money. I had all of these things because I was a seasoned business owner. While I’ve been working under the name At Peace With Money for about three years, I have a much longer history of doing independent bookkeeping work, and before that I ran a jewelry design business. The skills I gained as a solopreneur – dedication, commitment to incremental progress, etc. translated well into becoming a motorcyclist.

I also have a flexible schedule as a solopreneur, which meant I could find the time during the week for lessons and rides. And I had the ability to pay for a course, because of my financial savvy in my own business experiences. I find that solopreneurship can be full of valuable lessons, and can give you the skillsets and necessary resources to accomplish the things you’ve dreamed up. That’s why my objective with At Peace With Money is to help solopreneurs align their business profits with their life goals; because I think it’s 100% possible!

I hope this little pep-talk give you a dose of inspiration for the week. Think of a dream you’ve always had. How could you orient your business to focus on achieving it? You might also like to read How to Start a Goal-Based Business for more thoughts on this subject.

☮
Angela

 

By |2021-04-08T15:25:45-07:00August 28th, 2020|Categories: Money Mindset, Small Business, solopreneurs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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Is Your Business Serving Your Life, Or the Other Way Around?

As a business owner, it can be tough to make sure you don’t get caught up in the hustle all the time. I’ve worked with many business owners whose businesses were definitely the main center of their time and attention, but who weren’t really getting their needs met that way. This is really unfortunate to see, yet so common. Today, I’m going to walk through an exercise you can use to evaluate whether your business is serving your life, or the other way around, and then suggest some next steps. Let’s dive in:

Reflect

To evaluate whether your business is serving your life, or the other way around, there are many different questions you can ask yourself. I recommend setting aside at least 20 minutes to reflect on a few of these questions. Pick whichever call to you:

  • How are my needs being met by my business?
  • What is my primary emotion while performing business tasks, and why?
  • What needs are being fulfilled by my business? Which are not?
  • Do I gain anything by running my business? Do I miss out on anything?
  • Is there balance in my life between all the different roles I play (ie. business owner, friend, partner, etc.)? Which role do I spend the most time in?
  • What are my goals in life? Is my business helping me get closer to reaching them?

Re-evaluate

Once you’ve sat with those questions, you will have a clearer idea on where your business might be running your life. Balance between your business and other parts of your life might be out of whack, or maybe you simply aren’t getting paid enough. Now that you’ve acknowledged the issue at hand, it’s time to re-evaluate. Ask yourself, “How can I re-orient my business so it serves my life?” Start thinking about and researching new strategies you can use to close the gaps between your needs and what your business is providing.

A couple pointers for inspiration: if you feel like you’re not getting paid enough, check out my article on considering your hourly wage and my article on creating an owner’s paycheck. Another good place to look for solutions is my series on money-mapping.

Take Action

After you’ve researched and thought through strategies, it’s time to take action! Your business doesn’t need to run your life. Acting decisively to end this cycle will only help you. Whether it’s opening a separate account or deciding on a day every week where you look at your numbers, any action you take is a step in the right direction. If you work well with an accountability partner, you might enjoy my profitability coaching services. Feel free to schedule a call with me to see if we’d be a good fit.

☮

Angela

By |2021-04-09T09:55:13-07:00August 18th, 2020|Categories: Money Mindset, Small Business, solopreneurs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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How to Do a Business Check-In

So, how is your business doing these days? We find ourselves just past the halfway point of an exceptionally challenging year.  It’s likely circumstances in your business and your life have changed. Now’s the perfect time to take a pause and check in with your business. How are you doing with your goals? In the thick of things, sometimes our focus on our goals can get a little murky. Below, I share a process for reviewing your business with an eye towards those goals, and celebrating what you’ve already done. Here’s the step-by-step:

Review

When you take a look at the goals you’re working towards, it’s easy to get bogged down by focusing on what you still need to do. Instead, train your focus on what you’ve already done.

Start by making a list of milestones you’ve hit or steps you’ve completed. Rifle through your day planner or old to-do lists if you need a refresher. Go back through the year, month by month. Especially because it’s likely this year required you to adapt to COVID-19, there are likely some changes to note.

Now, it’s time for a little introspection. Take stock of all the actions you’ve taken towards your goals, and then ask yourself a few questions: How do I feel about this goal? Do I still want to achieve it by the end of the year? Is that feasible? At what pace have I been able to work toward this? What’s my capacity been like?

Don’t be afraid to drop things or add new things. Some goals may simply no longer excite you, or you may have realized that another objective is more important or time sensitive.

During this review process, it’s also helpful to take a look at the systems and work routines you have in place for your business. For example, you may have set an intention to review your numbers once a week, or you may be trying out the a money mapping system. Evaluate the effectiveness of your systems and routines. Are they working for you? Do you have time to do these things? Are you consistent? You may find that your routines need to be simplified or tweaked to be more pleasant or attainable. Or, you might find that your systems and routines are working just fine! Both are vital evidence when checking in on your business.

Finally, it’s a good idea to check in on how much you’re earning. Perhaps you’ll want to take time to consider your hourly wage, or look into revenue cycles in your business. Checking in with where your business is at financially is key in this step.

Learn and Adapt

Next, it’s time to use all of that evidence you’ve gathered to adapt your goals and practices. First, notice if you have any goals that you are either discarding or adding. Then, examine the pace at which you’ve worked on your goals. These pieces are important when it comes to planning out the rest of your year.

I recommend drawing or writing out a map for the next six months. Include any events relevant to your business, like conferences, trade shows, or gallery openings. Then, begin to write in milestones you hope to meet in the next six months. Make sure these are realistic! Don’t pressure yourself to level up in three months if it took you six to get where you are now. Instead, allow yourself the space and time to achieve things incrementally.

When you’re making your plan, be sure to adapt your goals to what’s worked so far this year. If you really love a certain routine or feel fired up to keep working toward a certain goal, go for it. If you’ve stalled on a project because you need to do more research, carve out some time to go back to the drawing board. When charting your course, keep your own needs and preferences in mind.

Now that you’ve reviewed your work so far and adapted your strategies and goals appropriately, it’s time for the next few steps. These are intended to really up the feeling of getting a fresh start, while enjoying your business for what it is: a way to meet your life goals.

Refresh

For an extra dash of clarity and focus, include a refresh in your review process! Now is the time to do whatever necessary maintenance you might need to grease the wheels of your business. You might clean your workspace, clear your inbox, or centralize your passwords. Attend to your physical and digital spaces. Check in with your finances, and schedule an appointment with a bookkeeper.

This is usually my favorite part of the review process, because I make time to do all the little things that have been nagging me, like scheduling lower priority appointments, finding that one piece of paper, and sometimes making a new goal chart for myself. Giving yourself the space to get organized can save you time and effort down the road.

Celebrate

Go back to step one, and take stock again of all you’ve done this year, including this review process. Chances are, you will find you’ve done quite a bit of work towards your goals, no matter how close you might be to completing them! Take some time to celebrate all the work you’ve done. Treat yourself to an afternoon off, a fun or inspiring event, or whatever you’d like to do to celebrate your achievements so far! Being a solopreneur is hard work. If you’ve done the work, you deserve to cheer yourself on once in a while.

I hope this outline has given you some ideas for checking in with your goals and your business. If you’d like someone to engage in this process with you, this is something I love to do with my bookkeeping and coaching clients. Please feel free to review my services and schedule a curiosity call.

☮

Angela

By |2020-07-31T15:24:48-07:00July 31st, 2020|Categories: Financial Clarity, Money Mindset, Small Business|Tags: , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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Why Your Business’s Financials Might Not Be As Bad As You Think

Your numbers might not be as bad as you think. Many solopreneurs tend to avoid their numbers out of a feeling that if they really look at them, they’ll find financial troubles. While excusing yourself from looking at your numbers might put the problem on hold in the short term, that low-level stress and uncertainty doesn’t go away. In fact, it piles up into a sense of dread. I’m here to tell you that dread is needless. Here’s why:

No More Perpetual Vague-ness

Currently, I’m reading a book by Karen McCall called Financial Recovery. One of my favorite quotes so far is how she talks about the way people treat their finances, when she says “most people live in a state of perpetual vagueness.” Getting familiar with your numbers can actually be a comfort, because it can lift you out of this state of perpetual guesswork! Many people find that when they actually take the time to really assess where they’re at financially, it’s better than their previous emotional perception. So that’s why I say your numbers are better than you think – it’s likely true!

Take the Plunge: Look at Your Numbers

There are a number of ways to take this plunge. First, you can look through everything yourself. Especially if your books are not that complicated, or you have a rough system going already, taking a look on your own is a good idea. You can also get a good picture of whether you’re able to hire or consult with a bookkeeper. A good bookkeeper will be able to deliver a lot of important financial insights. This will certainly help you get out of that vague place. Even if your financials are indicating some unfortunate things, a good bookkeeper can soften this blow by helping you come up with strategies to surmount any difficulties.

If you were waiting for that extra push to really look at your business’s financial situation, here it is. And if you’d like to seek some assistance, with bookkeeping or profit strategy, feel free to book a curiosity call with me to see if that’s right for you!

☮

Angela

Image by bruce mars 

By |2020-07-16T14:20:29-07:00July 16th, 2020|Categories: Bookkeeping Business, Financial Clarity, Money Mindset|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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Stop Expecting “Business As Usual”

So far, 2020 has been a challenge for many business owners. The COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout and the protests that have broken out around the country have both rocked the business landscape. Many solopreneurs and business owners have had to completely reshape their offerings and financial strategies. Perhaps this includes you!

This time last year, I shared my thoughts on how to do a mid-year review. This time around, I’m thinking about how rather than reflecting on the year so far, it’s time to adapt to a new and different future. I had prepared a blog post about how my income expectations faltered as the pandemic set in. However, because so many people ended up needing help straightening out their books, I blew my original income goal out of the water! My point with this post was going to be how important it is to not let a dismal situation limit your expectations for your business. But, at this moment, I think there’s something deeper to learn. In these rapidly-changing times, it’s important for us to adapt and be gentle with ourselves.

No More “Business As Usual”

Despite the many plans for re-opening the U.S., for many of us, things are not going back to normal. Perhaps you already know this from looking at your bottom line. Or maybe you’ve seen reports about how small businesses have been affected at large. The economic effects and social effects of recent times have created a lasting change in the small business landscape. It’s important for us as business owners to prepare for things to continue to change. This can look a myriad of ways. Creating a money system and putting together a savings cushion are two great strategies for establishing financial resiliency if you want extra ideas.

Just because things aren’t going back to normal doesn’t mean it’s all doom and gloom, though. Aside from the economic effects, both the pandemic and the recent Black Lives Matter protests have also enriched the business landscape from a social perspective. There are so many opportunities for collaboration! Now more than ever, we have an opportunity to lift each other up. If you want more ideas for collaboration, check out my article on 7 Tips for Business Owners During COVID-19 and my Cash Flow Reboot Guide.

Be Gentle

Don’t be hard on yourself if you don’t meet your income goals or if your business is struggling. Conversely, if you find yourself getting a ton of business as a result of the pandemic, don’t work yourself too hard, either! Coping with changes in your business can be challenging. Giving yourself the space to be present with feelings that come up and get enough rest are of paramount importance. The reality is that, no matter how hard you grind right now, in many cases things are still going to be challenging. This is a hard time in the world for most people, solopreneur or not! Be gentle in your expectations of yourself as best you can.

Be Present

In addition to stepping up to give your emotions some space, this is also a time step up for your community as a business owner. The current moment we are in is showing us many ways to do this. Whether we choose to uplift Black colleagues, create fundraising projects, or present some offerings for free, we’ve got options in how to contribute. I think that, if we want to, we can use this moment to permanently change how we do business. I love the way that Proposals for the Feminine Economy frames businesses – as “needs-fulfillment machine[s].” How can we find ways to do business that meet, not only our own needs, but the needs of those around us? Both COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter protests have shown us how connected we all really are – socially and economically. This is a question we can sit with right now.

What are your thoughts about business as usual? Has your business experienced any bumps in the road? Please sound off in the comments below. If you’re feeling in need of more guidance on how to navigate this time, don’t hesitate to check out my services and schedule a call.

☮

Angela

Image by Christin Hume

By |2020-06-23T22:04:25-07:00June 23rd, 2020|Categories: Financial Clarity, Money Mindset, Small Business, solopreneurs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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How to Step Up For Your Community As a Business Owner

Community is absolutely key to the business owner. Recent events have called on us over and over to think about how we’re all connected. The COVID-19 pandemic made it more obvious than ever how we all depend on each other, while the protests happening around the country call on each of us to reflect how we interact with each other and the ways we enable racist policing to continue. Throughout all of this, one of my main pieces of advice has been to stay checked in with other business owners, clients, and other community members. From staying in touch with your audience via social media like Bri Crabtree, to leaning on your money team to make financial decisions, community is very important to a business. No solopreneur exists in a vacuum. So, during this time of unrest and reckoning with our racist past and present, it’s important that we each recognize our responsibilities as community players. 

In this post, I’ll talk about the importance of taking time to reflect on your role in your community, and what you can do now to support Black lives. Whether its fellow business owners, youth in your community, or medics and community workers, many people are in need of support and resources. This is our opportunity to step up as business owners. Let’s dive in: 

Reflect

Take time to consider how you’ve shown up in your community prior. Whether it was donating your goods or services to a local fundraiser, or starting a project that raised money for a specific cause, consider your past efforts. If you’ve never embarked on a project like this, have you had any ideas about it in the past? Reflect on your values and your personal desires to get involved and be supportive to others. What motivates you? It is to your great benefit to build a network in your community of people and causes you support, and who support you in turn. 

Reach Out for Feedback

Ask friends who are involved how your business could support community efforts. If you have friends who are currently involved in anti-racism work, ask them how you could support them or amplify their message. You’ll likely receive some fresh suggestions.

Take Cues From Other Businesses

In my newsletter this month, I highlighted Ben & Jerry’s statement on recent events, “Silence is Not an Option.” Along with this statement, they have also released a new flavor that benefits four different organizations “working on the front lines of the peaceful resistance, building a world that supports their values.” While Ben & Jerry’s is a fairly large corporation, their example is inspiring for businesses of all sizes. 

Here’s an idea more to scale for many of us. Many solopreneurs on Instagram are participating in the #amplifymelanatedvoices challenge, to uplift Black and Brown solopreneurs. Quieting their own social media presences and spotlighting these creators helps them materially, but also creates stronger networks of community among these solopreneurs. Some business owners have also been donating free services or products to Black people and organizations. For example, I’ve seen several herbal apothecaries that are offering free herbal products and consultations for Black people and organizers. 

Do some research and find out what others in your industry are doing, and how businesses in your area are responding to the moment. Then think about what you can do for your community that is authentic, helpful, and realistic given your resources. To ensure your actions are concretely helpful to the Black community, check out this read on do’s and don’ts of allyship. 

Consider Your Resources

All businesses are not alike, and while you may not have the resources to release a new ice cream flavor, perhaps you can use your platform to speak out. Simply adding your voice as a business owner to the current discussion around the importance of Black lives and the horrors of police misconduct can be helpful. The same goes at another time for another issue.

Perhaps you can donate your time or services to a cause, or offer them for free for Black or low-income people in your area. You might create a fundraising offering, where a certain percentage of proceeds goes to fund an organization in your community. If you get creative, there are many ways to chip in and stay in your business’s budget. Next week, I’ll be talking about how to use money mapping to figure out how much you can give to causes. Stay tuned for that. 

Above all, remember that whatever effort you make to contribute to your community, if you make it with good intentions, know that it will be appreciated, and likely returned to you down the road. The more we create good networks that are based truly on helping each other, the more we can each succeed in our endeavors. If you’d like another reflection-based exercise to go along with all this, check out my posts on how to do a mid-year review. 

☮

Angela

Image by Joan Villalon

By |2020-06-10T10:17:45-07:00June 10th, 2020|Categories: Money Mindset, Small Business, solopreneurs|Tags: , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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Solopreneur Spotlight: Bri Crabtree on Adapting as a Professional Performer to COVID-19

Bri Crabtree is a professional circus performer. She juggles, unicycles, and entertains people of many different ages with silly antics. Typically, she performs at a variety of events. When COVID-19 hit, her work for the foreseeable future was cancelled. Bri quickly pivoted both her business tasks and personal finances to address this new challenge. Here are some of the insights she shared with me in a recent video interview.

Making Connections & Staying Connected

Bri told me that as soon COVID-19 began impacting her work, she started making personal connections and reaching out for opportunities. She also spoke about her social media strategy during this time. She told me she’s become more active on social media in order to maintain a presence in her clients’ minds. Through online offerings like her Silly Circus Show virtual parties, posts to her Instagram, Facebook, and her newly created Patreon account, she’s staying connected to fans. These accounts give her a chance to do a lot of behind the scenes work and show her clients what those processes look like. Making content like this also gives her more time to work on the many costuming, puppet-making, and other prop-related projects involved in her business. I loved this video from her costume closet!

Opening Income Streams & Applying for Aid

When Bri reached out to others looking for opportunities to make up for her lost work, she found solutions in the form of new income streams. She was offered a babysitting job and directed to a place where she could take paid surveys.

She also applied for aid in a couple different forms. She applied for unemployment early on, although she didn’t get good results. She also applied for EBT, and applied for and received a grant from the Bay Area Safety Net Fund.

Her new virtual party offerings, stickers, and her Patreon account are also new income streams that she has opened during COVID. All of this combined shows Bri’s flexible and diverse approach to adapting her business during this time.

Zeroing In

Bri talked about how important it was for her to “zero in” on essentials and pare down her budget. One thing that’s been particularly helpful is going out to eat less, and cooking more at home. She’s been buying staple foods in bulk, for economic reasons and to keep herself well-stocked. Many people are trying to stay focused on essentials right now. Bri and I worked to establish a comfortable spending plan for her life. Here’s some ideas on how to do that for yourself.

Keeping A Good Mindset

Maintaining a good mindset through these challenges has been key for Bri. Much like my interview with Jennifer Graham, Bri shared some specific things that have been helping her out. She’s been learning to play the ukulele (and sharing her progress!). She also works out four times a week, citing Ground Up Fitness Home Workouts as one of her favorite resources.To keep track of both of these projects, each day she uses a motivational sticker calendar.

Finally, she spoke to me about feeling financially confident during these challenging times, because of the work we’ve done together on her finances in the past. As a coach, it’s good to hear that work is paying off.

Flexible Thinking

The many ways Bri has adapted her business to the conditions of COVID-19 show a lot of flexible thinking. She problem-solved in a number of ways, from adapting her offerings to the digital realm, to pursuing income streams unrelated to her talents, to applying for aid and creating healthy routines for herself. Her new approaches to her business have not only kept her afloat, but also created new opportunities. The fact that she has created a Patreon and gotten to create more behind-the-scenes content for her clients is a wonderful use of her time. It allows her to work on those projects, and create more interest in her work.

You can watch our full video interview here. You can also follow Bri on her site, check out her Silly Circus Show, support her on Patreon, and see what she posts on Facebook and Instagram. If you enjoyed this article, you might also like the two I wrote about how Jennifer Graham, a photographer in the Bay Area, has adapted to COVID.

☮

Angela

By |2020-06-02T13:43:54-07:00June 2nd, 2020|Categories: Money Mindset, Small Business, solopreneurs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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Solopreneur Spotlight: Jennifer Graham On Coping With Business Changes During COVID-19

Jennifer Graham made a number of pivots in her business to adapt to COVID-19. While we discussed her business strategies last week, this week I want to highlight the emotional strategies she discussed with me. Being a business owner during this time has been hard on many of us, and the thoughts she shared about taking care of her own wellbeing were full of insights we can all use. Taking care of our emotions allows us to be smarter with our finances, so I believe prioritizing our feelings during this time is key to preserving our businesses.

Acknowledging Grief

The first thing Jennifer mentioned doing once shelter in place went into effect, was acknowledging and holding the grief that came along with it. In addition to all the other abrupt changes, Jennifer lost a lot of photoshoot work, and experienced a total change-up in her calendar. Many people have been experiencing grief during this period, and Jennifer took time to acknowledge and care for hers.

Taking Care

During our interview, Jennifer brought up a couple other practices that have helped her take better care emotionally. First, she said making a practice of acknowledging her feelings, and asking herself “What would bring you joy right now?” has helped her stay centered. Sometimes that might be stepping away from her work to nap or take a walk, and she allows herself to do that. She also mentioned that really acknowledging the work she is doing has been helpful. Many people are currently describing their days as blurs, so perhaps this practice can help remedy that feeling.

Lastly, she mentioned working with a team of people, namely her therapist, business coach, and myself, as being particularly helpful during this time. I’ve written a few articles about how relying on a money team or money buddy can ease the decision making process and alleviate hard times. It’s great to see that Jennifer is leaning on others when it comes to making decisions for her business.

Making Space for Ideas

All this emotional self-care is part of what made it possible for Jennifer to adapt her offerings to current conditions. She relayed to me that “about 3 weeks in, the ideas just started coming,” and from there she was able to create new services that were shelter-in-place-compliant. This nimble and creative thinking is especially valuable at a time like this. Because Jennifer is able to acknowledge her feelings and tend to them, she has more mental space available when it’s time to get to work.

You can read part one of this series on Jennifer’s business here, and watch the full video interview too. You can also visit her site, her Facebook page, and her Instagram feed to learn more about what she offers. If you’re interested in a guide for business owners on adapting COVID-19, my Cash Flow Reboot Guide is available for a free download here.

☮

Angela

By |2020-05-21T16:41:26-07:00May 21st, 2020|Categories: Money Mindset, Small Business, solopreneurs|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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How to Find Good Financial Advice During COVID-19

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic ripple effects, there’s been a lot of discussion and advice about what business owners should do. I’ve added my own voice to the mix, with a recent article and a full-length guide accompanied by a video series. Along with the variety of advice out there right now, there are also differing tones and points of view. Whether you’re looking to speak with others about money in the time of pandemic, or just hoping to find a way to navigate through all the guides, resources, and economic commentary, here are a couple things to pay attention to.

Nix the Shame and Guilt

Right now, I’m seeing a lot of people writing about this from a point of view that places a lot of shame and guilt on readers feeling unprepared and surprised by the economic fallout that’s occurred. Some are claiming that people’s lack of savings or inability to save for these types of emergencies is the ultimate source of their misfortune during this time. While saving up an emergency fund is of course a great idea, I do want to make sure that we recognize we are in the midst of a global emergency.

If you have lost money and don’t have enough saved to cover that loss, please don’t internalize that as your own fault. Sources that are encouraging you to do so or blaming those in need of unemployment benefits and other assistance are best avoided. If you are experiencing shame and guilt, take some time to process these feelings, but don’t make any decisions based on them. This might be a great time to do some mindset work.

Bye, Fear Tactics

While there’s certainly been an uptick in economic uncertainty, I’d advise you to steer clear of anyone leading a business pitch to you with this information. There are some coaches and other financial professionals who are currently using fear tactics to draw more clientele. Here’s a good litmus test to avoid people like this: don’t sign up for anything or listen to anyone who makes you feel more scared and activated than you were prior to hearing from them.

What We Really Need


Instead of fear tactics and guilt-tripping, we need to listen for messages that are factual. Resources that speak in practical terms and outline solutions are your best friend right now. Additionally, guides that approach the current economic situation from a growth mindset which stimulate your creativity and promote problem-solving, are good resources. If you have a public platform, keep all this in mind. People need guidance right now. The more we spread messages that are empowering and hopeful, the more we can contribute to the wellbeing of our communities.

If you’d like more thoughts about navigating all the financial advice out there, check out my articles on the topic:

☮

Angela

Image by: Fa Barboza

By |2020-04-30T12:53:19-07:00April 30th, 2020|Categories: Financial Clarity, Money Mindset, Small Business, solopreneurs|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments
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