SPEAKER_01 0:01

Most product-based business owners think they need something new to grow, a new strategy, a shiny tool, a game-changing idea. But the truth, you don't need more exciting. You need what actually works. Because the businesses that win on profit and cash flow, yeah, they've mastered the fundamentals. And this is exactly what we do inside the Inventory Genius program. We clean up your financials so that you have a clear, accurate picture of your inventory and your real margins. We fix your product mix, making sure every single SKU is actually making you money, not just creating revenue. And we build a profit plan so that you can pay off debt, generate cash, and run your business with confidence. No fluff, no guesswork, no chasing trends, just a proven system that helps product-based businesses win again when it comes to profit and it comes to cash. Because long-term success isn't flashy, it's consistent. Join us in the Inventory Genius program. Let's make your business work for you. Hey friend, welcome to the Inventory Genius podcast, where we work together here to make you an inventory genius. We talk about profit, we talk about cash flow, and we definitely talk about your paycheck. Because at the end of the day, it's all related to your inventory. Let's go. Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the Inventory Genius Podcast. I'm Sierra and I'm here today with Rebecca. She has been through the Inventory Genius program. She recently graduated. And Rebecca's been awesome to just watch her story unfold over the last year and a half plus as she started to work through her numbers, pay off her debt, make a lot of changes. But Small Business was no stranger to her when she started with me. She had had other businesses previous to her product-based business. And she's going to share some of that story today. But a lot of times as we live life and we accumulate stories, you know, in our story, chapters in our own book, we can bring in baggage, if you will, right? Like decisions we make that maybe we weren't happy with or things didn't go the way that we had planned. And we start to store up sometimes some shame and guilt around where we've been and where we're going. And for Rebecca, as she shared with the group on so many occasions, she has a real passion for walking through this with people because she knows where she's been from a shame and guilt mindset perspective and how she's in a much different place now and how the release of that has freed her up to just let her business thrive. So I'm really excited about having her today. Rebecca, thank you for spending time with us.

SPEAKER_00 2:50

Thank you. I'm excited to be here.

SPEAKER_01 2:52

Okay, so I told you before we started, what I want to shape for the audience is like this year and a half journey. So where you were when you found me from a mindset perspective. If you can tell us that and then right away where you are today. And then I want in our conversation to walk through how we got from A to Z.

SPEAKER_00 3:12

So I'll let you dig in. Yeah, sure, sure. Um, before I came to you, I mean, I I've had a couple different um roles, all kind of related to um therapy, grief and loss, death and dying, working in the hospice arena. And um, so I worked in hospice for a long time. I left there to start my private practice. And so I worked with a lot of clients on grief and loss and guilt and shame and all the feels. And um I think that I was drawn to that sort of area because I was kind of doing some of my own work too. You know, I loved being able to help people because I knew it pretty intimately. And um I when I started with you, I was really carrying a lot of I I wouldn't even call it shame because it was so deep inside, I don't think you could even, I couldn't recognize it in myself. And as I as I went on with the business, I was making money, but always wondering, like, well, I can see it on paper. Where is the money actually going? And then I started to recognize that what that was was shame because I felt like I have a master's degree, I have an education, I should know how to do this. But the truth is, most of us start our businesses because we have a passion for what we're doing, not so much, you know, who who teaches us how to do bookkeeping and accounting and and how to run a business. We kind of, you know, I think most business owners, we kind of dive in and we're passionate. We know, you know, some of us can say, well, we know how to sell and we know how to buy and we know how to set up a pretty store and all of the things, but we don't necessarily know how to, when you know, we're not sitting down enough with our numbers, we're avoiding it. And what starts as a drip becomes an ocean, and then we're behind this wall of water and don't know where to go next. So I that's where I was coming in, and then um where I where I got to through the program, um, and I know we're gonna go through go into that, it's so much of it is about accompaniment that you know that you're not alone. You know that there are people out there whose situation is worse than yours and it's better than yours. And you're watching people in the program go through the process, follow the steps. Um, as you know, in my situation, I was so into well, how do you, you know, everything had to be just so perfect. Like, am I doing everything correctly? Sometimes I would put it aside for a while and then come back and go, why am I not doing more of this? Um where it got me to was a place of um courage and confidence and consistency. And those, you know, as I was thinking about what I wanted to share today, those are the three things that really have stuck with me through the program and now even after the program. I'm still doing my money Mondays and, you know, still staying in touch with the idea that, you know, stop looking at your top line revenue. That means that, you know, like you said, you've said many times, it's kind of a vanity number, right? It's not, doesn't mean anything because we're not really knowing um what a business's expenses are and how much you're paying yourself and how much your taxes are. And so all of those things considered, we you know, we we have to stop looking at that top line. So I just learned so much from the program. And I would say when you are on calls and you are hearing other people explain their situation, you you feel so accompanied, you feel so companioned that yeah, this person might be in Nashville, they might be in Florida, they might be in New York, and they're going through the exact same thing you are. They're there to learn. We're all just showing up to learn. And and we're showing up for each other. Even when you show up on a call and you're not, you're not, you don't have a question, you know, you can still be there and and type in suggestions for other people, you know. So that was super helpful for me just to, I don't know, just that hour where um I felt not alone, you know. As solopreneurs, friends and family, they don't get it. Some of them don't want to get it. They yeah, they you know, they can't understand the risk you take for for starting a business and they don't want to hear your problems or your stories, or you know, some of them don't even want to hear your wins. But this group, people are there to hear those things. You encourage them to share their wins. What were those three words you said that you started with a C courage, consistency, and confidence?

SPEAKER_01 8:22

So we okay, so going back to let's say a year and a half ago, courage, consistency, confidence. Which of those three do you think come first when you take the step to say, here's where I am today? I don't like what this feels like. I want a change. What are those three things, which do you lean into first?

SPEAKER_00 8:42

The courage. Okay. For sure. Because I needed the courage to commit to the program. You know, it's it's an investment. And when people don't have the you already feel afraid about the money, yeah, you feel a little bit afraid to say, yes, I'm going to do this because you think I'm just gonna maybe I'll just make my money situation worse. But it was the best thing I could do because it kept me consistent. It left me, it led me to the next place.

SPEAKER_01 9:10

Um, so consistency came next then.

SPEAKER_00 9:13

And was that a choice you made to do? It is definitely a choice. And there were some weeks, to be honest, Sierra, where I was just doing the bare minimum, you know, like I'll just get my numbers in. And sometimes I'm even looking at the numbers thinking, I hope these are right, but I still got to get them in. That built, that built the the routine, it it built in that consistency, then makes me think, okay, it's Monday. I need to look at my numbers. And the courage was the courage had to come first because you you you have to face some uncomfortable things. You have to face your numbers, you have to know your numbers, you have to, you know, and you know my story about um my firing my accountant, you know. You remember how afraid I was to fire my accountant? I was so afraid of her response. She was a very emotional gal. Um, I was always last on her list. And she, you know, I would leave her office literally in tears, literally in tears. And I was afraid to try to find somebody else because I didn't think I could find anybody good. I had interviewed a couple more, they were outrageously expensive on, you know, people giving me referrals. Then I'd just drop it for a while because, well, there's so many other things that need your attention, and it was something I was avoiding. But when you and and Candy had talked to me about, you know, this is number one, you have to get your number, you have to feel confident with the person and trust the person that you that you use for with your numbers. And yeah, I did finally find I interviewed a few more. I did finally find somebody who is calm, um, answers my questions, responds on time, you know, she doesn't make me cry, you know. So it's just it's pretty key to have somebody that you trust. Um, and I was avoiding a lot of my numbers and my money situation because I was avoiding her. And so that was that was a big mountain that you all helped me move past. And so then I was facing my numbers more, and this is more part of the courage piece. And and there was just encouragement to push through the hard stuff on calls, you would say, just do it, just get your numbers down. It doesn't have to be perfect, but you know, like I remember sending so many questions at the beginning, like, well, how do I how do I put this number in? And it's like, put it in however it makes sense to you, just put it in, you know. Yeah, like it do I spread it out throughout the whole year, or do I put, you know, if you have insurance, insurance payments one time a year, do I put it in once or do I put it in for all 12 months? Or, you know, it that really doesn't matter as much as just getting started and getting it rolling. And you and I are so different in that way, like you're just like, go get them. And I'm like, okay, I have to map it all out, I have to put the planning in. And that is that holds me up so much. And so I was, you know, in watching you and and candy, you know, just get it done. Like the follow-up's there, it'll happen. And so just um learn pushing through the hard stuff was was um was pretty key. And that that was all there because of the courage, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:33

And so then you chose to be consistent, and from that came the confidence. I think people want the confidence to be first, don't they? Like of the three, they're like, Well, I want to be confident first that this is the right decision to join the program. I want to be confident that I know my numbers, I want to be confident, but you can't have confidence until you take action, and so you had to say, like, right or wrong, I'm just gonna step out and do it, and then I'm gonna do it consistently, and then you build confidence.

SPEAKER_00 13:01

Exactly. That action does not have to be perfect. We might we're we're going to make mistakes. We're, you know, even people when you're well on your way, your debt is gone. My debt is gone, and I'm I'm in disbelief that it's gone. But following the program helped me understand that confidence is a byproduct of action. It doesn't come. Oh, that's so good.

SPEAKER_01 13:25

I mean to quote you guys, yeah. I love that.

SPEAKER_00 13:28

I'm saying with you know, and you know, you're the Iron Man girl, like motivation comes after you do it. You know, if we sit around and wait for motivation, we you know, who wants to go out and run in 95 degree heat, right? But once you're done, you're glad you did it. Yeah. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 13:45

So and even sometimes once you're in the middle of just the first five minutes of starting, you're like, okay, this I can do this.

SPEAKER_00 13:52

Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:53

Yes. It's like that's just put your number in, even if it's not quite right. You've never put it in before. We're just going to put it in. And then you put it and you're like, I I can figure this out.

SPEAKER_00 14:03

For sure. And I think part of pushing through the hard stuff for me was um again, that vanity number. And you know, I have a little counter, uh, one of those um analog counter things from Shopify that that goes click, click, click, click, and it shows the number, you know, when you when you make a sale. And my husband, he has the Shopify app on his uh on his phone. And every time the there's an order, it goes ch-ching, you know, and he is so excited for me every time, especially if it's a really big order. He's my biggest cheerleader. But he he looks at that top line number and he doesn't consider, you know, I was explaining to him that, you know, he he'll say, Well, where's the net? You know, if you have a net of X, you know, where's the money? I'm like, Well, you know, I have to take everything that I make from that, and then and then I have taxes, and you know, there's cost of goods sold that's not you're not considering, you know, so there's all these pieces that the top line revenue just doesn't tell the whole story, and he's never run a business, you know, he's an engineer, he's a really smart guy, but he has never run a business, and so um, I think you know, my background is social work, it's therapy, it's it's human behavior, but I love learning things, and so this part was once I pushed through that hard stuff and really watched you just like just dig in, you know, you're so happy about it. You know, we we we met for lunch that one time, you're like asking questions about, you know, what do you think it is that people what holds people back from acting, from from taking action? And I think that perfectionism is a big piece of it for me that um, and you know, sometimes when you are in planning mode, it gives you an excuse not to act. And I recognize that from in me. Yeah, so yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:06

So you become really self-aware, you chose to be self-aware too, like what's holding me back. So, do you think that the confidence then? So courage into consistency, you're building confidence. Is the confidence the shame buster then? Like, does comp is confidence what starts to shatter that shame around where you feel like you should have been or the mistakes you shouldn't have made? What do you think about that?

SPEAKER_00 16:34

I think the consistency was probably what broke me through. And also there's such power in being in the group. Okay, you think you know nothing, but then you get around the group and you realize we all know nothing. Yeah, we all know nothing, right? That some people know more and some people know less. And yeah, we're all just in this boat, and we all know different things, right? Yes, but when you're in this group, there's such power in this collective of not knowing. And then we we we then know we learn from each other, we learn from you, we learn, you know, from the program. And the consistency, I think, was what pushed me through. If I would have never learned, I mean, that's spread the spreadsheet and the structure of the program is so well designed, um, it's overwhelming at first, but then the more you have to, once you're consistent with it, you understand what feeds what and and how the you know, it took me several times, several calls, um, to to really understand how it all um functions. And now that I understand it, you know, at the beginning you were like, oh, it just takes five minutes. And I'm thinking, oh girl, not me, you know. But then now it really only takes me five minutes because I'm not obsessing over every little thing. Like, did I get, you know, all three revenue streams in? And did I I do, but like, did I miss one? Okay, no big deal. It's $22. Okay, no big deal. It's not gonna hurt me that much if I it's not included. And so if I have a general idea, especially now that I don't have any debt, I I'm I'm good. But I would have never gotten there if I wasn't consistent with money Mondays.

SPEAKER_01 18:33

Yeah. I know one way that you described it, which I love and I've stolen these words from you with your permission, was financial hygiene, right? Because you talked to me about that, and you're like, we all get up in the morning, we brush our teeth, we wash our face, like we've been taught that since we were two years old. Yes, you know, but we aren't taught that as business owners, you need financial hygiene too. And that's where the money Mondays. It's like, what's the brushing teeth equivalent to like looking at your numbers? What's the washing your face? What's the putting on the right clothes? So talk about that. Like, how did that click in your mind? Like, this is a necessary part for a healthy business.

SPEAKER_00 19:09

I love that it's Monday because if you wait until Wednesday or Friday, the ocean, like that tsunami effect of everything happening and people calling you in different directions in your business and customer calls and orders that need to be filled, and you know, all of the things, it it takes over. And so if Money Monday did two things, it it got it done, right? I do it first thing in the morning, and sometimes sometimes I would do email and then I would do it, but I would try to do it when I first sat down at my desk. And sometimes I had to put out a few fires first, but that helped me. It it helped me also, it helped me get it done, but it also helped me in my brain prioritize it. It's making it a priority, it's it's giving my brain the message that this is not just some administrative task. This is one of the most important things you can do for your business. So, I mean, and and also on Monday, if you have financial decisions to make in the week and you know that your profit is lean, you're making different decisions if you know your numbers. Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:28

So it puts you in a much more proactive position versus reactionary, like, oh, it's Thursday, there's no money left, payrolls tomorrow, I'm freaking out. Yeah. So we've already prepared for that on Monday. Even if we don't like what the answer is, we at least have prepared. That's what I think is so interesting, Rebecca. I know you love the mind because of your background in therapy. It's so interesting how we talk to ourselves and what we convince ourselves is true. So true. And yeah, it's like, well, my numbers are really awful, so I don't want to put them down, write them down or look at them, except that they're the same whether we look at them or not. So our brain just wants us to be comfortable, what it considers comfortable. And so comfortable means I don't want to be agitated, I don't want to feel bad, so then I'm gonna avoid, but it actually sometimes our brain lies to us. And so we have to find tools to tell our brain what actually needs to be done.

SPEAKER_00 21:22

Yeah, for sure. Um, another thing that I really picked up um in looking at my numbers is a month is simply a snapshot in time. And so I had a huge order and I paid for the order in one month. And then the next month I got paid for that order. So I paid for my cost of goods sold, say in March, then I didn't get paid for it for the order until April. And so I look at March and I'm in the negative, and I'm like, yeah, but if you look at the 60 day snapshot, you know, so it. If I have a month where something shows negative or shows $11, I am constantly reminded that, well, look at your quarter, look at your year. You know, you're you're profitable. And so there's just so many ways to look at it that this has just helped me. This the spreadsheet and the layout of the spreadsheet has helped me see exactly what's going on without giving me that freak out mode, you know, where yeah, if I'm just looking at a PL from QuickBooks, yeah, you can get in freak out mode, you know.

SPEAKER_01 22:34

Yeah. Yeah. Or just looking at your bank account.

unknown 22:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:38

Without realizing, yeah, but turn the corner. I'm going to be collecting on that next month. It's going to look very different.

SPEAKER_00 22:44

It's the same with the cash flow tool, right? When you're when you're using the cash flow tool, I can look at my my bank account and say, oh, I don't have as much as I'd like to in there, but look what's coming. Yeah. You know, because I invoice a lot selling to businesses. So I sell to a lot of hospitals and hospices. So, you know, the money they're they're all almost all of them are I'm invoicing for. So the money has to come later. But you know, again, the tool inside helped me so much. And I didn't use that until kind of the end of my my tenure there, you know.

SPEAKER_01 23:17

Yeah, yeah. Um, so one more thought or question I want to dissect with you. I have this ongoing joke, if you will, with a friend of mine. I believe anyone can do an Iron Man. She does not. I said, anybody can. If you went out to an Iron Man course, and this is why I believe it, I've been on an Ironman course. I have seen disabled people cross the finish line. I have seen 80-year-old men cross the finish line. I have seen 18-year-old young girls, like men, women from all over the world. So my idea is you can if you decide that that's what you want to do, if you get the right training, the right tools, and you commit to the process. I believe it. She says no, but we so we have this running joke. So I know that I can be a fairly optimistic person. So my thought is I think everybody and anybody, I think any business owner with the right tools can learn their numbers and manage their money. What do you think?

SPEAKER_00 24:17

I absolutely think that's true. Um here's the thing: like people hold off because they're afraid about the money or they're afraid they can't do it. You're afraid now.

unknown 24:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:29

If you're you know you're afraid now, and if you don't take any steps to to change that, even if you're afraid of something new or you're afraid of spending more money, you're gonna be afraid either way. I'd rather be afraid and know I tried than not not do that at all. And so I I just there's so much value in there's so many hidden benefits and secondary gains of inventory genius. Um and and you know, the courage, the consistency, the confidence, all of those things is, you know, just in thinking about what those are, it's so much more than the spreadsheet and the calls. You know, you you're building your business persona as you go through it. And yeah, I'm not gonna lie, there are some hard times, but there's a you know, there are ways to get your questions answered so you can move through it. I know that you don't want me sitting here going, I don't know how to do it, so I'm just not gonna do it. You are gonna want me to ask that question. So I I've had that knowledge the entire time. I've asked the questions. Um, I just I'm I'm just about I'm just so much more confident in knowing my numbers and knowing that I can I can tackle it, I can handle it, you know.

SPEAKER_01 25:53

So and well, what I'm excited about for you is and for every business owner that gets to this place is I know that you can do your business better. Like you can serve more hospitals, more clients, like you can serve them better when you are not bogged down with financial stress. And so that's why I love that you found the freedom to like know your numbers and manage the money so that that does not have to be a distraction anymore because entrepreneurs that are distracted with financial stress just can't do what they've been called to do with their business.

SPEAKER_00 26:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:26

And that's what makes me sad. I'm like, let's get rid of the stress so that you can just lean into what your calling is.

SPEAKER_00 26:32

Yeah. I think I when I was taught when I was writing some notes on what I wanted to share with you, I I wanted to say my note says what you get from the program that you didn't know you needed and you didn't know you would receive. It it you don't sell these things that we're talking about so much as a feature or a benefit. You know, but they're kind of these byproducts or hidden benefits that it's just so much more. I I think if I would, if I was talking to somebody who was on the fence, I would say you will you will walk out of this program knowing exactly how to pay off your debt. So you'll know the logistics of it, but you will be more confident at the end. You will you will speak confidently about your numbers, even if you're still in in the red, you're still gonna know, okay, I have exactly this much, and you're gonna know when you're gonna be able to pay it off. So yeah, it's just been super, I don't know, it's just it builds that business muscle, I guess is is kind of how I like to say it.

SPEAKER_01 27:40

So yeah, and you get to build as a um in the room with other people building their mental and business muscles, which is great. You're not doing it alone at your home gym.

SPEAKER_00 27:49

So exactly, exactly, right? It's kind of like the business gym, yes.

SPEAKER_01 27:55

Yeah, I love that. Well, you've been such a joy to work with. I interviewed Rachel, who was your peer and graduated at the same time as you um a couple weeks ago. And I'm always like, ah, it's just so sad. Like I get to be on this little blip in someone's fast life, and I get to be a little part of their story, and I'm always sad because when you guys succeed, then you leave me. But I know, right? I'm excited that you're moving on, and I know that you'll take what you learned and you're gonna pay it forward and help other people for sure.

SPEAKER_00 28:23

For sure. Yes. Thank you for being such a wonderful mentor.

SPEAKER_01 28:28

Well, I have enjoyed it. You've been such a great part of the community. Thanks for taking time for the podcast and listening, listening to what I had to say and just sharing with the group here.

SPEAKER_00 28:38

Sure thing, anytime, anytime.

SPEAKER_01 28:40

All right, everybody. Well, I know that this was probably very encouraging or thought-provoking for you. So if you would love to share what you learned today, I would love to hear from you. You can shoot me an email or pass this on to a fellow entrepreneur that you know might need it. Let's spread the word and help as many small businesses as we can. Thank you so much for tuning in this week, you guys. We'll see y'all next week. Bye for now. Hey there, friend. Okay, if you've been around me long enough, you know how important I feel it is that you have a good bookkeeper on your team. And that's why I'm really excited to welcome TO to the inventory genius world. At TO, they help businesses organize and streamline their accounting, set up smart systems, and actually use their financials to make good decisions. They give you the financial tools that you need to grow your business and remain successful. And here's what else I love about them. They have a dedicated team member that will work on cleanups. That's right. So if you have books that are a disaster, maybe you've never kept your books in the past, maybe you kept your books and your past bookkeeper did not do a very good job. Whatever the case, TO has a dedicated team member on staff that works specifically to clean up books and bring them up to date. So if this sounds like something that you'd be interested in, check out TNO. The link for their information and their contact information is in the show notes.