June 5, 2025 • 30 mins
Today on Caffeinated Chaos, we're diving into the numbers (but in a fun way, promise!). I’m joined by the incredible Samantha Eck, the founder of Firestorm Finance, where she helps creatives make sense of their finances and transform financial chaos into clarity.
With six years of corporate accounting, two creative businesses under her belt, and the kind of QuickBooks wizardry most of us dream of, Samantha brings a rare blend of left-brain logic and right-brain creativity to bookkeeping. She's here to share how your numbers tell a story—and how learning to read it can unlock big, dreamy business moves.
We also talk about:
- How Samantha came up with the name Firestorm Finance (spoiler: it’s deep AND badass)
- Her journey from messy systems to streamlined success
- What bookkeeping services creatives actually need
- Why systems and SOPs are game changers (even for finance pros!)
- A hilarious moment involving pregnancy, Call of Duty, and a trash can 🫣
- Our mutual love of Xbox, Overcooked chaos, and cozy bookish corners
- Her podcast Creative Minds, Smart Money and how she’s making financial education feel like chatting with a friend
Whether you're spreadsheet-averse or a numbers nerd, this episode will leave you feeling empowered to take control of your money story—without losing your creative soul.
Meet Our Guest: Samantha Eck
Founder of Firestorm Finance | Bookkeeper for Creatives | Host of Creative Minds, Smart Money 🎧 Listen to her podcast everywhere you stream. CLICK HERE to grab your Freebie
Click to connect on social media:
- Instagram: firestormfinance
- Facebook: firestormfinance
- Threads: @firestormfinance
- LinkedIn: Samantha E
- Email: samantha@firestormfinance.com
- Website: https://firestormfinance.com/
Cheers! Thank you for joining us for another episode. Have a chaotic moment, question, or topic you want us to cover? Drop us a message or leave a review! If you loved this episode, share it with a friend who thrives in beautiful chaos too.
Let’s Connect:
- Connect with us via email at ccpodcast@aguonstudios.com
- Follow us on Instagram: @caffeinatedchaospodcast or @aguonstudios
- Join our email list: Click Here to Become a VIP
- Sip and Share: Click here to submit
APPLY HERE to be a podcast guest
Want to sponsor or run an ad on our podcast? Email us for options.
The views and opinions expressed by guests on Caffeinated Chaos are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views, beliefs, or positions of Whitney Aguon or Aguon Studios LLC. The content shared by guests is for informational and entertainment purposes only. We encourage listeners to do their own research and form their own...
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to Caffeinated Chaos,where business deals happen
between diaper changes andfriendships are fueled by
caffeine.
I'm Whitney GaN, your host, andI'm here to talk all things
business parenthood, and ofcourse keeping up with the BFFs,
whether you're juggling theboardroom, the playroom, or just
here for some coffee fuel chaos.
We've got you covered.
Get ready for real talk, laughsand a whole lot of heart as we
(00:24):
dive into the beautiful messthat is entrepreneurship,
parenthood, and everything inbetween.
So let's embrace the chaostogether.
Ated, of course.
On today's podcast, we haveSamantha Eck, who is a
powerhouse behind FirestormFinance, where she transforms
messy financials into crystalclear roadmaps for success.
(00:46):
With six years of corporateaccounting, under her belt of
formal education in numbers andthe street cred of running two
creative businesses, she'suniquely equipped to help fellow
creatives decode the story.
Their numbers are trying totell.
And you know when Samantha's notwrangling QuickBooks, we can
find her dominating on Xbox orcurl up with a page turner.
(01:09):
Two things I also very muchenjoy.
Her husband is always by herside, and her pup Vivy keeps
watch.
She knows that clarity in thebooks leads to big, dreamy
business moves.
She also has a podcast too,creative Minds, smart Money
where she makes money talk.
Feel like catching up with afriend.
(01:30):
This episode is gonna be great,y'all.
So I can't wait any longer.
Let's sip on some coffee andlet's welcome Samantha to the
podcast.
Samantha, welcome to thepodcast.
Thanks for joining us onCaffeinated Chaos.
Thank you for having me.
I'm so excited to be here.
Yeah.
Oh gosh.
Okay, so listeners, Samantha wasactually recommended to me by
(01:51):
another person who had been onthe podcast, and they're like,
well, if you like thisconversation, you need to talk
to Samantha.
And I was like, deal.
And so I think it was eitherThreads or Instagram where I was
like, Hey, this person sent meover to talk to you.
Do you wanna be on my podcast?
Yes.
Which I think, which I love.
(02:12):
Yeah.
I think it was Cassidy, if I'mnot wrong.
Yeah, yeah.
It's Cassidy, yeah.
Who was the very first guest onthe podcast.
There was a list of people thatlike I had been in contact with
and I was like, I wanna askthem.
And I was like, okay, I wannaask Cassidy.
But I was like, Ooh.
But you know, that impostersyndrome is like, I don't know
if I should ask.
Like I, let me get someone underthe belt.
(02:34):
And I was telling Cassidy aboutthe podcast and.
She was like, well, if you needa guest, I volunteer.
And I go, I was gonna ask you,but I like felt like totally
imposter syndrome, that like Ishould have waited and like got
more experience.
And so it was actually nicebecause we had that preexisting
like conversations andfriendship that it made having
(02:57):
the first guest ever be reallylike.
Easygoing.
Yeah.
And so whenever like Cass islike, you need to talk to
someone, and I'm like, deal.
Yeah, definitely.
Because if it's coming fromCass, you know, then I'm like,
Ooh, this person's gonna be topnotch.
Yeah.
I love that.
She's such a great person.
We had like almost an hour and ahalf long conversation on my
podcast and I was like, oh mygosh.
(03:19):
I'm like, we just kept talking.
We're like, we got this.
It just feels so conversational,so it's great.
Yeah.
Oh gosh.
I love that.
About cast and our Yeah, ourfirst episode too.
It, it went like everywhere andwe're like, we talked about
that.
We talked about this chaoticmoment after chaotic moment, and
I was like, this is cool.
This is kind of how I want allmy episodes to flow.
(03:39):
Like I want it to be freeflowing, like.
Of course, you know, mylisteners know this.
We have an application and thenso we have a center, like a base
to get back to.
Yeah.
But if we turn left or turnright, at a certain point I'll
bring us back to center.
You never know what you're gonnatalk about.
And sometimes those are like thebest golden nuggets in a
conversation.
(04:01):
Samantha, will you tell ourlisteners who you are and what
you're about?
Yeah, absolutely.
So my name is Samantha Eck and Irun a small bookkeeping firm for
creatives called FirestormFinance.
And I'm all about helpingcreatives read the story that
their numbers are trying to tellthem so they can make bolder,
profitable moves.
(04:21):
Nice.
So smooth.
I'm curious, how'd you come upwith Firestone Finance as your
name?
Because like most people willlike, name it after themselves.
Yes.
So Firestone Finance is kind oftwo pronged, so mm-hmm.
Me and Cassidy also share like afaith, so my faith is like
rooted in that.
And fire is supposed to be likea big.
(04:44):
Picture like in the Bible andthings like that.
So that was part of it.
But another part of it is that,I've always thought of fire, it
sounds bad when you say this,but fire is like some sort of
like transformation.
Mm-hmm.
Like when you walk through fire,you go through this
transformation.
Yeah.
So my thoughts behind that werelike, okay, firestorm finance,
you're walking through this likereally crazy storm of fire and
(05:07):
when we get in there and we worktogether and you walk out of it,
you just get transformed.
Nice.
I love that.
Okay.
That I was like, oh, I'm gonnadefinitely ask that question.
I wanna know, because, I'm like,Ooh, that sounds so intense.
But like, so like, like yousaid, it's just like firestorm
is like an intense fire.
And then coming out of it, itjust reminds me of the Phoenix,
(05:27):
you know?
Yes.
So I love that.
Awesome.
Okay, so we are gonna get intoit.
Okay.
First off, um.
Listeners, you won't see this onthe podcast, but if you're
watching this eventually onYouTube, Samantha has like
bookshelves behind her and so Iwas like commenting on the books
and like the figurines, but alsoyour bio, at least the one that
(05:51):
you sent me, not the one on yourpage, but so you dominate on
Xbox, like you're a gamer too?
Yes, yes.
Big gamer.
Me and my husband, his setup islike right next to mine over
there.
So Nice.
My husband too, he has an Xboxtoo, and like he, he goes Ham.
I used to play Call of Duty withthem until I got pregnant and
(06:13):
then I realized it never made mesick to play Call of Duty until
I was pregnant.
I was playing Call of Duty and Iwas not playing with my husband
and our friends.
It was just like I was doing it,with online friends, and all of
a sudden.
I started getting completelymotion sickness, right?
And I had never ever gotten thatbefore.
(06:35):
And I was like, oh my God.
So I reach up and I thought, Iclick the mic off on my headset
and I just like vomit into thelittle trash can at my desk and.
And then all of a sudden all thethree other guys I was playing
with was like, oh my God, Asana,which is my gamer tag.
And they're like, Asana, are youokay?
Like, are you okay?
And I'm like, oh my God, I am sosorry guys.
(06:57):
I.
They're like, did you just throwup?
And I was like, I did, I'msorry.
So I'm pregnant.
And then so then it turned intolike, what?
It was funny'cause, they're justonline gamer friends that you
know, yes.
That we have.
And I'm just like, one, I'mlike, oh my God, I'm mortified.
I just like.
Puked and my husband came homeand I was just sitting on the
couch and I was just watching TVand he goes, oh, I thought you'd
(07:18):
be gaming.
And I go, this is what happenedtoday.
And I feel so bad.
I just literally threw up inlike three guys' ears like.
Oh my gosh.
But what a story.
I know.
And, they were really chill withit.
Like they, you know, they werelike, oh my God, are you okay?
Like, do we need to callsomebody for you?
And I was just like, no, no, no,I'm pregnant.
(07:41):
I have motion sickness.
Apparently now all of a sudden,and they're just like.
Do you want us to quit thisgame?
And I was like, no, no, no, no.
Let's finish.
Let's finish.
I'm gonna go get to my sniperperch.
'cause that was like my job.
I was like the sniper.
When we lived in Canada, me andmy husband actually had a Twitch
stream.
Mm-hmm.
And we streamed overcooked.
And I still, every time someonetells me about the game, all I
(08:02):
think about is this, clip thatwe had where we were looking, we
were working on the conveyorbelts together, and I
accidentally put the item Ineeded back on the conveyor
belt.
And so I'm sitting therescreaming at him.
I'm like, oh, my salmon, mysalmon.
And then I put the cucumber backon there and I'm.
Laughing and I was like, oh myGod, it's such a good game to
(08:24):
play with people.
Like Oh my goodness.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And, me and my husband are alphatesters for a video game and so
we obviously met other people'cause an MMO.
And so while we're waiting forthe test periods, we decided
like, Hey, we're just gonna forma group and be gamers again
together.
And so now.
When we're not testing the newgame, we're playing overcooked
(08:46):
with each other.
And so we're just like, this isa wildly different game from
what we're testing, and we'rejust like, oh my God.
Just like you, like, oh my God.
No, no, no.
I didn't mean to put the potthere.
Oh no.
Yeah.
Where's the fire Extinguisher?
Extinguisher.
Yeah.
It's such a good game.
Like it's really good forcommunication though too, if you
(09:06):
can cook in the overcookedkitchen together, you and your
husband or your partner candefinitely cook in a real
kitchen together.
It might not taste as good, butyou guys will be able to move
around in sync of like, okay, Ineed this chopped.
Okay, stir the soup.
Okay.
Three onions, guys.
Yes.
Yes.
Oh my goodness.
(09:27):
Okay, so cool.
Nice little tangent about theXbox, which I love, like, I feel
like I haven't had a gamer liketalk on this podcast yet, so
that's really nice.
I've had book talks, already'cause I, I love books, okay, so
I wanna get more into what youdo.
So one.
Do we have a chaotic momentabout your business or anything?
(09:51):
'Cause we have to throw a littlechaos in there first.
I,'cause I also just felt like Itold you a chaotic moment when I
like threw up too.
Yeah, before I started reallyworking on the systems of my
business, um, it was reallychaotic in my business period
because it was a lot of tryingto remember stuff and I didn't
have any sort of.
(10:12):
Systems or processes in place,so, like I have a really good
system now.
I have the project managementtools that I have now, but I
think in the days before threadseven, because, you know, threads
is such a great resource to likeask people, Hey, how does this
work?
How does this do?
But a lot of the times I wouldend up forgetting certain things
for clients because, theywouldn't be written down
anywhere.
(10:32):
It's just.
I was like, okay, it's monthend.
Let's do all their work that Ineed to do.
I reconciled everything.
And then they would me, theywould message me after I gave
them the report and be like,Hey, did you happen to do this
thing?
And I'm like, oh my gosh, Iforgot.
It wasn't until I found like theso software that I have now that
now everything is morestreamlined and interesting.
(10:53):
Like, I don't know if I haveanything like super chaotic,
but.
It was definitely a chaoticmoment for me when I was like,
oh my gosh.
Like they're gonna think I'mstupid or something because I
don't have everything writtendown.
Yeah.
I mean, it happens.
I am a big systems person, butto my husband, I was like, babe,
can you, uh, can you do this forme?
Or can you write up this for me?
(11:15):
And he is like, how do you dothat?
I was like, oh God, Whitney, youreally need to write SOPs like
you.
You like need instructions.
Even for my husband who is mybusiness partner, right?
There were things that I do forthe business and things he does
for the business, and I'm justlike, I really need to write
down systems, so I totallyunderstand you and I totally get
(11:36):
where you're coming from.
The reason why I asked too isbecause I feel like.
I am not great at math, readingand like writing comprehension.
That's where I excel at.
Psychology, that's where I excelat math, not so much.
For someone, you know where youdo finance and you teach this.
I am kudos to you because Iwould.
(11:56):
When someone comes to you, whatservices do you provide?
Yeah.
So I mean, it really depends onwhat they're looking for.
So we have like baselinebookkeeping where it's not just
about compliance.
I always add like a little bitof a financial analysis in there
and everything like that.
Especially for people who arejust starting out in their
business.
Um, and then we have.
(12:17):
A little bit of a higher levelwhere we're doing like cashflow
forecasting and we're makingsure that they we're tracking
their receipts, everything likethat.
And then if someone is like,yeah, I need to go like full on,
we're doing CFO level services,where we've got projections,
budgeting, things like that.
So really is customizabledepending on what they want, but
that they'd fit into one ofthose kind of three packages.
(12:41):
Nice.
And then you had alreadymentioned your podcast, so I
wanna make sure that we get tothat too, what's your podcast?
How can people find you?
And I will also listeners linkeverything in the show notes as
well.
Yeah, absolutely.
So my podcast is Creative MindsSmart Money, and it's everywhere
you can find podcasts, Spotify.
(13:04):
Oh my gosh, apple Music.
I was like, what is it called?
Apple Music.
But I also post about it everyweek on my Instagram on my
newsletter.
So if you're interested injoining those, of course,
there's my website, firestonefinance.com, and I'm most active
on threads at Firestorm Financeand then on LinkedIn as well.
If someone's like me where I'mlike, Ooh, finances.
(13:24):
Luckily I have my husband andhe'll take care of all that
backend system.
I love to just be the creative,I like to work with the people.
And he will literally, he's justlike, I'll watch the kids, I'll
make the deliveries and I'll dothe books.
And I was like, love you, youknow?
I feel like one person in therelationship and it, whether
it's a business partnership or aromantic relationship, needs to
(13:47):
be book savvy.
Yes.
Yes.
So if someone's out there who ismaybe a solopreneur, or doesn't
have that other partner like Ido, and they're like, Samantha,
I'm bad at math too.
What do you like, suggest, wouldbe like first good actionable
steps to get a handle on theirfinances if that's something
they're struggling with.
(14:08):
Yeah, I mean this is atwo-parter for me.
So first of all, I definitelythink you need to be tracking it
and you don't have to use afancy software to do so.
A lot of people will say, youneed QuickBooks from the start,
or you need some sort ofaccounting software.
You don't.
You just need a spreadsheetwhere you track your income and
your expenses.
And just getting that on thereis so helpful.
Even if you are not being superfancy, even if you're not
(14:30):
understanding your numbers on adeeper level, at least you're
tracking your income andexpenses.
That's the first part.
Then.
You are, even if you are usingan accounting software, you
wanna sit down with your numberson a monthly basis.
And I always call it like tocall them money dates.
So, you know, put on some musicdance, grab some coffee, grab
some wine, whatever it is thatyou wanna do, and make it fun
(14:51):
because everyone talks about howa boring accounting is and how
boring your books doing yourbooks are, but make it fun like.
Put on something interesting andlook at your numbers, uh, and do
that at least once a month.
'cause I think that's, that'sthe most helpful.
So track them and then sit downwith them at least once a month
and you're like, on a roll.
Yeah.
(15:11):
I'm very education based, so alot of people are like, oh,
don't, don't share too much.
People won't work with you.
Don't.
I'm like, I, you know what?
If someone wants to work withme, I think they'll work with me
because they appreciate all ofthe value that I'm sharing, not
because I'm holding back all thevalue that I'm sharing.
So I'm all about sharing as muchvalue as I can.
Yeah.
And your content really makes itlook like finance is very
(15:36):
approachable for, you know, andthis is coming from me where I'm
just like, ooh.
Like I know if I'm in the greenor in the black, I know like my
profit margins and all that.
Because when I do, like, when Ibase my products or when I quote
somebody, yeah, you wanna knowyour numbers, even if you are
just, even if you're thecreative part of the
partnership.
But I find, I'm always likeenjoying your content when I'm
(15:57):
like scrolling and I see it comeup, I'm just like, Ooh, like I
don't even need to like reallyknow this right now.
But I'm like, this is fun.
And I feel like that's soimportant too, is that.
Something that some people, youknow, get that like dread or,
get that like anxiety when theythink of money.
That the way that you'reapproaching it and then the fact
that you also have a podcastabout it is like.
(16:20):
You're making money talkapproachable.
And that I think is soimportant.
'cause many people still to thisday, you know, will keep it
inside.
I know people who used to hideit from their partners, and I'm
like, no, you guys have to haveopen conversations.
They're like, but my money's mymoney and his money's his money.
I'm like, but you are together.
And especially if you'remarried.
(16:41):
Yes.
You know?
Um.
And so me and my husband, weused to do this thing too.
And I'm just like, oh, okay.
So like it was payday and he waslike, yeah.
And he would just like turn hisphone around.
He goes, that.
And I would go, cool.
Big number.
And it was like one of thosethings too where he's like, you
don't have to tell me.
And I'm like, I don't.
I know I don't have to tell you,but I'm going to tell you'cause
I want to tell you.
(17:02):
'cause I wanna be transparentand in your bio you wrote that
your podcast is making moneytalk, feel like you're catching
up with a friend.
And so I love that and I lovethe way that you approach it.
Yeah.
And I think that's so importantbecause you have all these like
people who are super seriousabout it, but then that also
brings that kind of like air oflike judgment and shame around
(17:23):
it.
Mm-hmm.
And I'm like, there is so muchshame around money, especially
because a lot of people don'thave the best habits when it
comes to money.
Right.
But I wanna make it clear thatthere is no judgment, like
there's no shame.
Whatever situation you're in,come at it from that situation
and just space it head on.
Like make it fun, make itinteresting.
(17:44):
Don't think of your numbers asthis bane of your existence,
like you are the hero of yourstory.
Go and fight the dragon and thedragons, your numbers.
I love that.
I just throw a little fantasygameplay in there, you know?
Yes.
Okay.
I love that.
Okay.
But I do have to ask and we'regoing completely take a left
(18:05):
turn.
Yeah.
What's your favorite book rightnow?
Oh, that's such a's, such atough question.
'cause I'm a ser J ma, likeoriginal SJ Mask girl.
Like I read Ser J Mask back in2015.
So when it started getting superpopular again, I was like.
What is happening?
I'm like, why is everybodysuddenly finding her again?
(18:25):
But so Throne of Glass is my alltime favorite series.
I have a tattoo from it on myarm here.
Oh, that's cool.
I like the star too.
Yeah, thank you.
That's from Kingdom Hearts.
I love Kingdom Hearts.
Yes.
But my favorite book series,like right now that I'm really
into is The Stormlight Archivesby Brandon Sanderson.
Because I'm a big, high fantasygirl, like I love High Fantasy,
(18:49):
so I'm digging that serious.
They're thick books.
They're beasts, but they're sogood.
Yeah.
The reason why I ask is one,because I love reading.
And again, my like pile by mybedside is like 12 books deep
because my husband willliterally go onto my Barns and
Noble app and be like, look atmy wishlist, and then go get
that book.
And I'm like, I haven't evenfinished the last one.
(19:10):
Yes.
And I was like, I haven't evenlooked at the last one.
You got me, but.
He is an amazing husband whojust is like, you didn't sleep
last night.
Here's a book.
And I'm like, well, now I'm notgonna sleep tonight.
You know?
Yes.
I just finished Quicksilver,which I'm, I loved Quicksilver,
so, so good.
And it's, and it's really goodon audiobook, like, yes.
(19:32):
Really good.
So that one I just finishedaudiobook and now I'm on to, I
don't know if you've ever heard,the.
Gilded Prisoner series.
It's yes.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's on my show.
Glint.
Yeah.
Yes.
Just finished Guild and now I'mon Glint.
So I'm on the second book,that's on audio, but I'm reading
the dark Olympus books, whichare okay.
(19:54):
Like it starts with neon gods,which is the Haiti Persephone.
Yes.
Modern take.
And so it's cool because thatone was my husband's like first
set that he got me into.
'cause he's like, he loves Greekmyths and all that.
Yeah.
So he's like, this is a bookabout Greek myths.
And I go.
Okay.
And he goes, but it's spicy sothat you'll like it too.
(20:14):
And I was like, love you.
And so now I have, I'm on bookthree, but he bought me up to
book five already.
There's so many good ones.
So there are so many good ones.
Do you people call them booktrophies?
Do you have book trophies whereyou, like, you listen to the
audio book?
And then you go, yeah.
Yes.
Because I feel like as a serviceprovider, like I'm always
(20:35):
listening to books instead ofreading them.
'cause I'm like, I don't havetime to sit and like open a book
anymore.
So I'm like, mm-hmm.
If I do it while I'm working, atleast I'm still consuming them.
Oh, 100%.
Like the other day it was like,you've reached two hours of
listening to your audiobook andI was like, oh.
I guess I have been doing timecards for the last two hours.
(20:57):
'cause I I work as assistant formy day job and I was like, oh,
okay, well that's a goodreminder that I need to get up
and stretch and go look out thewindow for a second and look at
the sun.
Yeah, the time cards areprobably the closest you'll ever
get to me doing any type offinances is like time cards and
reimbursements.
'cause I can read a receipt andI can write down how much you
(21:17):
spent.
Okay.
Woo.
We've talked about so much.
I love this.
Do you have any other tips Yeah.
For me, I like to always mentionthat numbers are more than just
what they are on the page.
So a lot of people only lookpage deep.
They'll like look at theirprofit loss and be like, oh
yeah, like I made money.
That's not, it is the point ofyour bookkeeping, obviously.
(21:41):
But if you wanna really grow andyou wanna understand your
numbers and you wanna likepurposefully and intentionally.
Get better at what you'relooking at.
You need to look at them withlike a criticizing eye, so, the
way I always like to say it is,if you don't have me as your
bookkeeper, take your profitloss and divide your expenses by
your revenue, okay?
(22:01):
Because if you're just lookingat the number, you're just
looking at the number.
But if you look at a percentage,like let's say for example, you
spent$300 on coffee last month,and that's 40% of your revenue.
That's gonna hit you a lotharder than seeing maybe$200
because maybe you made 400.
I don't know.
Like, okay, so I'll be honestwith you, I'm bad at math, like
(22:23):
I'm bad at math.
You're like, oh, you're so goodat, like, I'm bad at math.
I can do numbers all day long.
I can do financial analysis, butmath is not my strong suit
because for me, it's thefinancial analysis part.
That's my strong suit, but,looking at that percentage and
seeing that percentage is gonnahit you a lot harder because now
it's, you're gonna look at thatpercentage, that coffee
percentage and.
(22:44):
Did I really wanna spend 40% ofmy revenue on coffee?
And if you do and you're like,that's awesome, I spent 40% of
my revenue on coffee.
Great.
Like, great, that's awesome.
Go for it.
But if you're looking at thatand you're like, what the heck?
I spent 40% of my revenue oncoffee, then maybe that's where
you need to take a step back andbe like, okay, I know I'm
overspending on coffee.
(23:05):
How do I curb that?
And like, how do I fix that?
Because that's how you.
Continuously improve yournumbers and how you start to
become proactive in them becausea lot of people are reactive.
They wait till tax season to dotheir books.
They only look at theirfinancials, but don't actually
look at their financials.
So if you start to questionthat, you're gonna start to
(23:26):
become a lot more proactive andyou're gonna see a lot of things
change in the way that you thinkabout your money and how you
handle your business.
Yeah.
And that's what you were talkingabout is having those monthly
money dates.
Yeah.
Awesome.
So we have your lead magnet inthe show notes.
So it's your, strategic successmini workshop.
(23:47):
Do you wanna tell people aboutthat?
Yes.
Yeah.
So that's a really good sneakpeek into kind of like what I do
with my clients.
Most of them I offer strategysessions and it's like a sneak
peek on how I start to get youto think outside of the page
because exactly what I said.
I don't want you to think ofjust numbers on a page.
I want you to think outside ofthat because your business is
(24:08):
connected to your personal life.
Your business is connected toyour goals, your business is
connected to so much that I wantyou to think of more than just.
What you're seeing at the end ofevery month on a profit and loss
statement.
Awesome.
So listeners, that's done in theshow notes.
So just, look for strategicSuccess mini workshop and click
that link.
And then you'll be brought to,Samantha's landing page where
(24:31):
you can sign on up.
That's also a very good firststep for people too, is a good
actionable step is to get onthat and check it out.
Yes, absolutely.
Awesome.
Okay.
Other than that, how can peopleget in contact with you?
Like where, I know that you saidyou're like on threads and
you're on Instagram and allthat.
(24:51):
Yeah.
So I have a website, firestormfinance.com.
It is under construction.
There's some magic happeningthere, so, Ooh, stay tuned.
I'm excited for that.
But also.
If you wanna, I'm not afraid toshare my email.
It'ssamantha@firestormfinance.com if
you have any questions.
I never charge for questions.
I know a lot of people will belike, oh, hey, you gotta go
(25:13):
through a consultation.
You've gotta meet with me topick my brain.
I don't do that.
So if you're like, am I doingthis right?
Like, what software is best?
Or any questions you have, justtoss'em away.
I'll be happy to answer themeven if I don't get back to you
right away.
I love that.
Yeah, GaN Studio is ourbusiness.
We offer like 30 minute, likefree consults where it's just
(25:34):
like, if you have a question,one, I answer questions anyway
on email or on Instagram, butlike somebody's like, I don't
know if I'm explaining thisright.
Like, can we talk?
And so I was just like.
Yeah, like here's a link to a 30minute zoom.
Just hop on and somebody will bejust be like, Whitney, blah,
blah, blah, blah.
And I'm like, A, B, C, D.
There you go.
(25:55):
And then they're like, oh,awesome.
Wait, can you do that for me?
And I go, I can do that for you.
Do you wanna have thatconversation?
And then they're like, yes.
And I was like, okay, well hereyou go.
Like, I never intended to besales salesy.
Like it's just, it is just likea quick little 30 minute zoom
windows that I have open in myday where it's kind, it's kinda
(26:17):
like having open office hourswhere I'm like, I'm available
here.
Hop on if you want,'cause Zoomwill tell me if someone's trying
to get into the zoom room and Iwas like, Hey, what's up?
And they're just like, blah,blah, blah.
And hey, if they ask me if I cando it, of course I'm gonna be
like, yeah, I can do it.
You know?
Yes.
People want value and if theylike what you're giving them and
(26:38):
they trust you, then they'remore likely to also work with
you too.
And so I think that's soimportant which is why I love
making sure that, if someone'slike, Hey, I have this question
like you, like you said, likeyou don't charge for question.
That if I know the answer, I'mgonna just tell you like it's,
there's no gatekeeping here.
And if a lot of people ask methe same question, well, guess
(26:59):
what's going on in the podcast?
You know?
Yes, exactly.
Because I'm, yeah.
I'm like, oh, okay.
Well, this question's been askedme like 10 times.
I'm, I think it's time to startwriting a podcast episode.
Yes.
Any final thoughts before wewrap this up?
No, no, I think that'severything actually I wanted to
(27:20):
mention,'cause I know you weretalking about like audio books
and how you like dual audionarration, like total I do.
But have you ever read graphicaudio books or like listen to
graphic audio books?
No.
Okay.
I want you to like, when we'reoff here, like look up graphic
audio books because I swearthey'll like change your world.
Okay.
Okay.
(27:41):
I will the, I will tell you themotto for them is literally like
a movie in your mind.
Wait, are those like the dramacitation one?
Like where it's like multiple,it's kind of, yeah.
So it's like a full cast.
Like it's a full cast.
There's like the audio books forthe storm archives.
There's like action scenes.
You can hear the swords.
There's music, there's emotion.
(28:02):
Like when someone dies, I'm likeliterally in tears'cause I'm
like.
This is so good.
Like why is this so good?
So, oh my god, that sounds soamazing.
But I'm like, oh my God, is thatgonna ruin it, ruin all the
other audio books for me?
I will be honest, it has ruinedsome for me.
'cause I'm like, I want a fullcast.
Like, where's the full cast?
(28:24):
I know.
Which is, yeah, that's exactlywhat I was saying was like, I
like when.
People who are narrators can dodifferent voices.
Yes.
Because if you, if they don'thave the budget for a full cast,
it's like having a full cast.
Yeah.
And they can pull it off.
Another podcaster I follow, thisis now a book podcast, another
podcaster, who is friends withmy sister and friends with the
(28:45):
family.
Um, she informed me, she has a,called the Fan Girls Podcast.
So they do, like, they dosometimes they do books, TV
shows, movies, and so.
I started posting what book I'mreading on Caffe Chaos, and she
reaches out and she's like, didyou know that Netflix just paid
to have the rights forQuicksilver?
And I was like, no.
(29:06):
And on, she's like, yeah.
And then she's like, I was justlooking at it and she sent me
the article and, and I was justlike, oh, but if they don't get.
If they don't get, oh, fish, Iwas fish odor.
Not fish odor.
That's from Bob's burgers.
King Fisher's, if they don't getKing Fisher's character.
Right.
Like I don't want them to ruinit you know what I mean?
(29:27):
Yeah.
Because I mean, he's literallyon the cover of the book.
Yep.
Yep.
We'll have to see and nowespecially'cause I listened to
the audio book.
I have a voice, I have AnthonyPalm's voice as Kingfisher, so
we'll see.
Yeah.
Yes.
(29:48):
I'm just gonna clip this out andwe're just gonna, we're just
gonna be a book podcast from nowon.
Hey, but that's what you loveand it works.
Yes.
It helps soothe the chaos, youknow?
Yes.
So, awesome.
Well, thank you for joining ustoday, Samantha.
I had like a really funconversation.
(30:08):
I'm so glad we hit on so manythings, definitely financially,
but also like gaming and books.
And listeners, remember all thelinks are down below.
Awesome.
Thank you so much for having me.
All right everyone, I will seeyou in the next podcast episode.
That's a wrap on another episodeof Caffeinated Chaos.
I hope you're leaving with alittle more clarity, a lot more
(30:30):
inspiration, and maybe even anextra shot of motivation.
If you love today's episode,don't forget to follow us.
Leave a review and share it witha friend who could use just a
little chaos and caffeine intheir life.
Until next time, keep embracingthe mess.
Chase your dreams and make magichappen.
One caffeinated, chaotic momentat a time.
(30:53):
I will see you all soon.
Bye now.
Welcome to Caffeinated Chaos,where business deals happen
between diaper changes andfriendships are fueled by
caffeine.
I'm Whitney GaN, your host, andI'm here to talk all things
business parenthood, and ofcourse keeping up with the BFFs,
whether you're juggling theboardroom, the playroom, or just
here for some coffee fuel chaos.
We've got you covered.
Get ready for real talk, laughsand a whole lot of heart as we
(00:24):
dive into the beautiful messthat is entrepreneurship,
parenthood, and everything inbetween.
So let's embrace the chaostogether.
Ated, of course.
On today's podcast, we haveSamantha Eck, who is a
powerhouse behind FirestormFinance, where she transforms
messy financials into crystalclear roadmaps for success.
(00:46):
With six years of corporateaccounting, under her belt of
formal education in numbers andthe street cred of running two
creative businesses, she'suniquely equipped to help fellow
creatives decode the story.
Their numbers are trying totell.
And you know when Samantha's notwrangling QuickBooks, we can
find her dominating on Xbox orcurl up with a page turner.
(01:09):
Two things I also very muchenjoy.
Her husband is always by herside, and her pup Vivy keeps
watch.
She knows that clarity in thebooks leads to big, dreamy
business moves.
She also has a podcast too,creative Minds, smart Money
where she makes money talk.
Feel like catching up with afriend.
(01:30):
This episode is gonna be great,y'all.
So I can't wait any longer.
Let's sip on some coffee andlet's welcome Samantha to the
podcast.
Samantha, welcome to thepodcast.
Thanks for joining us onCaffeinated Chaos.
Thank you for having me.
I'm so excited to be here.
Yeah.
Oh gosh.
Okay, so listeners, Samantha wasactually recommended to me by
(01:51):
another person who had been onthe podcast, and they're like,
well, if you like thisconversation, you need to talk
to Samantha.
And I was like, deal.
And so I think it was eitherThreads or Instagram where I was
like, Hey, this person sent meover to talk to you.
Do you wanna be on my podcast?
Yes.
Which I think, which I love.
(02:12):
Yeah.
I think it was Cassidy, if I'mnot wrong.
Yeah, yeah.
It's Cassidy, yeah.
Who was the very first guest onthe podcast.
There was a list of people thatlike I had been in contact with
and I was like, I wanna askthem.
And I was like, okay, I wannaask Cassidy.
But I was like, Ooh.
But you know, that impostersyndrome is like, I don't know
if I should ask.
Like I, let me get someone underthe belt.
(02:34):
And I was telling Cassidy aboutthe podcast and.
She was like, well, if you needa guest, I volunteer.
And I go, I was gonna ask you,but I like felt like totally
imposter syndrome, that like Ishould have waited and like got
more experience.
And so it was actually nicebecause we had that preexisting
like conversations andfriendship that it made having
(02:57):
the first guest ever be reallylike.
Easygoing.
Yeah.
And so whenever like Cass islike, you need to talk to
someone, and I'm like, deal.
Yeah, definitely.
Because if it's coming fromCass, you know, then I'm like,
Ooh, this person's gonna be topnotch.
Yeah.
I love that.
She's such a great person.
We had like almost an hour and ahalf long conversation on my
podcast and I was like, oh mygosh.
(03:19):
I'm like, we just kept talking.
We're like, we got this.
It just feels so conversational,so it's great.
Yeah.
Oh gosh.
I love that.
About cast and our Yeah, ourfirst episode too.
It, it went like everywhere andwe're like, we talked about
that.
We talked about this chaoticmoment after chaotic moment, and
I was like, this is cool.
This is kind of how I want allmy episodes to flow.
(03:39):
Like I want it to be freeflowing, like.
Of course, you know, mylisteners know this.
We have an application and thenso we have a center, like a base
to get back to.
Yeah.
But if we turn left or turnright, at a certain point I'll
bring us back to center.
You never know what you're gonnatalk about.
And sometimes those are like thebest golden nuggets in a
conversation.
(04:01):
Samantha, will you tell ourlisteners who you are and what
you're about?
Yeah, absolutely.
So my name is Samantha Eck and Irun a small bookkeeping firm for
creatives called FirestormFinance.
And I'm all about helpingcreatives read the story that
their numbers are trying to tellthem so they can make bolder,
profitable moves.
(04:21):
Nice.
So smooth.
I'm curious, how'd you come upwith Firestone Finance as your
name?
Because like most people willlike, name it after themselves.
Yes.
So Firestone Finance is kind oftwo pronged, so mm-hmm.
Me and Cassidy also share like afaith, so my faith is like
rooted in that.
And fire is supposed to be likea big.
(04:44):
Picture like in the Bible andthings like that.
So that was part of it.
But another part of it is that,I've always thought of fire, it
sounds bad when you say this,but fire is like some sort of
like transformation.
Mm-hmm.
Like when you walk through fire,you go through this
transformation.
Yeah.
So my thoughts behind that werelike, okay, firestorm finance,
you're walking through this likereally crazy storm of fire and
(05:07):
when we get in there and we worktogether and you walk out of it,
you just get transformed.
Nice.
I love that.
Okay.
That I was like, oh, I'm gonnadefinitely ask that question.
I wanna know, because, I'm like,Ooh, that sounds so intense.
But like, so like, like yousaid, it's just like firestorm
is like an intense fire.
And then coming out of it, itjust reminds me of the Phoenix,
(05:27):
you know?
Yes.
So I love that.
Awesome.
Okay, so we are gonna get intoit.
Okay.
First off, um.
Listeners, you won't see this onthe podcast, but if you're
watching this eventually onYouTube, Samantha has like
bookshelves behind her and so Iwas like commenting on the books
and like the figurines, but alsoyour bio, at least the one that
(05:51):
you sent me, not the one on yourpage, but so you dominate on
Xbox, like you're a gamer too?
Yes, yes.
Big gamer.
Me and my husband, his setup islike right next to mine over
there.
So Nice.
My husband too, he has an Xboxtoo, and like he, he goes Ham.
I used to play Call of Duty withthem until I got pregnant and
(06:13):
then I realized it never made mesick to play Call of Duty until
I was pregnant.
I was playing Call of Duty and Iwas not playing with my husband
and our friends.
It was just like I was doing it,with online friends, and all of
a sudden.
I started getting completelymotion sickness, right?
And I had never ever gotten thatbefore.
(06:35):
And I was like, oh my God.
So I reach up and I thought, Iclick the mic off on my headset
and I just like vomit into thelittle trash can at my desk and.
And then all of a sudden all thethree other guys I was playing
with was like, oh my God, Asana,which is my gamer tag.
And they're like, Asana, are youokay?
Like, are you okay?
And I'm like, oh my God, I am sosorry guys.
(06:57):
I.
They're like, did you just throwup?
And I was like, I did, I'msorry.
So I'm pregnant.
And then so then it turned intolike, what?
It was funny'cause, they're justonline gamer friends that you
know, yes.
That we have.
And I'm just like, one, I'mlike, oh my God, I'm mortified.
I just like.
Puked and my husband came homeand I was just sitting on the
couch and I was just watching TVand he goes, oh, I thought you'd
(07:18):
be gaming.
And I go, this is what happenedtoday.
And I feel so bad.
I just literally threw up inlike three guys' ears like.
Oh my gosh.
But what a story.
I know.
And, they were really chill withit.
Like they, you know, they werelike, oh my God, are you okay?
Like, do we need to callsomebody for you?
And I was just like, no, no, no,I'm pregnant.
(07:41):
I have motion sickness.
Apparently now all of a sudden,and they're just like.
Do you want us to quit thisgame?
And I was like, no, no, no, no.
Let's finish.
Let's finish.
I'm gonna go get to my sniperperch.
'cause that was like my job.
I was like the sniper.
When we lived in Canada, me andmy husband actually had a Twitch
stream.
Mm-hmm.
And we streamed overcooked.
And I still, every time someonetells me about the game, all I
(08:02):
think about is this, clip thatwe had where we were looking, we
were working on the conveyorbelts together, and I
accidentally put the item Ineeded back on the conveyor
belt.
And so I'm sitting therescreaming at him.
I'm like, oh, my salmon, mysalmon.
And then I put the cucumber backon there and I'm.
Laughing and I was like, oh myGod, it's such a good game to
(08:24):
play with people.
Like Oh my goodness.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And, me and my husband are alphatesters for a video game and so
we obviously met other people'cause an MMO.
And so while we're waiting forthe test periods, we decided
like, Hey, we're just gonna forma group and be gamers again
together.
And so now.
When we're not testing the newgame, we're playing overcooked
(08:46):
with each other.
And so we're just like, this isa wildly different game from
what we're testing, and we'rejust like, oh my God.
Just like you, like, oh my God.
No, no, no.
I didn't mean to put the potthere.
Oh no.
Yeah.
Where's the fire Extinguisher?
Extinguisher.
Yeah.
It's such a good game.
Like it's really good forcommunication though too, if you
(09:06):
can cook in the overcookedkitchen together, you and your
husband or your partner candefinitely cook in a real
kitchen together.
It might not taste as good, butyou guys will be able to move
around in sync of like, okay, Ineed this chopped.
Okay, stir the soup.
Okay.
Three onions, guys.
Yes.
Yes.
Oh my goodness.
(09:27):
Okay, so cool.
Nice little tangent about theXbox, which I love, like, I feel
like I haven't had a gamer liketalk on this podcast yet, so
that's really nice.
I've had book talks, already'cause I, I love books, okay, so
I wanna get more into what youdo.
So one.
Do we have a chaotic momentabout your business or anything?
(09:51):
'Cause we have to throw a littlechaos in there first.
I,'cause I also just felt like Itold you a chaotic moment when I
like threw up too.
Yeah, before I started reallyworking on the systems of my
business, um, it was reallychaotic in my business period
because it was a lot of tryingto remember stuff and I didn't
have any sort of.
(10:12):
Systems or processes in place,so, like I have a really good
system now.
I have the project managementtools that I have now, but I
think in the days before threadseven, because, you know, threads
is such a great resource to likeask people, Hey, how does this
work?
How does this do?
But a lot of the times I wouldend up forgetting certain things
for clients because, theywouldn't be written down
anywhere.
(10:32):
It's just.
I was like, okay, it's monthend.
Let's do all their work that Ineed to do.
I reconciled everything.
And then they would me, theywould message me after I gave
them the report and be like,Hey, did you happen to do this
thing?
And I'm like, oh my gosh, Iforgot.
It wasn't until I found like theso software that I have now that
now everything is morestreamlined and interesting.
(10:53):
Like, I don't know if I haveanything like super chaotic,
but.
It was definitely a chaoticmoment for me when I was like,
oh my gosh.
Like they're gonna think I'mstupid or something because I
don't have everything writtendown.
Yeah.
I mean, it happens.
I am a big systems person, butto my husband, I was like, babe,
can you, uh, can you do this forme?
Or can you write up this for me?
(11:15):
And he is like, how do you dothat?
I was like, oh God, Whitney, youreally need to write SOPs like
you.
You like need instructions.
Even for my husband who is mybusiness partner, right?
There were things that I do forthe business and things he does
for the business, and I'm justlike, I really need to write
down systems, so I totallyunderstand you and I totally get
(11:36):
where you're coming from.
The reason why I asked too isbecause I feel like.
I am not great at math, readingand like writing comprehension.
That's where I excel at.
Psychology, that's where I excelat math, not so much.
For someone, you know where youdo finance and you teach this.
I am kudos to you because Iwould.
(11:56):
When someone comes to you, whatservices do you provide?
Yeah.
So I mean, it really depends onwhat they're looking for.
So we have like baselinebookkeeping where it's not just
about compliance.
I always add like a little bitof a financial analysis in there
and everything like that.
Especially for people who arejust starting out in their
business.
Um, and then we have.
(12:17):
A little bit of a higher levelwhere we're doing like cashflow
forecasting and we're makingsure that they we're tracking
their receipts, everything likethat.
And then if someone is like,yeah, I need to go like full on,
we're doing CFO level services,where we've got projections,
budgeting, things like that.
So really is customizabledepending on what they want, but
that they'd fit into one ofthose kind of three packages.
(12:41):
Nice.
And then you had alreadymentioned your podcast, so I
wanna make sure that we get tothat too, what's your podcast?
How can people find you?
And I will also listeners linkeverything in the show notes as
well.
Yeah, absolutely.
So my podcast is Creative MindsSmart Money, and it's everywhere
you can find podcasts, Spotify.
(13:04):
Oh my gosh, apple Music.
I was like, what is it called?
Apple Music.
But I also post about it everyweek on my Instagram on my
newsletter.
So if you're interested injoining those, of course,
there's my website, firestonefinance.com, and I'm most active
on threads at Firestorm Financeand then on LinkedIn as well.
If someone's like me where I'mlike, Ooh, finances.
(13:24):
Luckily I have my husband andhe'll take care of all that
backend system.
I love to just be the creative,I like to work with the people.
And he will literally, he's justlike, I'll watch the kids, I'll
make the deliveries and I'll dothe books.
And I was like, love you, youknow?
I feel like one person in therelationship and it, whether
it's a business partnership or aromantic relationship, needs to
(13:47):
be book savvy.
Yes.
Yes.
So if someone's out there who ismaybe a solopreneur, or doesn't
have that other partner like Ido, and they're like, Samantha,
I'm bad at math too.
What do you like, suggest, wouldbe like first good actionable
steps to get a handle on theirfinances if that's something
they're struggling with.
(14:08):
Yeah, I mean this is atwo-parter for me.
So first of all, I definitelythink you need to be tracking it
and you don't have to use afancy software to do so.
A lot of people will say, youneed QuickBooks from the start,
or you need some sort ofaccounting software.
You don't.
You just need a spreadsheetwhere you track your income and
your expenses.
And just getting that on thereis so helpful.
Even if you are not being superfancy, even if you're not
(14:30):
understanding your numbers on adeeper level, at least you're
tracking your income andexpenses.
That's the first part.
Then.
You are, even if you are usingan accounting software, you
wanna sit down with your numberson a monthly basis.
And I always call it like tocall them money dates.
So, you know, put on some musicdance, grab some coffee, grab
some wine, whatever it is thatyou wanna do, and make it fun
(14:51):
because everyone talks about howa boring accounting is and how
boring your books doing yourbooks are, but make it fun like.
Put on something interesting andlook at your numbers, uh, and do
that at least once a month.
'cause I think that's, that'sthe most helpful.
So track them and then sit downwith them at least once a month
and you're like, on a roll.
Yeah.
(15:11):
I'm very education based, so alot of people are like, oh,
don't, don't share too much.
People won't work with you.
Don't.
I'm like, I, you know what?
If someone wants to work withme, I think they'll work with me
because they appreciate all ofthe value that I'm sharing, not
because I'm holding back all thevalue that I'm sharing.
So I'm all about sharing as muchvalue as I can.
Yeah.
And your content really makes itlook like finance is very
(15:36):
approachable for, you know, andthis is coming from me where I'm
just like, ooh.
Like I know if I'm in the greenor in the black, I know like my
profit margins and all that.
Because when I do, like, when Ibase my products or when I quote
somebody, yeah, you wanna knowyour numbers, even if you are
just, even if you're thecreative part of the
partnership.
But I find, I'm always likeenjoying your content when I'm
(15:57):
like scrolling and I see it comeup, I'm just like, Ooh, like I
don't even need to like reallyknow this right now.
But I'm like, this is fun.
And I feel like that's soimportant too, is that.
Something that some people, youknow, get that like dread or,
get that like anxiety when theythink of money.
That the way that you'reapproaching it and then the fact
that you also have a podcastabout it is like.
(16:20):
You're making money talkapproachable.
And that I think is soimportant.
'cause many people still to thisday, you know, will keep it
inside.
I know people who used to hideit from their partners, and I'm
like, no, you guys have to haveopen conversations.
They're like, but my money's mymoney and his money's his money.
I'm like, but you are together.
And especially if you'remarried.
(16:41):
Yes.
You know?
Um.
And so me and my husband, weused to do this thing too.
And I'm just like, oh, okay.
So like it was payday and he waslike, yeah.
And he would just like turn hisphone around.
He goes, that.
And I would go, cool.
Big number.
And it was like one of thosethings too where he's like, you
don't have to tell me.
And I'm like, I don't.
I know I don't have to tell you,but I'm going to tell you'cause
I want to tell you.
(17:02):
'cause I wanna be transparentand in your bio you wrote that
your podcast is making moneytalk, feel like you're catching
up with a friend.
And so I love that and I lovethe way that you approach it.
Yeah.
And I think that's so importantbecause you have all these like
people who are super seriousabout it, but then that also
brings that kind of like air oflike judgment and shame around
(17:23):
it.
Mm-hmm.
And I'm like, there is so muchshame around money, especially
because a lot of people don'thave the best habits when it
comes to money.
Right.
But I wanna make it clear thatthere is no judgment, like
there's no shame.
Whatever situation you're in,come at it from that situation
and just space it head on.
Like make it fun, make itinteresting.
(17:44):
Don't think of your numbers asthis bane of your existence,
like you are the hero of yourstory.
Go and fight the dragon and thedragons, your numbers.
I love that.
I just throw a little fantasygameplay in there, you know?
Yes.
Okay.
I love that.
Okay.
But I do have to ask and we'regoing completely take a left
(18:05):
turn.
Yeah.
What's your favorite book rightnow?
Oh, that's such a's, such atough question.
'cause I'm a ser J ma, likeoriginal SJ Mask girl.
Like I read Ser J Mask back in2015.
So when it started getting superpopular again, I was like.
What is happening?
I'm like, why is everybodysuddenly finding her again?
(18:25):
But so Throne of Glass is my alltime favorite series.
I have a tattoo from it on myarm here.
Oh, that's cool.
I like the star too.
Yeah, thank you.
That's from Kingdom Hearts.
I love Kingdom Hearts.
Yes.
But my favorite book series,like right now that I'm really
into is The Stormlight Archivesby Brandon Sanderson.
Because I'm a big, high fantasygirl, like I love High Fantasy,
(18:49):
so I'm digging that serious.
They're thick books.
They're beasts, but they're sogood.
Yeah.
The reason why I ask is one,because I love reading.
And again, my like pile by mybedside is like 12 books deep
because my husband willliterally go onto my Barns and
Noble app and be like, look atmy wishlist, and then go get
that book.
And I'm like, I haven't evenfinished the last one.
(19:10):
Yes.
And I was like, I haven't evenlooked at the last one.
You got me, but.
He is an amazing husband whojust is like, you didn't sleep
last night.
Here's a book.
And I'm like, well, now I'm notgonna sleep tonight.
You know?
Yes.
I just finished Quicksilver,which I'm, I loved Quicksilver,
so, so good.
And it's, and it's really goodon audiobook, like, yes.
(19:32):
Really good.
So that one I just finishedaudiobook and now I'm on to, I
don't know if you've ever heard,the.
Gilded Prisoner series.
It's yes.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's on my show.
Glint.
Yeah.
Yes.
Just finished Guild and now I'mon Glint.
So I'm on the second book,that's on audio, but I'm reading
the dark Olympus books, whichare okay.
(19:54):
Like it starts with neon gods,which is the Haiti Persephone.
Yes.
Modern take.
And so it's cool because thatone was my husband's like first
set that he got me into.
'cause he's like, he loves Greekmyths and all that.
Yeah.
So he's like, this is a bookabout Greek myths.
And I go.
Okay.
And he goes, but it's spicy sothat you'll like it too.
(20:14):
And I was like, love you.
And so now I have, I'm on bookthree, but he bought me up to
book five already.
There's so many good ones.
So there are so many good ones.
Do you people call them booktrophies?
Do you have book trophies whereyou, like, you listen to the
audio book?
And then you go, yeah.
Yes.
Because I feel like as a serviceprovider, like I'm always
(20:35):
listening to books instead ofreading them.
'cause I'm like, I don't havetime to sit and like open a book
anymore.
So I'm like, mm-hmm.
If I do it while I'm working, atleast I'm still consuming them.
Oh, 100%.
Like the other day it was like,you've reached two hours of
listening to your audiobook andI was like, oh.
I guess I have been doing timecards for the last two hours.
(20:57):
'cause I I work as assistant formy day job and I was like, oh,
okay, well that's a goodreminder that I need to get up
and stretch and go look out thewindow for a second and look at
the sun.
Yeah, the time cards areprobably the closest you'll ever
get to me doing any type offinances is like time cards and
reimbursements.
'cause I can read a receipt andI can write down how much you
(21:17):
spent.
Okay.
Woo.
We've talked about so much.
I love this.
Do you have any other tips Yeah.
For me, I like to always mentionthat numbers are more than just
what they are on the page.
So a lot of people only lookpage deep.
They'll like look at theirprofit loss and be like, oh
yeah, like I made money.
That's not, it is the point ofyour bookkeeping, obviously.
(21:41):
But if you wanna really grow andyou wanna understand your
numbers and you wanna likepurposefully and intentionally.
Get better at what you'relooking at.
You need to look at them withlike a criticizing eye, so, the
way I always like to say it is,if you don't have me as your
bookkeeper, take your profitloss and divide your expenses by
your revenue, okay?
(22:01):
Because if you're just lookingat the number, you're just
looking at the number.
But if you look at a percentage,like let's say for example, you
spent$300 on coffee last month,and that's 40% of your revenue.
That's gonna hit you a lotharder than seeing maybe$200
because maybe you made 400.
I don't know.
Like, okay, so I'll be honestwith you, I'm bad at math, like
(22:23):
I'm bad at math.
You're like, oh, you're so goodat, like, I'm bad at math.
I can do numbers all day long.
I can do financial analysis, butmath is not my strong suit
because for me, it's thefinancial analysis part.
That's my strong suit, but,looking at that percentage and
seeing that percentage is gonnahit you a lot harder because now
it's, you're gonna look at thatpercentage, that coffee
percentage and.
(22:44):
Did I really wanna spend 40% ofmy revenue on coffee?
And if you do and you're like,that's awesome, I spent 40% of
my revenue on coffee.
Great.
Like, great, that's awesome.
Go for it.
But if you're looking at thatand you're like, what the heck?
I spent 40% of my revenue oncoffee, then maybe that's where
you need to take a step back andbe like, okay, I know I'm
overspending on coffee.
(23:05):
How do I curb that?
And like, how do I fix that?
Because that's how you.
Continuously improve yournumbers and how you start to
become proactive in them becausea lot of people are reactive.
They wait till tax season to dotheir books.
They only look at theirfinancials, but don't actually
look at their financials.
So if you start to questionthat, you're gonna start to
(23:26):
become a lot more proactive andyou're gonna see a lot of things
change in the way that you thinkabout your money and how you
handle your business.
Yeah.
And that's what you were talkingabout is having those monthly
money dates.
Yeah.
Awesome.
So we have your lead magnet inthe show notes.
So it's your, strategic successmini workshop.
(23:47):
Do you wanna tell people aboutthat?
Yes.
Yeah.
So that's a really good sneakpeek into kind of like what I do
with my clients.
Most of them I offer strategysessions and it's like a sneak
peek on how I start to get youto think outside of the page
because exactly what I said.
I don't want you to think ofjust numbers on a page.
I want you to think outside ofthat because your business is
(24:08):
connected to your personal life.
Your business is connected toyour goals, your business is
connected to so much that I wantyou to think of more than just.
What you're seeing at the end ofevery month on a profit and loss
statement.
Awesome.
So listeners, that's done in theshow notes.
So just, look for strategicSuccess mini workshop and click
that link.
And then you'll be brought to,Samantha's landing page where
(24:31):
you can sign on up.
That's also a very good firststep for people too, is a good
actionable step is to get onthat and check it out.
Yes, absolutely.
Awesome.
Okay.
Other than that, how can peopleget in contact with you?
Like where, I know that you saidyou're like on threads and
you're on Instagram and allthat.
(24:51):
Yeah.
So I have a website, firestormfinance.com.
It is under construction.
There's some magic happeningthere, so, Ooh, stay tuned.
I'm excited for that.
But also.
If you wanna, I'm not afraid toshare my email.
It'ssamantha@firestormfinance.com if
you have any questions.
I never charge for questions.
I know a lot of people will belike, oh, hey, you gotta go
(25:13):
through a consultation.
You've gotta meet with me topick my brain.
I don't do that.
So if you're like, am I doingthis right?
Like, what software is best?
Or any questions you have, justtoss'em away.
I'll be happy to answer themeven if I don't get back to you
right away.
I love that.
Yeah, GaN Studio is ourbusiness.
We offer like 30 minute, likefree consults where it's just
(25:34):
like, if you have a question,one, I answer questions anyway
on email or on Instagram, butlike somebody's like, I don't
know if I'm explaining thisright.
Like, can we talk?
And so I was just like.
Yeah, like here's a link to a 30minute zoom.
Just hop on and somebody will bejust be like, Whitney, blah,
blah, blah, blah.
And I'm like, A, B, C, D.
There you go.
(25:55):
And then they're like, oh,awesome.
Wait, can you do that for me?
And I go, I can do that for you.
Do you wanna have thatconversation?
And then they're like, yes.
And I was like, okay, well hereyou go.
Like, I never intended to besales salesy.
Like it's just, it is just likea quick little 30 minute zoom
windows that I have open in myday where it's kind, it's kinda
(26:17):
like having open office hourswhere I'm like, I'm available
here.
Hop on if you want,'cause Zoomwill tell me if someone's trying
to get into the zoom room and Iwas like, Hey, what's up?
And they're just like, blah,blah, blah.
And hey, if they ask me if I cando it, of course I'm gonna be
like, yeah, I can do it.
You know?
Yes.
People want value and if theylike what you're giving them and
(26:38):
they trust you, then they'remore likely to also work with
you too.
And so I think that's soimportant which is why I love
making sure that, if someone'slike, Hey, I have this question
like you, like you said, likeyou don't charge for question.
That if I know the answer, I'mgonna just tell you like it's,
there's no gatekeeping here.
And if a lot of people ask methe same question, well, guess
(26:59):
what's going on in the podcast?
You know?
Yes, exactly.
Because I'm, yeah.
I'm like, oh, okay.
Well, this question's been askedme like 10 times.
I'm, I think it's time to startwriting a podcast episode.
Yes.
Any final thoughts before wewrap this up?
No, no, I think that'severything actually I wanted to
(27:20):
mention,'cause I know you weretalking about like audio books
and how you like dual audionarration, like total I do.
But have you ever read graphicaudio books or like listen to
graphic audio books?
No.
Okay.
I want you to like, when we'reoff here, like look up graphic
audio books because I swearthey'll like change your world.
Okay.
Okay.
(27:41):
I will the, I will tell you themotto for them is literally like
a movie in your mind.
Wait, are those like the dramacitation one?
Like where it's like multiple,it's kind of, yeah.
So it's like a full cast.
Like it's a full cast.
There's like the audio books forthe storm archives.
There's like action scenes.
You can hear the swords.
There's music, there's emotion.
(28:02):
Like when someone dies, I'm likeliterally in tears'cause I'm
like.
This is so good.
Like why is this so good?
So, oh my god, that sounds soamazing.
But I'm like, oh my God, is thatgonna ruin it, ruin all the
other audio books for me?
I will be honest, it has ruinedsome for me.
'cause I'm like, I want a fullcast.
Like, where's the full cast?
(28:24):
I know.
Which is, yeah, that's exactlywhat I was saying was like, I
like when.
People who are narrators can dodifferent voices.
Yes.
Because if you, if they don'thave the budget for a full cast,
it's like having a full cast.
Yeah.
And they can pull it off.
Another podcaster I follow, thisis now a book podcast, another
podcaster, who is friends withmy sister and friends with the
(28:45):
family.
Um, she informed me, she has a,called the Fan Girls Podcast.
So they do, like, they dosometimes they do books, TV
shows, movies, and so.
I started posting what book I'mreading on Caffe Chaos, and she
reaches out and she's like, didyou know that Netflix just paid
to have the rights forQuicksilver?
And I was like, no.
(29:06):
And on, she's like, yeah.
And then she's like, I was justlooking at it and she sent me
the article and, and I was justlike, oh, but if they don't get.
If they don't get, oh, fish, Iwas fish odor.
Not fish odor.
That's from Bob's burgers.
King Fisher's, if they don't getKing Fisher's character.
Right.
Like I don't want them to ruinit you know what I mean?
(29:27):
Yeah.
Because I mean, he's literallyon the cover of the book.
Yep.
Yep.
We'll have to see and nowespecially'cause I listened to
the audio book.
I have a voice, I have AnthonyPalm's voice as Kingfisher, so
we'll see.
Yeah.
Yes.
(29:48):
I'm just gonna clip this out andwe're just gonna, we're just
gonna be a book podcast from nowon.
Hey, but that's what you loveand it works.
Yes.
It helps soothe the chaos, youknow?
Yes.
So, awesome.
Well, thank you for joining ustoday, Samantha.
I had like a really funconversation.
(30:08):
I'm so glad we hit on so manythings, definitely financially,
but also like gaming and books.
And listeners, remember all thelinks are down below.
Awesome.
Thank you so much for having me.
All right everyone, I will seeyou in the next podcast episode.
That's a wrap on another episodeof Caffeinated Chaos.
I hope you're leaving with alittle more clarity, a lot more
(30:30):
inspiration, and maybe even anextra shot of motivation.
If you love today's episode,don't forget to follow us.
Leave a review and share it witha friend who could use just a
little chaos and caffeine intheir life.
Until next time, keep embracingthe mess.
Chase your dreams and make magichappen.
One caffeinated, chaotic momentat a time.
(30:53):
I will see you all soon.
Bye now.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
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.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!