Quick note: During the summer, we'll only be publishing one blog post per month as we focus on some new activities and allow you some down time without falling behind on content.

Last month I celebrated three years as a small business owner. That’s right, Signify turned three!

It’s been quite the ride! Lots of highs and lots of lows. And lots of lessons learned—many of them the hard way.

In fact, the past year in particular has been a real doozy.

I’ve heard it said that entrepreneurship is a great way to magnify both your strengths and weaknesses as an individual. I’d say that’s pretty accurate.

For me, it’s had a lot to do with money.

The Many Sides of Money

What I’m discovering is that it’s not just about making, managing, or saving money, but the mental game of money (though the other things are super important, too). But in the category of “you don’t know what you don’t know,” I don’t think I understood how I actually interacted with money on all levels, and how that influenced the daily running of Signify.

My emotions, notions, preconceived ideas, and subconscious thinking have all played out in ways that I never imagined.

You see, I’ve always been very clear with my friends, clients, and tribe that I am someone who took a skill I had and monetized it. I wasn't someone that had a head for business and numbers, and decided what to do from there.

Signify has always been a way for me to professionally support the people and causes I already supported personally.

So, in a lot of ways, I’ve been playing catchup with the mental hangups about money that I’ve had all my life. And it’s cost me both literally and figuratively. It’s also made me less confident as a small business owner. In fact, I’ve wondered many times if I’m actually cut out to do this.

The self-doubt, negative self-talk, and anxiety make it hard to serve others. It’s difficult to make an impact when you’re worried about making rent.

To quote Kanye West, “Having money’s not everything, but not having it is.”

The truth is, we need money to keep the doors open, the lights on, and to further our causes. And if you don’t develop a better relationship with money, you’ll never make the kind of progress you’d like.

By the way, that goes for whether you have a bunch of cash in the bank or not. A scarcity mindset can do just as much damage as the lack of ability to mange money. Either way you slice it, that puts your nonprofit, social enterprise, or small business in a bind that can be hard to get out of.

These are the kinds of things I’ve been wrestling with over the past year. And, though I’m still learning, I’m getting better.

Enter Shanna Skidmore

I watched her webinar in January of this year, and just knew I needed to learn from her. Why? She actually made me feel like I could learn the business and finance side of running my business.

That, my friends, is empowering.

Feeling completely unqualified to run a business is no way to run a business at all.

And, like me, many nonprofit and social enterprise founders launched their organizations because they want to make an impact. It’s not that they necessarily want to run a business. Sure, that can also have its perks, but mostly, we just want to do our good work.

However, running a business means asking for money, whether that’s through a sale or a donation. So, it’s important to not only learn to manage the money well, but truly understand its value to your organization and cause. When you can do both of those things, you can more effectively grow and scale.

This is just some of the hard and necessary work I’ve been doing this year.

If this sounds like something you need to work on as well, then join me for Shanna’s last ever masterclass this Thursday, August 8th, at 1:30 p.m. EST.

That’s right, this will be the final time she gives her behind-the-scenes peek at how she built a multi six-figure business. I’ve learned so much from her this year, so I’ll be there, and hope you’ll join me.

We are now in the latter half of 2019. Don’t let another six months or year pass before you start dealing with your own money mindset and business finances. Your cause is too important for that.

A note from Shanna

“It is possible for women to make money doing what they love, create flexible schedules so they can be present mamas and friends, decrease the clutter and chaos that comes with building a business, and trade all that in for a life-enriching business!

For the past 13 years, I’ve been helping business owners understand their finances and build profitable and sustainable businesses. It’s what I do! My journey began as a Fortune 100 Financial Advisor and morphed into starting my own management consulting firm seven years ago.

And for the last time, I’ll be teaching my free masterclass, “How I Built a Six-Figure Business.”

Wondering if I’m the right teacher for you? I am if you’re dealing with problems like:

- Hustle with no results

- Client stress (pricing, always wanting more)

- Talking to customers and donors about money

- Overwhelm!!!!!

- Inability to financially plan well

- The feeling of being poor

- Fear about what to do next

- Living paycheck to paycheck

- Stress (with money and time)

I’m not going to share some complicated MBA program, but instead, what I believe are business fundamentals. Financial principles you don’t have to be a CPA to understand. Marketing concepts you don’t have to have a degree or tech wizard to implement, and success psychology you don’t have to pay a therapist to study.

This is all something you, me, and our entrepreneur friends are all capable of doing—with a roadmap, of course!

Let’s do this!”

Sounds good, right? Please consider joining Shanna for her final (and free) masterclass, “How To Build a Six-Figure Business With Less Than 5,000 Followers,” on August 8th. I’ll be there, too!

Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of great business and financial coaches out there. And it’s important to find the people from you can learn from. However, if you've always struggled with numbers and finances, then I’d encourage you to tune in.

I’ve learned bits and pieces from other gurus in-person and online, but Shanna is one of the only people to break business and financial principles down in a way that actually makes sense to me. And that’s a huge benefit because gaining understanding gives you the confidence that you need to make bigger breakthroughs you business.

Quick Note For Nonprofits

While Shanna’s content is mostly geared for female entrepreneurs of for-profit businesses, nonprofit founders have also found success with Shanna’s methods. In fact, here’s a testimonial from Signify community member and nonprofit founder, Chantel Adams.

"Shanna’s Blueprint Model gave me clarity on not only why I’m doing the work I’m doing, but also how I'm going to move forward to make it successful.
For years, I thought my core motivator was IMPACT, but she helped me discover that my real motivator is CREATIVE EXPRESSION. All that time I wasted trying to prove that the work I did mattered, when the reality is that work that flows from your identity IS the work that truly matters.
I have more energy, ideas, and focus than ever before!”

So, you may have to do some creative thinking with some of her principles in how they relate to your nonprofit, but it can be done. And if you struggle with some of the problems above, I guarantee you’ll still find value in Shanna’s teaching.

Shanna’s a smart cookie, and has helped me in my business tremendously, so I hope you’ll give her a chance. And, really, what have you got to lose?

NOTE: Shanna’s webinar has passed, but you can watch the reply here, or if you’d like to learn from her like I have, check out The Blueprint Model. Registration is open through August 14th. NOW has never been a better time to improve your relationship with money.

Learn More About Shanna's Blueprint Model