the ramblings of a chronic over thinker

Why does money make us shy?

open your eyes, it’s okay

so funny! last week, a few people reached out to me to ask if the financials i posted were from the shop? i was seriously confused. i know better than to post my OWN businesses nooks and crannies. i suppose, the folks that assumed i was posting my own financials wanted to make sure that it was indeed mine, or a mistake, or just an example.

some clients even thought it was a mistake and shouldn’t have been sent out. why is that? why would it be so bad if i did post the shops financials? what would be the issue? folks would see our deficits or our surpluses and then what? would y’all stop coming to my shop if i had over $400,000 in surplus? would folks be bothered if they saw that the shop was doing so well that i was literally rich? would that be bad? then all of you would be like, ‘praise doesn’t need our business, she’s ballin’!' conversely, if we were in the red or in a deep deficit, would all of you start booking appointments into the new year? i wonder?

my million dollar salon…

would full transparency with businesses financials stunt the growth of a business? is there a reason that no one is allowed to know or speak of a businesses inner workings? is it like religion, sex and politics? growing up, those topics were only for private conversations with people who had the same beliefs as yours. one wouldn’t bring up any of those topics in public or with a stranger. god forbid they didn’t agree with us!

maybe it’s judgement? i definitely felt like the energy around my post was more like, “wow praise, that’s stupid to post your financials. do you want your shop to close down?” no on ever said that actually, but i did feel the gentle judging. so what? what if i did post my businesses financials? what does that mean? i’m dumb? i’m not a great business professional? i shouldn’t be in charge of things? i really don’t know.

i wish i only had one question

now i’m intrigued and fully curious about why we are so shy with our money? is it because of capitalism? patriarchy/matriarchy? colonization? is that why? are there other reasons? i have so many questions…

i’m down to hear thoughts on this because now i’m tuned in to this vibe around financials. and i don’t think it’s just businesses, it’s financials in general. folks are shy about how much they make or spend because they are worried they will be judged. did i just answer my own question?

-p

the ramblings of a chronic over thinker

money, money, money, money

get into my account!

wow you guys! what an amazing response to my message last week! i don’t think i’ve ever had that much engagement on here! whoo! also, big thanks to all the readers who emailed and even gave some ideas for what i can write about as this progresses. i’m blown away by all of your supports! many thanks.

this looks like njerep…

this week i’m working on the financial statements for fresh. documents like profit and loss, balance sheets and cash flow statements. all of it is swahili (shout out to my african readers).

::: side bar :::

why do we use swahili as the word to say that i don’t understand something? i wonder why it’s swahili and not gaelic or njerep? i mean, why can’t we just say, ‘i don’t get it’? ALSO, maybe it’s swahili because i’m 45 and that’s what i heard growing up and it was a common term used to say, ‘i don’t get it’. yeah, that’s probably it.

::: side bar closed :::

i know that this is one of the ways i can improve my business but it is DRYYYYYY. it is BORRRRRING. it is ‘not a waste of time’ but feels like it is. all of the columns with money going in and money coming out is a lot. bank service charges? CRAZY! salon supplies and sundries? that seems like it goes up every month (things cost more, we all know that). wages and salaries? cost of goods sold? professional fees? i could keep going. i won’t.

these bankers are pumped to help you!

it does make me realize though, how badly i am in need of this understanding if i want my business to succeed at all. business is like a formula with an amazing equation. revenue-cost of goods sold= profit. seems pretty straight forward but then….

when i opened freshair, i had no idea about any sort of business sense. i knew i needed bookings (revenue) and that my staff and products used (cogs) would be deducted from the bookings and tadah! richie rich! ok, i didn’t think i would be instantly rich, i just thought that was it.

hustle hard, closed mouths don’t get fed on the boulevard (ace hood lyrics)

well, things went badly and 5 years in, i took a business course and it helped me understand the real process of that equation. i learned about taxes (folks, pay your taxes). i learned about banks and lenders. i learned that when it comes to money, the structures that support this country are really relying on you not knowing anything when you open a business. they are banking (you like that double entendre) on you figuring it out as you go so that they can capitalize on your lack of understanding. i know this, because i lived it and i am currently working it out.

what if there was a different structure? what if there was a way that we could be vetted BEFORE opening a business? maybe just a course about what you’re about to get into? like gun ownership or a drivers license? wouldn’t it be cool if that was an option? maybe i would have never pulled the trigger on this shop if i began with more knowledge about the way REAL business works in a capitalistic culture. maybe i would have found something else to do?

i just know that this system needs help. from the documents i mentioned earlier, to the banks and lenders, it’s flawed. maybe next week i’ll talk about my idea for business fund raisers like a go fund me but not? it’s bizarre…stay tuned. i’m just tired of the banks and their ‘no solutions’ all they want to do is give me loan which solves nothing. what about angel investors? yipes! don’t get me started on that! next time… next time.

-p