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Hey, hey, TBD fam!

We’re continuing our Easeful Money series this week and today, we’re diving into all kinds of potent money systems!

I’m so excited to geek out with you from yearly revenue planning, thirderly revenue planning, Profit First, plus my journey on creating a bookkeeping, accounting, and financial planning system that works for me!

Let’s dive in 😉

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Kath Derisson with Fyvie Financial
• Become a DreamMoney™ Supporter to support my first round of capital for my app! I’ll be leading an all new DreamMoney™ Masterclass on September 13th and I’d love your support inviting your community to the masterclass and/or sharing the word about the DreamMoney™ Blueprint and all the financial clarity this can add to their business!

Transcript:

Hey, hey, y’all!  And welcome back to the show.  I am fresh back from a mini-staycay where I went to my fave hotel here in Omaha called the Cottonwood.  It reminds me of this little Parisian-style boutique hotel right here in the Blackstone District and I’ve probably stayed there at least 6 times now.  I just love it!  If you’re ever in Omaha, I’d definitely recommend either the Cottonwood for its vibe, its pool, and its walking distance to amazing restaurants or Hotel Deco, which is in the Old Market and has an equally cool restaurant, bar, and vibe.  

If you’ve been in my world for any amount of time since 2018, you know I’m a big believer in staycations – the practice of going to a local hotel by yourself for a night or two just to focus on yourself.  It’s been important for me to create balance amongst motherhood and marriage and it was something I started back in 2018 when I felt like I was sinking under water with two under two and seriously needed to get out of both morning routine and night-time routine for a couple of days to catch my breath.  

My introversion also really appreciates the quiet & solitude and my soul really loves the ability to do whatever the hell I want without having to wait on anyone or have anybody else’s input every once in a while.  Highly recommend this practice!  Especially if you’re a mama to littles, but honestly now that my kids are both grown – I don’t see this practice stopping for me.  I like it for different reasons in this season and it’s always a nice treat to get a little vacay while being jus a 20-minute drive home in the morning.  

I usually build staycations into my launch strategies too as it helps me get grounded energetically before I do something big and so while I was there on Sunday – I finally made the announcement of DreamMoney to the world outside of our podcast bubble.  August 13th, which is officially a full month out from going for my first round of capital for the DreamMoney app.  This feels like such a spacious runway to not just announce DreamMoney and what it stands for, but to also introduce the new DreamMoney Blueprint.  I’m so excited!! 

Which P.S. If you’re willing to help me spread the word about DreamMoney including the DreamMoney Masterclass on September 13th and the DreamMoney Blueprint to your friends, colleagues, and/or community – please aed your name to the supporters list in the comments! I so appreciate you as I’m holding the vision of connecting with 100 Funding Dreamers who will purchase the full DreamMoney Blueprint for $997 and 1000 Founding Dreamers who will purchase just the DreamMoney Calculator for $247.  I am getting so excited about the community this will build of entrepreneurs who are building more money mastery together!! 

So, this week on the podcast – we’re continuing our journey into easeful money, which is easily a 3-4 part series.  Last week, we talked about the importance of allowing ease in to how we’re working, which means working from a place of spaciousness, a place of trust, a place of allowing.  It means not forcing, not letting self-doubt lead, not getting too attached, not being in a place of scarcity – all things that can edge ease out.  

Today, we’re going to be switching gears from the spiritual work of ease to the practical work of ease, which is all around creating financial systems. 

So when we think about ease, I want you to imagine that there’s flow like we talked about last week, but there’s also simplicity and clarity, right?  Like a task is infused with a lot more ease when there’s a well-oiled process supporting it.  

And although we’re going to be talking about money systems today, this is literally true for any system.  From the way your company handles a refund request to the way you manage your podcast production to even the way you manage laundry at your house, which P.S. I’ve had a laundry service since 2019, which has been an absolute gamechanger!  Every Tuesday, I fill my bags and put them on the porch.  Every Wednesday, they’re dropped back off hung and/folded.  And every Thursday, my housekeeper puts them all away.  I recommend this to all mama’s that dread laundry because it truly does create such a lighter lift.  But that Tuesday-Thursday support is a system.  

It’s having a process that’s simple and clear and planned and creates a lighter lift, which in turn allows YOU, dear listener (which feels so Bridgerton to say), to reallocate that time and/or energy to other things. But more so, when you have a system in place – this allows your nervous system to have a container of “this is how we do things”.  And this not only gives you clarity, but it also provides the container for you to become more and more masterful at operating within that system because it’s a series of steps or a series of practices that you get more and more proficient in over time.  

Now, very few systems are set it and forget it.  We can certainly outgrow systems or they can stop working for us as well as they used to.  But the money systems I’m going to be introducing you to today are ones I’ve used for 5 years now that have made such a huge difference in not only experiencing a lot more ease when it comes to money, but also a lot more mastery.  

So let’s dive in.  

When it comes to money systems, we need a framework for: 

• Revenue planning which is where the DreamMoney Blueprint is going to come in.  I’ll break down how I use the Blueprint in this episode to keep on top of what I’m wanting my business to do/earn. 
• Money management, which again is where the DreamMoney Blueprint comes in – especially for directing your money to do what you want it to do.
• Bookkeeping, which is not in my wheelhouse, but I’ll share what this system looks like for me
• And financial planning, so you’re building wealth – and this will lean on the DreamMoney Blueprint for bits and pieces while leaning on other professionals for the grand majority.  

Let’s start with revenue planning first.  When I first created the DreamMoney Blueprint, the most basic features that came first were calculating yearly goals based on my needs and dreams and then mapping out my revenue streams for getting there.  

Now, your dreams can feel pretty vague so I want to break that down for you.  Every single one of us are going to have what I call “money motivators” every year – or financial goals you want to make progress toward.  

When it comes to getting clear on what you want to contribute financially toward each calendar year, I’ve found clarifying your top 3 financial dreams very helpful in helping you distill the things you really want to accomplish.  When we have more than 3 dreams we’re holding at once, they can start to get a little watery – meaning they can start to feel like a pipedream vs. something that’s actually going to be funded. 

So, one of the first steps is really getting clear on your financial priorities.  Do you want to save money toward a goal?  How much? By when?  Do you want to pay off a certain amount of debt?  How much? By when?  Do you want to buy a new car?  How much? By when?  

I’ve also found that our money motivators are directly linked to what we think is the wise, responsible thing to do with money – which means our financial goals are yes – our goals, but they can also be heavily influenced by what you’ve been taught to believe about money.  So this is a powerful place to check in with yourself if you’re following your own financial truth and desire or are you letting someone’s else’s truth influence the goals/dreams you’re working toward? 

It’s usually quite obvious when I’m in a client’s money motivators and we’re going through them for me to watch their body language and know their first 1-2 money motivators aren’t really their desires.  It’s super common for their true desire to be at the bottom of the list or not even on the list at all.  

The reason this is so key is our being able to tap into your motivation to earn money that’s truly rooted in desire vs. a should is going to be WAY more motivating to earn more, not to mention a lot more fulfilling when you achieve it.  This is one way we create more meaning between us and our money, which we’ll definitely dive into when we cover the M in D.R.E.A.M. 

So, we need a framework for setting yearly revenue goals that include our financial needs being covered (that is always step 1) and then clarifying the top 3 financial dreams we want to make progress toward.  

From there, it’s leaning on the DreamMoney Blueprint for mapping out your revenue streams that can reach those needs and dreams, which will naturally start to inform your sales cycle – what you’re going to be selling and when, which then naturally starts to inform your marketing cycle so you know what needs to be happening in your content, collaborations, etc. 

But yearly is truly just the start.  I’ve never once met an entrepreneur whose yearly plan stayed exactly the same throughout the whole calendar year.  Life happens to life, timelines need to be adjusted, a launch doesn’t go like they thought it would and a downsell needs to come through to fill the gap, new ideas drop in they want to try, etc.  Which is why after setting the yearly plan, I then get more granular on a thirderly basis to check back in on my focus and my plan.  

I used to do the traditional planning, but it has always felt so rushed for me.  By the time I plan out 90 days, it feels like it’s time to do it all over again so I started playing around with mapping out 4 months at a time and liked it so much better!!  So now, thirderly planning is a thing where I’ll map out the next 4 months tightening up my sales calendar and marketing. I’ll also check in with any contractors or employees I may need to hire for specific projects and how that impacts my revenue needs. Plus, it’s a great practice to check in and debrief how things have gone for the last 4 months – any lessons learned, any big celebrations, etc.  

With your new Thirderly Plan in place, it’s then simply moving into execution, which is where your own accountability will come in.  There have been many times I’ve noticed resistance to making goals real or sticking to the plan.  Self-sabotage can come into the mix, which is why I love revenue planning so much because your blueprint is going to show you exactly how to make your dreams real.  The work then is actually believing it’s possible and taking the aligned action to bring it to fruition.  

So, let’s say we have our yearly plan.  We have or thirderly plan.  And we’re executing on that plan on a weekly basis. 

We’re moving through our sales calendar.  We’re moving through our marketing calendar and we also have to manage our money as it’s coming in.  And this, my friends, is where Profit First has been so helpful, which is a cash flow methodology system for allocating your money every two weeks so each of your financial dreams and needs are being funded. 

I’ve been using Profit First since 2018 and have had such great results working with this system.  If you’re familiar with Dave Ramsey’s envelope system where you take your personal income and break it down into your monthly budget so lets say groceries gets an envelope, clothing gets an envelope, etc – the concept is fairly similar with Profit First except our envelopes are all digital in their own bank accounts and are based on the business’s needs.  So we have a digital envelope for OpEx, for example, for Giving, for Profit, for Taxes, etc and every two weeks you’re contributing to all of your accounts basically giving each one a paycheck, including yourself. 

The thing I love about Profit First is the bi-weekly allocation cycle because you meet with your money every two weeks, allocate your money so every single dollar that’s come in is effectively leveraged, and you can see your progress toward your goals in real time as money starts to stack up in certain accounts, your debt decreases as you make your next payment, etc.  

And over time, it’s such a great tool to build money mastery as you get more and more comfortable allocating your money.  

I’ve taken Profit First principles and modified them just a bit for the clients I serve.  If you’re familiar with the system, for instance, I have different margin recommendations for those under the $250K threshold than Mike does as I do find Profit First speaks more to the larger organizations.  The reason this is so key is because small businesses that are under $250k/year have specific needs when it comes to sustainable operations.  

For instance, instead of paying yourself 50% as would be typical for a company this size, I’ve found this doesn’t leave you enough extra to bring on team so you may be making $125K/year, but you are WORKING for that salary.  I’ve found dropping your pay to 45% of total revenue or even 40% can open up a lot more cash flow to feel more supported while also helping you increase revenue.  But, I won’t get too nerdy on you in a podcast episode because Profit First or anything with numbers really tends to be better explained when we have spreadsheets and can let the math math. 

The DreamMoney Blueprint though has an allocation calendar so every two weeks, we’re opening our accounts, we’re allocating our money, and at the end of the year – you have a very powerful financial record of where your money went, what you invested in, how much you saved, how you paid yourself, etc.  

So, at this point – we have a yearly plan & thirderly plan we’re executing on a monthly basis, and now we’re allocating our money every 2 weeks, which is already building a lot more touch points with our money, which is essential for building more intimacy!! 

The DreamMoney Blueprint will support you on these two pieces.  But we also need two more financial systems for easeful money – 

Bookkeeping and financial planning.  

Here’s how this looks in my business. 

For the first few years, I used Bench for bookkeeping, which I absolutely loved, but it didn’t have the highest level of customization at the time.  This may have changed now although their services have gone up in price quite a bit since I was a client.  It used to be $1500/year with more tiered pricing and now the lowest price point is $250/month or $3k/year.  

Then I switched to having a fractional CFO as I was planning on growing my business with lots of team and needed more support on taxes, etc.  But I ended up not growing at the speed I thought I was going to so I didn’t really feel this service was worth it at the time because my business wasn’t big enough to really benefit from everything this CFO could bring my business.  Sadly, it ended up feeling like very expensive bookkeeping at $750/month or $9k/year.  What I would do instead looking back is doing a one-off tax planning intensive with a CFO and then upgrading to those services as I needed them.  Because for most small businesses (at least under $250k/year – bookkeeping and a great accountant will be all you need to make sure your books are in order and your taxes are covered.  

From there, I made the shift to a new bookkeeping service offered by my financial planner that’s far more reasonable and is based on an hourly fee, which usually comes in under $100/month for me because my money is very clear and organized.  Yay!  

There’s also a lot more customization with my current bookkeeper because I’m able to create very specific categories I want to track when it comes to certain expenses.  Plus, this firm not only supports me with my taxes, which will be an additional fee every year, but also manages my financial planning so my husband and I are making progress toward our goals.  

I meet with my bookkeeper on a monthly basis and my financial planner on a quarterly basis and I really love this schedule for managing both business taxes and accounting as well as personal wealth building and investments. 

So, obviously – if you’re at the beginning of your money systems journey – you might be feeling like this is a lot to step into and I want to be very clear – it’s taken me a few years to figure out systems that work for me – especially when it comes to bookkeeping, taxes, and financial planning.  

But the biggest system that will support you in creating more clarity around your money is having a revenue planner like the DreamMoney Blueprint.  Because it’s this tool in particular that helps you get up close and personal with your numbers, your margins, your money management, and revenue planning.  

So when you get to speak to your bookkeeper, your accountant, and your financial planner – you have a financial hub inside your business to communicate your yearly plan.  Here’s what I’m focusing on creating this year.  Do you see any tax adjustments I need to be mindful of as revenue increases in Q3, for instance.  Or here are all my recurring expenses in my business every month. Do you see anywhere I could be saving money?   Or, I want to be clearer on the contract employees I hire this year for one off projects. Can we create a specific category for them so I can stay on top of that?  

Your DreamMoney Blueprint is not just a tool for you as the CEO.  It’s also a communication tool for your entire financial team helping everyone be on the same page.  

One of the reasons why I think money can feel overwhelming is because there are lots of layers to manage and meet with.  But like any good system, if you have a method for consistently meeting with your money – that’s half the battle right there.  

And I have personally found that having a yearly planning session and three thirderly planning sessions serves as the foundation for my entire money system allowing my business to be the anchor point.  Then it’s simply layering in the other supports.  I can book out my monthly bookkeeping meeting for the entire year.  That’s done.  I can book out my quarterly meetings with my financial advisor for the entire year.  That’s done.  And from there, it’s simply allocating my money every two weeks as I make progress toward my financial goals.  

When you have a system around planning and managing your money – you feel like such a badass as you build more mastery within your own system.  Your money is clear.  It’s organized. It’s intentional. But more importantly, you start to feel more regulated around money because you have a plan for it.  And I think that’s the biggest flex of all when it comes to creating more ease.  

So, I’d love to know what this episode sparks for you!  Are you ready to expand your current financial systems?  Are your current financial systems working for you?  Are they time & cost efficient to give you the clarity you need? 

Spending the time to create your systems here will save you so much time and energy down the road. 

There’s no such thing as a bad financial system.  It all comes back to what works for you, which can take some trial and error.  

But, I’m so excited to nerd out with you on money systems because its been such a huge part of shifting my confidence around money and I’d love to see you have supportive money systems in YOUR business!!  So, my friends – definitely check out the DreamMoney Blueprint launch happening on September 13th as I walk you through this whole financial system and the impact it can create in your business.  I cannot wait!  And if you’re willing to help me spread the word about this amazing tool, I’d love for you to add your name to the Supporters list in the show notes.  My goal to is share this framework with thousands of people and every single share helps!  

We’ll keep going with our series on Easeful Money next week as we dive into ease around earning.  It’s going to be a good one!  

Until then, here’s to the courage to keep showing up even when clarity is still forming – knowing, trusting, believing the next right step is always on its way.  See you soon!!