Why I am in Business

When I was twenty, I fell into owning a business. I am grateful to my husband for that. I also know it was my destiny. Throughout the past 17 years on the business-owner path, I’ve had different thoughts (aka- conversations with me, myself and I) as to WHY I was doing, am doing, it. Pushing, pulling, failing, learning, winning, crying, singing, hoping, wishing, learning, growing; all the feels. But, at the core of me, what it truly comes down to is creating the best me. Finding out how to become the best me possible because, the best me has the power to inspire growth and instill love. The best me is never done. There isn’t an end result, an outcome, “success”. The best me is ever changing, ever growing. 

Lately, I have seen how my drive terrifies people. How it makes them pull away from me or give me an excuse. However, it also gives people hope. Makes them think. I don’t have everything right. I am not the best at all things but, I have certainly chosen to be my best me. Of course, I stumble, I’m human. I never want to meet the woman I could have been. Ever. 

Being a business owner for nearly my entire working life has taught me that, business is not merely business sided. It is all encompassing. It is the relationship I have with myself. The relationship I have with my family & friends. The relationship I have with health, with spirituality, with growth. The relationship I have with education and my environment. With finance and contribution. It’s everything.

I am extremely grateful to have the opportunities I have every single day. To get to come to my office and choose to work at mastery. To choose to show up. So grateful to be born in this amazing country to my amazing parents. I am grateful to you for reading this far. 😉

I’m curious, why are you in business?

Succeeding in CASH

After an incredible experience at Business Mastery I am full of knowledge that I am grateful to be executing on! Of course, I was struck with Strep Throat 2 days after I got home but, haha I believe that is par for the course. Testing, testing, always testing. 

I am excited to discuss what Keith Cunningham calls, Business Optics. He explains that what you don’t know, can kill you. Just like a doctor uses tools like an MRI to “look under the hood”, a business owner must do the same with their financials. 

Now, the info below may be overwhelming but, if you have any interest in starting to understand your financials, I urge you to trudge through it and ask me questions. Better yet, come to our FREE live (human-to-human) business workshop this Friday, February 7, from 10:30-11:30am. You can sign up using the link below. Space is limited to 20 people. 

To start, our goal is to Turn Assets into Profits and Profits into Cash. 

Remember this VERY IMPORTANT FACT: Profit is a theory; Cash is a fact.

Most business owners look at only two numbers, revenues, and profits and this is not the whole picture. If we want to succeed in business, we cannot ignore cash. 

So how in the world do we do this; turn assets into profits and profits into cash? Without writing a massive post, here are a couple of pointers:

• Ideally, the goal is to minimize the amount of assets it takes to make profits and minimize the amount of expenses it takes to make profits. For example, assets can be employees who create income for you, a product that you sell, a software that produces income. How many payroll dollars, employees, products, does it take to make a profit? What are your expenses, are they necessary? Look at these numbers and see what you find. Can you/should you adjust somewhere? Can you reverse engineer them in order to increase your profits? 

• Once we have profit, we want to maximize cash. To do this, we look to our Balance Sheet and find the 3 areas that affect cash: 

  • AR (Accounts Receivable)

  • AP (Accounts Payable)

  • Inventory

  • Dig into these areas and create a strategy to generate more cash. Ideally, we want our Operating Cash to be greater than the capital expenditures (money spent on acquiring or maintaining assets) of the business.

At this point, this may be a foreign language to you and that is sadly normal. However, I will repeat, what you do not know, can kill you. We are here to help. We want to be the Money Firm who decreases the extremely massive number of businesses that fail within the first 10 years of doing business because, business owners deserve to win. We deserve to gain clarity and find the FUN in MUNey!

Here's the link to sign up for CASH IN, CASH OUT. INHALE, EXHALE. This Friday from 10:30-11:30am
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/89634363795

In Love & Light!
Erin

The Simplicity of Progress

Happy Monday and Happy MLK Day!

Ironic that the topic that came to me this morning is progress and it is MLK Day. Of course! 

There’s one fact that I must start this post with and that is, some things we know but, its very easy to forget. Thus, we must be reminded. You know, common sense isn't so common...
I am speaking to myself because, I feel so great today and after asking myself why, I realized I am ecstatic about the results I’m receiving. Those results are the people who are “magically” calling me about being part of my wellness event, the progress of a new partnership in my bookkeeping business, my relationships feeling connected and full of love. 

Since results don’t just “happen”, I determined in a split second that the main and most significant work I put in to get these results is simple; I have worked out 10 days out of the last 14. Literally. That. Is. It. The one simple act of moving my body on a consistent basis, has done the following things:

• increased my positivity

• increased my stamina

• made me calmer and less stressed

• allowed me to focus on solving challenges versus living in the pain of them

• heightened my energy and thus attracting the same good energy 

• allowed me to love deeper and happily 

• helped me to make better eating choices 

I always thrive when I consistently take care of my health. It’s the baseline of EVERYTHING. All the stories I tell myself about why I don’t are crap and if you happen to be someone who also tells yourself stories, I challenge you to call bullshit. “I’m too busy”, “My back hurts”, “I’m too tired”, "It's not that simple". These are the stories that limit us. We have one life to live so, perhaps we should live it fully. 

Have an amazing week!

Love, 

Erin

Influence; a subtle and massive idea

I hope you had a fantastic weekend. Today, I am excited to discuss the power of influence. For me, there’s nothing like influencing people by communicating the “lessons” I have learned through my life experience. We all have something to offer based on our “misses”. The misses have taught me the most. 

Last Friday I hosted my first live/face-to-face Business Workshop and it was a success. I taught something that is basic to me yet, provided immense value to those in attendance. A way to look at their financials with a newfound vigor and mindset. A tool that allows them to make better informed financial decisions. 

My point in telling you this is, my workshop was simple. Basic. Perhaps to me, just common knowledge. However, as I expected, most, if not all in attendance were unaware of this tool and happy to have learned about it. 

We all have something we have “gone through”/ “experienced” that has shaped who we are today. Something that others may not have learned yet. Something we can therefore share. It doesn’t need to be grandiose. It’s highly rewarding when you find this “thing”. Influencing people because I can communicate things, I’ve learned the “hard” way is what it’s all about. It’s how I contribute to the world. It’s how “we” as people contribute. We can search and search and search for our “purpose” but really, it’s the little things.  

Have you found this power? How do you influence people? 

Cheers to influencing, empowering and uplifting those that choose to be around us. 

Being Rich

I feel rich. When I sit and think about it, I really do. If you look it up, there are a handful of different definitions to the word “rich”. Before I list them below I have to mention that, as a woman, I am working to keep the topic of money, wealth, rich, investing and finances on the lips of women. It’s often an awkward conversation but, it doesn’t need to be. It shouldn’t be. I also feel that being “rich” or “wealthy” can have a negative aura about it and that’s one of the reasons it may be hush-hush in certain circles. So, here are the definitions of rich that I want to share and why my life fits within them:

1. Plentiful; abundant

         a. I have so much love, support and freedom in my life. I make time to do what I want to  
         do, when I want to do it. 

2. Producing a large quantity of something

         a. I produce and assist in producing a large quantity of dollars. The exact amount doesn’t 
         matter. What matters to me is consistent progress, momentum. Being part of something that           makes me grow. 

3. Pleasantly deep or strong

         a.  I feel that my relationships are pleasantly deep and strong. I tend to shy away from                       relationships that aren’t deep. I LOVE deep connection with other humans and seek it. I am also always working to increase the depth of connection I have with my kids and husband. 

4. Interesting because full of diversity or complexity

         a. I like to travel. I like to socialize with different groups of people. I like to go to retreats and seminars that open my mind to diverse and complex ideas. I like to read all sorts of books from business to romance. 

Being rich and wealthy is a mindset. I choose to love the journey I am on versus merely planning for retirement and enjoying life when that time comes. Don’t get me wrong, I also plan for retirement. However, If I want to buy the $60 bottle of wine instead of saving that cash for “future” fun, I buy it. I choose to love the life I live and live the life I love!

Are you rich?!

Happy 2020! 

Brain Juice

I hope you had an amazing Holiday weekend! I did and was able to sit in gratitude several times. I am so thankful that owning a business is a possibility in this great country and has been my livelihood for 17 years. I am also so thankful for the amazing family I have which supports me and my crazy and beautiful dreams. Cheers to being thankful!

Today, I want to mention how much education has played a role in my progression through business. After High School, I started at Arizona State only to leave and follow my dancing dreams two years later, landing me in California. Funny enough, I started my first business there (not related to dance) which is the business that I learned the bulk of my knowledge.

I learned a massive amount from trial and error but, I also heavily sought out experts, organizations, books, CDs, people who could and would help me understand what I didn’t understand. People that had “been there and done that”. Through the years, I discovered that trial and error is not the way to go. Why not utilize the amazing amounts of knowledge and information available to us now-a-days?! So, I did, and I do. That’s not to say, I don’t test things to see if they work in my business and adjust along the way. Of course, I do but, I do so with much more of an educated and researched approach. In no particular order, here is a list of resources I have used (and currently use) over the years that have been invaluable to my success as a businesswoman and human.

Chamber of Commerce: Attended meetings and networked with professionals (most the time they had nothing to do with my industry but, that’s the point)

Business Degree from ASU: My degree put my real-life experiences into “book work” perspective and provided me with a VERY necessary knowledge of accounting and economics. I used to think it didn’t teach me much but, after owning my bookkeeping business for the last 5 years and seeing firsthand how many people don’t understand accounting whatsoever, I am grateful for my traditional education. Go Devils!

Metropolitan Association of Business Executives: A Networking group that was much more than a networking group which met every Friday morning at 7:00 am for breakfast and to discuss business and assist with lead generation. This group has been BY FAR the biggest connection to fellow business owners whom I speak to and look to for advice or services to this day. I am grateful for this group time and time again and haven’t been a member for 6 years.

Tony Robbins: This man has changed my life in so many ways. He is a Master of Human Behavior and has opened my eyes to so many things both business-wise and personally. Finding someone who inspires, motivates and shows you a different perspective or a new tool is huge. Even though I don’t speak to him personally, he’s like a mentor to me. I attend his events, read his books and listed to his digital courses. Not to mention the incredible people I have met because of him. Cheers to you Tony! I adore you

Mastermind Group: I am part of an incredible mastermind group that meets weekly in a digital setting. It includes people from all around the world and has been a massive part of my recent growth. It too, has introduced me to some amazing people who are now a huge part of my life

The Gym/Yoga/Dance/Trainer: Working out/movement helps me function as my best self and keeps my mind sharp

Quality Time with family & friends: Love and social gatherings are a prominent part of my life. Without them, it wouldn’t be worth it. I am very good at making these things a priority on a regular basis.

Business Coach: I have had a couple different business coaches over the years. They keep you accountable. They push you. I love having a coach

Books/Podcasts: I love to read and listen to experts. If you research anyone who is highly successful in business or even in life, I bet they read a ton.

Seminars: Removing myself from everyday life and immersing into a day or weeklong seminar has been a transformative aspect of my life. My try to get in at least 4 events a year. EVERY time, I come back on fire and its nice to be on fire. I like variety. I love immersion. I LOVE learning. Seminars provide this. They aren’t always business related. I also do spiritual retreats which are equally important and transformative.

Meditation: Learning to quiet the chatter has brought about immense clarity. If you don’t do so, give it a whirl.

Journaling: Writing my thoughts, goals and ideas has give my focus and vision. Putting things on paper, actually scribing, works wonders.

If you’ve stayed with me this long, thank you! I hope you have an amazing week and perhaps add a couple notches to your education repertoire

LOVE LIFE!

Erin

When is business too personal?

We all know about being professional and what constitutes such behavior. We know that if we work for someone, we are expected to act a certain way and on the other side of the coin, which I am going to focus on herein, if we pay someone, we are to treat them a certain way. Society and lawsuits have taught us that we are “supposed to” draw a line in the sand that separates what and how we should communicate with employees. Truth be told, I push that line. I ask personal questions.

Maybe, I shouldn’t but, I honestly find it extremely difficult not to treat a human like a human. I find it difficult to play by the rules of “professionalism” and not create personal relationships with people I work with and that work for me. Has this gotten me into trouble in the past? Yes. I get that people need to have a job to support their families and their livelihood and, in a sense, will do what they need to, to play in the game. I, however, am innately unable to deny my internal truth a voice; I am unable to walk by a human that is emotionally suffering and not feel their pain and want to help. I am unable to work alongside someone and not get to know who they really are. To me, what kind of life is that?! My career is a massive part of my life and I want to know people. I want to connect with people. And I can’t stand surface level anything.

I bring this up because, with Money Matters AZ, I have tried hard to create a culture that includes being personally connected to my people. I want them to feel valued and treasured for the person they are, not only the talent that they bring. How can I do that without getting to know them a little? How can I give into the fear of a lawsuit or a broken relationship? I feel I would be selling my soul if I did. No thanks.

I know I stand alone in a lot of ways by reaching for this kind of truth in business and maybe I’m wrong and I will change my mind in the future but, I want to contribute financially and personally to those who work for me, or as I prefer to say, “with me”.

I’d really love to hear what you have to say about this.