Foundation Focus: Financial Clarity Starts with the Courage to Look
Being good at your business and being good at managing its money are two entirely different skill sets.
Let's talk about the money. More specifically, let's talk about that little banking app we occasionally pretend doesn't exist. “We” used to be me, but I know I don't have to tell you this by now.
In the first Foundation Focus: Financial Clarity for Creatives, we introduced financial wellness as one of the foundations of a sustainable professional life. We also introduced Tina Richardson, a fellow Tampa-based event industry professional and accountant who understands that running a creative business isn't exactly a nine-to-five operation. She also intimately understands the life we live as creatives and event pros. She is one.
When she started her talk with money mindset, the woo-woo/psychology nerd in me was elated. I believe that is literally where my personal finance challenges have the biggest issues. At the foundation, you say? Shhh. I am trying to work here. Once we work on the mindset...wait, let me rephrase that, while we work on our money mindsets, we can take the time to look at the numbers.
Are you running your business or just keeping it running? Creative entrepreneurs wear an impressive collection of hats. We're salespeople, marketers, designers, contract negotiators, client managers, problem solvers, and sometimes professional miracle workers. Most of us are at every event, working all of those long hours, and sometimes, simultaneously buying all the things. Apparently, somewhere between answering emails at midnight and making someone's impossible vision come to life, we're also supposed to be the accounting department. This checks for me.
The real question, that at times in my career I have avoided, is whether I am running a profitable business, or just really damn busy. I have always been keenly aware that the more I work I do, the more I spend to accomplish everything. It means grocery delivery and more purchased, ready-made food. It means a dog sitter and paying more for after-hours services. It also means exactly zero time to look at my bank balance, leaving me to trust that I am fine because money is consistently coming in every day. A packed calendar doesn't necessarily mean a healthy bank account.
Money comes in. Money goes out. We pay the bills, book the next client, buy more supplies, and somehow keep the whole operation and our personal lives running, at times by throwing money at it. I can't tell you how many times tax season has come and I have been in for a few shocking nuggets of info. First, the balance is nowhere near representative of the effort I put in and not at all what I anticipated. Another even more unsettling and embarrassing fact I have literally never said out loud and only allowed myself to ponder in a limited, shameful way: Often, the years that I had the least in my bank account were the years that had the most money coming in. The kind of money that could have advanced the business or me in a significant way. Ugh. That just really hurt me to write just now. Let's PLEASE keep it between us.
A Little Financial Reality Check
Since I just confessed the darkest of secrets, I will ask you to reflect on this:
Do you know what your business actually earned last month after expenses?
Can you identify your three biggest operating expenses without investigating?
Do you know what upcoming expense is due before the money leaves your account?
Have you ever avoided checking your balance because you simply weren't in the mood for bad news?
If you felt personally attacked by my last sentence, me too! And, welcome. You're among friends. Avoidance can feel surprisingly comfortable in the moment. Unfortunately, it's a terrible bookkeeping system (she speaks from experience-see the previously documented confession above).
I am still working on my financial health, especially as I have taken some hits and made some pivots that have cost me a lot. We are family here, so I am not going to try and make myself out as something I am not. If you struggle in this way, and to be clear, I am not talking about struggling to make money or keep it. I am talking about struggling to stay on top of it, know it, intimately checking on it daily so you know exactly what = what. If this is also you, I would love for you to join me in this little, simple challenge.
Our Seven-Day Challenge: This week we look.
Before we download six financial apps or make an entirely new, strict financial lifestyle change, I'd like to propose something with less friction. How about a little micro-action that becomes a micro-habit?
For seven days, open your business banking app at the same time every day. That is the challenge.
Look at the balance. Review the transactions. Notice what's coming in, what's going out, and what's waiting around the corner. PERIOD! Take as little or as much time as you would like or need. Try not to catastrophize or congratulate yourself prematurely, and for this particular week, don't feel obligated to solve every financial problem before you even solidify the habit of looking. Checking an account balance isn't the same as understanding cash flow, profitability, or financial statements, but getting comfortable looking at the numbers is a perfectly respectable first step. Friends (we already know this, so let's say it together), small, repeatable steps are how we develop the habits and standards to strengthen our foundation.
Ready to Understand What You're Looking At? Financial Clarity Next Step
Remember Tina Richardson, also known around the Tampa event scene as DJ Queen T? (Love her.)
In the last Foundation Focus post, she helped introduce the relationship between money mindset, personal habits, and the decisions we make as business owners. In case you are wondering, I did, in fact, take that free webinar she was offering. The replay is still available on her site if you are interested. Now she's taking that conversation into the real world.
On November 19, Tina is bringing her Let's WORK on YOUR Business workshop to the historic Tampa Firefighters Museum in downtown Tampa.
This is no generic motivational talk about manifesting a better bank balance. It's three hours of practical financial education for Tampa Bay entrepreneurs and creative business owners who want to better understand the money behind their businesses. In person, with peers, and real-time Q&A. We'll be getting into income and expenses, balance sheets, financial statements, and how to use that information to make more informed business decisions.
Participants will leave with a beautiful and substantial workbook they can use beyond the event, along with new connections, refreshments, and hopefully fewer reasons to fear their accounting software. She is inviting attendees to bring their financials to set up the systems in the book in real time. No, boo, you do not have to share those numbers with her or anyone, but it is an invitation to really do the work and not have to learn in one place, then go home and risk not putting that into practice because now we have more damn steps to take on a part of our lives we didn't particularly love dealing with in the first place.
Workshop Details
November 19, 2026 | 6–9 PM
Tampa Firefighters Museum | 720 E. Zack Street, Tampa
Investment: $250
I'll be there managing the evening, naturally. You can also catch me taking more notes than the attendees in the workbook I hope that she gives me (hint, hint, Ms. Tina) at the back of the room by the wine and "Jarcuterie."
After a lifetime of managing budgets, vendors, events, and other people's expectations, I've learned something worth remembering: Being excellent at what you do doesn't automatically mean you're taking excellent care of the business, and for damn sure it doesn't mean you are taking care of the person running that business.
Both deserve the attention, friends. You hear that? That is the choir! Let's start with seven days and exercise some courage as we just freaking look! We are building that habit and learning that we can face whatever the numbers tell us. The stress on our nervous systems from not knowing what is going on in that account is too steep a price to pay.
Much love.
Connect with Tina Richardson for more information about her work and upcoming financial education opportunities.
