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. Hey everyone, welcome to the Inventory Genius Podcast. I am your host and I'm here today with Rachel, who's graduating from the Inventory Genius operating system program this month in just a couple days. And I asked her to come on and just share her journey over the last year with everyone because I think what she has discovered, gone through, and changed in her business is really relevant to so many listening. And so I'm really excited just to bring on Rachel today and have an easy conversation, small business owner with small business owner. We're going to talk to her about what the last years looked like. So thanks for joining us, Rachel. Thank you for having me, Sierra. Happy to talk about my journey. Yeah, so I'm so excited. So Rachel sells yarn. She has a yarn shop up in the Pacific Northwest. And tell us where you were a year ago. So last year, where were you at mentally with the business? Where did you feel frustrated, confused? What felt out of sorts? Kind of go back in time and tell us what the business looked like and where you felt like you were at.

Okay, so last year was our first year participating in a big yarn crawl event. And that happens in March. So it was our we were coming out of our first yarn crawl, which brought us a lot of revenue. And I was at a place where we had a lot of revenue at that point, and then it was all gone. The money was gone, it was out of our account, and I didn't know where it went um necessarily. I knew I was buying inventory, but there was probably other things it went into that I wasn't realizing. And we had gotten ourselves into some credit card debt. So that's where I was. I didn't know where the money was going. I didn't know how much inventory to buy or to hold. Um, and I was in the process of trying to figure out the finances. I was looking into profit first because I heard so many people talk about it and how it um did prove their business. So I went that route researching, and that's where I found Sierra. You had an amazing um, you have a lot of free knowledge sharing that you give. And I found one of your videos about profit first, and the rest is history. So um yeah, that's where I was.

So making sales, like sales wasn't necessarily the issue. It's just we couldn't keep the money in the bank account. And that's the most frustrating thing because you just feel like you're on a hamster wheel. You just wake up the next morning and you do it all again, and like, where's it going? And that's overwhelming, confusing, and very discouraging at the end of the day, and a little, a little frightening as well, right? Like, are we just gonna keep doing this where we produce money and it poof disappears? So you were on the hunt for a better option. You wanted to run your business differently than it was being run at the time.

Yeah, I didn't want to feel like I was uh standing in a sieve there was leaks everywhere and I didn't know where the money was going. I wanted to make the money and be able to decide what to do with it, where it goes, and have an understanding of that. Yeah. So there was definitely some fear where I I was afraid of what I didn't know.

Yeah, I mean, and that's yeah, you feel like you're on on uncertain ground. So you joined the inventory genius program. Let's talk about what you prioritized first. What did you first prioritize when you came into the program and maybe why did you prioritize that?

Yeah, so coming into a program, I'm someone who likes to just jump into things. Um and sometimes that works out for me and sometimes it doesn't, but in this case it worked out for me. Um, I so I jumped right in, I started watching uh or like going through the program that you set up um and taking the advice that you gave me from your first video to me and like what to look at. And then um just I just started working the program, I guess you could say. Like I was joining all of the group calls, and money Mondays was super important to me from the very beginning, especially since I was coming from like a um I was trying to find knowledge and understanding with my finances. So obviously I was gonna do that. You told me to do to that money Mondays and having that routine and that rhythm was very helpful, and people who are successful uh do that. And so I said, okay, well, I'm gonna do that, and that helped me immensely from the beginning.

So the Money Mondays routine we set up is pretty simple. I know you've added some other things, which I love because I think we it's always good. Whatever you read, whatever you listen to, whatever program you're involved, like, use the system. You can't expect the system to work if you don't follow the system, but you also want to make it your own so that it's sustainable. And so you've created some extra spreadsheets, some extra things, like, but you stuck to a rhythm of fearlessly looking at the numbers every single week. What happened when you first started doing that? Because I know you didn't have a rhythm of this day once a week, I look at the XYZ. What do you remember, if you think back, like how did that feel to have a rhythm or to start to acknowledge what was going on?

It actually felt really good because I was coming from a place of not knowing what I didn't know and just kind of spinning my wheels, trying to figure out a system that would work and so that I could have a good understanding of my numbers. So it felt really good to just have something that I could focus on and know that these numbers are important. And if I'm looking at them every week, then they're gonna give me understand, they're gonna give me more understanding of where I'm at financially.

Yeah, it's like control. And you made some massive decisions and changes in your business over the last year. I would guess that knowing the numbers helped you make those decisions competently.

100%. If I didn't know where my number, my numbers were, if I was still in the same place I was in the beginning, I would not have been able to make those decisions.

Yeah, yeah. So let's fast forward to today, a year later. It's crazy how fast a year. Sometimes the year it feels so slow in the middle of it, and then you look back and how did a year go by? Yeah. Compare and contrast for us, like where you felt that March when you did that massive event and the money disappeared, how you were feeling then to how you're feeling today getting ready to graduate.

Um I'm so when I when I came, obviously I was I was coming from a place of confusion and fear, and now I feel like I'm in control. I have a good understanding of the important numbers and the health of my business, and I feel like I'm able to make decisions from those data points instead of just hoping and wishing things are gonna work out and jumping in blindly, which I can do, but I'm happy to not do that. Yes, uh, and I'm thinking about doing an expansion, moving um into a larger place, and I'm able to really look at that decision based on the numbers and not based on what I want to be happening. And so that's good, yeah. Yeah, so yeah, there's not there's been the the wishful thinking was the spark, and then the data is is the actual thing that's gonna back up the decision.

Yeah, so good. And I would think too, I I feel like we don't tell, we don't speak this out loud enough as entrepreneurs, but I would guess that you feel really proud of yourself. I'm really proud of you. So just proud of yourself for learning something different about your business and for being serious about growing a business that's truly a business. Um, so I'm gonna speak that you feel that way. Maybe I'm wrong.

No, I am proud of myself. It's just hard to say sometimes. Um, but I am. I think I've done a lot of work on the business, and I am very serious about it. It's not a hobby, it's not playing store. I really want to grow this into something successful and sustainable and to be part of the community for a long time.

Yeah. And that's something that's so important, I think, for all of us listening. The financial stress that we have when we don't look at what's important, necessary, true with our numbers and the control that we don't have when we don't know what's going on impacts more than just us. Like it does impact the community every time a small business closes. And I think the more we can get serious about operating our business like business owners and feeling confident, the more our communities thrive as well.

Absolutely. Yeah, that is so true.

Anything that you can think of that you'd like to leave with anyone that's listening today in closing.

I would like to leave that even if you're scared, especially if you're scared, you need to take action. You need to look at the scary things. Because if you don't, they're gonna keep you stuck. So be brave. Yes, take a little of your business.

I love it. So exciting. Well, thank you, Rachel. I am look forward to continuing to see you grow and thrive, and you'll have to keep me in the loop on the expansion and what happens with that. It's always sad. I there's another gal that just graduated this month, and I emailed her. She's gonna be on the podcast in a week or so, Rebecca. You know her. And um, and she sent me such a nice note. And I'm like, it's so sad because I I love the work that I get to do with you guys, and people just kind of come in and out of my life. I get to be a super small part of their story, and I'm always grateful for that. But anytime that alumni keep in touch with what's going on, I just love it. So don't be a stranger. Let us know how things go. Absolutely. I would love to keep in touch with you, CRF. Awesome. All right, everybody, thank you so much for tuning in today. We'll see you next week. Bye for now. Hey there, friend. It's time for you to start winning at business again. I want you creating more profit and keeping more cash every single week in your business. Head on over to Sierrastockland.com, click on the programs tab, and you're gonna see multiple ways that we can work together. Whether you're doing $50,000 a year or $50 million a year in top line revenue, there is a place for you. The Inventory Genius Framework has helped hundreds and thousands of product-based business owners just like you, create more profit and keep more cash in their business. I want you to win. I want you to start taking a consistent paycheck, paying off that debt, and just feeling confident and comfortable when it comes to your numbers. You can do this. I believe in you, and I'm here to help. Head on over to CRStockland.com or click on the link in the bio. Figure out where you might best fit. We are here to help you. Let's create more profit and keep more cash starting today.