Is your business actually making you money—or are you just getting by?
In this episode of Rebel CEO, I sit down with Tana Kramer, a profitability strategist and founder of TK Solutions, who helps entrepreneurs (especially women) build sustainable, profitable businesses without sacrificing their purpose. From answering phones at her dad’s shop as a kid to running financial operations for major companies, Tana has seen it all—and now she’s bringing her financial wisdom straight to you.
We’re diving into the biggest money mistakes entrepreneurs make, how to charge what you’re worth (without the guilt), and why profit is the key to ultimate freedom. If you’ve ever felt like you’re working hard but not seeing the financial results you want, this episode is for you.
What You’ll Learn:
- Profit Isn’t a Dirty Word: Why making more money actually helps you serve at a higher level.
- Custom Money Strategies: Forget one-size-fits-all methods—here’s how to build a financial plan that works for your business.
- Money Mindset Shifts: Stop undercharging and start owning your worth with confidence.
- Financial Rituals for Success: How to make checking your numbers a feel-good habit instead of a dreaded task.
- Profit = Growth: Why more revenue doesn’t always mean more profit—and how to make sure your business is actually building wealth.
Notable Quotes:
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"At the end of the day, if you have more profit left over, you have so much more choice."
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"What is my purpose and what am I here to do? And then, how can I offer that to the world?"
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"If you're just always barely covering your expenses so you don't feel bad charging more, you're never going to get ahead."
Resources:
- Tana's Website - https://tanakramer.com
- 🎧 Tana's Private Podcast - Unlock the Secrets to Financial Success and Sustainability: https://tanakramer.com/financial-wellness-podcast/
- 📷 Instagram: @tanakramer
- 💼 LinkedIn: Tana Kramer
🔥 More episodes dropping soon—subscribe to Rebel CEO so you don’t miss a thing!
BREEANNA KAY'S WEBSITE: breeannakay.com
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Tana) (00:00):
At the end of the day, if you have more profit left over, you have so much more choice. So that's both in your business and your personal life. And so if you. If you're just always barely covering your expenses so that you don't feel bad by charging more, you're never going to get ahead.
Bree) (00:17):
Welcome to Rebel CEO, the podcast where we ditch the rules and build businesses that don't just make money, but set.
C) (00:23):
Your soul on fire.
Bree) (00:24):
I'm Brianna Kay, your business coach, freedom advocate, and personal permission slip to dream bigger as I scaled my own business to six figures while breaking every mold.
C) (00:33):
That people told me to fit into.
Bree) (00:34):
And now I'm here to help you do the same. I'll help you build a business and a life that's so deeply rooted in your purpose that you never feel like you missed out on the life that you are supposed to live. This is your time to root down, rise up, Rebel, and manifest all of your wild goals. So grab your coffee, get cozy, and let's dive in.
Tana) (00:52):
I was going to be bold.
Bree) (00:54):
Hey, Rebels. I'm so excited that you're tuning into this episode. I. I have so much goodness for you today. But first, I just want to get started by saying that. Holy crap. I feel like I have evolved into, like, a whole different person in the last. I want to say week, but I'll stretch it out a little further than that. Maybe like the last month. I don't even know. Well, I kind of know what's happening.
(01:20):
So if you're familiar with quantum leaping or going through any type of spiritual awakening, it seems like you have some.
C) (01:26):
Sort of a collapse.
Bree) (01:27):
I call it the manifestation collapse. Some people call it a tower moment. And then on the other side of that collapse or that breakdown is a life that feels like a totally different life than you had before you came into the collapse. So I feel like I've gone through all of that since the beginning of this year. I'm in a personal year number nine in numerology, which is all about tying up loose ends and breaking old cycles that are no longer serving you. So I feel like as soon as the year switch to 2025, I was hit with all of these things that I had to navigate and I had to figure out the best way to move forward and how to heal these cycles that were coming up that hadn't came up in years.
(02:06):
So I've been feeling really inspired lately and, like, I'm on the other side of a lot of that. But I'm sure there will be more to come up. It is just March right now. So I'm so curious, how has 2025 been going for you guys? Have you come up with a lot of inner work that you had to do or have you just been kind of coasting through? Because for years I feel like I've been coasting, I've been good, I've been feeling good, and then bam, it's like you need to grow in this area, in this area, in this area. And the universe was just asking me for a major up level.
(02:38):
So here I am, I'm showing up, I'm leveling up again. And it feels good to not fight it. So today I'm talking with Tana Kramer and we're talking about a topic that gets right into the heart of what it means to build a business that not only thrives, but feels so aligned with your vision for life. So we're talking wealth beyond the numbers and we are chatting about transforming creative passion into a profitable and aligned life.
(03:07):
So let's be real. There is no shortage of advice out there on growing a business. But how often do we stop and ask if what we're building truly aligns with our values, goals and dreams? Does it really align with our sole purpose? Or are we just building something to make money? Because really, wealth is about way more than just numbers. So to help us unpack this, Tana is the founder of TK Solutions, a profitability strategist and the queen of helping entrepreneurs, especially women leaders, create sustainable growth and financial success.
(03:38):
From answering phones at her dad's glass shop to managing financial operations for major companies, Tana's journey proves that wealth isn't just about where you start. It's about the choices that you make. Okay, but before we get into the episode, I do want to share something really exciting with you. I am currently in my pre launch phase for my brand new program Rooted. So inside of Rooted, I'm helping my students get really clear on what it is that their soul is trying to tell them. What they want, what they need out of life, where they're the most aligned, what kind of businesses are good fits for them, how they create financial abundance. We're going to get really, really clear on all of the things that your soul wants. We're going to get really clear on the challeng that you are being asked to step into in this lifetime.
(04:22):
We're going to get clear on the way that your body is meant to operate and the energy that you're putting into this world. And the reason we're doing that is not just so that we can know ourselves better. It's really, truly not. It is because you might feel like everything's fine in life, like your job's good enough, you're maybe making decent money at the job that you're at, but you're like kind of sick of it, and you're just waiting for the weekends and it no longer lights you up. Like you're low key, a little bit burnt out by the business that you've created.
(04:54):
And the thing is, if you build a business that is so Soul Aligned, like 100%, this business is absolutely in line with the contract that you came to fulfill on this earth when you came down into this world, then there is no way that the universe can help but deliver abundance to you and make things so easy. Because your business truly feels like an extension of you. It's something that lights you up and is helping not only you, but helping the collective and helping to level up the energy of this earth and shift everything from that masculine push and force way of business into more of a flow and alignment way of business. And you've probably noticed this because it's no secret, like the way that we do business is really, truly shifting. And if you're not picking up on it and you're going to keep hustling and pushing and forcing and doing things that aren't really within your energy wheelhouse, then you've got a wake up call coming.
(06:00):
So we're going to make sure that you're not only building lives that you love, but you're also building a business that is a true reflection of your soul and that can help you to have results. Like I did, where I really dove hard into applying different pieces of my own soul contract, which I'll be going over with you in this program. And because last month is typically my slowest month of the year, I was able to over 400% increase my revenue for the month of February compared to the month of February last year.
(06:32):
So that's just a little glimpse of what can happen. And there's so much more that can happen than that, but that's a little glimpse of what can happen just on the monetary side of things, since we're talking about wealth, when you really, truly do the work to figure out what it is you're meant here to do and take aligned action. So if this sounds like something that you want more information on or something that you want to see if you're a good fit for, go to brianak.com
(06:59):
forward/rooted. And that's R O O T E D or send me a message on instagram @rebel CEO podcast and we'll chat and figure out if you are a good fit for the program. Okay, now let's dive into the episode with Tana.
C) (07:12):
Thank you so much for being here. To get started, can you just share with listeners a little bit about like, who you are and how you got to the place you're business right now?
Tana) (07:21):
Absolutely. I started out, I really have been supporting entrepreneurs forever for like as long as I can remember. I like to tell people that I was actually answering the phones for my dad's glass shop when I was like 8, which I had no business. Like, why did he even let me answer the phone? But I really, really love doing that. And then I, I always had like a zillion jobs. Sometimes it was working for entrepreneurs and sometimes it was just working in a, like juggling lots of things, which I think is very entrepreneurial. Right. Like, I always think that like entrepreneurs a lot of times have ADHD because they need to be able to have lots of things stimulating them at all times. And that is definitely true for me. But I went to college, got the business management degree because I'm like, I knew that I needed to have a management degree.
(08:07):
And then I remember like working, I was like, I have to work for $11 an hour with my management degree. Would. What are you talking about? And so, but I did, I went and I worked for like corporate for a bit, which gave me a lot of experience. But at the end of the day, I always knew I'm probably going to need to work for myself because I love to work again. That whole having lots of different jobs over the course of time was always me, like chasing a new problem, finding a new thing. Fast forward to worked for a bunch of different people and realized I really wanted to be able to have a little bit more control over how fast we are running. And you know, is this a good time in my life to be like chasing all the things?
(08:48):
And as I started launching kids, I realized, oh, they're going to leave here and I'm not going to have spent enough time with them because I was chasing all the fun things. So I decided to start, start my business so that I could really get in and help business owners with the pieces of financial wellness that I really liked because I felt like I could take the things that I learned at bigger companies and really apply it to entrepreneurs and then get that kind of itch for myself.
(09:14):
And now my husband and I, we decided when we Launched our last kid to take this party on the road. And so we are traveling now in our rv and we've been doing that for about seven or eight months. And we're now, you know, serving business owners from wherever it is that we've, you know, parked the rv, which right now is Southern California.
C) (09:34):
Okay. I feel like I definitely wish that I could go back to before I, like, settled down because I have a husband and a stepson. So my stepson splits time between two houses. So we can't necessarily just like pick up and take him on the road for long periods of time. But I wish that I could go back to when I was college aged and before I had my, my cat and my dogs. But dogs, I think do pretty well on the road anyway and do the RV life because it seems like something that would be so fun to do for a period of time. So where's your favorite place that you've been to so far?
Tana) (10:10):
So, so far? Colorado. My plan is to do this for five years. I actually have told my kids that I love you, don't get married and have kids, because I want a grandma, but I don't want a grandma yet because I started having kids at 21. And so after 27 years of parenting, I'm like, mama needs to do fun things. So I've said, please, please, please, you can do whatever you want in your life. But if you want me to like, show up and be present and help babysit, you're going to need to give me five years. So our plan is to do this RV life for five years. Well, actually not even do RV life to do travel for the next five years.
(10:43):
I kind of have it in my head that we'll do the next two or three years because there's plenty of beautiful things to see in the United States. But it actually all started because I wanted to go spend three to six months in Europe and just be like, let's weekend here, let's weekend there. So I expect to spend the last two years of that traveling abroad. So we'll see.
C) (11:05):
Yeah, that would be really fun. One of my dreams is to like pick up and go kind of move somewhere for like a month. Just periodically. Like, I want to do it periodically and I want to take my, my animals with me, but I don't have.
Tana) (11:18):
Levels in the rv. She. Oh, she does, she does. She's. I think she's 8 or 9. And so we worried. We were like, she does the car terribly. But she really loves being in the rv because I think it doesn't feel like a car. And so she loves to, like, lay in the. Let the sun come in on her. I always tell myself, like, I am a cat. I also like to lay in the sun.
C) (11:39):
Yeah. So does she go indoor, outdoor? She's just an indoor cat.
Tana) (11:43):
She is just an indoor cat. So she every once in a while thinks she wants to smell outside, but she's really a scaredy cat.
C) (11:49):
Okay. All right.
Tana) (11:50):
Every once in a while, like, zoomies is a real situation. Right. Like, sometimes they're zoomies, but she just, you know, jumps up and runs around. She. She finds her way.
C) (11:59):
Okay, nice. I love that. So then you mentioned earlier that you knew that you wanted to work for yourself and your d. Owned a glass shop. Do you think that you knew that you wanted to work for yourself because you had that example in your life of somebody who was doing entrepreneurship already?
Tana) (12:15):
I don't know that I knew it then, but I. I knew that I like to color outside the lines, and then I probably couldn't stay in the lines forever. So when I was. When I first, like, had the baby and had the college degree, I was like, I definitely need to have a place that I can learn the ropes that is a little bit inside the lines. But I quickly realized that there were some things that I thought were real dumb that I was not going to be able to keep doing.
(12:42):
Like, if you're past seven minutes late, you get written up or. Right. Like, all these kinds of things that I then had to enforce as the manager. And so I remember thinking, I want to do this for, like, the reasons that matter. And some of those things are not the reasons that matter. And I think that that's trickier in our corporate environment when you're trying to have everyone do kind of the same thing.
And so I think that I always wanted to be able to have my work ethic be. I want to say, prioritized, but, like, rewarded for what I was doing, like, the impact that I was having, or the, like, desire to work hard for something specific, to be able to have the full reward of that and not have to sort of share that in the corporate environment?
C) (13:24):
Yeah. Okay. That makes so much sense. So you talk about wealth being more than just money and more than just numbers. Can you kind of unpack that for the listeners?
Tana) (13:35):
Absolutely. I mean, I think that, like, we are here for, like, one. Just one little life. Right. And so I think that it's really important to understand that wealth is not just the amount of money in your bank Account or your 401K or in your investments. Because at the end of the day, there are plenty of really miserable people out there who have lots of money but are not actually enjoying their life. I think that there's so much more to life than the numbers that are in your bank Account or your 401K or in your investments. And ultimately, there are plenty of people in the world who have lots of money and who ultimately aren't very happy. And so I think that it's most important for you to figure out what impact you want to make in the world.
(14:10):
And a lot of times that is not necessarily going to be tied to, you know, specific, you know, wealth numbers or dollars and cents. And so to figure out what you want to be doing in the world and what impact you want to make, and then figuring out how to. I hate the word monetize that, because ultimately, that sounds really slimy. But to be able to make a living off of something that you love is so much more rewarding than just working for the money. I mean, I don't know, I run into entrepreneurs all the time who are like, I used to have the corporate job and I made lots of money and I hated it. And once they were able to figure out how to. Again, I don't love the word monetize, but once they were able to figure out, like, what is my purpose and what am I here to do, and then how can I offer that to the world?
(14:55):
And in exchange for the, you know, money to actually make the world go round. Right. Buy groceries, et cetera, they were always so much more happy.
C) (15:04):
Yeah. And then also, if you shift your mindset and instead of thinking about it, if people do have a problem with the word monetize or, like, monetize your skill set and you shift it into thinking about your offering the world something that you're gifted in and that you were meant to create or meant to put out into the world, then you're actually doing everybody a service by offering this skill set of yours. And you're doing everyone a disservice if you choose to not honor that.
(15:32):
If I asked you what your biggest, like, what you look for wealth in. In your life, what would you tell me? Did that make sense the way that I phrased it?
Tana) (15:41):
Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. I. It's funny, like, they. I know they talk a lot about, like, what motivates you, and money was never the thing. Like, I feel like getting a raise was always nice, right? Or like giving yourself a raise as an entrepreneur is always nice, but that's not why, at least why I get up in the morning, I get up to be like, what problem can I solve? Who can I help? Where can I, like, do a move, a needle, moving activity?
(16:07):
And I think that, like, that is going to get me going way more than money is. And I know that there's probably people who. Money is a big piece of why they do the thing, but I think that there's always, like a layer underneath that's probably more true than just the dollars. And so sometimes I think we're also sort of programmed early on that you got to make a lot of money. You got to make a lot of money. Or at least that was my experience.
(16:31):
And I have found that making a lot of money doesn't actually make me happy. Being able to decide what I work on and who I can help is way, way more interesting to me than the dollars.
C) (16:46):
Yeah, for sure. So I'm with you. That money. Okay, so money for a lot of people, they think that they want to hit a certain amount or they want to make this much or have this launch result in this much money or whatever. But a lot of the people that have that number, it's not actually like the money that they want. It's the freedom or the experiences or the stability and security. Like you said, there's a deeper layer. And I think that probably almost everybody, I would think, has that deeper layer if they actually unpack. Like, why do you want that money? It's not necessarily the money. It's what the money gives that person.
Tana) (17:28):
Which is usually safety, by the way.
C) (17:30):
Yeah, yeah, for sure. Well, nobody likes to feel unsafe. So that's such, like, a primal thing of us, too, to want money so that we can feel safe. Because if you don't feel safe, then it's hard to build other things on.
Tana) (17:41):
Top of that 100%.
C) (17:44):
So then a lot of entrepreneurs struggle to balance purpose with profitability. And if I asked you to share, like, your top tips for finding that balance, what would you say?
Tana) (17:56):
Well, I would say that profitability is a must. I mean, it's so important to have profitability because you can't grow your business or serve your clients well or really pay yourself what you deserve or pay taxes, for that matter. Without a profitable business, there's plenty of businesses out there that will only focus on. On profit. And a lot of times it can be kind of slimy, but. But that isn't how you have to do it. And I think it's so important to really understand that you can do business the way that you want to do business.
(18:30):
And then also it's important to check like your money stories or your biases because if you are set in, you know, in your, I don't say in your ways, but if you're set on, you always have to give a discount. For instance, you can really hurt your ultimately your profitability if you're always giving discounts because you're, you can find a reason to give a discount for every everything and then you're not going to be able to be successful.
(18:56):
So as far as like strategies go, I recommend that people assign every dollar in your job or in your business a job and then stick to it. So I usually do that from a percentage perspective, like sign a percentage for profit for wages that's for yourself and anybody else that you hire, operating expenses, long term savings and then also tax savings. And then really try to stick with that percentage because you know, then there's always, if you, as long as you stick with that plan, there's always going to be money in the pockets that you need there to be money in.
(19:30):
And then the other strategy I would really recommend is to not let other people's opinions or your money stories run the show because I think staying open to what's possible is going to ultimately provide a lot more fulfillment in what you're, what you're doing and how you're doing it.
C) (19:46):
Yeah. So I noticed that you said that you have a percentage for profit. Do you do profit first in your business?
Tana) (19:53):
I, I do an abbreviated version of it. I really, really like Mike Michalowitz and what he's doing for profit first. I think that there's, it makes a lot of sense for a lot of people. I don't like do all of the bank accounts. Like I don't know how familiar you are, but he's got some pretty strict rules about it. And I think that that works for a lot of people who need the, that structure. I do kind of a looser version of that up, but generally speaking.
C) (20:17):
Okay. Yeah. So I listened to the audiobook and I tried to open like the separate accounts in it in a separate bank that you're talking about. And for listeners who aren't familiar, we're talking about the book Profit first by you said Mike Michalowicz, somebody similar to that name. Okay, awesome. I'll link it in the show notes too. And he says essentially that you're taking a portion of your income and you are just holding that in like a profit holding account.
(20:45):
And then at the end of the year you should have Profit left over, over because you essentially budgeted for it throughout the year. But he wants you to have separate accounts at separate banks. I think the theory is, so that you won't just easily transfer it back over or it'll be less accessible, so it's not so tempting to spend. Am I right on that? Okay.
Tana) (21:06):
And I mean, and ultimately he's trying to like outwit our own behavior. Right. And some of the tendencies that we have to be like, we'll just sneak that in there and pretend like that's not happening. And so. Yeah, yeah.
C) (21:18):
Or like, oh, I'll just pay for this and then I'll pay it back to the account. And then you never pay it back to the account.
Tana) (21:23):
Yeah, yep, yep, definitely. So. So again, I like a lot of what he has. I think that you can definitely review it more frequently than at the end of the year. But yes, if you've planned for every dollar that you spend, then you can know, you know, if you decide that you want 10% profit, then 10% of every single dollar should be in that bank account or, or at least earmarked for that at the end of the year.
(21:48):
And so there's lots of ways to go about, you know, checking against that and reviewing on a monthly basis or on a quarterly basis. But yeah, planning for profit, planning for savings, planning for taxes, and then sort of living off of. In your business, the, the amount of money that you've said this is my plan and then being able to make decisions based on this is the amount I have to work with, does it fit and what am I willing to give up if I need to make an adjustment?
C) (22:16):
Yeah, I think that a lot of creative entrepreneurs and I come from a photography background, but I actually like don't consider myself creative by nature. I think that I just had like really suppressed it throughout my life. So I think I had it buried in there. But I also have a very analytical, like more. I, I have two different sides to me as to it turns out. Yeah, yeah, for sure. I don't feel like I fit like fully into the creatives bubble like a lot of people in the photography industry do.
(22:49):
And I think that a lot of people really, really struggle with making those like business plans and financial plans when they just are in an art space to fulfill their passion or fulfill their creativity. Do you have any tips for somebody who like really struggles with sitting down and making those plans and then sticking to them?
Tana) (23:11):
Yeah, I mean, I think that regular touch points is important and trying to figure out, am I chasing a Shiny object or am I changing the way I want to do, do this structure? So I think, again, regular touch points. And so one of the things that I actually really love to do with business owners is like, come to a finance focused time where you're gonna, you know, set that in your calendar and come to like every Friday. And had somebody tell me one time that they called it their Friday spa day, which is when they actually looked at their, their finances.
(23:46):
So I forget what their acronym was for the spa day, but it was essentially, you're gonna sit down and look at what your savings and, you know, what your profitability is. So again, regular touch points that you hold yourself to. And then I would recommend that you do that in a way that feels fun. So do that and you know, with a, with a cocktail or with your favorite drink, with music, light a candle. Like, make it something you're actually looking forward to instead of something that you're dreading, because let's face it, nobody wants to do anything they're dreading. So find ways to have those touch points be something that you're looking forward to. So schedule it with your best, your business bestie, or, you know, schedule it in a time where you know you're going to be excited about what you're doing. Don't schedule at the end of day on Friday or, you know, like in times, it won't work for you because at the end of the day, looking at your numbers is going to give you information to make better decisions.
(24:37):
And so make it fun and be consistent would be my recommendations.
C) (24:43):
Yeah, that reminds me, you said get a cocktail or do something fun with your money. And it reminds me of going on a date with your money. Have you ever heard people say, date your money, date your finances, and then also just like, looking at your money if it. If you're somebody who likes to avoid this altogether, just looking at it regularly could help train your nervous system not to be so scared of money too. So I love that I got to.
Tana) (25:06):
Forget who says this, but somebody says that money is a cruel mistress. If you don't pay attention to it, she'll leave you.
C) (25:12):
Oh, okay. I've never heard that, but I like that and I feel like it's true.
Tana) (25:16):
Yeah.
C) (25:17):
Okay, so if I asked you some common financial mistakes or like, money mindset blocks that you see, what would those be?
Tana) (25:26):
Well, I was gonna say there is. There's like so many. Right. So bank balance accounting is typically a fairly big mistake, meaning just because there's cash in your bank account doesn't mean that you're profitable, because I've seen some people who have large, large numbers in that bank account, but at the end of the day, the individual business lines aren't necessarily profitable. So that's a mistake. If you're just looking at whether or not you have money in your bank account.
(25:54):
And then revenue and profit, they're not the same. Right. What you bring in isn't the same that you actually get to take home and put in your pocket and, you know, spend on, on groceries and fantastic vacations, which is obviously a spectrum of things. Right. And then the other more common mistake that I, that I hear is that, or not even the hear that I see is that underplaying the role of like, tracking your income and expenses and actually looking at what the numbers are saying about your business or about the health of your business.
(26:23):
And I know that, like, people avoid that because they're afraid of what they're going to see or they, or again, they're learning that balance, that bank balance accounting. So I must be fine. And I think that we all think that we remember how we spent money or where we earmarked things and when we actually get into the bookkeeping of it all, which again, I know is like such an unsexy word, but it really is just that tracking of how what money came in and how I spent it and then doing that and comparing that to your plan.
(26:52):
It's like, you don't have to be the numbers person in your business. If that's not your thing, then hire somebody who is a numbers person. Let them do the sort of dirty reconciliation, but then ask them regularly what profitability looks like and, you know, what is the health of your business? Where are the trends so that you can pivot. Because ultimately, knowledge is power. If you can see where things are a little off, you can be like, oh, I need to make an adjustment. I mean, I did this at the end of the year. I in my own business again, I do people's books for a living.
(27:23):
And I had this idea in my head that, like, I wasn't as profitable as I wanted to be. And then when I really looked, I was like, I grew over the last three years. And I, I really had this like, idea in my head. And I'm sure this is my own scarcity and limiting beliefs. Right? Is that it? That I didn't do as well? And when I actually looked at the numbers, I was like, well, look at that. Nice job. But again, we all think that we know and remember and as it turns out, we have terrible memories.
C) (27:52):
Yeah. And sometimes you don't even realize how quickly things add up, because when I travel and when I. Well, this is still traveling, I guess, but when I was saying travel, I was thinking, like, flight to travel, like, further travel. And then when I drive to weddings and I get food on the way or, like, stop on the way, I spend so much money on meals, and it's honestly a little bit painful when I do my books to see how much money I've spent on just random meals out.
(28:27):
And I love eating out, but it adds up really fast. And sometimes I'm like, I should probably tone that back a little bit. Or like, I didn't need to get dinner and a snack at the gas station. I could have probably done without those. So sometimes it is really helpful to actually be able to see what's going into your books or ask somebody about those numbers, because you might be spending way more in areas that don't actually do anything for your business than you realize.
Tana) (28:53):
Yeah. And here's the thing. If you know that you want to be able to have a meal on either way, because it, like, makes you show up, like, then just build that into the profitability. Right. But it's when you. It's like that sneaky, you don't realize that usually gets you in trouble.
C) (29:06):
Yeah. - (Tana)
Yeah. And when you see, like, oh, I'm spending 15, $20, this meal, it's all fine and dandy. But then when you see it all at the end of the year, and you're like, I spent $3,000 on food, it's like, oh, but why did I do that?
Tana) (29:33):
And what percentage of your income is it? And does that align with your values? Like. Right. Does that align with how you want, you know, the. The job that you gave that the money. And if not, then you have to make adjustments.
C) (29:44):
Right. So then you also mentioned revenue is not the same as profit, and I want to go back to that. Who don't actually understand the difference between revenue and profit. Could you just explain what each one is, quick?
Tana) (29:57):
Absolutely. So revenue is the sort of what we call the top line. So it's the number that you charge your clients. So let's say that you charge your clients. No, I know it's not a thousand dollars, but $1,000 to, you know, do a shoot, there's ultimately going to be lots of costs. Sometimes it's going to be your meal, sometimes it's going to be, again, I don't actually know your business, I'm not gonna be able to do that well, but there's going to be costs associated with providing that service. And so at the end of the day, you might get to take $500 home.
(30:26):
So the thousand dollars is revenue, whereas 500 is the profit. So it's the amount after all of the expenses to provide that service and any like general and administrative costs that you have. So that's like your profitability Software, it's your QuickBooks, it's your, you know, insurance. Right. It's all of those other things. So it's the amount of money you actually get to bring, bring home and ultimately your pay taxes on is the profit number.
C) (30:53):
Awesome. And then if I asked you to define profitable, what would you say? Because if you show a profit on taxes, technically you're profitable, but that might not be enough for you to like, comfortably and happily pay your bills. So what's, what's profitable to you? What would you tell people?
Tana) (31:13):
Profitability is 100% determined by what your values and your lifestyle is. Because for some people, 10% profit is fine. For many people it needs to be 50, like 50%. And it also, there's also like a business structure, like depending on how the business is set up, if you're a sole proprietor versus an S Corp, which we won't go into to those details, but that, that, it depends is the short answer. And so I like to have people sit down and say, okay, what is it that you're looking to get out of this business? Like, what is the number that you need to live your life in a way that feels like you're so excited to go to work or you know, to go to, to do the work that you do.
(31:59):
And then let's back into what does that look like revenue wise in order to get to that number and then figure out is that like, do you want to hustle that much? Because right. Sometimes we don't understand the, the yeah, I want to be at a million dollars, but that means I have to, you know, insert, hire a bunch of people or, you know, work long hours. And so there's always going to be some give and take. And so I think that profitable is definitely going to be a very personal decision.
(32:30):
And I think that what I always make sure is that people understand the different components to that so that they can decide what's right for them.
C) (32:40):
So if I asked you for some signs or red flags for people to be on the lookout for that they're either not profitable monetary wise or not profitable in different areas of wealth in their life. Energetically, like.
Tana) (32:56):
Energetically.
C) (32:57):
Yeah, whatever. Whatever their version of wealth is. So like for some people it might be freedom, for some people it be like family or love. What are some things that pop out to you right away as, like keep a lookout for this because you're not profitable in this area. Like big things that stick out.
Tana) (33:16):
Yeah, I would say, like if you are constantly trying to figure out how you're going to pay for something, there's like, there's certainly that immediate monetary stress where you're like, I'm making lots of money, but how come it's not showing up in my bank account? Like if there's a disconnect, that's definitely a key piece. And then I think energetically, if you, if you, when somebody asks you a question, if your immediate response is sharp or, you know, maybe a little negative, I always tell people, like one of two things is happening. Either you're super tired, you need to go to bed, or like go move your body. Right. Like there's some things you need to do to take care of your actual self or you're out of alignment in what you're doing and so you need to make a shift in your business to do the things that you like to do. Now at the end of the day we all have like the laundry and dishes of entrepreneurship. You know, we gotta file taxes, we gotta do some of the bookkeeping, right. There's always some level of that.
(34:13):
But if you're feeling, feeling in your feelings about the day to day, what you're getting to do, then it's time to like figure out to make a shift. So I like to tell people, like, if you are no longer lit up about one of the services that you offer, let's offer a different service that is lighting you up and then let's maybe outsource the service that you don't love. Right. Like, it's time to make a shift.
C) (34:33):
That's such a big thing in the wedding industry for photographers. A lot of them like a certain niche. So like some like small weddings, some like big weddings, some like the party vibes, some like really intimate chill couples. And a lot of people in the photography industry, it takes them forever to realize that they don't have to take all of the clients. If you hate barn weddings or Whatever it may be, stop doing that type of work, and then your portfolio will, will showcase, like, what you actually like to do, and it will just fill up your cup that much more when you're actually doing it too.
Tana) (35:09):
Isn't that interesting too? Because, like, I think we feel like we're not in choice, and entrepreneurship is actually typically almost so much choice that you don't even know how to be like. But this is the only part that I like, or these, this section. And it's okay just to own the places that again, you're going to be lit up by. Because ultimately, if you're lit up, the client experience is going to be so much better. Right.
(35:34):
You're going to feel good about what you're doing. But I think that we, we forget that we get to be in choice about every part of our business and ultimately every part of our life.
C) (35:44):
Yeah. And I think there's something energetically too, that, like, if you're not enjoying what you're doing, even if you show up and you're like, this is great, like, something shows through and, like, people can just feel it, they can just sense it. So ultimately, like, if you are doing something that you really love doing, that will come through also. What would you tell people who feel like being profitable is maybe a materialistic thing? And how, how could they reframe that thought into seeing profitability as a tool?
Tana) (36:16):
Got it. I know. I was like, I feel like I, I feel like I lost it.
C) (36:21):
Would it help you to know my thoughts on it? Sure. Okay. Because I feel like you probably have the same thoughts. I don't know if you're connecting it or not yet, but if they're more profitable, then they have more, more resources to serve more people or help more people or like, better the world in different ways.
Tana) (36:40):
At the end of the day, if you have more profit left over, you have so much more choice. So that's both in your business and your personal life. And so if you, if you're just always barely covering your expenses so that you don't feel bad by charging more, you're never going to get ahead by being able to, like, offer an employee a job so that you can again, focus on the things in your business that you love, or if you, you know, if you have unexpected time off, you're not going to have that savings to be able to still continue to pay your people.
(37:12):
And so the other thing too is, like, if you don't have enough, if you're not charging enough, or not having enough profitability in your business, then you're not going to be able to buy the new piece of equipment that you need. You're not going to be able to pay the taxes at the end of the year. Right. And I think a lot of times when you're pricing, you don't necessarily know all of the things that are going to come up over the course of time and to be able to build in a buffer for that.
(37:35):
And so I think that you can give yourself and your business the gift of profitability and sustainability when you make sure that you are charging with enough extra to be able to account for all of the things that can come up over the course of time in business.
C) (37:53):
Okay. And then when you're talking about charging like a certain price point, a lot of people are like, well, what if nobody books me at that price point? Which is an example of scarcity thinking. So how can we shift from that scarcity mindset to a more abundant mindset?
Tana) (38:09):
I think a lot of it is just perspective. I think I use this occasionally and sometimes people laugh at me, but I think it drives the point home, which is that you can buy a white tank top at Temu, Walmart, Target, Kohl's, Macy's, Nordstrom's. You can buy a white tank top in all of the places and they're not charged, they don't, they're not priced the same, right? So you've got a $3.50 white tank top or you got a hundred dollar white tank top.
(38:36):
And so like there's going to be a little bit different in like the, the way it feels, the way it looks, etc, but they all serve as like a white tank top. And you get to decide if you are the Nordstrom white tank top or you're the target white tank top. You get to decide that. And so if, if you feel like you are putting out pricing and people aren't biting on it, maybe you're not in the right room. Right. People establish value in different ways and so maybe you're just not in the right place.
(39:07):
If you're trying to sell Walmart tank tops to a Nordstrom's audience, they're not going to buy. And really the opposite. True, right. Like the Walmart audience is not going to buy a Nordstrom tank top because they're like, they don't see the value in it. So if you are setting your prices in a way that is in alignment with the business that you want to have, then I would say find the room where they also want those things. Because a lot of times especially when we first start our businesses, we are coming from scarcity, and we're coming from, can I even make this happen?
(39:39):
And so we have to shift ourselves into the places where we light up. And we just sometimes don't forget to move. We forget to move into a different room.
C) (39:49):
Yeah. And then also when you were talking about the Nordstrom versus Walmart white tank top, I love that analogy. I think that that's actually really helpful to picture different. Different businesses offering essentially the same product and there being different price points. And then something else that came into my head was not, not only is the room important, but also I feel like branding can be huge. Like, if you want to scale and charge more, I feel like you need to make sure that you're charging a rate that is kind of equivalent with your branding. So if you have this brand that's like, super unpolished, but not in, like, a good or intentional way, just like if you want to charge a premium, you need to make sure that your business and your branding also reflects that it is a premium product.
(40:42):
Instead of being just like a hodgepodge of different things that nobody really knows what they're expecting, or there's not, like, a clear target market, too. You have to kind of magnetize your. That those clients that you were talking about to you.
Tana) (40:58):
Absolutely. Because, like, people buy when they feel safe and seen. And so you want to create an environment where they, like, it's normal to whatever they're wherever they are. And so if it feels out of alignment, they're not gonna. They're not gonna buy. And so I think that it's really, really important to normalize the experience that you want to have and the experience that you want your clients to have, and then. Then you'll get more traction.
C) (41:25):
Yeah. Awesome. I love that. And then you have. Is it a secret podcast, A private.
Bree) (41:32):
Podcast that you want to share with listeners?
Tana) (41:34):
It is a private podcast. It's called Finding Finding Financial Wellness. And maybe I'll do a podcast at some point, but, you know, like a one that's a weekly deal. But I really wanted to be able to have a way that people could think about the key ingredients that they ultimately need to find financial wellness in their business. And so we talk a little bit about the. How you can plan for the golden opportunities, how you can mitigate risk as you grow, and then really how you can get to specific strategies for tracking the right data so that you can make profitability the normal way of life.
(42:13):
And so you can find that on my website@tanakramer.com backslash financial wellness podcast.
C) (42:21):
Okay, I love that and that's going to help so many people, like I said in the creative industry, just hold their hand and walk them through the process. So thank you for doing that and sharing that resource. So where can listeners connect with you, find you, tell you that they heard you on the Rebel CEO Podcast Podcast?
Tana) (42:38):
I'm on Instagram Asana Kramer, so that's nice and easy. I'm also on LinkedIn just a little bit, but ultimately it's way more fun to be on Instagram than it is on LinkedIn. But I definitely have a presence there as well and so those are probably the two most the two best places to find me.
C) (42:56):
Okay, well thank you so much for.
Bree) (42:58):
Being on the call.
C) (42:59):
I loved all of our talks about profit and about purpose and kind of combining the two in business. So thank you so much.
Tana) (43:07):
Much, yes, thank you. Appreciate being here.
C) (43:09):
Thanks for tuning in to Rebel CEO.
Bree) (43:11):
If today's episode lit a fire under you, I would love if you would hit subscribe, leave a rating and drop a review. That little action helps more purpose driven women like you.
C) (43:21):
Find this show and make sure that.
Bree) (43:22):
You'Re not keeping all of this magic to yourself. Share this episode with a friend who's ready to ditch the rules and build a life that actually feels good.
C) (43:30):
If you're looking for a little one.
Bree) (43:31):
On one connection, slide into my dad DMS on Instagram @rebel CEO podcast and I would love to hear what you're thinking and what you're building so that I can cheer you on every step of the way. And one more thing, if you're ready for even more support, join my free Facebook community. It is packed with like minded women who are rebelling, setting wild goals, dreaming big and making moves. The link's waiting for you in the show notes and I will see you inside.
(43:56):
Until next time, keep breaking the rules.
C) (43:58):
Chasing your your purpose and creating the.
Bree) (44:00):
Life that you were meant for. I'll see you in the next episode.
At the end of the day, if you have more profit left over, you have so much more choice. So that's both in your business and your personal life. And so if you. If you're just always barely covering your expenses so that you don't feel bad by charging more, you're never going to get ahead.
Bree) (00:17):
Welcome to Rebel CEO, the podcast where we ditch the rules and build businesses that don't just make money, but set.
C) (00:23):
Your soul on fire.
Bree) (00:24):
I'm Brianna Kay, your business coach, freedom advocate, and personal permission slip to dream bigger as I scaled my own business to six figures while breaking every mold.
C) (00:33):
That people told me to fit into.
Bree) (00:34):
And now I'm here to help you do the same. I'll help you build a business and a life that's so deeply rooted in your purpose that you never feel like you missed out on the life that you are supposed to live. This is your time to root down, rise up, Rebel, and manifest all of your wild goals. So grab your coffee, get cozy, and let's dive in.
Tana) (00:52):
I was going to be bold.
Bree) (00:54):
Hey, Rebels. I'm so excited that you're tuning into this episode. I. I have so much goodness for you today. But first, I just want to get started by saying that. Holy crap. I feel like I have evolved into, like, a whole different person in the last. I want to say week, but I'll stretch it out a little further than that. Maybe like the last month. I don't even know. Well, I kind of know what's happening.
(01:20):
So if you're familiar with quantum leaping or going through any type of spiritual awakening, it seems like you have some.
C) (01:26):
Sort of a collapse.
Bree) (01:27):
I call it the manifestation collapse. Some people call it a tower moment. And then on the other side of that collapse or that breakdown is a life that feels like a totally different life than you had before you came into the collapse. So I feel like I've gone through all of that since the beginning of this year. I'm in a personal year number nine in numerology, which is all about tying up loose ends and breaking old cycles that are no longer serving you. So I feel like as soon as the year switch to 2025, I was hit with all of these things that I had to navigate and I had to figure out the best way to move forward and how to heal these cycles that were coming up that hadn't came up in years.
(02:06):
So I've been feeling really inspired lately and, like, I'm on the other side of a lot of that. But I'm sure there will be more to come up. It is just March right now. So I'm so curious, how has 2025 been going for you guys? Have you come up with a lot of inner work that you had to do or have you just been kind of coasting through? Because for years I feel like I've been coasting, I've been good, I've been feeling good, and then bam, it's like you need to grow in this area, in this area, in this area. And the universe was just asking me for a major up level.
(02:38):
So here I am, I'm showing up, I'm leveling up again. And it feels good to not fight it. So today I'm talking with Tana Kramer and we're talking about a topic that gets right into the heart of what it means to build a business that not only thrives, but feels so aligned with your vision for life. So we're talking wealth beyond the numbers and we are chatting about transforming creative passion into a profitable and aligned life.
(03:07):
So let's be real. There is no shortage of advice out there on growing a business. But how often do we stop and ask if what we're building truly aligns with our values, goals and dreams? Does it really align with our sole purpose? Or are we just building something to make money? Because really, wealth is about way more than just numbers. So to help us unpack this, Tana is the founder of TK Solutions, a profitability strategist and the queen of helping entrepreneurs, especially women leaders, create sustainable growth and financial success.
(03:38):
From answering phones at her dad's glass shop to managing financial operations for major companies, Tana's journey proves that wealth isn't just about where you start. It's about the choices that you make. Okay, but before we get into the episode, I do want to share something really exciting with you. I am currently in my pre launch phase for my brand new program Rooted. So inside of Rooted, I'm helping my students get really clear on what it is that their soul is trying to tell them. What they want, what they need out of life, where they're the most aligned, what kind of businesses are good fits for them, how they create financial abundance. We're going to get really, really clear on all of the things that your soul wants. We're going to get really clear on the challeng that you are being asked to step into in this lifetime.
(04:22):
We're going to get clear on the way that your body is meant to operate and the energy that you're putting into this world. And the reason we're doing that is not just so that we can know ourselves better. It's really, truly not. It is because you might feel like everything's fine in life, like your job's good enough, you're maybe making decent money at the job that you're at, but you're like kind of sick of it, and you're just waiting for the weekends and it no longer lights you up. Like you're low key, a little bit burnt out by the business that you've created.
(04:54):
And the thing is, if you build a business that is so Soul Aligned, like 100%, this business is absolutely in line with the contract that you came to fulfill on this earth when you came down into this world, then there is no way that the universe can help but deliver abundance to you and make things so easy. Because your business truly feels like an extension of you. It's something that lights you up and is helping not only you, but helping the collective and helping to level up the energy of this earth and shift everything from that masculine push and force way of business into more of a flow and alignment way of business. And you've probably noticed this because it's no secret, like the way that we do business is really, truly shifting. And if you're not picking up on it and you're going to keep hustling and pushing and forcing and doing things that aren't really within your energy wheelhouse, then you've got a wake up call coming.
(06:00):
So we're going to make sure that you're not only building lives that you love, but you're also building a business that is a true reflection of your soul and that can help you to have results. Like I did, where I really dove hard into applying different pieces of my own soul contract, which I'll be going over with you in this program. And because last month is typically my slowest month of the year, I was able to over 400% increase my revenue for the month of February compared to the month of February last year.
(06:32):
So that's just a little glimpse of what can happen. And there's so much more that can happen than that, but that's a little glimpse of what can happen just on the monetary side of things, since we're talking about wealth, when you really, truly do the work to figure out what it is you're meant here to do and take aligned action. So if this sounds like something that you want more information on or something that you want to see if you're a good fit for, go to brianak.com
(06:59):
forward/rooted. And that's R O O T E D or send me a message on instagram @rebel CEO podcast and we'll chat and figure out if you are a good fit for the program. Okay, now let's dive into the episode with Tana.
C) (07:12):
Thank you so much for being here. To get started, can you just share with listeners a little bit about like, who you are and how you got to the place you're business right now?
Tana) (07:21):
Absolutely. I started out, I really have been supporting entrepreneurs forever for like as long as I can remember. I like to tell people that I was actually answering the phones for my dad's glass shop when I was like 8, which I had no business. Like, why did he even let me answer the phone? But I really, really love doing that. And then I, I always had like a zillion jobs. Sometimes it was working for entrepreneurs and sometimes it was just working in a, like juggling lots of things, which I think is very entrepreneurial. Right. Like, I always think that like entrepreneurs a lot of times have ADHD because they need to be able to have lots of things stimulating them at all times. And that is definitely true for me. But I went to college, got the business management degree because I'm like, I knew that I needed to have a management degree.
(08:07):
And then I remember like working, I was like, I have to work for $11 an hour with my management degree. Would. What are you talking about? And so, but I did, I went and I worked for like corporate for a bit, which gave me a lot of experience. But at the end of the day, I always knew I'm probably going to need to work for myself because I love to work again. That whole having lots of different jobs over the course of time was always me, like chasing a new problem, finding a new thing. Fast forward to worked for a bunch of different people and realized I really wanted to be able to have a little bit more control over how fast we are running. And you know, is this a good time in my life to be like chasing all the things?
(08:48):
And as I started launching kids, I realized, oh, they're going to leave here and I'm not going to have spent enough time with them because I was chasing all the fun things. So I decided to start, start my business so that I could really get in and help business owners with the pieces of financial wellness that I really liked because I felt like I could take the things that I learned at bigger companies and really apply it to entrepreneurs and then get that kind of itch for myself.
(09:14):
And now my husband and I, we decided when we Launched our last kid to take this party on the road. And so we are traveling now in our rv and we've been doing that for about seven or eight months. And we're now, you know, serving business owners from wherever it is that we've, you know, parked the rv, which right now is Southern California.
C) (09:34):
Okay. I feel like I definitely wish that I could go back to before I, like, settled down because I have a husband and a stepson. So my stepson splits time between two houses. So we can't necessarily just like pick up and take him on the road for long periods of time. But I wish that I could go back to when I was college aged and before I had my, my cat and my dogs. But dogs, I think do pretty well on the road anyway and do the RV life because it seems like something that would be so fun to do for a period of time. So where's your favorite place that you've been to so far?
Tana) (10:10):
So, so far? Colorado. My plan is to do this for five years. I actually have told my kids that I love you, don't get married and have kids, because I want a grandma, but I don't want a grandma yet because I started having kids at 21. And so after 27 years of parenting, I'm like, mama needs to do fun things. So I've said, please, please, please, you can do whatever you want in your life. But if you want me to like, show up and be present and help babysit, you're going to need to give me five years. So our plan is to do this RV life for five years. Well, actually not even do RV life to do travel for the next five years.
(10:43):
I kind of have it in my head that we'll do the next two or three years because there's plenty of beautiful things to see in the United States. But it actually all started because I wanted to go spend three to six months in Europe and just be like, let's weekend here, let's weekend there. So I expect to spend the last two years of that traveling abroad. So we'll see.
C) (11:05):
Yeah, that would be really fun. One of my dreams is to like pick up and go kind of move somewhere for like a month. Just periodically. Like, I want to do it periodically and I want to take my, my animals with me, but I don't have.
Tana) (11:18):
Levels in the rv. She. Oh, she does, she does. She's. I think she's 8 or 9. And so we worried. We were like, she does the car terribly. But she really loves being in the rv because I think it doesn't feel like a car. And so she loves to, like, lay in the. Let the sun come in on her. I always tell myself, like, I am a cat. I also like to lay in the sun.
C) (11:39):
Yeah. So does she go indoor, outdoor? She's just an indoor cat.
Tana) (11:43):
She is just an indoor cat. So she every once in a while thinks she wants to smell outside, but she's really a scaredy cat.
C) (11:49):
Okay. All right.
Tana) (11:50):
Every once in a while, like, zoomies is a real situation. Right. Like, sometimes they're zoomies, but she just, you know, jumps up and runs around. She. She finds her way.
C) (11:59):
Okay, nice. I love that. So then you mentioned earlier that you knew that you wanted to work for yourself and your d. Owned a glass shop. Do you think that you knew that you wanted to work for yourself because you had that example in your life of somebody who was doing entrepreneurship already?
Tana) (12:15):
I don't know that I knew it then, but I. I knew that I like to color outside the lines, and then I probably couldn't stay in the lines forever. So when I was. When I first, like, had the baby and had the college degree, I was like, I definitely need to have a place that I can learn the ropes that is a little bit inside the lines. But I quickly realized that there were some things that I thought were real dumb that I was not going to be able to keep doing.
(12:42):
Like, if you're past seven minutes late, you get written up or. Right. Like, all these kinds of things that I then had to enforce as the manager. And so I remember thinking, I want to do this for, like, the reasons that matter. And some of those things are not the reasons that matter. And I think that that's trickier in our corporate environment when you're trying to have everyone do kind of the same thing.
And so I think that I always wanted to be able to have my work ethic be. I want to say, prioritized, but, like, rewarded for what I was doing, like, the impact that I was having, or the, like, desire to work hard for something specific, to be able to have the full reward of that and not have to sort of share that in the corporate environment?
C) (13:24):
Yeah. Okay. That makes so much sense. So you talk about wealth being more than just money and more than just numbers. Can you kind of unpack that for the listeners?
Tana) (13:35):
Absolutely. I mean, I think that, like, we are here for, like, one. Just one little life. Right. And so I think that it's really important to understand that wealth is not just the amount of money in your bank Account or your 401K or in your investments. Because at the end of the day, there are plenty of really miserable people out there who have lots of money but are not actually enjoying their life. I think that there's so much more to life than the numbers that are in your bank Account or your 401K or in your investments. And ultimately, there are plenty of people in the world who have lots of money and who ultimately aren't very happy. And so I think that it's most important for you to figure out what impact you want to make in the world.
(14:10):
And a lot of times that is not necessarily going to be tied to, you know, specific, you know, wealth numbers or dollars and cents. And so to figure out what you want to be doing in the world and what impact you want to make, and then figuring out how to. I hate the word monetize that, because ultimately, that sounds really slimy. But to be able to make a living off of something that you love is so much more rewarding than just working for the money. I mean, I don't know, I run into entrepreneurs all the time who are like, I used to have the corporate job and I made lots of money and I hated it. And once they were able to figure out how to. Again, I don't love the word monetize, but once they were able to figure out, like, what is my purpose and what am I here to do, and then how can I offer that to the world?
(14:55):
And in exchange for the, you know, money to actually make the world go round. Right. Buy groceries, et cetera, they were always so much more happy.
C) (15:04):
Yeah. And then also, if you shift your mindset and instead of thinking about it, if people do have a problem with the word monetize or, like, monetize your skill set and you shift it into thinking about your offering the world something that you're gifted in and that you were meant to create or meant to put out into the world, then you're actually doing everybody a service by offering this skill set of yours. And you're doing everyone a disservice if you choose to not honor that.
(15:32):
If I asked you what your biggest, like, what you look for wealth in. In your life, what would you tell me? Did that make sense the way that I phrased it?
Tana) (15:41):
Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. I. It's funny, like, they. I know they talk a lot about, like, what motivates you, and money was never the thing. Like, I feel like getting a raise was always nice, right? Or like giving yourself a raise as an entrepreneur is always nice, but that's not why, at least why I get up in the morning, I get up to be like, what problem can I solve? Who can I help? Where can I, like, do a move, a needle, moving activity?
(16:07):
And I think that, like, that is going to get me going way more than money is. And I know that there's probably people who. Money is a big piece of why they do the thing, but I think that there's always, like a layer underneath that's probably more true than just the dollars. And so sometimes I think we're also sort of programmed early on that you got to make a lot of money. You got to make a lot of money. Or at least that was my experience.
(16:31):
And I have found that making a lot of money doesn't actually make me happy. Being able to decide what I work on and who I can help is way, way more interesting to me than the dollars.
C) (16:46):
Yeah, for sure. So I'm with you. That money. Okay, so money for a lot of people, they think that they want to hit a certain amount or they want to make this much or have this launch result in this much money or whatever. But a lot of the people that have that number, it's not actually like the money that they want. It's the freedom or the experiences or the stability and security. Like you said, there's a deeper layer. And I think that probably almost everybody, I would think, has that deeper layer if they actually unpack. Like, why do you want that money? It's not necessarily the money. It's what the money gives that person.
Tana) (17:28):
Which is usually safety, by the way.
C) (17:30):
Yeah, yeah, for sure. Well, nobody likes to feel unsafe. So that's such, like, a primal thing of us, too, to want money so that we can feel safe. Because if you don't feel safe, then it's hard to build other things on.
Tana) (17:41):
Top of that 100%.
C) (17:44):
So then a lot of entrepreneurs struggle to balance purpose with profitability. And if I asked you to share, like, your top tips for finding that balance, what would you say?
Tana) (17:56):
Well, I would say that profitability is a must. I mean, it's so important to have profitability because you can't grow your business or serve your clients well or really pay yourself what you deserve or pay taxes, for that matter. Without a profitable business, there's plenty of businesses out there that will only focus on. On profit. And a lot of times it can be kind of slimy, but. But that isn't how you have to do it. And I think it's so important to really understand that you can do business the way that you want to do business.
(18:30):
And then also it's important to check like your money stories or your biases because if you are set in, you know, in your, I don't say in your ways, but if you're set on, you always have to give a discount. For instance, you can really hurt your ultimately your profitability if you're always giving discounts because you're, you can find a reason to give a discount for every everything and then you're not going to be able to be successful.
(18:56):
So as far as like strategies go, I recommend that people assign every dollar in your job or in your business a job and then stick to it. So I usually do that from a percentage perspective, like sign a percentage for profit for wages that's for yourself and anybody else that you hire, operating expenses, long term savings and then also tax savings. And then really try to stick with that percentage because you know, then there's always, if you, as long as you stick with that plan, there's always going to be money in the pockets that you need there to be money in.
(19:30):
And then the other strategy I would really recommend is to not let other people's opinions or your money stories run the show because I think staying open to what's possible is going to ultimately provide a lot more fulfillment in what you're, what you're doing and how you're doing it.
C) (19:46):
Yeah. So I noticed that you said that you have a percentage for profit. Do you do profit first in your business?
Tana) (19:53):
I, I do an abbreviated version of it. I really, really like Mike Michalowitz and what he's doing for profit first. I think that there's, it makes a lot of sense for a lot of people. I don't like do all of the bank accounts. Like I don't know how familiar you are, but he's got some pretty strict rules about it. And I think that that works for a lot of people who need the, that structure. I do kind of a looser version of that up, but generally speaking.
C) (20:17):
Okay. Yeah. So I listened to the audiobook and I tried to open like the separate accounts in it in a separate bank that you're talking about. And for listeners who aren't familiar, we're talking about the book Profit first by you said Mike Michalowicz, somebody similar to that name. Okay, awesome. I'll link it in the show notes too. And he says essentially that you're taking a portion of your income and you are just holding that in like a profit holding account.
(20:45):
And then at the end of the year you should have Profit left over, over because you essentially budgeted for it throughout the year. But he wants you to have separate accounts at separate banks. I think the theory is, so that you won't just easily transfer it back over or it'll be less accessible, so it's not so tempting to spend. Am I right on that? Okay.
Tana) (21:06):
And I mean, and ultimately he's trying to like outwit our own behavior. Right. And some of the tendencies that we have to be like, we'll just sneak that in there and pretend like that's not happening. And so. Yeah, yeah.
C) (21:18):
Or like, oh, I'll just pay for this and then I'll pay it back to the account. And then you never pay it back to the account.
Tana) (21:23):
Yeah, yep, yep, definitely. So. So again, I like a lot of what he has. I think that you can definitely review it more frequently than at the end of the year. But yes, if you've planned for every dollar that you spend, then you can know, you know, if you decide that you want 10% profit, then 10% of every single dollar should be in that bank account or, or at least earmarked for that at the end of the year.
(21:48):
And so there's lots of ways to go about, you know, checking against that and reviewing on a monthly basis or on a quarterly basis. But yeah, planning for profit, planning for savings, planning for taxes, and then sort of living off of. In your business, the, the amount of money that you've said this is my plan and then being able to make decisions based on this is the amount I have to work with, does it fit and what am I willing to give up if I need to make an adjustment?
C) (22:16):
Yeah, I think that a lot of creative entrepreneurs and I come from a photography background, but I actually like don't consider myself creative by nature. I think that I just had like really suppressed it throughout my life. So I think I had it buried in there. But I also have a very analytical, like more. I, I have two different sides to me as to it turns out. Yeah, yeah, for sure. I don't feel like I fit like fully into the creatives bubble like a lot of people in the photography industry do.
(22:49):
And I think that a lot of people really, really struggle with making those like business plans and financial plans when they just are in an art space to fulfill their passion or fulfill their creativity. Do you have any tips for somebody who like really struggles with sitting down and making those plans and then sticking to them?
Tana) (23:11):
Yeah, I mean, I think that regular touch points is important and trying to figure out, am I chasing a Shiny object or am I changing the way I want to do, do this structure? So I think, again, regular touch points. And so one of the things that I actually really love to do with business owners is like, come to a finance focused time where you're gonna, you know, set that in your calendar and come to like every Friday. And had somebody tell me one time that they called it their Friday spa day, which is when they actually looked at their, their finances.
(23:46):
So I forget what their acronym was for the spa day, but it was essentially, you're gonna sit down and look at what your savings and, you know, what your profitability is. So again, regular touch points that you hold yourself to. And then I would recommend that you do that in a way that feels fun. So do that and you know, with a, with a cocktail or with your favorite drink, with music, light a candle. Like, make it something you're actually looking forward to instead of something that you're dreading, because let's face it, nobody wants to do anything they're dreading. So find ways to have those touch points be something that you're looking forward to. So schedule it with your best, your business bestie, or, you know, schedule it in a time where you know you're going to be excited about what you're doing. Don't schedule at the end of day on Friday or, you know, like in times, it won't work for you because at the end of the day, looking at your numbers is going to give you information to make better decisions.
(24:37):
And so make it fun and be consistent would be my recommendations.
C) (24:43):
Yeah, that reminds me, you said get a cocktail or do something fun with your money. And it reminds me of going on a date with your money. Have you ever heard people say, date your money, date your finances, and then also just like, looking at your money if it. If you're somebody who likes to avoid this altogether, just looking at it regularly could help train your nervous system not to be so scared of money too. So I love that I got to.
Tana) (25:06):
Forget who says this, but somebody says that money is a cruel mistress. If you don't pay attention to it, she'll leave you.
C) (25:12):
Oh, okay. I've never heard that, but I like that and I feel like it's true.
Tana) (25:16):
Yeah.
C) (25:17):
Okay, so if I asked you some common financial mistakes or like, money mindset blocks that you see, what would those be?
Tana) (25:26):
Well, I was gonna say there is. There's like so many. Right. So bank balance accounting is typically a fairly big mistake, meaning just because there's cash in your bank account doesn't mean that you're profitable, because I've seen some people who have large, large numbers in that bank account, but at the end of the day, the individual business lines aren't necessarily profitable. So that's a mistake. If you're just looking at whether or not you have money in your bank account.
(25:54):
And then revenue and profit, they're not the same. Right. What you bring in isn't the same that you actually get to take home and put in your pocket and, you know, spend on, on groceries and fantastic vacations, which is obviously a spectrum of things. Right. And then the other more common mistake that I, that I hear is that, or not even the hear that I see is that underplaying the role of like, tracking your income and expenses and actually looking at what the numbers are saying about your business or about the health of your business.
(26:23):
And I know that, like, people avoid that because they're afraid of what they're going to see or they, or again, they're learning that balance, that bank balance accounting. So I must be fine. And I think that we all think that we remember how we spent money or where we earmarked things and when we actually get into the bookkeeping of it all, which again, I know is like such an unsexy word, but it really is just that tracking of how what money came in and how I spent it and then doing that and comparing that to your plan.
(26:52):
It's like, you don't have to be the numbers person in your business. If that's not your thing, then hire somebody who is a numbers person. Let them do the sort of dirty reconciliation, but then ask them regularly what profitability looks like and, you know, what is the health of your business? Where are the trends so that you can pivot. Because ultimately, knowledge is power. If you can see where things are a little off, you can be like, oh, I need to make an adjustment. I mean, I did this at the end of the year. I in my own business again, I do people's books for a living.
(27:23):
And I had this idea in my head that, like, I wasn't as profitable as I wanted to be. And then when I really looked, I was like, I grew over the last three years. And I, I really had this like, idea in my head. And I'm sure this is my own scarcity and limiting beliefs. Right? Is that it? That I didn't do as well? And when I actually looked at the numbers, I was like, well, look at that. Nice job. But again, we all think that we know and remember and as it turns out, we have terrible memories.
C) (27:52):
Yeah. And sometimes you don't even realize how quickly things add up, because when I travel and when I. Well, this is still traveling, I guess, but when I was saying travel, I was thinking, like, flight to travel, like, further travel. And then when I drive to weddings and I get food on the way or, like, stop on the way, I spend so much money on meals, and it's honestly a little bit painful when I do my books to see how much money I've spent on just random meals out.
(28:27):
And I love eating out, but it adds up really fast. And sometimes I'm like, I should probably tone that back a little bit. Or like, I didn't need to get dinner and a snack at the gas station. I could have probably done without those. So sometimes it is really helpful to actually be able to see what's going into your books or ask somebody about those numbers, because you might be spending way more in areas that don't actually do anything for your business than you realize.
Tana) (28:53):
Yeah. And here's the thing. If you know that you want to be able to have a meal on either way, because it, like, makes you show up, like, then just build that into the profitability. Right. But it's when you. It's like that sneaky, you don't realize that usually gets you in trouble.
C) (29:06):
Yeah. - (Tana)
Yeah. And when you see, like, oh, I'm spending 15, $20, this meal, it's all fine and dandy. But then when you see it all at the end of the year, and you're like, I spent $3,000 on food, it's like, oh, but why did I do that?
Tana) (29:33):
And what percentage of your income is it? And does that align with your values? Like. Right. Does that align with how you want, you know, the. The job that you gave that the money. And if not, then you have to make adjustments.
C) (29:44):
Right. So then you also mentioned revenue is not the same as profit, and I want to go back to that. Who don't actually understand the difference between revenue and profit. Could you just explain what each one is, quick?
Tana) (29:57):
Absolutely. So revenue is the sort of what we call the top line. So it's the number that you charge your clients. So let's say that you charge your clients. No, I know it's not a thousand dollars, but $1,000 to, you know, do a shoot, there's ultimately going to be lots of costs. Sometimes it's going to be your meal, sometimes it's going to be, again, I don't actually know your business, I'm not gonna be able to do that well, but there's going to be costs associated with providing that service. And so at the end of the day, you might get to take $500 home.
(30:26):
So the thousand dollars is revenue, whereas 500 is the profit. So it's the amount after all of the expenses to provide that service and any like general and administrative costs that you have. So that's like your profitability Software, it's your QuickBooks, it's your, you know, insurance. Right. It's all of those other things. So it's the amount of money you actually get to bring, bring home and ultimately your pay taxes on is the profit number.
C) (30:53):
Awesome. And then if I asked you to define profitable, what would you say? Because if you show a profit on taxes, technically you're profitable, but that might not be enough for you to like, comfortably and happily pay your bills. So what's, what's profitable to you? What would you tell people?
Tana) (31:13):
Profitability is 100% determined by what your values and your lifestyle is. Because for some people, 10% profit is fine. For many people it needs to be 50, like 50%. And it also, there's also like a business structure, like depending on how the business is set up, if you're a sole proprietor versus an S Corp, which we won't go into to those details, but that, that, it depends is the short answer. And so I like to have people sit down and say, okay, what is it that you're looking to get out of this business? Like, what is the number that you need to live your life in a way that feels like you're so excited to go to work or you know, to go to, to do the work that you do.
(31:59):
And then let's back into what does that look like revenue wise in order to get to that number and then figure out is that like, do you want to hustle that much? Because right. Sometimes we don't understand the, the yeah, I want to be at a million dollars, but that means I have to, you know, insert, hire a bunch of people or, you know, work long hours. And so there's always going to be some give and take. And so I think that profitable is definitely going to be a very personal decision.
(32:30):
And I think that what I always make sure is that people understand the different components to that so that they can decide what's right for them.
C) (32:40):
So if I asked you for some signs or red flags for people to be on the lookout for that they're either not profitable monetary wise or not profitable in different areas of wealth in their life. Energetically, like.
Tana) (32:56):
Energetically.
C) (32:57):
Yeah, whatever. Whatever their version of wealth is. So like for some people it might be freedom, for some people it be like family or love. What are some things that pop out to you right away as, like keep a lookout for this because you're not profitable in this area. Like big things that stick out.
Tana) (33:16):
Yeah, I would say, like if you are constantly trying to figure out how you're going to pay for something, there's like, there's certainly that immediate monetary stress where you're like, I'm making lots of money, but how come it's not showing up in my bank account? Like if there's a disconnect, that's definitely a key piece. And then I think energetically, if you, if you, when somebody asks you a question, if your immediate response is sharp or, you know, maybe a little negative, I always tell people, like one of two things is happening. Either you're super tired, you need to go to bed, or like go move your body. Right. Like there's some things you need to do to take care of your actual self or you're out of alignment in what you're doing and so you need to make a shift in your business to do the things that you like to do. Now at the end of the day we all have like the laundry and dishes of entrepreneurship. You know, we gotta file taxes, we gotta do some of the bookkeeping, right. There's always some level of that.
(34:13):
But if you're feeling, feeling in your feelings about the day to day, what you're getting to do, then it's time to like figure out to make a shift. So I like to tell people, like, if you are no longer lit up about one of the services that you offer, let's offer a different service that is lighting you up and then let's maybe outsource the service that you don't love. Right. Like, it's time to make a shift.
C) (34:33):
That's such a big thing in the wedding industry for photographers. A lot of them like a certain niche. So like some like small weddings, some like big weddings, some like the party vibes, some like really intimate chill couples. And a lot of people in the photography industry, it takes them forever to realize that they don't have to take all of the clients. If you hate barn weddings or Whatever it may be, stop doing that type of work, and then your portfolio will, will showcase, like, what you actually like to do, and it will just fill up your cup that much more when you're actually doing it too.
Tana) (35:09):
Isn't that interesting too? Because, like, I think we feel like we're not in choice, and entrepreneurship is actually typically almost so much choice that you don't even know how to be like. But this is the only part that I like, or these, this section. And it's okay just to own the places that again, you're going to be lit up by. Because ultimately, if you're lit up, the client experience is going to be so much better. Right.
(35:34):
You're going to feel good about what you're doing. But I think that we, we forget that we get to be in choice about every part of our business and ultimately every part of our life.
C) (35:44):
Yeah. And I think there's something energetically too, that, like, if you're not enjoying what you're doing, even if you show up and you're like, this is great, like, something shows through and, like, people can just feel it, they can just sense it. So ultimately, like, if you are doing something that you really love doing, that will come through also. What would you tell people who feel like being profitable is maybe a materialistic thing? And how, how could they reframe that thought into seeing profitability as a tool?
Tana) (36:16):
Got it. I know. I was like, I feel like I, I feel like I lost it.
C) (36:21):
Would it help you to know my thoughts on it? Sure. Okay. Because I feel like you probably have the same thoughts. I don't know if you're connecting it or not yet, but if they're more profitable, then they have more, more resources to serve more people or help more people or like, better the world in different ways.
Tana) (36:40):
At the end of the day, if you have more profit left over, you have so much more choice. So that's both in your business and your personal life. And so if you, if you're just always barely covering your expenses so that you don't feel bad by charging more, you're never going to get ahead by being able to, like, offer an employee a job so that you can again, focus on the things in your business that you love, or if you, you know, if you have unexpected time off, you're not going to have that savings to be able to still continue to pay your people.
(37:12):
And so the other thing too is, like, if you don't have enough, if you're not charging enough, or not having enough profitability in your business, then you're not going to be able to buy the new piece of equipment that you need. You're not going to be able to pay the taxes at the end of the year. Right. And I think a lot of times when you're pricing, you don't necessarily know all of the things that are going to come up over the course of time and to be able to build in a buffer for that.
(37:35):
And so I think that you can give yourself and your business the gift of profitability and sustainability when you make sure that you are charging with enough extra to be able to account for all of the things that can come up over the course of time in business.
C) (37:53):
Okay. And then when you're talking about charging like a certain price point, a lot of people are like, well, what if nobody books me at that price point? Which is an example of scarcity thinking. So how can we shift from that scarcity mindset to a more abundant mindset?
Tana) (38:09):
I think a lot of it is just perspective. I think I use this occasionally and sometimes people laugh at me, but I think it drives the point home, which is that you can buy a white tank top at Temu, Walmart, Target, Kohl's, Macy's, Nordstrom's. You can buy a white tank top in all of the places and they're not charged, they don't, they're not priced the same, right? So you've got a $3.50 white tank top or you got a hundred dollar white tank top.
(38:36):
And so like there's going to be a little bit different in like the, the way it feels, the way it looks, etc, but they all serve as like a white tank top. And you get to decide if you are the Nordstrom white tank top or you're the target white tank top. You get to decide that. And so if, if you feel like you are putting out pricing and people aren't biting on it, maybe you're not in the right room. Right. People establish value in different ways and so maybe you're just not in the right place.
(39:07):
If you're trying to sell Walmart tank tops to a Nordstrom's audience, they're not going to buy. And really the opposite. True, right. Like the Walmart audience is not going to buy a Nordstrom tank top because they're like, they don't see the value in it. So if you are setting your prices in a way that is in alignment with the business that you want to have, then I would say find the room where they also want those things. Because a lot of times especially when we first start our businesses, we are coming from scarcity, and we're coming from, can I even make this happen?
(39:39):
And so we have to shift ourselves into the places where we light up. And we just sometimes don't forget to move. We forget to move into a different room.
C) (39:49):
Yeah. And then also when you were talking about the Nordstrom versus Walmart white tank top, I love that analogy. I think that that's actually really helpful to picture different. Different businesses offering essentially the same product and there being different price points. And then something else that came into my head was not, not only is the room important, but also I feel like branding can be huge. Like, if you want to scale and charge more, I feel like you need to make sure that you're charging a rate that is kind of equivalent with your branding. So if you have this brand that's like, super unpolished, but not in, like, a good or intentional way, just like if you want to charge a premium, you need to make sure that your business and your branding also reflects that it is a premium product.
(40:42):
Instead of being just like a hodgepodge of different things that nobody really knows what they're expecting, or there's not, like, a clear target market, too. You have to kind of magnetize your. That those clients that you were talking about to you.
Tana) (40:58):
Absolutely. Because, like, people buy when they feel safe and seen. And so you want to create an environment where they, like, it's normal to whatever they're wherever they are. And so if it feels out of alignment, they're not gonna. They're not gonna buy. And so I think that it's really, really important to normalize the experience that you want to have and the experience that you want your clients to have, and then. Then you'll get more traction.
C) (41:25):
Yeah. Awesome. I love that. And then you have. Is it a secret podcast, A private.
Bree) (41:32):
Podcast that you want to share with listeners?
Tana) (41:34):
It is a private podcast. It's called Finding Finding Financial Wellness. And maybe I'll do a podcast at some point, but, you know, like a one that's a weekly deal. But I really wanted to be able to have a way that people could think about the key ingredients that they ultimately need to find financial wellness in their business. And so we talk a little bit about the. How you can plan for the golden opportunities, how you can mitigate risk as you grow, and then really how you can get to specific strategies for tracking the right data so that you can make profitability the normal way of life.
(42:13):
And so you can find that on my website@tanakramer.com backslash financial wellness podcast.
C) (42:21):
Okay, I love that and that's going to help so many people, like I said in the creative industry, just hold their hand and walk them through the process. So thank you for doing that and sharing that resource. So where can listeners connect with you, find you, tell you that they heard you on the Rebel CEO Podcast Podcast?
Tana) (42:38):
I'm on Instagram Asana Kramer, so that's nice and easy. I'm also on LinkedIn just a little bit, but ultimately it's way more fun to be on Instagram than it is on LinkedIn. But I definitely have a presence there as well and so those are probably the two most the two best places to find me.
C) (42:56):
Okay, well thank you so much for.
Bree) (42:58):
Being on the call.
C) (42:59):
I loved all of our talks about profit and about purpose and kind of combining the two in business. So thank you so much.
Tana) (43:07):
Much, yes, thank you. Appreciate being here.
C) (43:09):
Thanks for tuning in to Rebel CEO.
Bree) (43:11):
If today's episode lit a fire under you, I would love if you would hit subscribe, leave a rating and drop a review. That little action helps more purpose driven women like you.
C) (43:21):
Find this show and make sure that.
Bree) (43:22):
You'Re not keeping all of this magic to yourself. Share this episode with a friend who's ready to ditch the rules and build a life that actually feels good.
C) (43:30):
If you're looking for a little one.
Bree) (43:31):
On one connection, slide into my dad DMS on Instagram @rebel CEO podcast and I would love to hear what you're thinking and what you're building so that I can cheer you on every step of the way. And one more thing, if you're ready for even more support, join my free Facebook community. It is packed with like minded women who are rebelling, setting wild goals, dreaming big and making moves. The link's waiting for you in the show notes and I will see you inside.
(43:56):
Until next time, keep breaking the rules.
C) (43:58):
Chasing your your purpose and creating the.
Bree) (44:00):
Life that you were meant for. I'll see you in the next episode.
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Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.