The only way past, is through.

“Money is a more taboo subject than sex. If you don't believe me, think about this: you have friends who tell you the intimate details of their sex-lives but they would be shocked if you asked them how much money they make.” ~ Patricia King

We all have complicated relationships with money. As small business owners, this can be compounded by narratives around success, expertise and where we “should” be in life. Social media can add to the sense of shame as you scroll through posts about people's latest overseas vacation, their 6-figure months and home remodels. And you certainly aren’t supposed to talk about the hard things or the financial failures.

All of this can make us avoid dealing with things and allows things to spiral into a worse place as we bury our heads in the sand. As business owners, our business and personal finances are so deeply connected and if we get in the habit of avoiding the truth of our situation it can have huge consequences in both aspects of our lives. 

I am acutely aware of this personally. Over the past 18 months I have been dealing with some complex and overwhelming personal challenges that have come with some pretty hefty bills. Health and safety for myself and my people took top priority and I did everything I could to find the right experts to help. Which was expensive. Really expensive. I am now working on a plan to dig out of the resulting, small mountain of debt and the urge to pretend it away is STRONG. As if by doing that, it will just disappear on its own. I wake up with a tiny panic attack on the regular. I had a little “stress will make you sick” talk with my provider. And I realized that the only way past, is through. 

I’ve set my goals for the year with clear intentions around paying off debt and saving emergency funds. I’ve shared age-appropriate info with my kids so that we are all on the same page about how this year will look for adventures and purchases. I’ve talked with my financial advisor about what long-term changes could look like and how to get there. My internal shame monsters have fought me all of the way and I have had to find my tribe to coax me through things now and then. 

This month, we are going to tackle topics around your personal finances and how to get yourself in a better space and set yourself up for the future. We don’t just want to see you succeed in your business, but we want to see you succeed in all areas of your life. Hopefully you can use the transforming energy of spring to tackle some of these topics with us and come out the other side with a better financial foundation for the remainder of 2023