[00:00:00] Fiona Johnston
We've made a lot of progress as a society in many of the areas that we needed to in the last few hundred years. But one thing that has not changed enough is money. If we want to be able to tip the scales towards the favor of marginalized people, we need to understand the secrets to making money in small business.
The more we talk about money and the secrets that usually stay at the golf club, the more likely we are to be able to make money. My mission is to get more money into the hands of good people, specifically good business people like you. This is Money Secrets, the place to learn about the money secrets of successful small business owners.
´Because I believe small business can change the world and in order to do that we need to be making lots of money. Let's go.
[00:00:51]
This podcast episode was recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation and I'd like to acknowledge them as the traditional owners and custodians of this land and water that I live, work and play on. I'd like to pay respects to elders both past and present and note that sovereignty has never been ceded.
This always was. and always will be Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land.
[00:01:17]
Hi there, it's Fi Johnston here from Money Secrets the podcast. Now, a little while ago I did something that I've never done before. I created a documentary. I invited eight of my clients to a gorgeous Airbnb in Seddon, Melbourne and I asked them some really spicy questions about money.
We turned that into a mini documentary called Lifting the Curtain. I had so much feedback about that documentary from small business owners, especially female small business owners. I thought that this would be the perfect place to kick off the Money Secrets podcast. In today's episode, you are going to hear from Renee Wallace.
[00:01:59] Renee Wallace
I'm Renee. I'm lead trombone at Birch, which encapsulates Birch Store, which is a pantry, provador, and homewares. Bricks and Mortar, an online store, as well as Cultivate by Bert, which is my brand strategy, creative direction business.
[00:02:14] Fi
We worked together one on one. Actually, it was Renee and her wonderful husband. Uh, we worked together for six months, one on one, working on a business strategy and plan for her business. Renee is now also a member of Good Money Club. She is a very cherished member of Good Money Club. I love having her there. Renee is a multi talented, multi passionate founder. She has owned many businesses. She's so passionate about small business creativity and the hospitality industry. Her perspective on money, creativity, and business is just amazing. I really hope you enjoy this episode with Renee Wallace of Cultivate Assembly, and I'm thrilled you're here.
[00:03:09] Fi
What has helped you to take action in your business?
[00:03:11] Renee
Um, I think the tools that I use most to take action in my business is certainly the people that I work with, collaborate with and follow, stalk, however you want to call it online. I feel that there is a very collaborative energy around all the things that I'm interested in and I really love drawing upon what other people do, try, test, succeed at, fail at. And use that as inspiration for what I do in our businesses. And I think it's kind of also a trigger for me to think differently about what we do and how we do it.
[00:03:37] Fi
How much money did your business make and how much did you pay yourself last year?
[00:03:42] Renee
Oh, the fun. How much money do you make question? Uh, so revenue in the business, we generate a lot of revenue. I think last financial year we generated over 500, 000 and I paid myself nothing. And. I don't think that's a good or a bad thing, but I think it's a catalyst for change.
[00:04:00] Fi
How does it feel to be unclear about how much you're paying yourself?
[00:04:31] Renee
I feel that, oh, how do I say this? I think having had so much experience in so many of my own businesses and working with other people in other businesses.
I really now value what a person does in their own business a lot differently. And I think that has come a lot with age, experience, awareness, I think is a huge one. And I feel that moving forward, it will be a bigger factor. I was very much, I'm always have been a passion driven person. If I get passionate about something, I go wholehearted in. And sometimes I don't think about the consequences of that until you're well down the pathway of achieving what you're achieving. So I feel that moving forward, what I want and what my value is, is very different to what it has been in the past. And I think that's a really great thing and I see it a lot.
Like you have said Fi, I feel that people don't see that, especially female founders. I think it's a very awkward thing for them to identify, but hopefully I've ticked that box, moved on, and yeah, I see some changes.
[00:05:25] Fi
Are you a successful business owner? Um, I think my definition of success is very different.
[00:05:28] Renee
I think if I was a man sitting here, that would be financially driven. But as a woman, I see it as a balanced thing. I think if I can be creative, I can be fueling my passion, my dream, the way that I want to work with people, collaborate with people and make impact on people. I value that more than Money.
Sorry, Fi, but I feel that that has been what I have determined as my success is from that perspective.
[00:05:54] Fi
What has been your biggest money mistake?
[00:05:57] Renee
Not using the right people at the right time? A hundred percent. I think we have known what we've needed and either have been. blindsided or not specific enough with what we wanted from those people. And I feel that we've probably made wrong choices. We've learned from those choices and we've changed those choices. But again, as you go through business, like anything, it evolves. And I think you have to constantly evolve the people that you work with so that you're working with the right people at the right time to help you achieve what you want to achieve. And I think our biggest money mistake is not having that right alignment in those moments.
[00:06:29] Fi
What is the biggest lie that you were told about money?
[00:06:33] Renee
Work harder and you will make more, I think is, I think it's something I grew up around. And certainly going into business, it's like, yes, it's my business. I need to put more effort into it than anybody else does. And I always felt in the back of your head, like I'm working hard. I should be earning more. And especially when you've worked with other people as well, and you're putting your heart and soul into their businesses, like you would your own business. And you don't see that reward. I think that has been the biggest thing I've learnt from that little aspect in life.
[00:07:00] Fi
How much money did you expect to make in the first three years and how much did you make?
[00:07:05] Renee
Um, the expectation for making money when you go into hospitality is not high. You had everyone telling you that you're an idiot for trying. So, I went into it very determined. A bit like a child who is told that You can't do something. I wanted to prove everybody wrong. So, my expectation was much, much higher than what, what the reality of that was.
And we had a few circumstances in life interfere with that. So, I feel that the ability to achieve that expectation was cut short from that aspect of things. But I, I don't subscribe to putting timeframes to making money. I kind of have learned that you need to look, especially this is something that I have learned from Fi.
It's certainly you have to look at what you're doing now and making sure that that is profitable before you say yes or undertake it or implement it or whatever. So I think that relationship has changed. I've taken away time expectations. I've taken away even the monetary expectation and putting more emphasis on the value of what you do.
[00:07:48] Fi
Tell me about how slowing down in your business.
[00:07:53] Renee
Oh my goodness. Um, slowing down the business has, oh now I am going to get emotional. I think it's like anything, when you get caught up in something and you're so invested in something, the minute that that's gone there is a hole that needs to be filled.
And it's not that I feel like we haven't achieved what we wanted to achieve, but I kind of get this sense that we've missed out on a lot. And And that's life. You do miss out on things and you make choices and you have to accept what those choices are. But I think slowing down has really given us a chance to, to work out what we want, how we want it. It'd be really, I guess, targeted and making sure that we're achieving that. All right. Sorry.
[00:08:29] Fi
Have you felt judged, silly or ashamed about money?
[00:08:34] Renee
Not really. I feel that lessons I've learned in money are things that I've It's like anything in life, you learn a lesson, you either learn good things or bad things from it, you move on, you apply yourself differently.
I don't feel ashamed, I don't feel silly, I feel hindsight's a great virtue. I think you can look at things in reverse and go, Oh, I could have done that differently, I should have made that decision in a different way, I should have implemented this in a different way. So like anything in life, you move on, hopefully do better next time.
[00:08:58] Fi
How do you manage your money and how much money is in your bank account right now?
[00:09:04] Renee
Until we met Fi, we managed money a lot differently than what we do now. I feel that This daily stress of cash flow and all those adulting problems are much, um, much, much less impacting on how we operate. I feel that we make better decisions about what we buy, when we buy, what we charge, how we charge, who we even choose to work with because of looking at things with. I guess a business hat on, but then also making sure it aligns with our values and our collaborations and all those things as well. So I think managing money is done in a much more practical, uh, black and white perspective than what it has in the past for us. And I feel that what is in our bank account each week is getting more. Of course we have bad weeks, and of course we have weeks where all the bills seem to happen within 13 minutes of each other, but then you have other weeks where you actually have a bit of play money and you can, we can start putting things into a profit account, which is the first time that's happened for us.
[00:09:52] Fi
What does it feel like to ask for money from a client?
[00:09:56] Renee
I think we've been very blessed to work with people who are very aligned with our own values. We're very compassionate people, so. We value transparency. We value communication. So people who can't pay us or who can't afford us, it's usually something that's identified well before the point of them having to owe us money.
So conversations that we have around asking for money are usually very casual, very relaxed. Uh, and usually evoke an action, whether it's a payment plan, whether it is, they potentially just may have forgotten we're busy people. So it's just that conversation and that trigger. And we feel that people, um, are very respectful of our position and honor and value that. So Yeah, we don't really have an issue with that. Deciding on what to charge for something has certainly changed in the last 12 months. We have very much been a listener and an actioner of the fee, put your prices up bandwagon. And it feels really good to do that and no one asks any questions. No one, I guess, picks on it or points it out or anything like that. And I think that comes from us putting more value on what we provide.
[00:10:52] Fi
Are you comfortable with money?
[00:10:56] Renee
Comfortable is probably not a right word. It's like a sibling that you have that you have to put up with, and love on Christmas day and detest the rest of the year. I think I have a bit of a relationship like that with money.
[00:11:06] Fi
What is the best advice that you have been given about money?
[00:11:09] Renee
Money does good. Money makes impact. Money gives you opportunity. And you don't need to be afraid of money.
[00:11:17] Fi
Oh, this just hits me so hard because I meet women and business owners every single day who actually really are afraid of money money is, look, it's become such a complicated.
topic in our society, and it can feel really frightening when you don't understand what money is and how it can be used. But what I really love about what Renee said is that money does good. Money creates impact. This is something that is in the foundation of what I believe as a money coach and a business strategist, which is that income is impact.
So when you are a small business owner who is committed to making the world a better place because of your business. When you are receiving income, when you are growing and receiving revenue into your business, you are turning that revenue into positive impact. So when we can see that money is a tool, it is something that we can use to do so many good things into the world, it doesn't need to be frightening anymore.
When we can start to see that money is actually something that we can can understand, and that it doesn't have to be complicated. It doesn't have to be scary or negative or have anything to do with that kind of greedy version of money that we often see in movies and TV, and to be honest, on the news.
That doesn't need to be your experience of money. If you are a good person, if you are running a business that is committed to making the world a better place. There more money in your hands means more positive impact on the world. And what could be better than that?
[00:13:04] Fi
Thank you so much for listening right up to the end. I hope you enjoyed this episode of Money Secrets, where we talk about the money secrets of successful small business owners. If you enjoyed the episode, I'd love it if podcast. But leave us a review or share this episode with one of your friends. I hope you learned something. I hope you got a new perspective and I really hope you enjoyed the listening experience.
