Hey Big Head! Give Me Some Bread

Hey, hey, hey, we're back.

We're black.

Brain ambition, ambiss ambition, and I.

Wish I could see how many and dropping it throwing our backside.

You have a little shoulder shimmy, shoulder shimmy.

It's the end of the year. Yes, how are your manager?

The Christmas spirit smacked me upside the head this past weekend, Tiffany, no tree because we're going to Atlanta and my little brother is hosting us and the old house, so we're going to do the tree there, okay, And so we decorated a really tiny tree here, but we did the outside okay. And I got plans to make cookies. And it's the season.

That's good. As you said, you get a gift basket.

I got a gift basket.

Oh yeah, mom our podcast home my chees and my pears and apples. I was like, well, I can eat this cheese, honey, but I eat the pears and apples.

Yeah, delish, how about you?

So I usually, I usually the tradition is we put up the tree right before Thanksgiving because we typically host Thanksgiving, so that way it's all pretty for everyone to see.

But I wasn't in the mood this year.

I don't know, I was just really miss Agderrell hard and I was like, it was this Christmas is his favorite time of year. But I was like, you know what, Doctor Green always reminded me, you can have new traditions.

And I thought, you know what.

My sister Carol's kids, Roman and Amelia had just decorated their little tree. Because their tradition is to get a real live tree. She gets a little one for the house and they decorated all excited, and I saw it and we were facetiming, and I was like, you guys are like professionals, Can you come to my tree?

And so they did.

It looks exactly how you think if a six and eight year old did your message.

It's like all the ornaments clustered at the height of three feet.

But I didn't let them use a little step ladder, and then of course you have to pick them out each one.

Can you pick me up it?

But? Can you?

But I don't say.

It was a lot of fun and it's not as fancy as before I look, but it's really beautiful.

That's what I'm I embraced the tacky at Christmas time. I am trying to have one of those perfectly the all whites, the all blues color schemes. You know, I love the tacky. It's like the same old multicolored string lights that I got back when I was living in Queens like ten years ago, the same dollar store tinsel, and I'm handing it to my four year old son and I'm just like, this is a weird but great.

You want to be as well.

That felt good. I felt good. So I've been feeling Yeah. That made me feel rich. And then my first you know this, the first one fourth of my book money hit my big account. Finally, I mean, while, I find the contract back in May, so there you go. Publishing timelines, y'all. So I've got some end of year like tax stuff I got to figure out, and I'm like, okay, I need to text my I just need to because this

No, it's true, Like I literally was just signing financial paperwork this morning, because you know, because at the end of the year, you're right, especially for entrepreneurs or business owners, you're scrambling to say, what can I do? Like so for example, I have been, you know, maxing out my retirement account, and there were some months where I don't even know I probably didn't put it enough.

So my financial advisor was.

Like, let me see, she's like tipping to your short like you know, if you want to max out. I was short maybe like twelve hundred dollars or something, so she's like, you know, let's make let's go get to your account update so that way the next pay check takes the full amount. So that way you've maxed out on your retirement and contributions.

You know.

Yeah, there's all these financial decisions that you're making, but not only just that I've been making. I sat down with my team so we could do our twenty twenty four plan and I was really proud Budget East the team, or then Budget East the team, and so we decided to do something different. So there are the core members of my team. Logan she's like the manager of all things content and like are basically my main lead. There is a Keisho project manager, and Carol who was like logistics.

So those are like the four core. That's the four core, and so I.

Said, let me do something different because this year I have shifted my leadership model from where I used to leave, from a place of detectiveness, where it's like I was the mom and I never let the kids know that sometimes we didn't have enough money for bread, I just would go without, you know, and it was like.

Everything's fine, everything is just fine. That's how I used to navigate.

Everybody was super happy, and I would do a raise no matter what, and I would do bonuses no matter what, like I never no matter what was happening.

On Baptistess Baby, I know.

I was like, I will manage distress. And I did job well. I was managing it poorly.

And so this year I shifted because quite honestly, it was a really tough financial year. We made just about half me the year before, and I was like, I can't, like I just couldn't afford to hide the secret anymore that if we're having a hard time, because people were expecting me to navigate in the same way, and so finally I was like, let me tell you the books, and they were like, oh, it's not as cute as

Might let Rio like run.

And have never done that, not intention but you might let Rio run in the park and knowing like he is going too fast, he's about to trip, but he'll be all right because he'll learn like, all right, I don't quite have the footwork necessary. And so she said that we need to let like in those moments, you know, Rio run in the park, like, okay, he can handle

I'll take it. I'll do it. I'll be the sacrificial lamb. And so son't you.

Just put like a chicken, the chicken leg or chicken.

Thought, Oh, I'll take the small piece of chicken.

Yeah, the small chicken. Yeah.

I always will sacrifice. Like if there's all this chicken on the plate, I'll just wait till everybody eats. And I'm like, I'll just take the small piece whatever's left over. Matter of fact, I don't even like chicken. Guys, go ahead and eat. I'll just start in the corner. I like this year, we shifted that this year, and the way that my team has like rose to like the occasion, how brilliant they've been, how hard they've worked, how.

Creative, how innovative.

And I said, you mean to tell me all the time this was accessible to me. And so as a result, I said, how about this for twenty twenty four, let's try something new. I want everyone to work in a capacity that they really enjoy. I want everyone to lead a project. So you know, all the things we do here a budgeanisa, but maybe there's something new or old

What are you struggling with?

So I've never done this before, so I'm actually excited to see what happens when everyone has ownership fully of a project and they're already really excited about it.

So that was an awesome way to kind of like end the business year, you know, in that kind of way.

Yeah, so at the beginning of this year is when you kind of sat them down and did that hole or maybe last year and this and now you're kind of, oh.

No, no, we don't have no money. No, girl, I didn't do that. We didn't have no money until like Q three. That's why I was struggling.

But it was this year.

Yeah, maybe I was calling client to you, like girl, we had Yeah, everybody's asking for a raise.

Remember that was like Q three.

I know you started getting a lot more exciting, excited by the brown ambition.

Yeah, I was like, how was because I was like, pay them no mind?

And now it's like, so how much.

Can I get some poor rich I mean because the budgets was paying me now.

But I was yes and so like.

But it's good to have these conversation. I think everybody thinks like that like that in business. Just because you've had a great year, that means you always have a great year. Like and I can share this because she posted on social you know, the the woman Khalila You ever heard of messing a bottle? She's got like that

And she's just you could just tell it was a lot.

So I called her because I know Kalila, and we just chat and I just I shared with her, I'm like, this was my worst year yet since I probably started the business, maybe the first two years. I shared, how you know, like you know, I had to like cut,

I said, Shanta, how many months do we have?

She said like two and a half, and I said, hmmm, let's try to get us to six. So I got, you know, our emergency savings to six months, and it was there for like the last like two years. Just sitting in this year, I'm so glad we did it because we're down to one month of emergency savings, meaning we didn't make enough to cover ourselves that had it not been from emergency savings. We used five months of it and it's now December.

If one month of.

Emergency savings left, and thankfully we made enough in December not to tap into it. But if I had no emergency savings, I don't know. I mean, I probably would just have to give a personal loan from Tiffany to the business and so I share that because like, I don't care what they did be telling you until media business is really hard and you can have this successful business and everything is and do all the right things and still have a year where you're like, it's we

Was like, why did you tell me? I was like, I don't.

During that time frame, I wasn't thinking that. I just I didn't think I was gonna have some terrible year where I was gonna need to live off of savings. I just thought, if Microsoft is doing it, why shouldn't we, you.

Know, yeah, oh why don't you tell her to save?

Well?

I mean also when you say not making any money, like you have a staff, Like you have a team too that you're paying for, and it's like you're making money, but the overhead is not meaning though, like the overhead is more than what you're bringing in, right, But if it was like just yet.

So not yeah, we're making gift, we're making money.

Yes, yeah, let's keep it clean because you have to pay for staff, I know, yeah, but yes meaning like yes, but meaning yes, because our overhead, you know, is especially like payroll was like a lot.

In comparison to like what we like what we bring in. And I really didn't want to do pay cuts because the truth of the matter is, like I used to be able to say I pay like above and beyond what was considered like a fair if fair was fifty. We used paying sanfity, maybe even a hundred. And now we like we fair out there, like so as we're doing.

A wage still like five dollars, like you.

Know, we want, you know, we fin because before it's went all okay, But now I'm just like, the truth is is that I you know, I was like, I don't want to make payroll cuts because things have gotten more expensive, and so I'm just like that just I much rather figure it out some other way versus to say, in order for us to stay alive, blah bah blah, I got to do a twenty percent cut, and I'm like, yeah, but like inflation has increased everything sometimes double, you know,

Thankfully we have savings.

The team got to see them and for twenty twenty four, they know that there won't be any raises. It's looking pretty decent already. We have a few contracts that are signed and locked in. And then I said, instead of raises, we're going to do this profit share every quarter where

This is what's left owner. As an owner, you can draw down or withdraw it.

And so I told them instead of giving you a raise, I will set aside twenty percent of what I would normally.

Draw out for you. So that way and then they will they will.

I will divide that among the team based upon what they currently makes an income. And so that's the way that they'll get a bonus or raise without getting a raise, because it allows me to give them more money only when the company is profitable, you know. So it's like never hurting go ahead.

Yeah, And I think that's such a great model as a small business, because that's what you are. You're not like a Google or Microsoft that just prints money all the time, or you know, has all these enormous savings, or it could just go get not that Microsoft and Google needs to raise money, but you know these like Silicon Valley darlings can just go ask some venture capital for a one hundred million dollars. We haven't made it, we haven't turned a profit in ten years, but give

And I think that, like, you know, you might be listening if you have a business and like it might not work for you, so you always want to find solutions like and this might work this year.

This is a weird thing about business.

It's like I'm assuming, like raising kids, You're like, oh, like what works for rio? And Remy's like, girl, you try to it's something new over here, Like I don't know him.

When I tell you my baby is crawling and he's six months old. No, Well, I always love your transparency and also it helps me. I mean it helps our listeners too, Like wait a second, didn't they just say this about the business, And like didn't they just say that, you know, and this new thing and it's just like you're just watching us live figure it out.

Yes, And I.

Feel a little bit, like really it's a relief to I feel like I've finally grown up and like you were my big cousin who I was like, oh, she has everything figured out and all the things, and we never really used to have in depth conversations about the business. I just sort of like took for granted that and Tiffany has everything figured out. But the more I've gotten into it, you've been so even more transparent I feel like about how things were going, and it helps so much. Yeah,

Yeah, you know, you share a little bit with like your friends who don't have businesses. But then when you really have a business, because then you're like, now you're able to process the fullness of like what it looks like that no one's too successful to have a bad year, no one's too big to fail, Like look at Seers,

Well, a year ago we were celebrating. A year ago, we were celebrating that you one point two million wents of contracts, which was which actually happened. But the thing about entrepreneurship is it's a contract, but is it like fully executed?

You know what I fell through? They all fell through one not all of them. Well, no, that's not true. I would say about half of them, because two of the major companies were like, we ain't got it, you know, and I just was like, wait, so that was that was you? Remember you asked me like, but I thought you said I'm my girl. They were verbal promises, we

Were like, we'll see what next year looks like.

And I was like, okay, yeah, so you just never know, because I mean, one point one point two it's more than enough to cover all of our bills.

So I was like, at least our bills are covered. That means we just looking at straight prop fit. But next year, the next year was like, oh, look at her celebrating early in the end zone before crossing whatever football like you know, metaphor. I'm trying to make like they tell you don't celebrate too soon. I was celebrating to.

But I also think it's like, it's such a good also reminder to diversify, because that was heavily especially in them, when you're all these influencers, especially ones who like you, are getting speaking opportunities or a contract to yeah, to speak or to partner with for a certain you know, a certain length of time or a one time event

What's the product of service that you produce out of like what a brand can pay you, because with brands it can sometimes be really feast or famine. You know that if they rocking with you, you're like, eh, I'm ranch And if they're not rocking with you, you're like, but wh.

I thought you told me always your favorite girl.

And it's a horrible feeling because this is no different than working in corporate. I ain't trying to you know, like I don't want to go back to that. I feel like they own that's just too stressful for me.

Yes, so having your own and that's been if I'm being all the way candidate, like the budget, the literature Academy, I figured out.

This is the business model.

We don't get any corporate money for unless somebody like sponsors, like people, so we make money from us internally. But the budgetistas, like I've been really struggling, like what's the business I'm in because I used to be like, it's the business of Tiffany, right I speak, I teach him books and whatever. But I'm like that's not sustainable because

But yeah, that it taught me like.

Okay, you have to get clear if you are, especially if you are you are the business, like you know, like that's why I love what you're doing with Mandy money Makers, right, and so you've gotten really good at like I help women how to negotiate, I coach I you know, I am, you have your digital products, you have your community, you know, versus it just be like I'm in the business of showing up as Mandy, you know.

Does that make sense?

Do you really look at Literature Academy separately from Budget. Yeah, it is two separate companies almost like this.

Yeah, it's like broad Ambition. Yeah. And I'm glad you.

Said know that, Like you started the Patreon and it was like already a six figure.

Business of yes, yeah, so the but that's what I was learning.

That's why I started the Patreon, because I said, what does Tiffany And so that's why I said, huh, maybe you're in the business of communities because I started Patreon, And yes, it is a six figure like business within the business of Budgetista. So I'm like, well, what are

And I'm like, okay, so you'll see.

What free on your tree. Though I know it's almost like your problems. I hear, not your problems, but like

For the shelf.

About on my shoulder, but I think about the people, think about the people, what do they need? Focus on us?

And that's what goodness. But I'm excited to shack, you know. I love to be like Manny, I think I figured it out and edy work. Oh I'm trying so But to your point, I do feel fairly confident that whatever it is will be fine.

But I'm just mindful.

You always have to be mindful of the money, obviously, because I'm just like I want to make sure then as I'm navigating, even if it means making less for the next year or two, that you know, we're always covering costs, and so I don't mind bush you I don't mind having years if it benefits the longer growth strategy.

But you know what I mean.

So I'm just like, okay, as long as I'm always keeping eye on costs, like what can we do to reduce them? Every year we do an annual audit of all of our expenses and to say do we need this, this is too much? Can we renegotiate with that contractor can we pay less here? Can we pay for this for the year so we can get twenty percent off. You know, you pay like a monthly for whatever like tool or resource like ooh, can we pay that for the year. So these are the types of things that

I don't care how smart you are.

I have brillier and you are on anything that if you don't have money flowing through the business, then the business will atrophy and die, you know, and so like, I mean we've seen it, like, you know, people go bankrupt even though they have this amazing idea, and so like, it's not enough to be good at a thing. It's also like, Okay, what's the money looking like? What decisions can I make to make sure that the.

Flow the flow keeps flooding?

And so yeah, one thing I think one of my superpowers is like, I don't mind being transparent, and so I will always ask the question, I'm like, well, how are you doing it? I will expose everything. I'm like, so here are all the ways that we're making mistakes and have challenges.

You know, I can't stand how boring, how impossible would this show be if we weren't transparent. How impossible would it be the stress of faking it, you know, or putting on a front, you know, feeling So it just feels so safe here, even though we're talking to each other and we have a bunch of people listening, it just feels safe, like, and that's what Bryan Ambition is all about. I'm just so damn proud of the show and proud of us, and I think that's why people

Yeah, I mean they hold on. Picture is they gonna make it?

Oh? I want to be the great He's anatomy of podcasts.

You know what.

I'm like, wait, you still a tounchred thousand.

I was worth the contract I did, and one of them was because I wanted more money.

So I pushed for more because I was feeling myself. They were like, girl, you trying to We'll pick somebody else. I was like, well, go ahead, and they did. And I was like, oh, I was trying to coach.

I was like, maybe sometimes that happens.

It does. It does. And I was like, you should feel my face.

Girls, follow the higher you you reach.

I mean, it wasn't a little bit of money, and like you know, they were offering me like I don't know, maybe three four hundred thousands. It wasn't like oh, but I was like, no, I think I'm worth this and I still do. And here's the thing.

They had it. Don't blame me, they had it. But I was just like so when they were like yeah, okay, I was like, oh, okay.

And then here's in the beginning of the year I was feeling myself. I said, because we still have plenty of money, and then we didn't, and then they start thinking like, I'm not gonna lie.

I went back. I was like, hey, boom, hey, big head, how you doing it? You still.

That was tough.

I had I ring the X.

Back up was like and they were like, girl, I thought you say you was cute outside.

I was like, I did, I lied, but they still said no.

It was the best no ever though, because had they come through, if I had I taken that money, it would have made us complacent. There were so many internal leadership decisions that I needed to make that I didn't realize were critical decisions until my back was against the wall.

You know, I would not have stepped up.

I would still would have been like that parental leader that like everything is fine. The team would not have been forced to step up. I would not have been forced to step up with a different way to navigate payment and finances.

And so it was.

That was the best, and honestly, when I say it was the best four or five hundred thousand that I missed out on because it forced us to grow and as a result, like you know, we'll probably two or three x what we made the year before. And so I'm grateful for that, no, because it taught me one, It like really humbled me, like, girl, you ain't too cute to say no, do you know? And then too, it just it forced my hand and to like elevate and girl.

You're not going to stop negotiating though, just because.

No, no, no, I'm not a girl.

I totally yeah, because I'm like, now, because don't let me, don't let me get my product off the grand or whatever we're gonna build, because that is like, I'm sorry, that.

Is what I struggle with. I know we need to I know you said twenty minutes, we tried it. We tried it. Don't Mari, I'll do one of the qwa's myself. But yeah, like that's what I That's what I grapple with all the time is I'm inspiring women to ask for more, but I can't just leave them there. I have to also teach them how to keep asking for more when the answer is no, not yet, or yeah, oh we changed our mind, or you're not ready yet.

You guys.

Are you found the right place? If you want real talk?

Yes, what a good way to close out.

Yeah, what's been a really I know, ups and downs, but what a wild year. My gosh, my gosh. I'm really proud of you though.

So our final episode, we're gonna throw the break real quick and we're gonna come back with the boosty breaky for that behind. We're bad and now it's time to boost up, break up, boost up, break off, booster break gop boost Are you gonna boost?

Are you gonna break? What you're gonna do? What's you gonna take? I I was talking about that. Can I go first?

You can?

I'm gonna do a boost.

I always liked Brown and Bishon, but I want to say I feel like maybe this year I fell in love, you know, like it's just been for real, Like it's not that I've never loved, but obviously I'm here, but like I don't know something about this year.

Maybe it's because I need the money was here for me.

I think it's us.

I think it's just I will say that that. Yes, I mean many might have always been friends because we started off brand ambition as like friends, but you know, we've just seen.

Enough friends as like we were. I think it was a perfect not to take over your boost.

But it go ahead, go ahead.

But I always say the best thing about us is with our business is like we were more like we treated as business partners first, and we weren't such good friends that we thought we'd get away with stuff, you know what I mean, Like, yeah, owed up business first. And for a long time it was more like that kind of relationship. We only talked on the show and you know, and I think in the past few years, yeah, it has shifted and now it's like we get to be besties and also enjoy.

I've becoming to her house and there, and so like, no, I think you're right.

I think that's what it is, is that our personal relationship have just gotten more robust and stronger. And so as a result, like I love Brown and Vision even more because I love Mandy's so much even more.

So, yeah, I mean we get to see Beyonce.

I mean I don't I feel like that's solidified, like, oh, like this.

Is my friend. And so I just want to boost.

Got to have high highs and low lows with your good friends, right.

Yeah, you do, you do, and so you get to really see like what the stuff that they made of. So I just want to boost a brown ambition and I want to boost well, I'm I actually want to ask for help because I have decided that I need something to like I'm realizing that like I love it outside and I think I want to run or one a five k. There's about three miles, right were the five ks? So I've never point to three point two is I've never run a five k before? Just run

Whatever, and you have a couch to five K person.

Well, child, you ain't seeing these knees.

So but you walk for a long time.

I do, I do, but still you know me, I'm like, I'm a slow and steady wins race. So I would like a beginner's app that liken, you know, in like you know, nine weeks, twelve weeks, whatever. It gets me like ready for five K. But that's also interesting and kind of fun. So if you have a suggestion, if it costs money, that's fine. If you have a suggestion for an app, because I do, I'm gonna I'm gonna remember we had Brandi's on and so I'm taking the advice of one of our guests on Brown Ambison brandis

Huh?

So there's so many five ks you're gonna have no problem finding. My mistake was, Yeah, my mistake was making a ten k my goal for next summer. And even though I said I'm giving myself a break, I'm gonna run that ten k okay, because I said I was gonna do it, and it's locked in Okay, damn it.

I'm like, no, no, I'm not ready for nobody's tank k. I'm not my Ney but a five kmixen girl.

But that's exciting. Yeah, And you know who's going to help you are one of our most loyal, faithful listeners, Amelia. This is your moment. Amelia has followed our well. We were roommates when I first moved to New York. She now lives in Texas, but she has just been such a faithful listener of the show. I feel like she only reaches out about the show and I'm like, what about me? But anyway, she is a marathoner, extraordinary. She's a health runner, I mean a health writer for a

Is your guide to the DMS. Like dag me on Twitter? Whatever? What app do you really like enjoy?

You know, like, yeah, I'm not a hyper beginner, but I don't mind starting with the super beginner app because I'm still going to continue to do my walks like in between, but something that's not just about the run, Like I want to make sure I maintain my overall you know, like health. So yeah, what about you? Are you boosting and you breaking?

Oh I forgot where I was for a second. Oh, we're working. I'm going to do I have to do a boost right, Yeah, there's so many things to boost, like just in general for the year. I want to boost that. I did the damn thing I said I was going to do. I said, baby book, Business, baby book, in business, the three Bees, and I had the baby

Yeah, but then quickly.

I'm like, I don't want none of these jobs, these ashy jops, I don't want them. But yeah, just really really proud heading into the new year, I really want to make it all about making this book the best it can possibly be and not thinking about anything else having to do with it, like the marketing all that. I just have to make it really freaking good, And it's like the only thing I can see right now as like a I'm like a like a red aura

Look out for the overt challenge.

I will share more about it because we're still still here some shows, but like, look up for the challengeing on my free Challenge.

It's gonna be the Credit Edition.

We're still working out some details, but it's free as per usual. Launches in January January not January, Yeah, January eighth. I think that's the second Monday of the new year. You know, we did the Savings edition this year. Three hundred of y'all, three hundred thousand of y'all signed up, and so I'm excited to help even more this year. You know, I've been doing the challenge off and on for like ten years now, so I'm excited. I remember we I partnered with you, Mandy, Remember was it Credit

Yes, I mean so yeah. So it's just really like it's my love.

Letter to y'all, you know, the challenge every year, because it just enables me to help those especially those who might not have the funds, you know, to get this kind of like step by step guidance.

And so that's my gift, the gift that keeps on giving.

So just keep looking eye out for more information about the ATS, but it's always available. I think I live Richer Challenge dot com, but I don't think the credit edition is up just yet, So just keep an eye out. I'll be on the socials and things, but have an awesome high lay season and awesome new year.

Yeah, we love y'all, honestly.

See you next year.

Goodbye, farewell, lovey. That's think