Tax season is in full swing which is why we wanted to share with you a story about how the government tried to swipe $30,000 in taxes from a previous business of Jill McAbe's (our Founder and CEO) that they were not actually entitled to.
We're spending March focusing on financial literacy and money management with our clients so they can achieve financial independence through their businesses. And we want to share some of those teachings with you as well.
This week I sat down with Jill to learn her money story of how she overcame major money hurdles to create a business of ease, joy and fun while getting meaningful business done (yes it rhymes 😁) , and all by using sound money management practices for entrepreneurs.
We all have a relationship with money managment that was first created in our childhood. Our parents, our situations and experiences all combine to create a story around money we carry throughout our lives. Jill was no different.
As a child who struggled with dyslexia, Jill was fortunate to have parents who owned their own school that taught reading to children with learning disabilities. Growing up she was proud of how her parents helped so many kids, and recalls their school as a wonderful place.
Until the day it all came crashing down.
Her parents thought they’d done everything right. As experts in their field they knew the importance of hiring professionals outside of their skill set. They did that by engaging a bookkeeper and an accountant.
They trusted these professionals to protect them. Unfortunately, their accountant did not. His ineptness resulted in them owing about $25-thousand dollars to the government in 1985, which is equivalent in today's dollars to $76,232.41. Although the accountant messed up it was still their bank account and financial well-being on the line.
At the same time they lost a large contract that they'd been dependant on.
Jill's parents not only ended up deeply in debt but the repercussion rippled outwards to every part of their lives, and it took years to put it behind them. The impact of this experience solidified for Jill a connection between money and safety, and to not have it would leave you vulnerable.
Do you recall any childhood experience that influenced the relationship you now have with money?
Although Jill's parents attempt at entrepreneurship led to financial ruin for their family, Jill and her twin brother, were determined to get it right when they opened their first business, a restaurant.
As her brother held the position of Chef, the task of bookkeeping fell to Jill, a job she resented as she too was a creative person who found office work unfulfilling.
But the experiences she had gone through as a child, manifested in her a compulsion to track everything in her financial record keeping. Even though Jill knew the risk of letting someone else be in charge of her finances she was hampered by not having been raised with the money management skills needed to successfully maintain a small business.
Luckily the restaurant had an advantage in their investor/mentor, Douglas Davis, Vice-Chairman of a successful investment firm, Davis-Rea. Each quarter Jill was required to meet with Douglas to go through the books.
And at each meeting he would point out something wrong, something to fix. It wasn't fun and in the beginning Jill resented being put in this position, but overtime she learned to respect her mentor's input, as her money management knowledge grew.
Then after seven years of rave reviews and a demanding workload Jill and her brother decided to sell the restaurant.
It was with great satisfaction to Jill that they were able to return Douglas' investment...with interest.
Though less satisfying was that the sale triggered an audit, and since Jill was the one who managed the finances she was left to prepare the books for government scrutiny.
When the Auditor appeared he gave her two weeks to collect her files and paperwork for him, but Jill pointed to a chair and said, “Have a seat. I’ll get it for you.” To his surprise she returned quickly with all the necessary paperwork in a binder, with a table of contents and colour coded tabs. He told her this level of organization was not the norm.
A few weeks later she received a call from the Auditor informing her that from the results of the assessment “you owe the government $30,000”.
It wasn’t possible! She had been meticulous with her books and honest in all her dealings.
When she asked the auditor to point out where the problem was, he couldn’t, and eventually admitted it was an estimate based on their experience that every restaurant had something to hide. Jill held firm and he compromised by performing a second stage audit of the restaurant's previous six months. Once again she was able to produce well-organized records.
After a few more stressful weeks the auditor returned with a "Nil Assessment", which meant Jill’s business owed nothing and that her books were perfectly balanced. It was the first time in the history of the department that had happened, and her Auditor’s parting words were “good job”.
Thanks to Douglas, Jill's money management was spot on and the government was unable to take the $30,000 they were not entitled to. Over seven years of quarterly meetings with Douglas he instilled in Jill an understanding that in addition to a bookkeeper and accountant, she needed to be her own financial manager, in the business world that's the CFO. And it's not a position entrepreneurs should be outsourcing until they know their own books inside out
The restaurant industry has more failures than it does successes, but thanks to Doug's mentorship and financial literacy training, Jill's was one of the success stories.
Co-incidentally a few years later when Jill became a business and marketing educator and strategist, another Davis-Rea advisor, Libby Wildman became a client of ours. She also shared some great financial advice, and that was "everyone should have a date with their money once a month".
We all have money stories from our childhood that influence how we approach money management as an entrepreneur, but the most important lesson Jill learned was to not make the same assumption her parents did, that it is the accountants responsibility to be your CFO.
Like anything you are trying to grow, be it a plant or a business, it takes nurturing and tending. Thanks to a mentor who cared and knew his stuff, Jill was motivated to continue growing her money education.
That’s why financial conversations are important components of what we do with our clients, and although we are firm that every entrepreneur needs a bookkeeper and accountant, we also push the need for you to be a great money manager, because when you're great at anything you get more of it.
On a scale of 1 to 10, where would you put your level of money management" With 1 being "I don't even know what's in my bank account and it stresses me out" to 10 being "I know where every dollar is going, where it came from, and I sleep soundly at night."
As mentioned above when you're great at anything you get more of it, and that includes finances. Use Margarita's weekly mantra to propel you to becoming a great money manager.
"I am skillful at managing my finances and money."
To speed up the adoption of this mantra, save this image (or take a screenshot) and set it as your phone home screen.
Our relationships with money affect our personal and business finances. We hope by sharing Jill's story you saw how exposure to poor money practices as a child does not have to define your relationship as an adult. We also hope you've been inspired to become the Chief Financial Officer of your own business and life.
Next Week
Next week we'll share more on money managment for business, financial literacy and the mindset around money that will bring you joy and invite more money in.
Thanks for reading!
Here's to every small step towards a big dream,
Jill McAbe and the Midweek Momentum Team
PS: Becoming a great money manager as an entrepreneur goes hand-in-hand with your product or service. If you haven't already created your own unique offer you can download our free one-page template here: Create a Unique Offer That Sells!
PPS: We are now in week three of transitioning our website to our new online provider Systeme. If you haven't checked it out yet we'd love to get your feedback on it! www.jillmcabe.com
Have a Joyful Rest of Your Week!
A special thank you for supporting Midweek Momentum by reading right down to the bottom! We are grateful for your attention. If you have any ideas or comments about this issue or suggestions for upcoming ones, we'd love to hear from you. You can reach out directly at mm@true2brand.com.
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Midweek Momentum is hosted by Systeme, our new online home for Midweek Momentum. After years of searching for an all-in-one website, blogging, and email service, we've finally found one we love! 💚
The blog where vision-driven entrepreneurs and organizations find easy and joyful marketing ideas that energetically attract their ideal clients.
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CATEGORIES
SALES AND MARKETING
MARKETING STRATEGY
PREDICTABLE SALES
By the True2Brand™ Accelerator Team
The blog where vision-driven entrepreneurs and organizations find easy and joyful marketing ideas that energetically attract their ideal clientelle.
Executive Director
Founder and CEO
Specialist at True2Brand in vision and strategy facilitation, business model design and leadership development. All about joyful productivity training, and making positive change fun. Not a fan of false dichotomies, Jill loves both dogs and cats, mountains and beaches. She also adores hiking with her two mini-aussie poos.
Joel Baum
AI Director
and Strategic Advisor
Specialist at True2Brand in strategic communications and developing AI Tools and GPTs. Professor of Strategic Management at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. Co-Author of "Epinets: The Epistemic Structure and Dynamics of Social Networks." Joel has a fondness for trees.
Margarita Angelatos
Marketing Director
and Energy Healer
Specialist at True2Brand in energy healing, product design, production, and merchandising. Creator of "One Year of Divine Healing". Former Head Designer and Production Manager for Hard Goods and Accessories at Lululemon. Margarita is a caring animal healer and rescuer and has a passion for travel.
Trina Brooks
Client Success Director
and Implementation Coach
Specialist at True2Brand in Storytelling, Interviewing, Self-Publishing, SEO, and Web Building. Accomplished Playwright and Novelist, Author of the Historical Mystery, "The Barron Hills of Creighton," a novel that will keep you guessing until the last page.
The blog where vision-driven entrepreneurs and organizations find easy and joyful marketing ideas that energetically attract their ideal clients.
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