October 6, 2025 • 30 mins
In our season finale, we’re wrapping things up with a conversation that every business owner needs to hear — all about financial literacy. This episode ties together the insights, lessons, and empowering stories we’ve shared throughout the season, bringing it all home with a focus on what it really takes to prepare your business (and your mindset!) for success — especially as we head into the busy holiday season.
We’re talking budgets, cash flow, and the importance of truly knowing your numbers. Because let’s be real — knowledge isn’t just power, it’s profit. It is YOUR money on the line.
Episode Highlights
- Why financial clarity is the foundation of business success.
- The importance of budgeting and cash flow planning before the big and small events.
- The harsh truth: women-owned businesses receive only 3% of venture capital funding — and what we can do about it.
- How financial literacy empowers women entrepreneurs to make informed, confident decisions.
- The value of mentorship and community support in building resilient businesses.
Quotes We Love
“Knowledge isn’t just power — it’s the prerequisite for security and success.”
“Understanding your financial landscape gives you the freedom to grow strategically.”
Key Takeaways
- Know your numbers. Don’t run your business in the dark — financial awareness is non-negotiable.
- Financial literacy = empowerment. It’s not optional; it’s essential for every entrepreneur.
- Talk about money. Transparency strengthens relationships, it doesn’t weaken them.
- Find your tribe. Mentorship and community make the financial journey far less intimidating (and a lot more fun!).
Companies & Guests Mentioned
Lori Kibbe • Abby F. Large • Julie Laughlin Harris • Scarlet Stantrop • Crystal Wallace • Dr. Ruth Mannschreck
Links & Resources
Final Thought
- This episode is your invitation to get real about your finances. When you understand your money, you can manage it with purpose — and that’s the ultimate power move.
Mentioned in this episode:
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(01:56):
Hello, and welcome back toanother episode of Getting Real with
Bossy, the podcast that showsyou what it's actually like to be
a business owner.
We are your hosts, Kelly Bushand Kelly Metras, and we are so happy
to be here and wrap up the season.
The summer of money.
(02:16):
The summer of Money.
I really hope people took theopportunity to learn all of these
free things.
But anyways, how are you today?
I'm tired.
Yes.
But I'm good.
I'm good.
It was a late night.
It was a late night at work,but I'm excited to be here.
(02:37):
How are you?
I'm fantastic.
So I got to see you in personlast night.
It was so nice.
I know.
That was so nice to see youand all the kids and Aaron.
It was wonderful.
Yeah.
I wasn't sure if he was gonnamake it, but he did.
That was great.
So, yeah, anytime I get to seeyou in person, it's a good time.
I agree.
I know.
And we're like 10 minutes fromeach other.
It's really.
And I literally saw you for,like, 30 seconds.
(02:58):
It was good.
I think I saw your kids morethan I saw you.
Oh, right.
I'll take it.
So last night I got home and I saw.
And I'm gonna share it becauseI think it's relevant, this reel.
And this woman was like, howdid she put it?
If the Nutcracker has beencast, it's too late.
(03:20):
And I was like, oh, I gottawatch this.
Like, what?
What is she talking about?
She's like, if you see thoseballerinas are lacing up their shoes
and going to rehearsal, theyear is over.
You are 13 weeks away.
It's over.
You need to make sure yourbudget is in place.
You need to make sure yourholiday planning is in.
If you don't do it now, it istoo late.
And I was like, oh, my God, Igotta bring this to tomorrow when
(03:42):
I talk to Kelly, because it'sso relevant and it's actually funny.
The Nutcracker has been cast.
It's extra funny because mybaby's in the nutcracker this year.
We were all laughing.
I'm like, oh, shit.
The Nutcracker hasindefinitely been cast.
We are definitely rehearsing.
Oh, we're so behind.
Get.
Get your shit in gear and makesure you're ending your budget.
(04:04):
You're cash flow projectionsof how the holiday season is going
to hit your business, whetherthat's good or bad, how your employees,
if you have them, are going tobe taking their pto, which is always
a nice hit.
When it's slow and theneverybody takes their PTO for the
holidays, you're like, yay.
Yeah, you got.
You got to know your.
Know your stuff and make sureit's in place.
Because for those of you thatit's not birthday season.
(04:28):
It is holiday season.
It is starting.
Yeah, it sneaks up.
Somebody just emailed me aboutThanksgiving week.
I'm like, what are you like,why are you even sending me this
message?
I'm like, oh, cuz it's.
It's next month.
No joke.
It's not October yet.
In my head.
Yeah, I need to get my altar up.
We do it October 1st every year.
I keep forgetting it's October.
(04:49):
Mm.
It's just too nice out.
I don't know, I just don'twant it to be October.
I don't know.
Yeah, but we're here.
We're here and you got.
I don't even know how many weeks.
I didn't double check her math.
But make sure you've got yourstuff in place for the holidays.
That's the.
The note to start the show.
Yeah.
There was actually anotherwoman I sent you the reel for, Tabitha.
(05:11):
She's an influencer and authorand podcaster and all kinds of stuff.
And she a little bit blew upthe Internet, pissing people off
about how you might just needto get a job.
Yeah, people don't like that.
Real talk.
I was like, I just got a job,so I totally understand watching
(05:33):
people get very upset.
And I don't think theyunderstood the importance of what
she said because you can't puteverything on the line and then just
ignore the fact that you'vegot stuff to take care of.
Well, and there's ebbs andflows of that too.
(05:54):
And I think that, like I said,people don't want to hear that.
They don't want to hear that.
Sometimes it's hard andsometimes it's difficult.
And like I think I said, everyonce in a while this reel pops up
from you and I.
We were recording in yourdining room and it's you and I talking
about, like, sometimes I feellike people think of business owners
(06:16):
like kids think of teachers.
Like when they see you out in.
Kids see teachers out inWegmans, they're like, you shop,
you.
You leave school, you don'tlive there.
And they, they don't thinkthat we have real lives and we have
real struggles and.
And sometimes, yeah, you justgot to get a job.
These bills have to be paid.
If that's what you need to doto make sure that you don't go under,
(06:38):
that's what you need to do.
Because if it doesn't mean thebusiness isn't going to work, but
if it's not working in themoment, you still got to figure out
life, it's not going tomagically change, so.
Exactly.
For those of you that areupset that we agree with Ms. Tabitha,
I'm sorry, but I literallyhave three part time jobs.
(06:58):
So let's be real.
I'm doing whatever I can tomake sure my bills can get paid while
I'm bringing back my business.
You know, it's working.
You know, businesses, youknow, we're, we're, we're managing
and we're, we're doing thethings, but I still have to pay the
bills and I'm not in a placeto be able to pay myself.
(07:19):
So it's, what can I do on the side?
So everybody talks about theirsmall business being their side gig
for me.
I have my business and then Ihave all these side gigs.
How can I make some extra money?
How can I buy groceries, howcan I pay the mortgage?
You know, so for me it's allmy side gigs and then my business
is the main thing.
So yeah, it's been busy.
But do what you gotta do.
(07:40):
Exactly.
So if you need any marketingor social media or swag, feel free
to reach out to Kelly andKelly, because we can do all that
stuff for you.
Yeah, those are our side gigsand we were happy to, happy to help
out because that's what we doto pay our bills.
So many side gigs.
Yeah.
Kelly saw my little sweatshoplast night where I make a bunch of
(08:01):
swag and products for otherbusinesses so they don't have to
go to I don't know what is itfor Imprint or all those other online
companies.
You can come to me and I'llmake all your stuff for you.
So you have everything.
I do.
I love it.
All right, so let's get real.
Let's talk about.
Let's get real.
(08:21):
Like we didn't just get real.
Let's get real about what wetalked about.
How many episodes did we do?
7.
So this is the eighth episode.
So this is the final episode.
Eighth episode.
So much information.
I mean, honestly, all of our episodes.
I'm sorry, I'm biased, right.
Share so much information, but specific.
(08:41):
And we talk about money a lotin a lot of episodes.
But having this specific, youknow, purposeful series of breaking
it down in various ways fromdifferent points of view.
Women doing all kinds ofdifferent things that have to do
with financing.
Right.
And your business.
And that's what makes usdifferent and that's what makes us
Nominated for the Best ofRochester podcast.
(09:04):
I forgot.
Get online and vote.
Yes.
City Magazine, Best of Rochester.
We're nominated for the best podcast.
Yes.
Yes, yes.
I'm dancing.
If you can't see me, I am as well.
Dancing.
Singing.
So while we're dancing andsinging, let's talk about some stats.
I know that we've talked abouta lot of them before.
There's more stats embedded inall the episodes, but women owned
(09:27):
businesses make up 40% ofbusinesses in America.
So we get 40% of that funding,right, Kelly?
No, we don't.
What?
That's unreal.
Ask for less money.
Of course it's because we're bootstrappers.
We're more likely to self fundwhich actually talking about getting
a job.
(09:48):
That's why you might need toget a job.
If you're self funding yourbusiness, it even more is on the
line.
You may have taken out a lineof credit, you may have taken out,
you know, a credit card andit's all in your name.
Like that's affecting yourpersonal credit.
Self funding can be very scary.
And I know that in a personalnote because I have self funded all
(10:09):
of my businesses and it's very scary.
That 40% we're getting.
Women are getting 3% of thatventure capital funding.
3%.
So women or men are getting.
So 60% of businesses aregetting 97.
It's kind of like the economyright now.
So 60% of businesses areGetting 97% of venture capital.
(10:30):
And venture capital isdifferent, but we're also less likely
to get loans from banks.
We're more likely to gethigher interest rates and shorter
terms.
Yeah, no, it's insane.
And lower.
Yeah, we're better.
So women owned businesses aregrowing at a faster rate.
1 1/2 times faster.
(10:51):
Yes.
So go women.
Now let's, let's catch up.
Banks.
Yeah, yeah.
They're giving us less moneyand a harder time when we go in.
Which means that you, it'sreally, you got to focus on those
relationships.
We're going to talk about thata little bit later.
Yes, I think relationships arereally important and I think, and
(11:11):
I know from experience thedifference of, you know, been doing
this for a while and I'vewalked into banks in various levels
of my confidence.
And when you walk in and youjust kind of let them take the lead
and you don't push back andyou don't know, it's very different
when you walk in with a veryspecific ask and you know why and
you know how and you know whatyou deserve.
(11:33):
They're going to respond to you.
They're usually men, andthey're going to respond to you very
differently.
So another reason to know your numbers.
All right, so we started withLori Kibbe.
Mm.
So Lori was talking aboutbuilding legacies.
We talked about the transferof funds that's happening through
(11:56):
baby boomers starting to die off.
Sorry, baby boomers, but it iswhat it is.
Yeah.
Lori shared candid insights onhow women can redefine their financial
confidence from real estateinvesting to personal finance strategy.
She emphasized the power ofmentorship, risk taking, aligning
money decisions with life purpose.
(12:17):
She was.
She was the first one that weinterviewed there.
That was a great episode.
And really, it comes down tofinancial literacy equals freedom.
Whether it's a good financialor a good money thing that happens
to you or a bad money thingthat happens to you.
I could probably use betterwords right now.
But if you are comfortablewith your needs and what you know
(12:42):
is coming and what you knowyou need, whether that's good or
bad, what happens next, you'regoing to be able to respond appropriately.
So whether that is you get achunk of money from, you know, relatives
that pass on or, you know,there's some kind of crisis in your
business and you need to react.
You really need that freedomthat comes from knowing your stuff.
(13:06):
Right.
So financial literacy equals freedom.
Thank you, Lori.
Then we moved on to Abby F. Large.
Abby fucking large.
Ah, she was great.
It was great.
And that's how she refers toherself so.
Well, they should know alreadybecause obviously they listened.
Exactly.
(13:26):
Abby broke down how women canbuild wealth and agency through informed
financial choices.
She highlighted the importanceof early financial education and
encouraged listeners to owntheir seat at the financial table.
And we touched on.
Women are already thefinancial decision makers in most
households, whether they knowit or not.
You may not have the controlof the finances, but you're making
(13:49):
all the decisions.
Right.
And we don't realize it, andwe don't because we're just not talked
to like that.
As young as young girls andyoung women, that's not how we're
educated.
That's usually not how ourparents brought us up to see ourselves
in that role, but we take iton naturally, and we just don't deserve
it.
Right.
(14:10):
So we're making all of thesedecisions, but we're just not.
Not acknowledging it.
Yeah.
So I think that it's veryimportant to make sure you're not
sidelined and So I think thatAbby taught us that financial literacy
equals confidence.
We are already doing it, soown it.
Make sure you're at the table.
(14:31):
Yeah.
I think one thing to take fromthat, like, really sit down, take
10 minutes, think about allthe things you do in your day, not
even in your business, day today things that you take charge of.
And when it comes to finances,write it down.
You would be surprised.
You are.
You are the money maker.
You are the.
Or the money decision maker,most likely in your.
In your life.
(14:54):
And then it was us.
Us.
The Importance of Moneyconversations in business.
A frank conversation aboutmoney shame and avoidance.
In entrepreneurship, wetackled why transparency about pricing,
profits, and payroll canstrengthen, not threaten your business.
Know your numbers.
Know your numbers.
(15:14):
Really?
That.
It is the backdrop of all ofthese conversations.
If you're not at the table,you can't know your numbers.
No.
So, yeah.
Financial literacy equals power.
It equals control, and youshould have it.
It's yours.
Mm.
You can't be scared of what'sin your books.
(15:34):
You can't be scared of thefinances in your business.
And when it's hard, is thetime you really have to dive in.
Yeah.
And it's.
It's very important to knowwhy you're spending the money you're
spending and where you'respending it.
And if you're doing it blind,you're missing a ton of opportunities.
And for small businesses,that's your payroll.
(15:56):
That's you.
Like your.
Your pay is getting wasted.
So every dime that you'repaying out that you shouldn't be
or you're doing because you're.
You're doing guesswork and youdon't see a return on investment,
you're not looking.
That's money you could bepaying yourself.
You could take yourself on avacation, you could pay your mortgage,
you could feed your kids.
Whatever it is that you needto do, those are dollars that are
(16:18):
yours.
Right.
So leaving things in youraccountant's hands.
I mean, I think we.
We gave some amazing.
If there's.
If you have not listened toany of these seven episodes, and
you should, shame on you.
Listen to this one, becausethere are some tips that we give
that are going to save you money.
And you think leaving thingsin your accountant hand in your accountant's
(16:39):
hands is one of the mosthorriblest things you can do.
We're dangerous.
It's very dangerous becausethere are so many things that they
just don't know that you couldbe changing the things you can be
saving money on, things thatyou can just be Auto paying that
you're not realizing thingsthat, you know, small things that
you're paying that aren'treally affecting your day to day
(17:02):
that add up.
If you could be cutting theseout and.
And you just don't.
They go unnoticed.
Take that is dangerous control.
Then we talked to Scarlet Stantrop.
Yeah, that bitch.
I love her.
Ditch the scarcity mindset.
Oh my gosh, she was great.
(17:22):
With Scarlet, we exploredmoney through a spiritual and emotional
lens, encouraging businessowners to heal money wounds and detach
from scarcity thinking andbuild a business that feels abundant
and aligned.
She made me feel good.
Yes.
I mean, talking about moneyjust makes me scared.
I mean, just anxious in general.
And she was just like, ooh,the healing, like deep breath that
(17:44):
I needed.
Yes.
And I go back to her episode a lot.
It's very healing to be awareof why you feel the way you do about
money.
To really break down.
It's therapeutic to releasethat at least just a tiny bit.
Even just a tiny bit ofrelease of this is why you feel this
(18:05):
way.
This is how you were raised.
It's not necessarily yourparents fault.
They did the best they couldwith what they had.
Absolutely.
But you now are in charge of abusiness and you need to be comfortable
talking about money andknowing your numbers and breaking
down the inner workings of whyis really important.
So financial literacy equalsself awareness.
(18:26):
Absolutely.
With Scarlett, that was agreat episode.
That's right.
And then on the flip side, andJulie, we talked to Julie Laughlin
Harris.
Yeah.
Julie discussed balancingfamily values with financial realities,
how to set boundaries, preparefor unexpected challenges, and keep
(18:48):
love and leadership intactwith when life throws curve balls.
And man, this woman has hadcurve balls and we didn't.
I mean, this episode wasreally about her business and what.
And finance.
But man, we have to bring herback in so you can really hear her
full story because you willlearn so much more.
Yes.
She has learned so much.
(19:08):
And I'm so happy she's willingto share it with the women she works
with.
And we talked about, like wealready mentioned in this episode,
when you know your numbers,you can react to the negative things
as well as the positive things.
So when you get pulled out ofyour business because you have to
take care of personal issues,you need to know what and how you're
(19:29):
gonna survive that business orthat business is gonna survive without
you there.
Things are gonna happen.
Whether it's you or yourbusiness partner.
Life happens and it neverhappens at a convenient time.
And many of us are in that sandwich.
Generation entrepreneur womenEntrepreneurs generally be.
I think the average was 40ish.
(19:51):
I don't have the stat in frontof me, which means that we're raising
kids and our family or ourparents are aging.
So our parents need us moreand our kids need us more.
So it's fucking exhausting.
I love you kids and parents ifyou're listening.
But it's never.
It's a lot of pressure.
Mm.
And you're running a businesson top of it.
So you really need to beprepared so you don't have to worry
(20:16):
about it.
You know your numbers.
And we also talked a littlebit about financial abuse.
And it's very common.
And a lot of small businessowners that are starting out that
are women are using, you know,their self funding, which means they're
using their family's money,which means their spouse may be in
control of the financial inputfor their business.
(20:38):
And really being able to beopen with your spouse and make sure
that you can move forward andthat they're not completely in control.
Right.
Being aware of what that lookslike, having those conversations
before you go into businessand knowing what abuse looks like
and knowing where to get helpfor if you need that help.
(21:03):
And then we went to Crystal,Crystal Wallace.
Crystal demystified thefunding process, outlining how to
organize a funding folder,prepare for grants, and choose the
right kind of capital for your goals.
Definitely a good listen foranybody who's trying to scale sustainably.
Cash flow.
Cash flow, Cash flow.
(21:23):
If you don't know yournumbers, you don't know your cash
flow.
No.
So you won't do anythingwithout cash flow.
So financial literacy equals resources.
You need to know what you needand when.
Yep.
Profits.
And you know those, those,those look great on paper, but your
(21:43):
cash flow is what pays bills.
Yeah.
And sometimes that means thatyou're gonna have debt.
And debt is okay.
Absolutely.
There's nothing wrong with debt.
You do not have to be debtfree to be a successful business
owner.
And I think there are plentyof people in very high up positions
that you can look at and know.
Everyone knows that they havelike billions of dollars in debt
(22:06):
and are considered some of themost successful business owners in
the world.
So debt is not a negative aslong as you're doing it appropriately
and you have control over it.
And how do you have controlover your debt?
You know your numbers.
You know your numbers.
Yes.
Ah.
And then Dr. Ruth.
(22:29):
Dr. Ruth.
Ruth Manchuk.
She was amazing.
I wish we had talked to her 15years ago.
No matter where you are inyour business, are you ready to Sell.
Yeah.
Yeah.
She outlined how to plan yourexit years before you're ready to
sell.
Her message is, think like a buyer.
Build transferable value, andremember that a strong business runs
(22:52):
without you.
Yes.
So many tips and tricks.
I took so many notes on thingsI need to clear up and organize so
that when the time comes, weare prepared.
Because if you do want to sellor need to sell, you don't want to
be doing it in that scarcity mindset.
You want to have it readymeans you want.
(23:12):
Your books need to be clean,know your numbers, but you need to.
You need to be organized aheadof time, because that is stuff that
will take you months to clean up.
So if you start from thebeginning and just have it ready
and just have that mindset.
And we also talk about thebest time to sell your business is
when it's the most successful,which is not when we want to.
(23:35):
Right.
So that's.
That was another shocker.
I mean, it makes sense, butyou're like, why would I want to
sell my business now?
Right.
And we talk about exitstrategy, and, you know, I think,
Kelly, you talk about it a lotwith your business plans.
You know, we write that in,and it's just something you write
in because you're supposed tohave it in there.
But really think about whatthat looks like and why you have
(23:55):
it in there.
And you know what?
Maybe it might be time to sell.
Maybe it might be time to lookinto something else.
Yeah.
So financial literacy equals security.
So if you are ready to sell atany given point in time, whether
you're mentally want to sellor not, having that security that
(24:17):
you're in a good place andthat, you know, you have.
You know, we always talk aboutyou can't quit your job as a small
business owner.
That is a way, you know, sothe security of having everything
lined up.
Right.
It was a good seven episodes.
Well, on this one, too.
So it was good eight episodes.
(24:38):
Good eight episodes.
So if you missed any of them,just clear out and go back.
Make sure you subscribe so youdon't miss them in the future.
We have some more amazingwomen already lined up.
I can't wait.
We have so many cool things to share.
Absolutely.
(25:01):
But most importantly, knowyour numbers.
If you don't know yournumbers, you are running your business
blind.
Your budget means nothing.
Your marketing has no aim.
Your decisions are justeducated guesses.
There's always some gamble inbusiness, but confidence comes from
clarity.
Know your numbers.
Because knowledge is power.
(25:23):
Can you tell?
We grew up in the 80s, butyes, every time we say that, I have
the little, like, star.
Words are knowledge.
Knowledge is power.
Knowledge is power.
They're like little, likeAfter School Special.
I don't know.
Yep.
You guys can't see us onscreen, but I'm trying to describe
it with my hands.
But yes, knowledge is power,and we can't push it more.
(25:43):
How important it is to knowyour numbers.
And if you need help withthat, let us know.
We will help you out with your books.
We'll help you dig in and divein and clean up those QuickBooks.
We're not scared.
We've helped many other.
Many of our bossy members.
We've sat down with them.
We're happy to do that withyou guys, too.
(26:04):
Just give us a call.
We'll make that another sidekick.
And honestly, doing that workis so important because that's how
you catch waste.
That's how you catch change.
That's how you catch theft.
That's how you catch.
Or not even catch, but that'show you check your roi.
You know, this is the moneyI'm putting in.
What am I getting back?
(26:25):
Is this working?
Having other people look at myQuickBooks and Things has been help.
Like, it's scary at first, buthaving to kind of justify why I spend
stuff, it's like, okay, thisis making me uncomfortable, having
to talk about it.
Maybe it's something I need tothink about.
And having other people's eyeslook at stuff is stuff.
I didn't.
Oh, right.
Oh, crap.
You do it differently.
You don't pay that you can dothis differently.
(26:47):
I didn't know that.
Oh, there's a company thatdoes that.
I've been paying this.
I had no idea.
So it's really, really, really helpful.
So I encourage you guys to do that.
You don't have to look to us,but if you have a trusted business
friend, please do that.
It's a really helpful tool.
And I think another commonthread, probably in all of our episodes,
but specifically since we'retalking about this chunk, is to have
(27:11):
mentors, to have a group, tohave people.
You can be honest and askquestions so that you can learn.
Because we can't walk in andbe confident if we don't know things.
So when people, you know, useacronyms or words that you're like,
what does that even mean?
Have the power to a.
You can just look it up.
Right.
(27:31):
We have the power to do that,but also to have a group that you're
comfortable with or have aperson that you're comfortable with
to ask those questions.
It's so important.
Find your people.
Find your people.
Knowledge is power.
Find your people.
Right.
So follow us.
Rochester.
Email us if you want to talk,if you want to be on the show, if
(27:53):
you have questions, if youhave topics you think we should cover
that we've missed.
Bossy Rock B O S S Y r o cmail.com Go and check out our website,
RossyRock.com and make sureyou subscribe to this podcast because
you are missing out on so muchfree information that these women
(28:14):
are willing to share with youso that you can be more successful.
Absolutely.
And if you would like tosponsor, you are welcome to do that.
We are always looking forsponsors for this podcast.
The great thing aboutsponsoring a podcast like this, if
you're a business owner, ifyou are a business to business situation,
it's so targeted, most of ourlisteners, whether they're male or
(28:36):
female, are small business owners.
So you're not filteringthrough the masses.
You're getting a very targeted listener.
Absolutely.
So be bold, be brave, be the.
Boss, be the boss.
Hello, and welcome back toanother episode of Getting Real with
Bossy, the podcast that showsyou what it's actually like to be
a business owner.
We are your hosts, Kelly Bushand Kelly Metras, and we are so happy
to be here and wrap up the season.
The summer of money.
(02:16):
The summer of Money.
I really hope people took theopportunity to learn all of these
free things.
But anyways, how are you today?
I'm tired.
Yes.
But I'm good.
I'm good.
It was a late night.
It was a late night at work,but I'm excited to be here.
(02:37):
How are you?
I'm fantastic.
So I got to see you in personlast night.
It was so nice.
I know.
That was so nice to see youand all the kids and Aaron.
It was wonderful.
Yeah.
I wasn't sure if he was gonnamake it, but he did.
That was great.
So, yeah, anytime I get to seeyou in person, it's a good time.
I agree.
I know.
And we're like 10 minutes fromeach other.
It's really.
And I literally saw you for,like, 30 seconds.
(02:58):
It was good.
I think I saw your kids morethan I saw you.
Oh, right.
I'll take it.
So last night I got home and I saw.
And I'm gonna share it becauseI think it's relevant, this reel.
And this woman was like, howdid she put it?
If the Nutcracker has beencast, it's too late.
(03:20):
And I was like, oh, I gottawatch this.
Like, what?
What is she talking about?
She's like, if you see thoseballerinas are lacing up their shoes
and going to rehearsal, theyear is over.
You are 13 weeks away.
It's over.
You need to make sure yourbudget is in place.
You need to make sure yourholiday planning is in.
If you don't do it now, it istoo late.
And I was like, oh, my God, Igotta bring this to tomorrow when
(03:42):
I talk to Kelly, because it'sso relevant and it's actually funny.
The Nutcracker has been cast.
It's extra funny because mybaby's in the nutcracker this year.
We were all laughing.
I'm like, oh, shit.
The Nutcracker hasindefinitely been cast.
We are definitely rehearsing.
Oh, we're so behind.
Get.
Get your shit in gear and makesure you're ending your budget.
(04:04):
You're cash flow projectionsof how the holiday season is going
to hit your business, whetherthat's good or bad, how your employees,
if you have them, are going tobe taking their pto, which is always
a nice hit.
When it's slow and theneverybody takes their PTO for the
holidays, you're like, yay.
Yeah, you got.
You got to know your.
Know your stuff and make sureit's in place.
Because for those of you thatit's not birthday season.
(04:28):
It is holiday season.
It is starting.
Yeah, it sneaks up.
Somebody just emailed me aboutThanksgiving week.
I'm like, what are you like,why are you even sending me this
message?
I'm like, oh, cuz it's.
It's next month.
No joke.
It's not October yet.
In my head.
Yeah, I need to get my altar up.
We do it October 1st every year.
I keep forgetting it's October.
(04:49):
Mm.
It's just too nice out.
I don't know, I just don'twant it to be October.
I don't know.
Yeah, but we're here.
We're here and you got.
I don't even know how many weeks.
I didn't double check her math.
But make sure you've got yourstuff in place for the holidays.
That's the.
The note to start the show.
Yeah.
There was actually anotherwoman I sent you the reel for, Tabitha.
(05:11):
She's an influencer and authorand podcaster and all kinds of stuff.
And she a little bit blew upthe Internet, pissing people off
about how you might just needto get a job.
Yeah, people don't like that.
Real talk.
I was like, I just got a job,so I totally understand watching
(05:33):
people get very upset.
And I don't think theyunderstood the importance of what
she said because you can't puteverything on the line and then just
ignore the fact that you'vegot stuff to take care of.
Well, and there's ebbs andflows of that too.
(05:54):
And I think that, like I said,people don't want to hear that.
They don't want to hear that.
Sometimes it's hard andsometimes it's difficult.
And like I think I said, everyonce in a while this reel pops up
from you and I.
We were recording in yourdining room and it's you and I talking
about, like, sometimes I feellike people think of business owners
(06:16):
like kids think of teachers.
Like when they see you out in.
Kids see teachers out inWegmans, they're like, you shop,
you.
You leave school, you don'tlive there.
And they, they don't thinkthat we have real lives and we have
real struggles and.
And sometimes, yeah, you justgot to get a job.
These bills have to be paid.
If that's what you need to doto make sure that you don't go under,
(06:38):
that's what you need to do.
Because if it doesn't mean thebusiness isn't going to work, but
if it's not working in themoment, you still got to figure out
life, it's not going tomagically change, so.
Exactly.
For those of you that areupset that we agree with Ms. Tabitha,
I'm sorry, but I literallyhave three part time jobs.
(06:58):
So let's be real.
I'm doing whatever I can tomake sure my bills can get paid while
I'm bringing back my business.
You know, it's working.
You know, businesses, youknow, we're, we're, we're managing
and we're, we're doing thethings, but I still have to pay the
bills and I'm not in a placeto be able to pay myself.
(07:19):
So it's, what can I do on the side?
So everybody talks about theirsmall business being their side gig
for me.
I have my business and then Ihave all these side gigs.
How can I make some extra money?
How can I buy groceries, howcan I pay the mortgage?
You know, so for me it's allmy side gigs and then my business
is the main thing.
So yeah, it's been busy.
But do what you gotta do.
(07:40):
Exactly.
So if you need any marketingor social media or swag, feel free
to reach out to Kelly andKelly, because we can do all that
stuff for you.
Yeah, those are our side gigsand we were happy to, happy to help
out because that's what we doto pay our bills.
So many side gigs.
Yeah.
Kelly saw my little sweatshoplast night where I make a bunch of
(08:01):
swag and products for otherbusinesses so they don't have to
go to I don't know what is itfor Imprint or all those other online
companies.
You can come to me and I'llmake all your stuff for you.
So you have everything.
I do.
I love it.
All right, so let's get real.
Let's talk about.
Let's get real.
(08:21):
Like we didn't just get real.
Let's get real about what wetalked about.
How many episodes did we do?
7.
So this is the eighth episode.
So this is the final episode.
Eighth episode.
So much information.
I mean, honestly, all of our episodes.
I'm sorry, I'm biased, right.
Share so much information, but specific.
(08:41):
And we talk about money a lotin a lot of episodes.
But having this specific, youknow, purposeful series of breaking
it down in various ways fromdifferent points of view.
Women doing all kinds ofdifferent things that have to do
with financing.
Right.
And your business.
And that's what makes usdifferent and that's what makes us
Nominated for the Best ofRochester podcast.
(09:04):
I forgot.
Get online and vote.
Yes.
City Magazine, Best of Rochester.
We're nominated for the best podcast.
Yes.
Yes, yes.
I'm dancing.
If you can't see me, I am as well.
Dancing.
Singing.
So while we're dancing andsinging, let's talk about some stats.
I know that we've talked abouta lot of them before.
There's more stats embedded inall the episodes, but women owned
(09:27):
businesses make up 40% ofbusinesses in America.
So we get 40% of that funding,right, Kelly?
No, we don't.
What?
That's unreal.
Ask for less money.
Of course it's because we're bootstrappers.
We're more likely to self fundwhich actually talking about getting
a job.
(09:48):
That's why you might need toget a job.
If you're self funding yourbusiness, it even more is on the
line.
You may have taken out a lineof credit, you may have taken out,
you know, a credit card andit's all in your name.
Like that's affecting yourpersonal credit.
Self funding can be very scary.
And I know that in a personalnote because I have self funded all
(10:09):
of my businesses and it's very scary.
That 40% we're getting.
Women are getting 3% of thatventure capital funding.
3%.
So women or men are getting.
So 60% of businesses aregetting 97.
It's kind of like the economyright now.
So 60% of businesses areGetting 97% of venture capital.
(10:30):
And venture capital isdifferent, but we're also less likely
to get loans from banks.
We're more likely to gethigher interest rates and shorter
terms.
Yeah, no, it's insane.
And lower.
Yeah, we're better.
So women owned businesses aregrowing at a faster rate.
1 1/2 times faster.
(10:51):
Yes.
So go women.
Now let's, let's catch up.
Banks.
Yeah, yeah.
They're giving us less moneyand a harder time when we go in.
Which means that you, it'sreally, you got to focus on those
relationships.
We're going to talk about thata little bit later.
Yes, I think relationships arereally important and I think, and
(11:11):
I know from experience thedifference of, you know, been doing
this for a while and I'vewalked into banks in various levels
of my confidence.
And when you walk in and youjust kind of let them take the lead
and you don't push back andyou don't know, it's very different
when you walk in with a veryspecific ask and you know why and
you know how and you know whatyou deserve.
(11:33):
They're going to respond to you.
They're usually men, andthey're going to respond to you very
differently.
So another reason to know your numbers.
All right, so we started withLori Kibbe.
Mm.
So Lori was talking aboutbuilding legacies.
We talked about the transferof funds that's happening through
(11:56):
baby boomers starting to die off.
Sorry, baby boomers, but it iswhat it is.
Yeah.
Lori shared candid insights onhow women can redefine their financial
confidence from real estateinvesting to personal finance strategy.
She emphasized the power ofmentorship, risk taking, aligning
money decisions with life purpose.
(12:17):
She was.
She was the first one that weinterviewed there.
That was a great episode.
And really, it comes down tofinancial literacy equals freedom.
Whether it's a good financialor a good money thing that happens
to you or a bad money thingthat happens to you.
I could probably use betterwords right now.
But if you are comfortablewith your needs and what you know
(12:42):
is coming and what you knowyou need, whether that's good or
bad, what happens next, you'regoing to be able to respond appropriately.
So whether that is you get achunk of money from, you know, relatives
that pass on or, you know,there's some kind of crisis in your
business and you need to react.
You really need that freedomthat comes from knowing your stuff.
(13:06):
Right.
So financial literacy equals freedom.
Thank you, Lori.
Then we moved on to Abby F. Large.
Abby fucking large.
Ah, she was great.
It was great.
And that's how she refers toherself so.
Well, they should know alreadybecause obviously they listened.
Exactly.
(13:26):
Abby broke down how women canbuild wealth and agency through informed
financial choices.
She highlighted the importanceof early financial education and
encouraged listeners to owntheir seat at the financial table.
And we touched on.
Women are already thefinancial decision makers in most
households, whether they knowit or not.
You may not have the controlof the finances, but you're making
(13:49):
all the decisions.
Right.
And we don't realize it, andwe don't because we're just not talked
to like that.
As young as young girls andyoung women, that's not how we're
educated.
That's usually not how ourparents brought us up to see ourselves
in that role, but we take iton naturally, and we just don't deserve
it.
Right.
(14:10):
So we're making all of thesedecisions, but we're just not.
Not acknowledging it.
Yeah.
So I think that it's veryimportant to make sure you're not
sidelined and So I think thatAbby taught us that financial literacy
equals confidence.
We are already doing it, soown it.
Make sure you're at the table.
(14:31):
Yeah.
I think one thing to take fromthat, like, really sit down, take
10 minutes, think about allthe things you do in your day, not
even in your business, day today things that you take charge of.
And when it comes to finances,write it down.
You would be surprised.
You are.
You are the money maker.
You are the.
Or the money decision maker,most likely in your.
In your life.
(14:54):
And then it was us.
Us.
The Importance of Moneyconversations in business.
A frank conversation aboutmoney shame and avoidance.
In entrepreneurship, wetackled why transparency about pricing,
profits, and payroll canstrengthen, not threaten your business.
Know your numbers.
Know your numbers.
(15:14):
Really?
That.
It is the backdrop of all ofthese conversations.
If you're not at the table,you can't know your numbers.
No.
So, yeah.
Financial literacy equals power.
It equals control, and youshould have it.
It's yours.
Mm.
You can't be scared of what'sin your books.
(15:34):
You can't be scared of thefinances in your business.
And when it's hard, is thetime you really have to dive in.
Yeah.
And it's.
It's very important to knowwhy you're spending the money you're
spending and where you'respending it.
And if you're doing it blind,you're missing a ton of opportunities.
And for small businesses,that's your payroll.
(15:56):
That's you.
Like your.
Your pay is getting wasted.
So every dime that you'repaying out that you shouldn't be
or you're doing because you're.
You're doing guesswork and youdon't see a return on investment,
you're not looking.
That's money you could bepaying yourself.
You could take yourself on avacation, you could pay your mortgage,
you could feed your kids.
Whatever it is that you needto do, those are dollars that are
(16:18):
yours.
Right.
So leaving things in youraccountant's hands.
I mean, I think we.
We gave some amazing.
If there's.
If you have not listened toany of these seven episodes, and
you should, shame on you.
Listen to this one, becausethere are some tips that we give
that are going to save you money.
And you think leaving thingsin your accountant hand in your accountant's
(16:39):
hands is one of the mosthorriblest things you can do.
We're dangerous.
It's very dangerous becausethere are so many things that they
just don't know that you couldbe changing the things you can be
saving money on, things thatyou can just be Auto paying that
you're not realizing thingsthat, you know, small things that
you're paying that aren'treally affecting your day to day
(17:02):
that add up.
If you could be cutting theseout and.
And you just don't.
They go unnoticed.
Take that is dangerous control.
Then we talked to Scarlet Stantrop.
Yeah, that bitch.
I love her.
Ditch the scarcity mindset.
Oh my gosh, she was great.
(17:22):
With Scarlet, we exploredmoney through a spiritual and emotional
lens, encouraging businessowners to heal money wounds and detach
from scarcity thinking andbuild a business that feels abundant
and aligned.
She made me feel good.
Yes.
I mean, talking about moneyjust makes me scared.
I mean, just anxious in general.
And she was just like, ooh,the healing, like deep breath that
(17:44):
I needed.
Yes.
And I go back to her episode a lot.
It's very healing to be awareof why you feel the way you do about
money.
To really break down.
It's therapeutic to releasethat at least just a tiny bit.
Even just a tiny bit ofrelease of this is why you feel this
(18:05):
way.
This is how you were raised.
It's not necessarily yourparents fault.
They did the best they couldwith what they had.
Absolutely.
But you now are in charge of abusiness and you need to be comfortable
talking about money andknowing your numbers and breaking
down the inner workings of whyis really important.
So financial literacy equalsself awareness.
(18:26):
Absolutely.
With Scarlett, that was agreat episode.
That's right.
And then on the flip side, andJulie, we talked to Julie Laughlin
Harris.
Yeah.
Julie discussed balancingfamily values with financial realities,
how to set boundaries, preparefor unexpected challenges, and keep
(18:48):
love and leadership intactwith when life throws curve balls.
And man, this woman has hadcurve balls and we didn't.
I mean, this episode wasreally about her business and what.
And finance.
But man, we have to bring herback in so you can really hear her
full story because you willlearn so much more.
Yes.
She has learned so much.
(19:08):
And I'm so happy she's willingto share it with the women she works
with.
And we talked about, like wealready mentioned in this episode,
when you know your numbers,you can react to the negative things
as well as the positive things.
So when you get pulled out ofyour business because you have to
take care of personal issues,you need to know what and how you're
(19:29):
gonna survive that business orthat business is gonna survive without
you there.
Things are gonna happen.
Whether it's you or yourbusiness partner.
Life happens and it neverhappens at a convenient time.
And many of us are in that sandwich.
Generation entrepreneur womenEntrepreneurs generally be.
I think the average was 40ish.
(19:51):
I don't have the stat in frontof me, which means that we're raising
kids and our family or ourparents are aging.
So our parents need us moreand our kids need us more.
So it's fucking exhausting.
I love you kids and parents ifyou're listening.
But it's never.
It's a lot of pressure.
Mm.
And you're running a businesson top of it.
So you really need to beprepared so you don't have to worry
(20:16):
about it.
You know your numbers.
And we also talked a littlebit about financial abuse.
And it's very common.
And a lot of small businessowners that are starting out that
are women are using, you know,their self funding, which means they're
using their family's money,which means their spouse may be in
control of the financial inputfor their business.
(20:38):
And really being able to beopen with your spouse and make sure
that you can move forward andthat they're not completely in control.
Right.
Being aware of what that lookslike, having those conversations
before you go into businessand knowing what abuse looks like
and knowing where to get helpfor if you need that help.
(21:03):
And then we went to Crystal,Crystal Wallace.
Crystal demystified thefunding process, outlining how to
organize a funding folder,prepare for grants, and choose the
right kind of capital for your goals.
Definitely a good listen foranybody who's trying to scale sustainably.
Cash flow.
Cash flow, Cash flow.
(21:23):
If you don't know yournumbers, you don't know your cash
flow.
No.
So you won't do anythingwithout cash flow.
So financial literacy equals resources.
You need to know what you needand when.
Yep.
Profits.
And you know those, those,those look great on paper, but your
(21:43):
cash flow is what pays bills.
Yeah.
And sometimes that means thatyou're gonna have debt.
And debt is okay.
Absolutely.
There's nothing wrong with debt.
You do not have to be debtfree to be a successful business
owner.
And I think there are plentyof people in very high up positions
that you can look at and know.
Everyone knows that they havelike billions of dollars in debt
(22:06):
and are considered some of themost successful business owners in
the world.
So debt is not a negative aslong as you're doing it appropriately
and you have control over it.
And how do you have controlover your debt?
You know your numbers.
You know your numbers.
Yes.
Ah.
And then Dr. Ruth.
(22:29):
Dr. Ruth.
Ruth Manchuk.
She was amazing.
I wish we had talked to her 15years ago.
No matter where you are inyour business, are you ready to Sell.
Yeah.
Yeah.
She outlined how to plan yourexit years before you're ready to
sell.
Her message is, think like a buyer.
Build transferable value, andremember that a strong business runs
(22:52):
without you.
Yes.
So many tips and tricks.
I took so many notes on thingsI need to clear up and organize so
that when the time comes, weare prepared.
Because if you do want to sellor need to sell, you don't want to
be doing it in that scarcity mindset.
You want to have it readymeans you want.
(23:12):
Your books need to be clean,know your numbers, but you need to.
You need to be organized aheadof time, because that is stuff that
will take you months to clean up.
So if you start from thebeginning and just have it ready
and just have that mindset.
And we also talk about thebest time to sell your business is
when it's the most successful,which is not when we want to.
(23:35):
Right.
So that's.
That was another shocker.
I mean, it makes sense, butyou're like, why would I want to
sell my business now?
Right.
And we talk about exitstrategy, and, you know, I think,
Kelly, you talk about it a lotwith your business plans.
You know, we write that in,and it's just something you write
in because you're supposed tohave it in there.
But really think about whatthat looks like and why you have
(23:55):
it in there.
And you know what?
Maybe it might be time to sell.
Maybe it might be time to lookinto something else.
Yeah.
So financial literacy equals security.
So if you are ready to sell atany given point in time, whether
you're mentally want to sellor not, having that security that
(24:17):
you're in a good place andthat, you know, you have.
You know, we always talk aboutyou can't quit your job as a small
business owner.
That is a way, you know, sothe security of having everything
lined up.
Right.
It was a good seven episodes.
Well, on this one, too.
So it was good eight episodes.
(24:38):
Good eight episodes.
So if you missed any of them,just clear out and go back.
Make sure you subscribe so youdon't miss them in the future.
We have some more amazingwomen already lined up.
I can't wait.
We have so many cool things to share.
Absolutely.
(25:01):
But most importantly, knowyour numbers.
If you don't know yournumbers, you are running your business
blind.
Your budget means nothing.
Your marketing has no aim.
Your decisions are justeducated guesses.
There's always some gamble inbusiness, but confidence comes from
clarity.
Know your numbers.
Because knowledge is power.
(25:23):
Can you tell?
We grew up in the 80s, butyes, every time we say that, I have
the little, like, star.
Words are knowledge.
Knowledge is power.
Knowledge is power.
They're like little, likeAfter School Special.
I don't know.
Yep.
You guys can't see us onscreen, but I'm trying to describe
it with my hands.
But yes, knowledge is power,and we can't push it more.
(25:43):
How important it is to knowyour numbers.
And if you need help withthat, let us know.
We will help you out with your books.
We'll help you dig in and divein and clean up those QuickBooks.
We're not scared.
We've helped many other.
Many of our bossy members.
We've sat down with them.
We're happy to do that withyou guys, too.
(26:04):
Just give us a call.
We'll make that another sidekick.
And honestly, doing that workis so important because that's how
you catch waste.
That's how you catch change.
That's how you catch theft.
That's how you catch.
Or not even catch, but that'show you check your roi.
You know, this is the moneyI'm putting in.
What am I getting back?
(26:25):
Is this working?
Having other people look at myQuickBooks and Things has been help.
Like, it's scary at first, buthaving to kind of justify why I spend
stuff, it's like, okay, thisis making me uncomfortable, having
to talk about it.
Maybe it's something I need tothink about.
And having other people's eyeslook at stuff is stuff.
I didn't.
Oh, right.
Oh, crap.
You do it differently.
You don't pay that you can dothis differently.
(26:47):
I didn't know that.
Oh, there's a company thatdoes that.
I've been paying this.
I had no idea.
So it's really, really, really helpful.
So I encourage you guys to do that.
You don't have to look to us,but if you have a trusted business
friend, please do that.
It's a really helpful tool.
And I think another commonthread, probably in all of our episodes,
but specifically since we'retalking about this chunk, is to have
(27:11):
mentors, to have a group, tohave people.
You can be honest and askquestions so that you can learn.
Because we can't walk in andbe confident if we don't know things.
So when people, you know, useacronyms or words that you're like,
what does that even mean?
Have the power to a.
You can just look it up.
Right.
(27:31):
We have the power to do that,but also to have a group that you're
comfortable with or have aperson that you're comfortable with
to ask those questions.
It's so important.
Find your people.
Find your people.
Knowledge is power.
Find your people.
Right.
So follow us.
Rochester.
Email us if you want to talk,if you want to be on the show, if
(27:53):
you have questions, if youhave topics you think we should cover
that we've missed.
Bossy Rock B O S S Y r o cmail.com Go and check out our website,
RossyRock.com and make sureyou subscribe to this podcast because
you are missing out on so muchfree information that these women
(28:14):
are willing to share with youso that you can be more successful.
Absolutely.
And if you would like tosponsor, you are welcome to do that.
We are always looking forsponsors for this podcast.
The great thing aboutsponsoring a podcast like this, if
you're a business owner, ifyou are a business to business situation,
it's so targeted, most of ourlisteners, whether they're male or
(28:36):
female, are small business owners.
So you're not filteringthrough the masses.
You're getting a very targeted listener.
Absolutely.
So be bold, be brave, be the.
Boss, be the boss.
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