Speaker 1: Hey, hey, hey, we're back.
Speaker 2: We're black.
Speaker 3: Brain ambition, ambiss ambition, and I.
Speaker 1: Wish I could see how many and dropping it throwing
Speaker 1: our backside.
Speaker 4: You have a little shoulder shimmy, shoulder shimmy.
Speaker 2: It's the end of the year. Yes, how are your manager?
Speaker 4: The Christmas spirit smacked me upside the head this past weekend, Tiffany,
Speaker 4: no tree because we're going to Atlanta and my little
Speaker 4: brother is hosting us and the old house, so we're
Speaker 4: going to do the tree there, okay, And so we
Speaker 4: decorated a really tiny tree here, but we did the
Speaker 4: outside okay. And I got plans to make cookies. And
Speaker 4: it's the season.
Speaker 2: That's good. As you said, you get a gift basket.
Speaker 4: I got a gift basket.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, mom our podcast home my chees and my
Speaker 1: pears and apples. I was like, well, I can eat
Speaker 1: this cheese, honey, but I eat the pears and apples.
Speaker 4: Yeah, delish, how about you?
Speaker 1: So I usually, I usually the tradition is we put
Speaker 1: up the tree right before Thanksgiving because we typically host Thanksgiving,
Speaker 1: so that way it's all pretty for everyone to see.
Speaker 2: But I wasn't in the mood this year.
Speaker 1: I don't know, I was just really miss Agderrell hard
Speaker 1: and I was like, it was this Christmas is his
Speaker 1: favorite time of year. But I was like, you know what,
Speaker 1: Doctor Green always reminded me, you can have new traditions.
Speaker 2: And I thought, you know what.
Speaker 1: My sister Carol's kids, Roman and Amelia had just decorated
Speaker 1: their little tree. Because their tradition is to get a
Speaker 1: real live tree. She gets a little one for the
Speaker 1: house and they decorated all excited, and I saw it
Speaker 1: and we were facetiming, and I was like, you guys
Speaker 1: are like professionals, Can you come to my tree?
Speaker 2: And so they did.
Speaker 1: It looks exactly how you think if a six and
Speaker 1: eight year old did your message.
Speaker 4: It's like all the ornaments clustered at the height of
Speaker 4: three feet.
Speaker 1: But I didn't let them use a little step ladder,
Speaker 1: and then of course you have to pick them out
Speaker 1: each one.
Speaker 2: Can you pick me up it?
Speaker 4: But? Can you?
Speaker 2: But I don't say.
Speaker 1: It was a lot of fun and it's not as
Speaker 1: fancy as before I look, but it's really beautiful.
Speaker 4: That's what I'm I embraced the tacky at Christmas time.
Speaker 4: I am trying to have one of those perfectly the
Speaker 4: all whites, the all blues color schemes. You know, I
Speaker 4: love the tacky. It's like the same old multicolored string
Speaker 4: lights that I got back when I was living in
Speaker 4: Queens like ten years ago, the same dollar store tinsel,
Speaker 4: and I'm handing it to my four year old son
Speaker 4: and I'm just like, this is a weird but great.
Speaker 4: That's what always right about boom. But like, it's the
Speaker 4: end of the year, I know, so damned if I'm
Speaker 4: not reflecting. You know. The first place I started to
Speaker 4: reflect my my my investments. Okay, I actually logged in
Speaker 4: and checked my investment accounts, which I have not done.
Speaker 4: I'm not gonna lie and say I waited all year,
Speaker 4: but I don't think I've done it since before Remmy
Speaker 4: was born. So it's been at least six seven months,
Speaker 4: probably longer. And they're looking cute. Cute, yeah up, you know,
Speaker 4: lifetime of the right. I mean, I imagine years too.
Speaker 4: But like I think anyone who's who's invested in who's
Speaker 4: been heavily invested in the market like I've always been,
Speaker 4: and I and I don't check because of years, like
Speaker 4: twenty twenty what was that twenty twenty two was really rough.
Speaker 4: I feel like I don't check that often because I
Speaker 4: know it's gonna go down like it was bad. There
Speaker 4: was one year, I feel like it was last year
Speaker 4: the year before where it was down like I don't know,
Speaker 4: like one hundred k or something like that, and I
Speaker 4: was just like, you know what, let me stop checking
Speaker 4: because I'm Time will fix this. And Time did. It's
Speaker 4: up ten percent over the lifetime of the account, which
Speaker 4: is okay since what happened twenty fourteen. Yeah, so almost
Speaker 4: ten years I've been investing, and I'm every time I
Speaker 4: open my investment account, I'm like, shout out to baby,
Speaker 4: Mandy really started something you know she ain't had.
Speaker 2: You want to be as well.
Speaker 4: That felt good. I felt good. So I've been feeling Yeah.
Speaker 4: That made me feel rich. And then my first you
Speaker 4: know this, the first one fourth of my book money
Speaker 4: hit my big account. Finally, I mean, while, I find
Speaker 4: the contract back in May, so there you go. Publishing timelines, y'all.
Speaker 4: So I've got some end of year like tax stuff
Speaker 4: I got to figure out, and I'm like, okay, I
Speaker 4: need to text my I just need to because this
Speaker 4: is the life of a solopreneur. I need to figure
Speaker 4: out how much to invest because I don't have like
Speaker 4: a regular other than like when I pay myself monthly.
Speaker 4: I'm I do put like some money into the investment account.
Speaker 4: I have to manually do it because that's ghetto because
Speaker 4: Vanguard anyway, And but at the end of the year,
Speaker 4: I'm like, I ain't trying to get text in all
Speaker 4: of this, so I'm prob probably going to have to
Speaker 4: do some math to figure out how much I should
Speaker 4: just put immediately into my solo for one k okay
Speaker 4: before the year ends. But also I feel like I
Speaker 4: might have until March. Sometimes they give you right, sometimes
Speaker 4: they let you like make contributions until the first, like
Speaker 4: the March of the year after for the year before anyway.
Speaker 4: This is why for some stuff, okay, Tiff, Yeah, this
Speaker 4: is why I need an accountant.
Speaker 1: No, it's true, Like I literally was just signing financial
Speaker 1: paperwork this morning, because you know, because at the end
Speaker 1: of the year, you're right, especially for entrepreneurs or business owners,
Speaker 1: you're scrambling to say, what can I do? Like so
Speaker 1: for example, I have been, you know, maxing out my
Speaker 1: retirement account, and there were some months where I don't
Speaker 1: even know I probably didn't put it enough.
Speaker 2: So my financial advisor was.
Speaker 1: Like, let me see, she's like tipping to your short
Speaker 1: like you know, if you want to max out. I
Speaker 1: was short maybe like twelve hundred dollars or something, so
Speaker 1: she's like, you know, let's make let's go get to
Speaker 1: your account update so that way the next pay check
Speaker 1: takes the full amount. So that way you've maxed out
Speaker 1: on your retirement and contributions.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's all these financial decisions that you're making, but
Speaker 1: not only just that I've been making. I sat down
Speaker 1: with my team so we could do our twenty twenty
Speaker 1: four plan and I was really proud Budget East the team,
Speaker 1: or then Budget East the team, and so we decided
Speaker 1: to do something different. So there are the core members
Speaker 1: of my team. Logan she's like the manager of all
Speaker 1: things content and like are basically my main lead. There
Speaker 1: is a Keisho project manager, and Carol who was like logistics.
Speaker 1: And then we have Tajerry who what's our intern and
Speaker 1: now she's like a part time contractor who does like
Speaker 1: social media.
Speaker 2: So those are like the four core. That's the four core,
Speaker 2: and so I.
Speaker 1: Said, let me do something different because this year I
Speaker 1: have shifted my leadership model from where I used to leave,
Speaker 1: from a place of detectiveness, where it's like I was
Speaker 1: the mom and I never let the kids know that
Speaker 1: sometimes we didn't have enough money for bread, I just
Speaker 1: would go without, you know, and it was like.
Speaker 2: Everything's fine, everything is just fine. That's how I used
Speaker 2: to navigate.
Speaker 1: Everybody was super happy, and I would do a raise
Speaker 1: no matter what, and I would do bonuses no matter what,
Speaker 1: like I never no matter what was happening.
Speaker 4: On Baptistess Baby, I know.
Speaker 3: I was like, I will manage distress. And I did
Speaker 3: job well. I was managing it poorly.
Speaker 1: And so this year I shifted because quite honestly, it
Speaker 1: was a really tough financial year. We made just about
Speaker 1: half me the year before, and I was like, I can't,
Speaker 1: like I just couldn't afford to hide the secret anymore
Speaker 1: that if we're having a hard time, because people were
Speaker 1: expecting me to navigate in the same way, and so
Speaker 1: finally I was like, let me tell you the books,
Speaker 1: and they were like, oh, it's not as cute as
Speaker 1: we thought. So all of a sudden, though, when I realized,
Speaker 1: and this is what doctor Breene taught me, She's like,
Speaker 1: you know, when you protect people, you know, detection only
Speaker 1: makes sense if you really believe that the person or
Speaker 1: child or whoever cannot handle the ramifications of the thing
Speaker 1: you're protecting them from. So, like, you have kids, we're
Speaker 1: obviously not gonna let Remy, you know, roll off the
Speaker 1: bed because girl, you know, but you.
Speaker 2: Might let Rio like run.
Speaker 1: And have never done that, not intention but you might
Speaker 1: let Rio run in the park and knowing like he
Speaker 1: is going too fast, he's about to trip, but he'll
Speaker 1: be all right because he'll learn like, all right, I
Speaker 1: don't quite have the footwork necessary. And so she said
Speaker 1: that we need to let like in those moments, you know,
Speaker 1: Rio run in the park, like, okay, he can handle
Speaker 1: the consequences of like learning the lesson. And so she said,
Speaker 1: when you do that with your team, or you're telling yourself,
Speaker 1: is these adult women cannot handle, you know, the consequences
Speaker 1: of knowing like sometimes things are tight. And so she said,
Speaker 1: do you really believe that to be true? And I
Speaker 1: was like, I guess not. And so now you know,
Speaker 1: doctor Green, Yeah, she's always being a whole business. I mean,
Speaker 1: so finally, I mean, because he knows and just in general,
Speaker 1: that's the place I navigate from like.
Speaker 2: I'll take it. I'll do it. I'll be the sacrificial lamb.
Speaker 2: And so son't you.
Speaker 4: Just put like a chicken, the chicken leg or chicken.
Speaker 2: Thought, Oh, I'll take the small piece of chicken.
Speaker 4: Yeah, the small chicken. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I always will sacrifice. Like if there's all this chicken
Speaker 1: on the plate, I'll just wait till everybody eats. And
Speaker 1: I'm like, I'll just take the small piece whatever's left over.
Speaker 1: Matter of fact, I don't even like chicken. Guys, go
Speaker 1: ahead and eat. I'll just start in the corner. I
Speaker 1: like this year, we shifted that this year, and the
Speaker 1: way that my team has like rose to like the occasion,
Speaker 1: how brilliant they've been, how hard they've worked, how.
Speaker 2: Creative, how innovative.
Speaker 1: And I said, you mean to tell me all the
Speaker 1: time this was accessible to me. And so as a result,
Speaker 1: I said, how about this for twenty twenty four, let's
Speaker 1: try something new. I want everyone to work in a
Speaker 1: capacity that they really enjoy. I want everyone to lead
Speaker 1: a project. So you know, all the things we do
Speaker 1: here a budgeanisa, but maybe there's something new or old
Speaker 1: or whatever. Pick a project that's going to be your project,
Speaker 1: just one that you're going to be on the lead for,
Speaker 1: and just one because you're going to need the support
Speaker 1: of your other team members, but they'll also have their
Speaker 1: own lead project. And I was like, you know, and
Speaker 1: then you'll map out what it's going to look like
Speaker 1: for the year, how much you think we can make,
Speaker 1: you know, And so people they're really excited, like, oh,
Speaker 1: this is my baby that I get to raise and
Speaker 1: grow and look after, and I get to ask for
Speaker 1: help with my business baby from their business aunties, like hey, look,
Speaker 1: can can you help me with this component? Or hey
Speaker 1: Akisha because right now sometimes they feel like they work
Speaker 1: in a silo. So this will allow us that when
Speaker 1: we have our company meetings to be like rapport out,
Speaker 1: how's your baby growing, what do you need support with?
Speaker 2: What are you struggling with?
Speaker 1: So I've never done this before, so I'm actually excited
Speaker 1: to see what happens when everyone has ownership fully of
Speaker 1: a project and they're already really excited about it.
Speaker 2: So that was an awesome way to kind of like
Speaker 2: end the business year, you know, in that kind of way.
Speaker 4: Yeah, so at the beginning of this year is when
Speaker 4: you kind of sat them down and did that hole
Speaker 4: or maybe last year and this and now you're kind of, oh.
Speaker 1: No, no, we don't have no money. No, girl, I
Speaker 1: didn't do that. We didn't have no money until like
Speaker 1: Q three. That's why I was struggling.
Speaker 2: But it was this year.
Speaker 3: Yeah, maybe I was calling client to you, like girl,
Speaker 3: we had Yeah, everybody's asking for a raise.
Speaker 2: Remember that was like Q three.
Speaker 4: I know you started getting a lot more exciting, excited
Speaker 4: by the brown ambition.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I was like, how was because I was like,
Speaker 2: pay them no mind?
Speaker 4: And now it's like, so how much.
Speaker 1: Can I get some poor rich I mean because the
Speaker 1: budgets was paying me now.
Speaker 2: But I was yes and so like.
Speaker 1: But it's good to have these conversation. I think everybody
Speaker 1: thinks like that like that in business. Just because you've
Speaker 1: had a great year, that means you always have a
Speaker 1: great year. Like and I can share this because she
Speaker 1: posted on social you know, the the woman Khalila You
Speaker 1: ever heard of messing a bottle? She's got like that
Speaker 1: awesome T shirt brand. Right, So she candidly posted on
Speaker 1: on Instagram the other day that she just had a baby,
Speaker 1: I think three months ago, and this was a really
Speaker 1: hard year and she's like we made like next to
Speaker 1: no money. And after like I think she's been in
Speaker 1: business seven eight years of business, she's thinking about closing
Speaker 1: it down. She's like, I don't I had to let
Speaker 1: off everyone and I didn't know. I don't know what
Speaker 1: to do. And she's just like this has been my baby,
Speaker 1: but I can't do everything. I can't pick up the
Speaker 1: merchandise also manufacture it and then ship and then my baby.
Speaker 2: And she's just you could just tell it was a lot.
Speaker 1: So I called her because I know Kalila, and we
Speaker 1: just chat and I just I shared with her, I'm like,
Speaker 1: this was my worst year yet since I probably started
Speaker 1: the business, maybe the first two years. I shared, how
Speaker 1: you know, like you know, I had to like cut,
Speaker 1: I really didn't make any money. And she's like, wait
Speaker 1: you I said, I think it's important and across the
Speaker 1: board that you get to hear what business really looks like,
Speaker 1: you know, And so sometimes there are years like this,
Speaker 1: And I said, if I'm being all the way, Candon,
Speaker 1: the reason why we survived is because during the pandemic,
Speaker 1: when so many of us, like you know, made a
Speaker 1: lot of money, I instinctively knew that it was not
Speaker 1: going to last a long time. Like in my personal finances,
Speaker 1: when I have financial abundance, I am like a squirrel
Speaker 1: when it's the fall, I worked the hardest and I
Speaker 1: save the most. So I read an article during the
Speaker 1: pandemic that Microsoft had up their savings from like six
Speaker 1: months to like one year's worth of operations expenses, and
Speaker 1: I was like, at the time, my CFO, her name
Speaker 1: was Shanta.
Speaker 2: I said, Shanta, how many months do we have?
Speaker 1: She said like two and a half, and I said, hmmm,
Speaker 1: let's try to get us to six. So I got,
Speaker 1: you know, our emergency savings to six months, and it
Speaker 1: was there for like the last like two years. Just
Speaker 1: sitting in this year, I'm so glad we did it
Speaker 1: because we're down to one month of emergency savings, meaning
Speaker 1: we didn't make enough to cover ourselves that had it
Speaker 1: not been from emergency savings. We used five months of
Speaker 1: it and it's now December.
Speaker 2: If one month of.
Speaker 1: Emergency savings left, and thankfully we made enough in December
Speaker 1: not to tap into it. But if I had no
Speaker 1: emergency savings, I don't know. I mean, I probably would
Speaker 1: just have to give a personal loan from Tiffany to
Speaker 1: the business and so I share that because like, I
Speaker 1: don't care what they did be telling you until media
Speaker 1: business is really hard and you can have this successful
Speaker 1: business and everything is and do all the right things
Speaker 1: and still have a year where you're like, it's we
Speaker 1: gonna make it. It's we gonna make it, you know.
Speaker 1: So if it had not been for that savings and
Speaker 1: she was like Khalila.
Speaker 2: Was like, why did you tell me? I was like,
Speaker 2: I don't.
Speaker 1: During that time frame, I wasn't thinking that. I just
Speaker 1: I didn't think I was gonna have some terrible year
Speaker 1: where I was gonna need to live off of savings.
Speaker 1: I just thought, if Microsoft is doing it, why shouldn't we, you.
Speaker 4: Know, yeah, oh why don't you tell her to save?
Speaker 3: Well?
Speaker 4: I mean also when you say not making any money,
Speaker 4: like you have a staff, Like you have a team
Speaker 4: too that you're paying for, and it's like you're making money,
Speaker 4: but the overhead is not meaning though, like the overhead
Speaker 4: is more than what you're bringing in, right, But if
Speaker 4: it was like just yet.
Speaker 2: So not yeah, we're making gift, we're making money.
Speaker 3: Yes, yeah, let's keep it clean because you have to
Speaker 3: pay for staff, I know, yeah, but yes meaning like yes,
Speaker 3: but meaning yes, because our overhead, you know, is especially
Speaker 3: like payroll was like a lot.
Speaker 1: In comparison to like what we like what we bring in.
Speaker 1: And I really didn't want to do pay cuts because
Speaker 1: the truth of the matter is, like I used to
Speaker 1: be able to say I pay like above and beyond
Speaker 1: what was considered like a fair if fair was fifty.
Speaker 1: We used paying sanfity, maybe even a hundred. And now
Speaker 1: we like we fair out there, like so as we're doing.
Speaker 4: A wage still like five dollars, like you.
Speaker 1: Know, we want, you know, we fin because before it's
Speaker 1: went all okay, But now I'm just like, the truth
Speaker 1: is is that I you know, I was like, I
Speaker 1: don't want to make payroll cuts because things have gotten
Speaker 1: more expensive, and so I'm just like that just I
Speaker 1: much rather figure it out some other way versus to say,
Speaker 1: in order for us to stay alive, blah bah blah,
Speaker 1: I got to do a twenty percent cut, and I'm like, yeah,
Speaker 1: but like inflation has increased everything sometimes double, you know,
Speaker 1: so that just wasn't an option, and so figuring out
Speaker 1: different getting really clever about how do we make enough
Speaker 1: to cover our expenses?
Speaker 2: Thankfully we have savings.
Speaker 1: The team got to see them and for twenty twenty four,
Speaker 1: they know that there won't be any raises. It's looking
Speaker 1: pretty decent already. We have a few contracts that are
Speaker 1: signed and locked in. And then I said, instead of raises,
Speaker 1: we're going to do this profit share every quarter where
Speaker 1: whatever money's left over normally that's an owner's draw. Mandy
Speaker 1: and I take an owner's draw from brand ambition every
Speaker 1: month if if we've made money, which means here's how
Speaker 1: much you made for the month, minus the expense is
Speaker 1: to run the business.
Speaker 2: This is what's left owner. As an owner, you can
Speaker 2: draw down or withdraw it.
Speaker 1: And so I told them instead of giving you a raise,
Speaker 1: I will set aside twenty percent of what I would normally.
Speaker 2: Draw out for you. So that way and then they
Speaker 2: will they will.
Speaker 1: I will divide that among the team based upon what
Speaker 1: they currently makes an income. And so that's the way
Speaker 1: that they'll get a bonus or raise without getting a raise,
Speaker 1: because it allows me to give them more money only
Speaker 1: when the company is profitable, you know. So it's like
Speaker 1: never hurting go ahead.
Speaker 4: Yeah, And I think that's such a great model as
Speaker 4: a small business, because that's what you are. You're not
Speaker 4: like a Google or Microsoft that just prints money all
Speaker 4: the time, or you know, has all these enormous savings,
Speaker 4: or it could just go get not that Microsoft and
Speaker 4: Google needs to raise money, but you know these like
Speaker 4: Silicon Valley darlings can just go ask some venture capital
Speaker 4: for a one hundred million dollars. We haven't made it,
Speaker 4: we haven't turned a profit in ten years, but give
Speaker 4: us some money, we'll get there. And they're like, okay, anyway,
Speaker 4: that's I and you've shared that before, and I just
Speaker 4: think it's Yeah, it's really smart. It incentivizes them to
Speaker 4: you know, have skin in the game right by having
Speaker 4: skin in the game, but also gives you the flexibility
Speaker 4: to not treat yourself like you know, a big tech
Speaker 4: company or like a big you know, corporation when your
Speaker 4: income is like a little bit more volatile because it's
Speaker 4: the structure of the budget USTA.
Speaker 1: And I think that, like, you know, you might be
Speaker 1: listening if you have a business and like it might
Speaker 1: not work for you, so you always want to find
Speaker 1: solutions like and this might work this year.
Speaker 2: This is a weird thing about business.
Speaker 1: It's like I'm assuming, like raising kids, You're like, oh,
Speaker 1: like what works for rio? And Remy's like, girl, you
Speaker 1: try to it's something new over here, Like I don't
Speaker 1: know him.
Speaker 4: When I tell you my baby is crawling and he's
Speaker 4: six months old. No, Well, I always love your transparency
Speaker 4: and also it helps me. I mean it helps our
Speaker 4: listeners too, Like wait a second, didn't they just say
Speaker 4: this about the business, And like didn't they just say that,
Speaker 4: you know, and this new thing and it's just like
Speaker 4: you're just watching us live figure it out.
Speaker 2: Yes, And I.
Speaker 4: Feel a little bit, like really it's a relief to
Speaker 4: I feel like I've finally grown up and like you
Speaker 4: were my big cousin who I was like, oh, she
Speaker 4: has everything figured out and all the things, and we
Speaker 4: never really used to have in depth conversations about the business.
Speaker 4: I just sort of like took for granted that and
Speaker 4: Tiffany has everything figured out. But the more I've gotten
Speaker 4: into it, you've been so even more transparent I feel
Speaker 4: like about how things were going, and it helps so much. Yeah,
Speaker 4: it helps. It really makes probably listeners, but certainly me
Speaker 4: feel more normal, you know, just like, oh, this is
Speaker 4: the way it can be sometimes.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, you share a little bit with like
Speaker 1: your friends who don't have businesses. But then when you
Speaker 1: really have a business, because then you're like, now you're
Speaker 1: able to process the fullness of like what it looks
Speaker 1: like that no one's too successful to have a bad year,
Speaker 1: no one's too big to fail, Like look at Seers,
Speaker 1: look at Lord and Taylor. You know, like in the moment,
Speaker 1: you really fully understand and respect the fact that your
Speaker 1: business months to month, year to quarter to quarter really
Speaker 1: requires like your eye on it, and so you know,
Speaker 1: you put things in place for the times. That's a
Speaker 1: huge lesson that I learned, is you have to put
Speaker 1: things in place for the times when things are not good.
Speaker 4: Well, a year ago we were celebrating. A year ago,
Speaker 4: we were celebrating that you one point two million wents
Speaker 4: of contracts, which was which actually happened. But the thing
Speaker 4: about entrepreneurship is it's a contract, but is it like
Speaker 4: fully executed?
Speaker 1: You know what I fell through? They all fell through
Speaker 1: one not all of them. Well, no, that's not true.
Speaker 1: I would say about half of them, because two of
Speaker 1: the major companies were like, we ain't got it, you know,
Speaker 1: and I just was like, wait, so that was that
Speaker 1: was you? Remember you asked me like, but I thought
Speaker 1: you said I'm my girl. They were verbal promises, we
Speaker 1: want to work with you so much. I had contracts
Speaker 1: with them the year before they said absolutely, and then
Speaker 1: this year they either didn't have the money, didn't have
Speaker 1: the capability, and so half of them went through, so
Speaker 1: about six hundred thousand, you know, but the other half.
Speaker 2: Were like, we'll see what next year looks like.
Speaker 5: And I was like, okay, yeah, so you just never know,
Speaker 5: because I mean, one point one point two it's more
Speaker 5: than enough to cover all of our bills.
Speaker 1: So I was like, at least our bills are covered.
Speaker 1: That means we just looking at straight prop fit. But
Speaker 1: next year, the next year was like, oh, look at
Speaker 1: her celebrating early in the end zone before crossing whatever
Speaker 1: football like you know, metaphor. I'm trying to make like
Speaker 1: they tell you don't celebrate too soon. I was celebrating to.
Speaker 4: But I also think it's like, it's such a good
Speaker 4: also reminder to diversify, because that was heavily especially in them,
Speaker 4: when you're all these influencers, especially ones who like you,
Speaker 4: are getting speaking opportunities or a contract to yeah, to
Speaker 4: speak or to partner with for a certain you know,
Speaker 4: a certain length of time or a one time event
Speaker 4: or whatever that that marketing budget is. So is so
Speaker 4: the first thing to go when Yes, when times are
Speaker 4: tough and yeah, it hurts, and then the other parts
Speaker 4: of the business got to like sort of carry you.
Speaker 4: And it's good. So I'm glad you're in front of
Speaker 4: me because I'm also like, Okay, the speaking stuff is cute,
Speaker 4: but I always think of that as my sprinkles. It's
Speaker 4: not my cake, Like the cake has got to be
Speaker 4: which puts more pressure on me.
Speaker 1: What's the product of service that you produce out of
Speaker 1: like what a brand can pay you, because with brands
Speaker 1: it can sometimes be really feast or famine. You know
Speaker 1: that if they rocking with you, you're like, eh, I'm
Speaker 1: ranch And if they're not rocking with you, you're like, but wh.
Speaker 2: I thought you told me always your favorite girl.
Speaker 4: And it's a horrible feeling because this is no different
Speaker 4: than working in corporate. I ain't trying to you know,
Speaker 4: like I don't want to go back to that. I
Speaker 4: feel like they own that's just too stressful for me.
Speaker 1: Yes, so having your own and that's been if I'm
Speaker 1: being all the way candidate, like the budget, the literature Academy,
Speaker 1: I figured out.
Speaker 2: This is the business model.
Speaker 1: We don't get any corporate money for unless somebody like sponsors,
Speaker 1: like people, so we make money from us internally. But
Speaker 1: the budgetistas, like I've been really struggling, like what's the
Speaker 1: business I'm in because I used to be like, it's
Speaker 1: the business of Tiffany, right I speak, I teach him
Speaker 1: books and whatever. But I'm like that's not sustainable because
Speaker 1: I don't always want to dance for a dollar. So
Speaker 1: that's been the question what is the business that the
Speaker 1: budget needs to in And I have been really ruminating
Speaker 1: all that all year, and I have some ideas like, well,
Speaker 1: we're in the business of like community. We're in the
Speaker 1: business like I know community is part of it. I'm
Speaker 1: still trying to figure out to get really clear so
Speaker 1: we know what products and services to create just for
Speaker 1: budget Nista, because I can't have a year like this
Speaker 1: now where someone can say here's six hundred thousand psych
Speaker 1: thought you had a contract, Like we can't. I can't
Speaker 1: play that game again. So we have some opportunities coming
Speaker 1: up to help us kind of like have some our
Speaker 1: own internal product services and things like that.
Speaker 2: But yeah, that it taught me like.
Speaker 1: Okay, you have to get clear if you are, especially
Speaker 1: if you are you are the business, like you know,
Speaker 1: like that's why I love what you're doing with Mandy
Speaker 1: money Makers, right, and so you've gotten really good at
Speaker 1: like I help women how to negotiate, I coach I
Speaker 1: you know, I am, you have your digital products, you
Speaker 1: have your community, you know, versus it just be like
Speaker 1: I'm in the business of showing up as Mandy, you know.
Speaker 1: I mean so because it could be easily that because
Speaker 1: I don't have a like I mean, yes, I have
Speaker 1: these books and stuff like that, but like you know
Speaker 1: what I mean, like I don't have like a budget
Speaker 1: needs to product.
Speaker 2: Does that make sense?
Speaker 4: Do you really look at Literature Academy separately from Budget. Yeah,
Speaker 4: it is two separate companies almost like this.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's like broad Ambition. Yeah. And I'm glad you.
Speaker 4: Said know that, Like you started the Patreon and it
Speaker 4: was like already a six figure.
Speaker 2: Business of yes, yeah, so the but that's what I
Speaker 2: was learning.
Speaker 1: That's why I started the Patreon, because I said, what
Speaker 1: does Tiffany And so that's why I said, huh, maybe
Speaker 1: you're in the business of communities because I started Patreon,
Speaker 1: And yes, it is a six figure like business within
Speaker 1: the business of Budgetista. So I'm like, well, what are
Speaker 1: the ways can I monetize community? So this I'm literally
Speaker 1: I'm I'm processing as i'm talking because these are the
Speaker 1: questions I'm still asking myself, you know, because you will
Speaker 1: just make yourself crazy and exhausted if you don't get clear.
Speaker 1: And I'm still trying to really get clear that like
Speaker 1: other than Tiffany being the product, because that's what it
Speaker 1: is essentially right now, I am the prom right what
Speaker 1: other product do we have or service do we have?
Speaker 2: And I'm like, okay, so you'll see.
Speaker 4: What free on your tree. Though I know it's almost
Speaker 4: like your problems. I hear, not your problems, but like
Speaker 4: the challenges you're facing. I'm hearing you. But I'm also like,
Speaker 4: there's no scenario in which you are still not successful
Speaker 4: because you focused on the most important aspect of business first,
Speaker 4: which is building trust, faith, you know, and reliability, Like
Speaker 4: building that trust with your community, authority, you know, your authority,
Speaker 4: the fact that you've always shown up for them, the
Speaker 4: fact that they love you so much you know, and
Speaker 4: trust you and show up for you, and they and
Speaker 4: they and they you know, the dream cutcher chapters. You
Speaker 4: had the walk that you did, the wealth walks, you
Speaker 4: know what I mean. So I'm not even I mean,
Speaker 4: I know you're like, I still gotta do the work.
Speaker 4: But as far as me, I'm just like, oh, I
Speaker 4: feel I mean, it's easy for me to say because
Speaker 4: I'm not in it with you in it, but I
Speaker 4: have so much faith. I mean, you're you're fine, Like
Speaker 4: you're going to be great in this pivot that you're
Speaker 4: going into because of the last decade that you've spent
Speaker 4: focusing on the right things, and I like, I commend
Speaker 4: you for that, and I also try to also like
Speaker 4: I think about you like a little you know, I
Speaker 4: want to say tiny elf, heal.
Speaker 2: For the shelf.
Speaker 4: About on my shoulder, but I think about the people,
Speaker 4: think about the people, what do they need? Focus on us?
Speaker 1: And that's what goodness. But I'm excited to shack, you know.
Speaker 1: I love to be like Manny, I think I figured
Speaker 1: it out and edy work. Oh I'm trying so But
Speaker 1: to your point, I do feel fairly confident that whatever
Speaker 1: it is will be fine.
Speaker 2: But I'm just mindful.
Speaker 1: You always have to be mindful of the money, obviously,
Speaker 1: because I'm just like I want to make sure then
Speaker 1: as I'm navigating, even if it means making less for
Speaker 1: the next year or two, that you know, we're always
Speaker 1: covering costs, and so I don't mind bush you I
Speaker 1: don't mind having years if it benefits the longer growth strategy.
Speaker 2: But you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: So I'm just like, okay, as long as I'm always
Speaker 1: keeping eye on costs, like what can we do to
Speaker 1: reduce them? Every year we do an annual audit of
Speaker 1: all of our expenses and to say do we need this,
Speaker 1: this is too much? Can we renegotiate with that contractor
Speaker 1: can we pay less here? Can we pay for this
Speaker 1: for the year so we can get twenty percent off.
Speaker 1: You know, you pay like a monthly for whatever like
Speaker 1: tool or resource like ooh, can we pay that for
Speaker 1: the year. So these are the types of things that
Speaker 1: you know, I'm always keeping an eye. Like a good
Speaker 1: owner and founder and CEO understands that you're the money
Speaker 1: in the business is literally the life's blood of the business.
Speaker 2: I don't care how smart you are.
Speaker 1: I have brillier and you are on anything that if
Speaker 1: you don't have money flowing through the business, then the
Speaker 1: business will atrophy and die, you know, and so like,
Speaker 1: I mean we've seen it, like, you know, people go
Speaker 1: bankrupt even though they have this amazing idea, and so like,
Speaker 1: it's not enough to be good at a thing. It's
Speaker 1: also like, Okay, what's the money looking like? What decisions
Speaker 1: can I make to make sure that the.
Speaker 2: Flow the flow keeps flooding?
Speaker 1: And so yeah, one thing I think one of my
Speaker 1: superpowers is like, I don't mind being transparent, and so
Speaker 1: I will always ask the question, I'm like, well, how
Speaker 1: are you doing it? I will expose everything. I'm like,
Speaker 1: so here are all the ways that we're making mistakes
Speaker 1: and have challenges.
Speaker 4: You know, I can't stand how boring, how impossible would
Speaker 4: this show be if we weren't transparent. How impossible would
Speaker 4: it be the stress of faking it, you know, or
Speaker 4: putting on a front, you know, feeling So it just
Speaker 4: feels so safe here, even though we're talking to each
Speaker 4: other and we have a bunch of people listening, it
Speaker 4: just feels safe, like, and that's what Bryan Ambition is
Speaker 4: all about. I'm just so damn proud of the show
Speaker 4: and proud of us, and I think that's why people
Speaker 4: keep rocking with us, because it's so boring. You don't
Speaker 4: want the heroin to win on the first episode.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean they hold on. Picture is they gonna
Speaker 2: make it?
Speaker 4: Oh? I want to be the great He's anatomy of podcasts.
Speaker 1: You know what.
Speaker 2: I'm like, wait, you still a tounchred thousand.
Speaker 3: I was worth the contract I did, and one of
Speaker 3: them was because I wanted more money.
Speaker 1: So I pushed for more because I was feeling myself.
Speaker 1: They were like, girl, you trying to We'll pick somebody else.
Speaker 1: I was like, well, go ahead, and they did. And
Speaker 1: I was like, oh, I was trying to coach.
Speaker 4: I was like, maybe sometimes that happens.
Speaker 2: It does. It does. And I was like, you should
Speaker 2: feel my face.
Speaker 4: Girls, follow the higher you you reach.
Speaker 1: I mean, it wasn't a little bit of money, and
Speaker 1: like you know, they were offering me like I don't know,
Speaker 1: maybe three four hundred thousands. It wasn't like oh, but
Speaker 1: I was like, no, I think I'm worth this and
Speaker 1: I still do. And here's the thing.
Speaker 2: They had it. Don't blame me, they had it. But
Speaker 2: I was just like so when they were like yeah, okay,
Speaker 2: I was like, oh, okay.
Speaker 1: And then here's in the beginning of the year I
Speaker 1: was feeling myself. I said, because we still have plenty
Speaker 1: of money, and then we didn't, and then they start
Speaker 1: thinking like, I'm not gonna lie.
Speaker 2: I went back. I was like, hey, boom, hey, big head,
Speaker 2: how you doing it? You still.
Speaker 4: That was tough.
Speaker 2: I had I ring the X.
Speaker 1: Back up was like and they were like, girl, I
Speaker 1: thought you say you was cute outside.
Speaker 2: I was like, I did, I lied, but they still
Speaker 2: said no.
Speaker 1: It was the best no ever though, because had they
Speaker 1: come through, if I had I taken that money, it
Speaker 1: would have made us complacent. There were so many internal
Speaker 1: leadership decisions that I needed to make that I didn't
Speaker 1: realize were critical decisions until my back was against the wall.
Speaker 2: You know, I would not have stepped up.
Speaker 1: I would still would have been like that parental leader
Speaker 1: that like everything is fine. The team would not have
Speaker 1: been forced to step up. I would not have been
Speaker 1: forced to step up with a different way to navigate
Speaker 1: payment and finances.
Speaker 2: And so it was.
Speaker 1: That was the best, and honestly, when I say it
Speaker 1: was the best four or five hundred thousand that I
Speaker 1: missed out on because it forced us to grow and
Speaker 1: as a result, like you know, we'll probably two or
Speaker 1: three x what we made the year before. And so
Speaker 1: I'm grateful for that, no, because it taught me one,
Speaker 1: It like really humbled me, like, girl, you ain't too
Speaker 1: cute to say no, do you know? And then too,
Speaker 1: it just it forced my hand and to like elevate
Speaker 1: and girl.
Speaker 4: You're not going to stop negotiating though, just because.
Speaker 2: No, no, no, I'm not a girl.
Speaker 1: I totally yeah, because I'm like, now, because don't let me,
Speaker 1: don't let me get my product off the grand or
Speaker 1: whatever we're gonna build, because that is like, I'm sorry, that.
Speaker 4: Is what I struggle with. I know we need to
Speaker 4: I know you said twenty minutes, we tried it. We
Speaker 4: tried it. Don't Mari, I'll do one of the qwa's myself.
Speaker 4: But yeah, like that's what I That's what I grapple
Speaker 4: with all the time is I'm inspiring women to ask
Speaker 4: for more, but I can't just leave them there. I
Speaker 4: have to also teach them how to keep asking for
Speaker 4: more when the answer is no, not yet, or yeah,
Speaker 4: oh we changed our mind, or you're not ready yet.
Speaker 4: And those moments are the real difficult part. You know,
Speaker 4: it's not always going to be a I asked for
Speaker 4: more than I got it. Yeah, it's you're right, it's
Speaker 4: you may know your worth, but then it's like, what
Speaker 4: do they How do they see your worth? There's always
Speaker 4: other factors at play, and how do you stay tall?
Speaker 4: Stand tall through that and keep pushing? And yeah, thank
Speaker 4: you again. Your transparency is golden and always always teaching,
Speaker 4: always learning through the ups and downs. That's what it's
Speaker 4: all about. So you guys are lucky.
Speaker 2: You guys.
Speaker 4: Are you found the right place? If you want real talk?
Speaker 2: Yes, what a good way to close out.
Speaker 4: Yeah, what's been a really I know, ups and downs,
Speaker 4: but what a wild year. My gosh, my gosh. I'm
Speaker 4: really proud of you though.
Speaker 1: So our final episode, we're gonna throw the break real
Speaker 1: quick and we're gonna come back with the boosty breaky
Speaker 1: for that behind. We're bad and now it's time to
Speaker 1: boost up, break up, boost up, break off, booster break
Speaker 1: gop boost Are you gonna boost?
Speaker 2: Are you gonna break? What you're gonna do? What's you
Speaker 2: gonna take? I I was talking about that. Can I
Speaker 2: go first?
Speaker 4: You can?
Speaker 2: I'm gonna do a boost.
Speaker 1: I always liked Brown and Bishon, but I want to
Speaker 1: say I feel like maybe this year I fell in love,
Speaker 1: you know, like it's just been for real, Like it's
Speaker 1: not that I've never loved, but obviously I'm here, but
Speaker 1: like I don't know something about this year.
Speaker 2: Maybe it's because I need the money was here for me.
Speaker 4: I think it's us.
Speaker 1: I think it's just I will say that that. Yes,
Speaker 1: I mean many might have always been friends because we
Speaker 1: started off brand ambition as like friends, but you know,
Speaker 1: we've just seen.
Speaker 4: Enough friends as like we were. I think it was
Speaker 4: a perfect not to take over your boost.
Speaker 2: But it go ahead, go ahead.
Speaker 4: But I always say the best thing about us is
Speaker 4: with our business is like we were more like we
Speaker 4: treated as business partners first, and we weren't such good
Speaker 4: friends that we thought we'd get away with stuff, you
Speaker 4: know what I mean, Like, yeah, owed up business first.
Speaker 4: And for a long time it was more like that
Speaker 4: kind of relationship. We only talked on the show and
Speaker 4: you know, and I think in the past few years, yeah,
Speaker 4: it has shifted and now it's like we get to
Speaker 4: be besties and also enjoy.
Speaker 2: I've becoming to her house and there, and so like, no,
Speaker 2: I think you're right.
Speaker 1: I think that's what it is, is that our personal
Speaker 1: relationship have just gotten more robust and stronger. And so
Speaker 1: as a result, like I love Brown and Vision even
Speaker 1: more because I love Mandy's so much even more.
Speaker 2: So, yeah, I mean we get to see Beyonce.
Speaker 1: I mean I don't I feel like that's solidified, like, oh,
Speaker 1: like this.
Speaker 2: Is my friend. And so I just want to boost.
Speaker 4: Got to have high highs and low lows with your
Speaker 4: good friends, right.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you do, you do, and so you get to
Speaker 1: really see like what the stuff that they made of.
Speaker 1: So I just want to boost a brown ambition and
Speaker 1: I want to boost well, I'm I actually want to
Speaker 1: ask for help because I have decided that I need
Speaker 1: something to like I'm realizing that like I love it
Speaker 1: outside and I think I want to run or one
Speaker 1: a five k. There's about three miles, right were the
Speaker 1: five ks? So I've never point to three point two
Speaker 1: is I've never run a five k before? Just run
Speaker 1: in general, just you know, life, little brisk walk. And
Speaker 1: so I'm doctor Green has taught me, like, you know,
Speaker 1: put a plan on the calendar. So I want to
Speaker 1: put I want to find one in the spring. And
Speaker 1: so I need a like an app that's gonna help
Speaker 1: someone who has no experience to get ready for a
Speaker 1: five K you know what I mean. I know that
Speaker 1: there's a couch to couch to five K but whatever app,
Speaker 1: and you know, just at me at the budgetista.
Speaker 4: Whatever, and you have a couch to five K person.
Speaker 2: Well, child, you ain't seeing these knees.
Speaker 4: So but you walk for a long time.
Speaker 1: I do, I do, but still you know me, I'm like,
Speaker 1: I'm a slow and steady wins race. So I would
Speaker 1: like a beginner's app that liken, you know, in like
Speaker 1: you know, nine weeks, twelve weeks, whatever. It gets me
Speaker 1: like ready for five K. But that's also interesting and
Speaker 1: kind of fun. So if you have a suggestion, if
Speaker 1: it costs money, that's fine. If you have a suggestion
Speaker 1: for an app, because I do, I'm gonna I'm gonna
Speaker 1: remember we had Brandi's on and so I'm taking the
Speaker 1: advice of one of our guests on Brown Ambison brandis
Speaker 1: Daniel from HFR. Remember I said that one of the
Speaker 1: things I most admire about you and Brandis is that
Speaker 1: you guys are both great executors. And I asked the question,
Speaker 1: what is a tip you can get for executing? And
Speaker 1: she said, pick a date then make it public and
Speaker 1: so I'm gonna look for five K. I'm gonna look
Speaker 1: for five K for I'm gonna look for one, and
Speaker 1: then in the new year, I'm gonna make it public
Speaker 1: with y'all. And then that way I can be like,
Speaker 1: you know, cause I you know, I'm gonna be like,
Speaker 1: how's a five K going?
Speaker 2: Huh?
Speaker 4: So there's so many five ks you're gonna have no
Speaker 4: problem finding. My mistake was, Yeah, my mistake was making
Speaker 4: a ten k my goal for next summer. And even
Speaker 4: though I said I'm giving myself a break, I'm gonna
Speaker 4: run that ten k okay, because I said I was
Speaker 4: gonna do it, and it's locked in Okay, damn it.
Speaker 1: I'm like, no, no, I'm not ready for nobody's tank k.
Speaker 1: I'm not my Ney but a five kmixen girl.
Speaker 4: But that's exciting. Yeah, And you know who's going to
Speaker 4: help you are one of our most loyal, faithful listeners, Amelia.
Speaker 4: This is your moment. Amelia has followed our well. We
Speaker 4: were roommates when I first moved to New York. She
Speaker 4: now lives in Texas, but she has just been such
Speaker 4: a faithful listener of the show. I feel like she
Speaker 4: only reaches out about the show and I'm like, what
Speaker 4: about me? But anyway, she is a marathoner, extraordinary. She's
Speaker 4: a health runner, I mean a health writer for a
Speaker 4: bunch of different publications. Anyway, she's going to get you together.
Speaker 4: She listens to the show Amelia, this.
Speaker 2: Is your guide to the DMS. Like dag me on Twitter? Whatever?
Speaker 2: What app do you really like enjoy?
Speaker 1: You know, like, yeah, I'm not a hyper beginner, but
Speaker 1: I don't mind starting with the super beginner app because
Speaker 1: I'm still going to continue to do my walks like
Speaker 1: in between, but something that's not just about the run,
Speaker 1: Like I want to make sure I maintain my overall
Speaker 1: you know, like health. So yeah, what about you? Are
Speaker 1: you boosting and you breaking?
Speaker 4: Oh I forgot where I was for a second. Oh,
Speaker 4: we're working. I'm going to do I have to do
Speaker 4: a boost right, Yeah, there's so many things to boost,
Speaker 4: like just in general for the year. I want to
Speaker 4: boost that. I did the damn thing I said I
Speaker 4: was going to do. I said, baby book, Business, baby book,
Speaker 4: in business, the three Bees, and I had the baby
Speaker 4: and he's extraordinary. The book is happening. I'm working on
Speaker 4: chapter two it's due in the spring, which seems so close,
Speaker 4: and business wise, I have I somehow managed to keep
Speaker 4: Mandy Money Mandy Money LLC like still happening while I'm
Speaker 4: writing the book, which was my goal. I still have
Speaker 4: some shifts to make so I can take I didn't.
Speaker 4: I need to take my foot even more off the
Speaker 4: pedal in Q one so I can get this book done.
Speaker 4: But I'm really, really I just want to boost that
Speaker 4: I said I was going to do these things and
Speaker 4: acknowledge it, because yes, some days it does feel like
Speaker 4: how am I doing? Is this okay? Like you know,
Speaker 4: some days of I'll have like my my doubt demons
Speaker 4: are and I go on LinkedIn just look at jobs
Speaker 4: just to remind myself that there's options.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but then quickly.
Speaker 4: I'm like, I don't want none of these jobs, these
Speaker 4: ashy jops, I don't want them. But yeah, just really
Speaker 4: really proud heading into the new year, I really want
Speaker 4: to make it all about making this book the best
Speaker 4: it can possibly be and not thinking about anything else
Speaker 4: having to do with it, like the marketing all that.
Speaker 4: I just have to make it really freaking good, And
Speaker 4: it's like the only thing I can see right now
Speaker 4: as like a I'm like a like a red aura
Speaker 4: around everything I do. It's just like the book. It's
Speaker 4: like this huge beacon and I feel so damn lucky
Speaker 4: to be able to do it, and I just want
Speaker 4: to enjoy the doing it, you know. Yeah, so that's
Speaker 4: my boost and yeah, last regular show of the new year.
Speaker 4: We'll still be in y'all's ears with them Baqa's y'all,
Speaker 4: but they view so much, and.
Speaker 2: Look out for the overt challenge.
Speaker 1: I will share more about it because we're still still
Speaker 1: here some shows, but like, look up for the challengeing
Speaker 1: on my free Challenge.
Speaker 2: It's gonna be the Credit Edition.
Speaker 1: We're still working out some details, but it's free as
Speaker 1: per usual. Launches in January January not January, Yeah, January eighth.
Speaker 1: I think that's the second Monday of the new year.
Speaker 1: You know, we did the Savings edition this year. Three
Speaker 1: hundred of y'all, three hundred thousand of y'all signed up,
Speaker 1: and so I'm excited to help even more this year.
Speaker 1: You know, I've been doing the challenge off and on
Speaker 1: for like ten years now, so I'm excited. I remember
Speaker 1: we I partnered with you, Mandy, Remember was it Credit
Speaker 1: test to me credit something Magnify Money, Magnified Money. Yes,
Speaker 1: we partnered and so that was awesome. I think it
Speaker 1: was the very first LRD. It's a challenge that y'all.
Speaker 2: Yes, I mean so yeah. So it's just really like
Speaker 2: it's my love.
Speaker 1: Letter to y'all, you know, the challenge every year, because
Speaker 1: it just enables me to help those especially those who
Speaker 1: might not have the funds, you know, to get this
Speaker 1: kind of like step by step guidance.
Speaker 2: And so that's my gift, the gift that keeps on giving.
Speaker 1: So just keep looking eye out for more information about
Speaker 1: the ATS, but it's always available. I think I live
Speaker 1: Richer Challenge dot com, but I don't think the credit
Speaker 1: edition is up just yet, So just keep an eye out.
Speaker 1: I'll be on the socials and things, but have an
Speaker 1: awesome high lay season and awesome new year.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we love y'all, honestly.
Speaker 4: See you next year.
Speaker 2: Goodbye, farewell, lovey. That's think