Episode 45: Empowering Women Business Owners Financially with Nicholle Overkamp
Financial Empowerment for Women Entrepreneurs
Let's empower women to live life on their terms!
Every woman should play an active role in understanding her business numbers, embracing a money mindset, and planning for her financial future.
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Podcast Transcript:
Kiva Slade: [00:00:01]
Hello, and welcome to Collab With Kiva. I'm your host Kiva Slade. From the marbled halls of the US Congress to my racing-themed office chair, I've learned that there is no perfect path to the life of your dreams. My journey over the past 20 years has included being a legislative director for a member of Congress, policy director for a nonprofit, stay-at-home mom, homeschooling mom, jewelry business owner, and now the owner of a service-based business. Whether your journey has been a straight line or full of zigs and zags, join me and my guest as we share insights, hope and lessons learned from our female entrepreneurship journeys. May the collaborative sharing of our stories be the tide that lifts your boat. Let's dive in. Hello, hello, hello and welcome to another episode of Collab With Kiva. I am your host Kiva Slade today, and today I am excited because we are going to talk all things money. And that is one of my topics of interest. So, today I have Nicholle Overkamp.
[00:01:10]
Nicholle is not only the CEO and founder of Wilcox Financial, but also Power Her House Money Coaching. Nicholle has an MBA, she's a chartered financial consultant, a certified divorce financial analyst and is a personal finance expert and business coach for women. She always focuses on business coaching for ambitious women, wealth coaching and educational programming. Wilcox Financial Group is a comprehensive financial planning firm. It was founded to create an environment that's progressive and client-centric with outstanding high-touch service. Empowering women isn't only a mission for Nicholle through her companies, but also in her personal life as she serves on the board for Girl Scouts of Western New York. That's right, she can. And having been a Brownie and a Girl Scout, I love that. Nicholle is a fitness fanatic, an outdoors lover, a caffeine addict. And we also have something else in common. We are both obsessed with Audible. So, welcome to the show, Nicholle. I'm so excited to talk with you today.
Nicholle Overkamp: [00:02:23]
Thank you. And likewise.
Kiva Slade: [00:02:26]
And also, wait, I forgot. She's also the co-author of a book. Tell us a bit about that.
Nicholle Overkamp: [00:02:31]
Ah, Money B*tch!, right? It is the ultimate no-BS guide for smart women who want to own their financial future. So, we wrote the book to give more women access and truly to talk about a topic that, let's face it, it's not sexy. None of us wake up and say, I want to do a financial plan today. But truly, at its core, it's the reverse engineering of how to get what you want, how to feel really confident in the decisions that you're making. So, the book talks about stories, stories of real-life experiences, so you can read it and relate to it, but then also digest in plain English why some of this stuff is important to consider. And we also touch on topics like saying no and setting boundaries and all of these things that are completely intermingled with your money.
Kiva Slade: [00:03:26]
Absolutely. I love that you said saying no and setting boundaries. That is such a pervasive issue I feel just with us as women, we're service providers, we care for others, everything is like let's just put one more thing on my plate. And it's just like at some point we do have to say no, we do have to set those boundaries in place. I don't think always for our own sanity, even though sometimes I think that should be a driving factor, but really just to empower others to do what they need to do in some areas of their lives. So, I love that. So, you guys make sure that you go get the book and I will make sure there is a link in the show notes. So, let's dive in, though, to some of these topics, because one of the things that I do when I work with my clients is I literally send them a book, either one or two. I tend to send them Profit First, but I've lately been sending them, if they're minority business owners, there's an MBE version basically of Profit First that Susan, a friend of mine is written.
[00:04:33]
And so, I literally send them that because I find that a lot of business owners, they're in business, but that thing called profit is sometimes elusive or not even factored into what they're doing. And it's like, we're in business, we're making money. How much of that is profit? "Well, this is how much I made this month." Well, how much did you actually make? So, why is it that ... When we're talking about some of those business foundations, what would you share with people, especially women who either might have just started a business or are thinking about it and they're wondering what do I need to have in place? What should I think about and consider when venturing down this road of entrepreneurship, which is not for the faint of heart?
Nicholle Overkamp: [00:05:24]
Well, no, it's not. It is hard. It is hard work, but it is worth it. Right. It's so worth the journey and the impact that you're able to make, but it takes a special person. You have to be really gritty to be able to succeed as an entrepreneur. And to succeed as an entrepreneur, you must understand your numbers and all of those little details that go in between. Because a huge reason why businesses fail isn't because they don't have a good idea or good concept or they're not an expert at what they do. They fail because of money and finances, and the stress around that and running out.
[00:06:05]
And so, what you want to consider, whether you're just getting started or you're actually a veteran business owner because this does not discriminate, is understanding your numbers, and revenue is different than profit. And so, what is popular? Revenue. Everyone talks about that. We see the highlight reels on social media. We hear coaches talking about it all the time. "I have a seven-figure business. Multiple seven figures, multiple six figures. I had a six-figure month." Well, they're talking about revenue. And I just learned a new trend is actually some people are taking accumulative earnings of over the years, saying they are seven-figure earners which I think is like ... It should be illegal. I don't know. But this is what's going on out there. So, when they're talking revenue, well, revenue is great, it's the money coming in the door, but it means nothing in terms of profit.
[00:06:59]
So, profit is what you get to put in your pocket and take home, transfer out of the business into your personal account and utilize that toward your own personal wealth building, spending, whatever the case may be in your circumstance. So, what is good to understand is when you start your business, what do you need to be profitable? So, after your expenses are paid for your overhead, your insurances, your legal fees, your employees, whatever that number is, what's the profit left over? And is that enough for you to get by? Is that enough for you to feel good about all the effort that you're putting in? And early on sometimes we feel like we're paying our team more than we're paying ourselves. And actually, sometimes that's true. And I can attest to that. But at the end of the day, you need to know what it is that you want to earn, what you need to earn in terms of profits, so you can also price right in really take into consideration are your packages priced properly? Are you underquoting yourself and just not realizing how much time you're spending?
[00:08:10]
Because especially for service-based businesses, it's easy to do. We factor in client-facing time, but we forget about all the work before, all the work, after all the work in between and who we're paying. And I actually just went through this exercise with a client of mine and she's like, "Oh my gosh, I can't believe how much I've been undercutting myself. It makes me want to throw up. All my contracts are a giveaway." But she did prior to our chat feel good about it because it's more money than she's ever made before. Her business has been growing. But I said, look, if you price right, you can hire a team and not be burning yourself out all the time. So, really important to know those numbers and foundations. And I promise you, they don't need to be over-complicated either if you just break it down and digest it.
[00:09:01]
Because I do believe and see firsthand that numbers are also something that many of us get overwhelmed by. We shut down and we put it in this little corner of our business and say, Yeah, I look at that one day. And then and then we don't. And then we give everything to our bookkeeper or an accountant, we have them do the things, they tell us the numbers, and we still don't dive in to really understand it because we're on to the next thing. We have an entrepreneurial brain. We just want to grow, grow, grow without really peeling it back a little bit and deciding how can I make this engine work a little better?
Kiva Slade: [00:09:32]
Oh my goodness, I so love that. Always people joke with me, I think it's like I gave away my age, but I always talk about Toni Braxton sitting on Oprah Winfrey's couch talking about her bankruptcy. And Oprah was like, you always sign your own checks. That was like Oprah's version of no, your numbers. There is no reason why anyone else is signing your checks and you have no idea of what's coming in or going out. And I always go back to that because it's so profound for me. She was so devastated and Oprah was just like, you always sign your own checks. Kind of in that mom wisdom.
[00:10:10]
And I just felt like that's what you just gave us all because there is this thing of revenue versus profit. And we see these highlight reels of what this amazing thing is happening ... and oh, I'm traveling, and oh, I'm doing all of these things. Which are great if you're doing those things and taking care of your team and pricing everything right, hallelujah we're so excited for you. It's when you're not. And I just had the same thing with one of my clients. We literally had a six-hour meeting or quarterly mid-year planning, and I had huge white sticky sheets on the wall and we started breaking down her packages. And we're just like, so no, this actually costs this amount to do this. And this is pre any markups, any sort of added in anything. And the rates we came up with, she wasn't even charging right now.
[00:11:01]
And so, we hadn't even added anything to that to build in for any overhead or just any other thing. And it was just so eye-opening. And like you said, she was like, "These numbers. And people are paying this. And this is great." And then it was like, "Oh, so wait a minute. I'm really kind of taking a loss on that thing, aren't I?" And just like, yeah, so next step in the process is really starting to figure out now how to articulate the actual value because in some instances ... I think one of her packages was going to need to increase probably a good 20, $25,000. And that was really eye-opening for her. So, I appreciate that. And everyone, please don't do that trend that she talked about. I don't want to know your cumulative revenue. You've been in business 20 years and tell me you have a seven-figure business. Don't do that people, just say no. Say no to that trend. So, let's also talk about, though, I think there are some things in there that you spoke about as women. And I don’t want to necessarily call it shame. And I don't like calling it dirty either, but what is it that we have this aversion, (maybe I'll use that term) to making money or to when we are making money, communicate about that money?
Nicholle Overkamp: [00:12:29]
Yeah. I think it's a couple of things. It is what we've been accustomed to or how we've been raised from a societal perspective, especially for those of us who are above the age of 25. When we were growing up, you didn't talk about money. That was rude. I was groomed, you probably were too, and many people listening who when you were in that traditional W-2 job, like, "Oh, don't talk about your salary. You shouldn't discuss that." Of course, you don't want me to discuss it because you don't want me to realize how underpaid I am.
[00:13:10]
So, there's the one part of “it's not polite, it's not the right thing to do”. You shouldn't. And all those should, shouldn't or whatever the case may be around money. But then I think the other side of that is women, in general, are so petrified of being judged, of having the feeling that someone else has an opinion of them that may not be what they want it to be or how they want to be perceived. And so, we hold back so much and we're afraid to say, "Yeah, I want to make more money. Yes, I earn or I'm worth more." Why don't we say I'm worth more? Why don't we ask for a raise? Because we just want to get noticed for our hard work. We don't want to cheerlead ourselves because then what if somebody thinks I'm conceited? Or what if someone thinks I'm being greedy? Or what if I'm judged for being too much? How many of us have been called too much? And it's a bunch of BS.
[00:14:24]
And so, what we need to unlearn is that no one has the right to “should” on you, first of all. And next, it's a matter of really owning what you want authentically and then unapologetically asking for it, and unapologetically celebrating yourself and cheerleading for yourself because no one else is going to do it for you. No one's coming to save you. No one's going to recognize your hard work. And even if they do, they're not going to promote you for it. You need to promote yourself. And you're the one that has to go out and do that, whether you're working for someone or you're a business owner. And I so learned that the hard and slow way. And I just thought I'm going to keep busting my butt. I'm going to keep working really hard. I'm going to keep grinding and they're going to notice.
[00:15:14]
Yeah, they noticed. They gave me more work and they certainly didn't pay me for it. Because I kept doing it for nothing, so why wouldn't they? They're like, "Oh, well, she's cheap." And so, we have to be aware of that as well as what's around us. But I think what the conversion of the mindset to is that if you look at the people you celebrate and the other women where you say, "wow, I'm proud of her," or "wow, that's really good" or "good for her," or "I'd love to be in that position," those are the women probably talking about wealth they've made for themselves, business growth they've had, a journey they've had where you're celebrating other women, but you yourself are afraid to speak out loud because of how you're going to be judged. And so, just take that step back and recognize, wait a minute, if other people love me and then they're in my circle, they're going to promote me and push me. And if they don't or if they judge me for it, they're probably just going to get fired because I'm the woman who wants to celebrate and promote other women.
Kiva Slade: [00:16:30]
Absolutely. Yes to that. And I love that you have such a focus on women empowerment. I feel like that just resonates with me so deeply because that really is why I came into this space and why I do what I do. And I think that when we empower each other, and we are all making more money, I think that as women, we spend our money differently. We look out for our teams differently. We invest in things differently. We champion causes differently.
[00:17:04]
And I feel like there's such a ... And I don't want to talk about trickle-down economics, but there is the trickle-down effect that takes place when women have money and they're able to utilize it in ways that really does speak from their heart. And I think that that is such a reason why we need strong women businesses. We need strong women running businesses and making these decisions about things that are happening. And having profitable businesses so that they can from that overflow, make so many other things happen. So one of the things that I want to touch on, and I think that this is probably one part of your Wilcox financial business is that financial planning. A funny little story, I literally have after meeting with our financial advisor a few years ago, I was like, maybe that's something I could do when my kids grew up and stuff.
[00:18:07]
I just felt like within certain communities, especially within communities of color, there's always this running joke of you leave enough money to bury someone, and that's kind of it, you know? And I know that for my parents, my husband and I, even with our kids, totally different than that, and really making sure things are in place. But when it comes to financial planning, I think some people think that they don't even have anything, like I don't have enough to have a financial planner. And I'd love it if you could touch on that and speak to that. Because I feel like a lot of what we do is really about legacies and building those legacies and then leaving those legacies behind. And if we're not protecting what we have, then it's really hard to leave anything behind. So, if you could touch on that and just maybe even dispel the notion that you don't have enough for a financial advisor and what that really looks like.
Nicholle Overkamp: [00:19:07]
Sure. So, the first thing that I want to say is that the majority of people, entrepreneurs, individuals who are wealthy, have become wealthy, started with nothing, it's what they chose to do with it. And so, we make choices. And the more intentional you become with those choices, the better off you are. And with financial planning or financial advisors, there are a lot of different advisors out there, and how they work. I think our industry tends to be extremely confusing, because the term financial advisor is used, and there could be ten financial advisors that do ten different things and work ten different ways. And so, that's fun. So, definitely ask a lot of questions and interview, but in a way that we work ... and there are many other advisors that work this way, is we charge a fee for a financial plan.
[00:20:06]
So, you don't have to buy a product, you don't have to worry about buying life insurance or having a certain number of assets under management, but you can pay a fee to get a financial plan done. And what that does and helps with is, it really is that process of reverse engineering of how to get what you want, where to put your money, how to manage your money, how to manage your cash flow, and allocating it in a way that you are able to do what you want now while also planning for your future self and for that future generation. Because for a lot of us, it is important to leave behind some kind of legacy in creating that generational wealth, especially if you maybe came from a family like me where I had nothing.
[00:21:01]
And I don't want to say nothing. Sure, did not suffer, but I didn't come from money either, and neither did my parents. And so, to create a space where I'm able to change that story for my niece and nephew and for my family and other actual nonprofits. I think you hit it on the head, Kiva, when you said women trickle down. They do, women make more nonprofit contributions statistically than men. We want to make a bigger impact. And for me, that's a big goal of mine. But the idea of putting all those pieces together helps you to see what's possible. And when you see what's possible, when you see what you're capable of achieving, you choose differently. Does that make sense?
Kiva Slade: [00:21:51]
That makes a lot of sense. I love that. Thank you so much for that. Because I feel like everyone needs to think about that, and I don't know if we do enough or we talk about it enough. Because I think there is also that part of no one wants to talk about what's going to happen after they die. And it's just like guess what? You're not going to live forever, have the hard conversation, have it now and, you know. And then I love when you hear someone says, "Yeah, we buried my whatever family member and she had everything planned out, down to her outfit, what songs to sing." I was like, I want to be her, all detailed out. Don't deviate from this plan here, people. I said I want this red dress, do not put me in the black one. Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Nicholle. I feel like this is so much good, juicy stuff. And it's like whether we're starting with revenue versus profit and understanding that difference, and then really putting into place those solid financial foundations as we build our businesses, as we build our financial homes, and how important that is.
[00:23:05]
So, I'd love to know if there was one thing that you could tell, let's say, 20-year-old Nicholle who's figuring things out in life. She might be in school and they're dangling credit card offers in front of her in exchange for a water bottle. What would you tell her as one piece of financial advice?
Nicholle Overkamp: [00:23:31]
It would actually be to have the confidence to ask for help. Have the confidence to ask for help. I was petrified of someone thinking I was incompetent so I spent an exuberant amount of time trying to figure it out on my own and made so many mistakes that could have been avoided if I would have just asked someone who knew what they were doing.
Kiva Slade: [00:23:56]
Oh my gosh. Amen is all I'm going to say to that. It's just like you don't want to appear confident, you don't want to appear like you don't know it. Or if someone asks something, you feel pressed to like give an answer instead of "Let me look into that and get back to you."
Nicholle Overkamp: [00:24:17]
Exactly.
Kiva Slade: [00:24:19]
So, I love that. Don't be afraid. Have the confidence to ask for help. Absolutely love that. So, Nicholle actually has a special for everyone. So, you have courses, can you tell us about that, please?
Nicholle Overkamp: [00:24:35]
Yes. So, I created so many different amazing courses. So, they start from basic personal finance courses all the way to if you are an entrepreneur, what you need to know. And what we've been asked over the years by our business owner clients of issues that they have, and courses around that. We have a business accelerator, and so there's a myriad of those. And what we wanted to do was give you content that you could use, implement with all of the worksheets, all of the instruction. If you're that person who likes to do it themselves or dip a toe in, you want to dip a toe, you want to get all the information, you want to see what you can do on your own before you're ready to move to the next level and maybe working with someone, that is what they're there for. They're amazing. They're super comprehensive and really include a ton of detail.
Kiva Slade: [00:25:29]
Awesome. So, Nicholle is offering 20% off of her online courses and that information will be in the show notes. Make sure you go take advantage of it, please. Thank you again, Nicholle, for being here. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and just financial nuggets as we had them here today. And everyone, make sure to check out the show notes so you know how you can get in touch with Nicholle and her team and continue to build your financial house. So, we'll talk to you next time. Bye.
[00:26:02]
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Collab With Kiva. Each of us has a different path and I hope that this episode gave you some takeaway that has left you inspired and motivated to keep pressing forward on your unique path. Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss out on any future episodes. And of course, your reviews on Apple are greatly appreciated. If you are a small business owner ready to start making data-driven decisions in your business, and you know that without the data, you're really just guessing, take sure to visit my website, the516collaborative.com, and let's schedule a time to talk to make sure that you can harness the power of data in your business. I'll see you next time. Bye.
Meet Kiva Slade - the Founder and CEO of The 516 Collaborative. With a unique background in high-power politics on Capitol Hill and sixteen years as a homeschooling mama, Kiva found her calling in the online business world as a trusted guide for entrepreneurs looking to build the business of their dreams.
Kiva's work began behind the scenes, orchestrating the back end of businesses and managing teams. But her inner data diva couldn't help but notice that small businesses needed help harnessing the power of data for growth. So she and her team set out to uncover and tidy up the data required to enable clients to grow their businesses confidently and easily.