Starting 2026 Aligned: The Personal Shifts That Made Us Better Business Owners

We’re kicking off 2026 with a reflective, grounding, and honest conversation. In this episode of Branded & Booked, Tina and Kailee recap the end of last year, share their intentions for the year ahead, and dive into the non-business work that quietly transformed their businesses.

We talk about the behind-the-scenes shifts that made the biggest impact, including:

• Learning how we work best through schedules, routines, and energy cycles
• Navigating our personality types and honoring them in business
• Finding balance to avoid burnout (instead of pushing through it)
• Setting stronger boundaries and going to therapy
• Getting our finances organized and aligned with our goals

This episode is a reminder that growth doesn’t always come from doing more — sometimes it comes from slowing down, getting honest, and building a life that actually supports your business.

If you’re entering 2026 craving more alignment, sustainability, and clarity, this one’s for you.

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Episode Music: QubeSounds

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Transcript

Kailee Nauman 1:05

Okay, yes, you could do all these things for business, but there's so much more behind the scenes that you probably need to work on in order to get to where you want to be in business.

Tina Floersch 1:34

There we go. We are ready. We've been recording.

Kailee Nauman 1:40

Duh! That's how we get the best sound bites. Making monster noises over here. y

Kailee Nauman 1:50

Oh boy.

Tina Floersch 1:51

Welcome to our lives.

Kailee Nauman 1:54

This is me. This is, is that how that song goes.

Tina Floersch 1:59

I think that was a different song, but I mean maybe it's not. I don't know.

Kailee Nauman 2:05

One will never know. Okay. A little.

Tina Floersch 2:12

Shake it out.

Kailee Nauman 2:13

I wanna wear my glasses, but they're dirty.

Kailee Nauman 2:17

Okay.

Kailee Nauman 2:20

Ready?

Tina Floersch 2:20

Yeah.

Kailee Nauman 2:22

Hi everyone.

Kailee Nauman 2:23

Welcome back to Branded and Booked.

Kailee Nauman 2:26

Welcome to a new year. I was gonna say a new season, but we don't be doing seasons anymore. Yeah.

Tina Floersch 2:33

And technically, once again, it's not technically the new year because that doesn't happen until April, but this is the new calendar year.

Tina Floersch 2:42

2026, baby.

Kailee Nauman 2:44

I know a uh 11-year, correct?

Tina Floersch 2:49

A one year.

Kailee Nauman 2:49

A one year. Yeah, because yesterday was 111.

Kailee Nauman 2:53

And then it's the year of the horse.

Tina Floersch 2:57

Well, again, not until I think I think the year of the horse actually doesn't start until February. So we're still in the year of the snake.

Tina Floersch 3:03

Because it's the Chinese astrology. This is the horse snake thing.

Kailee Nauman 3:12

I love that we lean into all these different energies, though.

Kailee Nauman 3:16

It last year being the year of the snake, and I guess the energy now made so much sense. Like, even if we go back and listen to the old episodes that we recorded, there were numerous times where I said, Oh my gosh, I feel like I'm crawling out of like I'm peeling. And I for the longest time I was like, Oh, butterfly, butterfly. But the snake made so much more sense because it I didn't feel like I was coming out to be the butterfly. It was like I'm still the same person, just refreshed, revived, renewed.

Tina Floersch 3:53

Yeah, that makes sense.

Tina Floersch 3:54

Yeah, I can I can definitely relate to that.

Kailee Nauman 3:59

Are you ready for the new year?

Kailee Nauman 4:00

You're ready for 2026?

Tina Floersch 4:01

I am.

Tina Floersch 4:02

I was

Tina Floersch 4:03

you and I talked, and we were we were both like so ready to be done with 2025. I don't know what it was. Like the holidays were great, had a good time. But man, I was ready to just be done.

Kailee Nauman 4:15

The very end of the year for me was a lot. December was big. We were doing a lot. There was a lot of m oving pieces in December.

Tina Floersch 4:22

Yeah, you were.

Kailee Nauman 4:22

Um Tina and I had a fun first time, which is so weird to say for us since we've been friends for so long.

Kailee Nauman 4:31

First time trip together, just her and I.

Tina Floersch 4:33

I know.

Kailee Nauman 4:34

And that was the last episode that we put out.

Kailee Nauman 4:37

And it just felt really good. And then I came home and then gosh, what happened after that? What wasn't somebody in town when I came home or something?

Tina Floersch 4:48

Kylie?

Kailee Nauman 4:49

Yeah. So Kylie came into town and then she left. And then I immediately went to Denver.

Tina Floersch 4:56

Yep.

Kailee Nauman 4:56

And I was there for a week. Came back, signed to get my new house.

Kailee Nauman 5:05

Spent all the holidays moving, unpacking.

Kailee Nauman 5:09

We you and I spent Christmas together, which was nice, very low-key. But and then Zach's parents came into town.

Kailee Nauman 5:15

So December was like boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

Tina Floersch 5:17

I know a lot that was happening. Yeah. Yeah, it it's been a whirlwind for sure. And I'm my uh my boyfriend moved in with me right before Thanksgiving. I think we talked, did we talk about that on the last episode? I don't know if we did.

Tina Floersch 5:35

Anyway, so he moved in with me and we've been living together now, and that's been an adjustment. It's been really nice to have him close by though, because we did used to live two hours away, and he's at a new shop, and that energy has been really nice to have him here.

Tina Floersch 5:50

And but it just takes it just is a it's also a learning curve, too. Of you know, I've been I've been alone, I've been single and living by myself for four years now, so it's crazy to think that it was four years. I know, I know much needed alone time, and it was also it's just been an adjustment. It's been really nice, yeah. But an adjustment, and like relearning like, okay, I still got work, I still got clients, and I've I um yeah, yeah.

Tina Floersch 6:27

Speaking of, I hit my financial goal, my revenue goal.

Kailee Nauman 6:31

So we're glad you brought that up. If you didn't, I was going to.

Tina Floersch 6:35

At the very last minute, I like signed another website right at the like first couple weeks of December. I was only like a couple thousand dollars away. And I was like, all right, I got if this is where I end up, I'll you know, I got really close and I'm really proud of myself.

Tina Floersch 6:53

And then that last one hit, and I was like, what? So yeah, that was really crazy cool to hit that revenue goal. All by myself. Like, what?

Kailee Nauman 7:09

Yeah, I'm so freaking proud of you. It's you literally made the amount that like most of us make at like a corporate job.

Tina Floersch 7:19

Yeah,

Kailee Nauman 7:20

that's incredible.

Tina Floersch 7:20

I know.

Kailee Nauman 7:21

Congratulations.

Tina Floersch 7:22

Thanks. I know. I'm like, what? I did that by myself? Like

Kailee Nauman 7:26

you did, you did it.

Tina Floersch 7:27

Holy shit. And now I'm gonna double it. 2026. I'm gonna double up, baby.

Kailee Nauman 7:34

Six figures, let's go.

Tina Floersch 7:36

Double up, baby.

Kailee Nauman 7:37

Now all of you listening have to keep her accountable. So my goal actually is to hit your last year's goal. So 50K. Um, I had done, I sat down and I did all the math of everything I've made in my business over the last couple of years, which was really cool to see.

Kailee Nauman 7:58

And the most I've ever made with just my eclectic business in a full year was like over 27K. And that's still really good.

Tina Floersch 8:07

Yeah.

Kailee Nauman 8:08

But I know I can double it. Um, especially because last year I hit over 27 again, and I didn't have as many clients like at all.

Kailee Nauman 8:18

Yeah.

Kailee Nauman 8:18

So that's really good for the least amount of work that I did last year. So

Tina Floersch 8:25

yeah, and that was a big win for me too.

Tina Floersch 8:27

With last, like with hitting that 50k was I had

Tina Floersch 8:31

I just got full body goosebumps.

Tina Floersch 8:33

I had such an immense amount of that work life balance that I really wanted. Like I upped my prices, I was signing big packages, I was getting, I was setting timelines and getting them done.

Tina Floersch 8:46

Cause that's the other thing that sneaks up on people is like these projects.

Tina Floersch 8:52

I wasn't gonna name names.

Kailee Nauman 8:55

I have projects that will last like six months that I'm like, what am I doing?

Tina Floersch 8:59

It's yeah, and it it does happen, and it's just you know, I think because I work with lawyers, they are so like they wanted it yesterday kind of thing. So even my timeline, they're like, What do you mean it's gonna take three weeks?

Tina Floersch 9:14

I'm like, this is all, the best I can do!

Tina Floersch 9:16

you know, like so I think part of it is that, and um

Tina Floersch 9:23

so I am really thankful that it was like such an, I don't want to say easy, because that's not the right word, but it was not even effortless.

Tina Floersch 9:35

It just was balanced, it was really balanced.

Tina Floersch 9:38

I had moments where I had to sit and work on the weekends, you know, like I'm working seven, seven days a week.

Tina Floersch 9:46

And then there's times where I'm working one day a week.

Tina Floersch 9:49

So it really was, and it was always when I needed it. If we were, you know, celebrating your birthday or my birthday. It was just this beautiful flow of being able to take time off and go live and explore and play, and then coming back and being like, all right, I gotta put my head down for two weeks straight, you know?

Kailee Nauman 10:08

And not hit burnout,

Tina Floersch 10:09

and not hit burnout.

Tina Floersch 10:10

We talked about that yesterday.

Tina Floersch 10:11

That was another big thing, is that I got I got close. There were some moments where I was like, whoo, baby, if I don't pump the brakes and do something, I'm gonna, I'm gonna burn out.

Kailee Nauman 10:19

Like well, it's big that you acknowledge that. I think that's the hardest part of being an entrepreneur is not knowing when to pump the brakes and be okay with a little bit of a slower time.

Kailee Nauman 10:32

But I'm so proud of you.

Kailee Nauman 10:34

This is so exciting.

Tina Floersch 10:36

It's been uh, 2025. Yeah.

Kailee Nauman 10:39

It's been big for both of us.

Kailee Nauman 10:42

And now I'm ready to see where we can take that energy into this year. Oh my gosh, yeah. I feel like we're starting to up-level. And for me, up-leveling always feels very uncomfortable because I feel like I have to not let go, but process through a lot of past things that, you know, rather it's fears or just memories.

Kailee Nauman 11:07

I sit and like think about memories quite a bit. And so I wonder if some of those memories, I have to like the motion held onto them. I have to let them go. So ready for the new year, but also taking it one step at a time.

Tina Floersch 11:21

Yeah.

Kailee Nauman 11:21

Not feeling like I'm in a rush.

Tina Floersch 11:23

Right. Especially like with your new house and leaning into that new energy and that new space. I think it's a lot of yeah, shedding that skin, not necessarily a butterfly, but like taking up that room and seeing what seeing what you do with that space.

Kailee Nauman 11:48

Yeah. I have some stories to tell about this new house, which I'm very excited.

Kailee Nauman 11:52

But before I do, and we jump in for today, we're gonna do our card polls.

Tina Floersch 11:57

Yeah, baby.

Kailee Nauman 11:58

And I forgot mine. They're all hanging out in a box at my house.

Kailee Nauman 12:02

So I told Tina, I was like, I gotta put one just in my backpack.

Tina Floersch 12:05

Yeah.

Kailee Nauman 12:05

So Tina has provided me with a beautiful oracle deck today.

Kailee Nauman 12:09

She went upstairs and she goes, What do you want?

Kailee Nauman 12:10

I go, you choose.

Kailee Nauman 12:12

So she chose the Cosmo Visions Oracle, and it says A Journey Through the Space Between Lives by James R. Eats. Yep. Beautiful. So the cards themselves, you said there's what, three decks?

Tina Floersch 12:27

There's yeah, it's a set my sister bought from him. And I've pulled from these other the from the tarot decks before.

Tina Floersch 12:32

And then this is the Oracle.

Tina Floersch 12:34

I think I've pulled from this a while ago, but it's been a minute.

Tina Floersch 12:37

But yeah, it's this set of three decks, and it comes with this gorgeous like a companied book that cut like comes with it. It's a hardcover book.

Kailee Nauman 12:46

It is stunning.

Tina Floersch 12:46

It's stunning, it's gorgeous.

Tina Floersch 12:48

It was like this whole, I think it was like a Kickstarter. Like he had just launched it, and my sister bought it for me, and it was like a friend of her ex or something. So it came with books, a card, a bookmark, a uh a card, like table, like what do you call it? Like an altar cloth.

Tina Floersch 13:05

Yeah. It was like this whole set that she got me. It was really, it's really, really pretty.

Kailee Nauman 13:09

Oh, I love that. So the card I pulled from it, I don't remember if I pulled it reverse or upwards, but I was reading through it. So I think I'm gonna share both of them because I think it's just a good card for the year.

Kailee Nauman 13:21

Okay.

Kailee Nauman 13:22

The card itself is two of embers, and there's three women that you can visibly see dancing in a circle. There's another one that's kind of out of frame, but they're in this beautiful, you could tell it's at night, they're in the forest. The sky is like a mosaic, almost like Vincent Van Gogh type of painting.

Kailee Nauman 13:44

It's so, so pretty.

Kailee Nauman 13:47

And so the card reads Two of Embers, mirror card, two of wands. So as you stumble across a peculiar moment in the forest, barefooted stone women linked in arms seem to have frozen mid-dance. Then you notice a heel lift off the ground, and then another. Soon their emotion begins to pick up and they spin in the night. Flames twirl from the heat of the dancer's movements, and what was once a statue is now completely alive.

Kailee Nauman 14:19

So the upright meaning is all about planning, making decisions, and leaving home. And it says the presence is very neutral. So when the stone dancers show up in a reading, it indicates a readiness for movement and an opportune time to expand for new perspective. Perhaps you have been stagnant recently or have fallen into your comforts. You are not at the beginning or the end of something, but near the middle. It is crucial to make moves and make them soon. You don't know how long the momentum will last before it begins to slow. So I really love that one just for the time of this episode and the timing of the new year, of course. But I really liked the reverse meaning, and I feel like it spoke to me a little bit more. Okay. So fearing change, stagnant, immobile, and the presence is challenging. So it says, reverse the dancers have no footing, for they fear that a single move will cause them to crumble. But even if the dance were to end, wouldn't it be better to have danced than not at all? Oh this fear of change can be crippling, but change is the one thing that cannot be escaped. And when you understand that, you will no longer fear the flow. When this card reveals itself, it may be asking you to confront those fears. It may be causing you to play things too safely. We learned from the stone dancers that there will come a day when you will no longer be able to dance. So if you are able to now, then do it and celebrate the mere fact that you are alive.

Tina Floersch 15:50

It is absolutely the reverse. That is so good.

Kailee Nauman 15:52

I'm getting so emotional.

Tina Floersch 15:54

Yeah, wow.

Kailee Nauman 15:56

Yeah. I think it's just like one of those things, too, just like the world we're in right now. And it's like there's so many big things happening and within all of our lives, but in the world too. And it's like just remembering that there's two things can exist at the same time. Like you can dance and be alive, but also have like those fears.

Tina Floersch 16:21

Yeah.

Kailee Nauman 16:22

And I think we're all playing this dance of life. Oh wow. I don't know why that one got me so emotional.

Tina Floersch 16:28

I mean, it makes sense. Yeah.

Kailee Nauman 16:30

Yeah, that was a that was a good one. That was really good.

Tina Floersch 16:36

Okay. So I pulled from the Angels and Ancestors.

Tina Floersch 16:41

It's another Oracle.

Tina Floersch 16:42

I don't know what it was, I went up there and I was like, I feel like we need some Oracle energy today to start this off.

Tina Floersch 16:51

Um, and so yeah, this is um a deck by Kyle Gray and actually three cards through out flew out at me.

Tina Floersch 17:00

I'm gonna read just the top one, but I'll like I'll read the the book for the just the first one, but I'll read the card titles of the other two after this first one because they all kind of go together.

Tina Floersch 17:15

So the card that came out is Shield Maiden. Make plans and focus.

Tina Floersch 17:20

And it's this Viking warrior. She has blue face paint and markings on her arm. She's holding a sh a sword and a shield, and it's it's really, really pretty. Really, really pretty.

Tina Floersch 17:37

So this comes in three parts.

Tina Floersch 17:40

First part is the message: have a plan or strategy in place before moving forward. The shield maiden is the female knight in shining armor. In Viking traditions, women were seen as equal to men, and so joined them on their raids and fought with them on the battlefield. In this deck, the shield maiden brings a fiercely feminine energy, the power to be a warrior while retaining feminine sensitivity. She is ready to put her plan into action, she's ready to go into battle. Her medicine helps us move beyond any unsettled feelings when our plans start to take shape and follow through with our strategies in order to be where we want to be. Shield maidens work together in times gone by, in times gone by to create shield walls of protection. So she also shows us how to work with others in order to bring our plans to fruition.

Tina Floersch 18:31

Extended message. Taking some time to assess what your next steps will be. All great warriors have a plan. You are a sensitive being, and if you are not prepared for the tasks you are taking on, you could end up feeling exposed and helpless. The ancestor guidance that is coming to you now is a reminder that you have a warrior's heart and that you have it within you to be more prepared and focused than you have been recently. So have a strategy in place and then let your guides support you as you move forward.

Tina Floersch 19:01

And then the other two cards that came out were the Hermit, Retreat and Recharge,

Tina Floersch 19:06

and The Sage, be devoted and committed.

Kailee Nauman 19:10

Wow. I feel like all of those cards are big just for the year ahead.

Tina Floersch 19:14

I know. So I won't I won't read the message for those, but I just wanted to read kind of the like what the cards were. So I thought it was really powerful that they were like all three together.

Kailee Nauman 19:25

No, seriously.

Kailee Nauman 19:26

Cause it's like you're going into battle and then the hermit's about coming back into being so reset.

Tina Floersch 19:33

Yeah.

Kailee Nauman 19:34

And then Sage, be devoted and committed.

Kailee Nauman 19:38

Wow. What a big card reading.

Tina Floersch 19:40

I know.

Kailee Nauman 19:40

Oracle cards were where it was at.

Tina Floersch 19:42

I know. I know.

Kailee Nauman 19:43

Oh, that one got me so emotional. Like I felt it in my heartstrings.

Kailee Nauman 19:46

I was like, oh, I felt like it was a message that a lot of us needed. Yeah.

Kailee Nauman 19:53

These are beautiful.

Tina Floersch 19:54

I know.

Kailee Nauman 19:55

What a good card reading.

Kailee Nauman 19:58

Oh, wow.

Kailee Nauman 19:59

We wanted to start off this year talking about, you know, Tina and I always we'll just be chatting and then we'll be like, ooh, podcast episode.

Kailee Nauman 20:08

And I just have felt for a while I've wanted to talk about this about like the things we have done that have helped us in business that have nothing to do with business.

Kailee Nauman 20:20

But have, you know, if we hadn't have worked on these things outside of business, we probably wouldn't be where we are.

Kailee Nauman 20:28

Um, I think it's easy to listen to the podcast or be on social media and think that like like you said, oh, it's just easy.

Kailee Nauman 20:39

Like, no, running a business is not easy.

Kailee Nauman 20:41

There's so much that has gone into it.

Kailee Nauman 20:43

It's been years of preparation, decades of learning and education and kind of figuring out who we are as people. And so, yeah, that's kind of the topic I wanted to bring up today.

Kailee Nauman 20:57

Because if I could give anybody advice, it's like okay, yes, you could do all these things for business, but there's just so much more behind the scenes that you probably need to work on in order to get to where you want to be in business.

Tina Floersch 21:12

Really. Yeah. And it goes back to even what I was saying was like just really focusing on that balance.

Tina Floersch 21:18

Like you are at the core of your business and you have to make sure that you're putting yourself first above all.

Tina Floersch 21:25

Because your business doesn't run without you.

Tina Floersch 21:28

I mean, it could, you know, maybe there's I'd I would hope for every entrepreneur that there's a point where your business will run without you. But I think at the very core, at the very beginning, it is, especially if you're a solopreneur and it's just you, you don't have a team.

Tina Floersch 21:46

That's really like you have to take care of yourself.

Kailee Nauman 21:50

You do.

Kailee Nauman 21:50

You know, I've seen plenty of times where people's businesses get way too big, way too quick, and they forget to focus on themselves too in the process, and then their foundation crumbles and their business crumbles, and then they crumble because they lose like identity of self and who they are and who they even are in their business.

Kailee Nauman 22:11

Awnd I think you and I have done a great job of really just being ourselves in our business, which has helped tremendously.

Tina Floersch 22:18

Yeah.

Kailee Nauman 22:19

Is getting to know who you are as a person, how you like to run things, how you work best.

Kailee Nauman 22:26

Like,

Tina Floersch 22:26

That's huge.

Kailee Nauman 22:27

it was so big for me to be like, no, I just I can't I don't wake up early. I don't start my day early. I start my day when I go to the gym at 10, waking up around 9:30. And then I usually start work around 11, 11:30, you know?

Tina Floersch 22:45

And having a little bit of a later start, later work night, just it's so much easier. And for a really long time, I was always told that, you know, you need to have an eight to five, you know, wake up early, but I can't function in the morning.

Tina Floersch 23:00

So getting to figure out how you function best is so crucial. Mm-hmm. It really is. And it and it does take a lot of work.

Tina Floersch 23:10

It takes a lot of experimenting.

Tina Floersch 23:13

It takes a lot of getting uh really, really honest with yourself. Because A I think for a long time it really was, I was trying to fit a mold, like you said, that eight to five. And I did that, and I I kept trying it.

Tina Floersch 23:30

I have, I have tried.

Tina Floersch 23:33

I have tried having a job where I have to show up at eight o'clock or even be online at eight o'clock, and they it just doesn't work.

Tina Floersch 23:41

It does not work for me. I I don't do well with that much like pressure, essentially. Like I have to have the ability to flow, like literally, my business name is VISUALFLO, and like my last name is Floersch, FLO.

Tina Floersch 23:58

So it's literally in my name. And I need that. I need to have the ability to play and flow. And um, some days I'm showing up and I can crank out an eight-hour workday.

Tina Floersch 24:13

Some days I I show up for an hour. Like I, but it's taken me a long time to accept that that's just how I work. And I sometimes need to take days off where I don't do any work at all. And you know, I'm still hitting my deadlines, but I may not be available. Or if I'm if I am available, I'm not really.

Tina Floersch 24:35

I think we talked about this the other day. Like not really, I don't my my clients don't need to know where I'm what I'm doing.

Kailee Nauman 24:40

No.

Kailee Nauman 24:41

If anything, your client should not know your schedule, like at all

Tina Floersch 24:46

and really like not oversharing, just sharing just enough.

Tina Floersch 24:51

And yeah, that was kind of a plethora of things, but

Kailee Nauman 24:56

it's so true. Just getting to know how you work as a human, you know.

Kailee Nauman 25:01

Like, I think we always think, like, okay, how do we mold ourselves into business? Going back to you feeling like you had to fit that mold.

Kailee Nauman 25:08

And I felt that too.

Kailee Nauman 25:09

Like you had to do things a certain way, be a certain way, and still do your job. But that's a lot of the time how many of us one hit burnout to get angry.

Kailee Nauman 25:22

That's why a lot of us end up hating our jobs, is it just doesn't again match and align with like who you are as a person.

Kailee Nauman 25:33

So I think getting realistic was like a big thing for us. Um, and business aside, again, right?

Kailee Nauman 25:39

Like Tina and I have worked on this outside of business. So rather that was learning our routines or, you know, figuring out our sleep schedule.

Kailee Nauman 25:49

Like it's so crazy. I never thought that like having a sleep schedule would really benefit me in business, but it has been tremendous because your girl used to never sleep at all. And then I'd be like, why am I barely functioning?

Kailee Nauman 26:07

Oh, Kailee only gets four hours of sleep at night. Right. Maybe that's why.

Kailee Nauman 26:10

Yeah. Um, or she'll like sleep for 10, 12 hours a night. Yeah, that's too much. So I kind of have like a pretty consistent sleep schedule now, and that's helped me.

Tina Floersch 26:18

It's a huge, like small thing that you can do.

Tina Floersch 26:21

Like, again, it doesn't have to look a certain way. As long as it's consistent, that's what's gonna benefit you. If you're if you're going to bed around the same time, having a night root, a nighttime like window routine that you know, that those are just these things that can really help keep the balance.

Kailee Nauman 26:46

So sleep, getting to know who you are as a person. I think a really big thing for me, and clearly we've seen it with me being able to get a house, is like finances. I educated myself until I could not educate myself anymore on finances. And I will preach that forever and always now because it without it, I definitely wouldn't be in a house right now. I wouldn't be debt-free other than the house now. But um when I first started dating Zach, and I've talked to Tina about this too, about eight years ago, I was about 20 grand in debt. And so I was upside down on a car, had tons of credit cards because I would just shop like crazy when I was younger. And then um had all my student loans. And so around that time, I was like barely living paycheck to paycheck. And when I started dating Zach, we talked about it and he's like, I want you to move in. And I was like, I don't feel comfortable with that because I can barely make it check to check. Like, I can't afford rent. And so he was like, Okay, well, let's sit down, let's create you a budget. And that was the first time anybody has sat down and said, let's look at your finances, let's look at your spending habits. Yeah. And so he helped me a lot in the beginning of just being more conscious of it, being more mindful of like, okay, I don't need to go to old Navy and buy their clearance sale and add to my 30 pairs of leggings that I already's on sale doesn't mean you need to buy it. Yeah. Yeah. So kind of changing my thinking in that. And pretty quickly I was able to pay off my 20K in debt. We sold the car I was upside down in. Um, and then got really lucky with my student loans. So if you haven't, if you're new here, my student loans got forgiven. So I'm a very, very lucky little duck on that one. Um, but from there and this house, like I saved up a very big deposit for this house. And I feel so freaking proud of myself. And if it weren't for me understanding my own personal finances, my business would definitely not be sustainable and succeeding. I've gotten very, very good now applying financial stuff to my business to where like anytime income comes in, it goes into little money buckets. So I have like business expenses. So that's programs I use, or if I'm paying someone to help me, then I pay myself because you got to pay yourself in business. I do. I save quite a lot for taxes, probably too much, to be honest. But then when it's tax article, that's a nice little change. Um, but yeah, finances have been huge. And I feel like when I first started in business, I would sit with a coach and they would be like, You got to change your money habits. And I'd be like, I don't understand. What do you mean I have to change my money habits? Um, but it did. It's since now that I'm on the other side and I've actually faced my money fears or my money frustrations or the trauma with money from when I was younger, um, definitely would not be as comfortable as I am now financially. So I will scream it from the rooftops, like get your finances in check. I it's a huge, it's a huge piece of it. And honestly, it can be as easy as starting out, but with like just looking at all of your accounts every single day. Like I open my bank accounts once a day. I look at my credit cards, I look at my checking account, my personal checking account, I look at my business. Like I know exactly how much money I have every single day. And I think it's a really important piece that I don't that the older I get, the more I realize that not a lot of people do it. And living with my sweet, amazing boyfriend, he has shown me some things where like not everybody does it. Like we were talking about uh subscriptions, and I was like, Because I pay for my own and he's paid for his own. And it was like this conversation last night where I was like, Do you still pay? Are you still paying for your Hulu? And he goes, Well, I don't know. I'm like, what do you mean you don't know? Yeah, what you don't know what subscriptions you're paying for? Like, you probably don't need to pay for it because we're using mine and I have the ad-free one, so we don't need your, you know, like those types of things, and it just really brought up that not everyone does it that way, and I think there's a lot of avoidance around looking at your accounts because it can be it can be scary, yes. It's not only scary, but I think also, you know, our entire way of living, especially here in the US, is a lot of the time money equates to success or materialism equates to success. And I've also done a lot of work of like how I t I speak about money. Yeah. I never thought I never thought that really mattered, but instead of being like, oh my gosh, I'm so broke. Or I can't afford that, or I can't afford that, I'll be like, oh, it's not in budget anymore. It's huge, or I'll say, you know, that's something I'll save up for. I just can't right now. And that has been monumental. Like the fact, the fact that I save so much for my house within such a short amount of time is bonkers. Incredible. And I was still affording to pay someone to help me with my business, and I was still able to afford the lifestyle that we live here in Florida. So it's just things like that where it's like, oh wow, I've really come a long way. The way I started to get more into this is I would watch a lot of YouTube, find someone on YouTube financially within the financial world that you trust. I follow a lot of educators on social media. I found the ones that like resonate with me, right? Like, I'm sorry, but if you're gonna tell me that I can't go to the coffee shop two times a week because it's wasting my money, I'm gonna be like, screw you, I'm still gonna get my coffee. Right. If it brings you joy, then yeah. Find it, make room in other places. I like to think people always think this is funny. I always say, like, uh, that's like two coffees worth of money. So I'm not gonna buy it because I want my two coffees instead. Yeah. Yeah. So things like that. Just a give and take. So definitely do yourself the favor like if you're in business right now and you're like not making money, I'm not making what I want to make, like I'm struggling with my finances. You have to face your finances. Yeah. Sit down, get them in check, ask somebody who is good with their finances, ask them for help. Like, don't be afraid to ask for help. I think talking about money amongst your circle is really big too. Huge. Um, I don't really do it with my friends and family too much, but I mean, you and I talk about it a lot. Um, Zach and I have started to talk about it even more. I mean, we've been together eight years, but like our money was always separate. But now that we have a house, we're like, oh, we have to be a little bit more transparent about money. So it's just things like that where it's like money is one in our world of thinking energetic. So it's like an exchange, but also they're just numbers. Yeah, they're just numbers. I was trying to find this video, I've been on my phone trying to find because I saw it this morning, and it was this video about how money is water. Oh, because it like I wish I could find it. It was so good. It was this morning, but it was basically talking about like money is water, and it does best when it's moving kind of thing, like instead of hoarding it and keeping it, like moving it through and using it and kind of that abundance like mindset. If it if you oh, here, money is just like water. When it flows, it creates more. When it sits, it evaporates. Move your money with intention to grow into skills, into assets. Yes. Well, and there's so many cool things about the money world. Like, I almost think of it as like a game now where it's like you and I talked about this. Instead of having your money sit in a savings account, there are literally savings accounts out there called high yield savings accounts that make you money off of your money, which blew my mind. I was like, what are you even talking about? Yeah. So I actually follow Tori Dunlap. She's the financial feminist, first 100K. I really like her stuff. She's all about female empowerment. Her whole company is all female, but I love her podcast. I think that's a great place to start. She has a book as well, but podcasts tend to do more justice for me. But there's a lot there, there's so much free information. I know. So much at our fingertips. Like lean into it, talk to people about it. Buy a book, rent a book from the library, you know, like there's there's a lot out there to help, to help you. Yeah, it'll help you tremendously in business. Is there anything you feel like you've done that you were like, oh my gosh, I wish I would have known this sooner? I mean, it really was just kind of the balance thing, really just not and like upping my prices. That's what I did last year was I upped my prices and I worked less. And that was just a huge piece of running my business last year. Um, so that is kind of another financial part of it. Um do you think like without business, right, that would be you working on like your self-worth or like what did you have to do in order to feel comfortable with raising your prices? Yeah, definitely like the self-worth piece and and acknowledging the skill set that I have and really embracing it. And I think it really had to do with you and I talk about this offline all the time of like there are people out in this world in top tippy top positions who don't know what they're doing. And if they do know, they're doing a pretty poor job at it. And so, you know, it is a little bit of too-tooting my own horn. Being like, no, I do know these things. I have the skills, I have the the these abilities, and I I know what I bring to the table. Sure, I don't, and you know, it's not end all, be all like I know everything, but I think it is a little bit of like that confidence piece of it, which we want to do a whole nother episode about. Yes, yes, yes, yes. So for sure, like the confidence aspect of my skills and what I bring to the table, and even just the the the feedback that I get, really listening to that of what are what are people saying and taking that to heart, not just being like, oh shush you, but being like, no, actually, I kick some serious ass. Like, yeah. Yeah, taking pride in what you do, I think is big and carrying yourself with like kind of with your head held, yeah, right. Like outside of business too. Um, I know I want to talk about confidence so bad, but I know that's gonna be like a whole episode that we're gonna dive into, which I'm very excited about because I we get asked a lot, like, I wish I had your confidence. How are you so confident? Yeah, that'll be a good episode. We get to be literally a whole episode about that. Yeah. So, you know, it takes time and also being like patience, I think was very, very, very hard for me to focus on patience in life, patience in myself, patience in the process. So that's been like a huge thing I've been working on behind the scenes is just being like patience with everything that's unfolding. Um, and it plays into like balance again. Boundaries. Yes, boundaries was a huge one. Going to therapy, that's yeah, top tier. Yes. I, you know, people again, you see the stuff on social media or the glimpses, or people just meet you and don't know about your past. Like I went to, I think 10 years of therapy, a decade worth of time to sit and work through my childhood trauma, my current issues, things I just could not get past, my guilt. Um, because all of that bled into my business. And it's how I was running business in a scarcity mindset with fear, charging little to nothing, feeling like I couldn't work with bigger businesses yet. Yeah. So therapy was a big one. Yeah, I'm in therapy most of my life. So just being able to get a different perspective that's like not close to your life is huge. It's huge. It's I don't, I'm not putting all of my shit on the people around me. Like, I have an outside source where I can be like, just level with me. What is going on? You know, am I am I going nuts or am I just, you know, and like having an outside party to really flush through things, especially as a neurodivergent person with anxiety. Depression. Um it helps a lot. It helps a lot to really manage that. Um also taking time to be offline. Yes. Yesterday uh Kailee and I went to the art museum. So fun. And it was such a fun, like little date that we had, little adventure to just go look at some physical art. Oh, it made me feel so excited. I'm I such an intuitive, empathetic person. Like, I'm so good at being like, I can see something and really channel either the emotions or picture myself as that artist. And that's one of my favorite things to do is to go and look at a museum and just like think about what they were thinking in that time or all the hours that it put to create that, or who knows what's going on in their life. You know what I mean? But yesterday I just thought it was so cool. I was like, oh, there's so many creatives. There was like ancient um pottery and sculptures and stuff like that where like literally centuries worth of art. Yeah. Just artists. Yeah. Just that off that off-screen time, being outside, go for a walk, community, really. I mean, there's a laundry list of things that you can really that can really help you in your business and have helped me in my business. Yeah. I know that social media tends to be um kind of crucial for small businesses, but I think you and I have always made an effort to, you know, if it's not aligning and not working for us, it's not. And look how, you know, last year I feel like you and I weren't really on social media a crazy amount. And we made good years worth of income for business. And we did that through networking and word of mouth. And so, yeah. And sometimes, like, again, going back to what I was saying with the tarot card, like we are exposed to so much news, so much stuff on our phones from all over, and it's a lot that's happening subconsciously that like we don't even know is fully unfolding yet. So sometimes it's just good to like completely detach. Yeah, you know, yeah. I always like to think of uh I have a cousin who's a farmer. Oh my god, yes. And uh I met him last time. I was telling Tina, I was like, you know, that man is just going out, getting in his truck, working the beet fields, getting in his truck, going home, probably drinking a beer, putting his feet up, going to sleep, not thinking twice about what's happening on social media, what's happening in the news. And guess what? Him and his mom and everybody out on the farm have been living a grand old life. So I'm like, you know, it really puts things into perspective sometimes. Sure does. Well, wherever you are at in your business journey or just in life, first, we just appreciate you being here. Welcome to 2026. And also, if you can give yourself something to work on this year, maybe give yourself something behind the scenes that's not business focused. Do you need to work on your money? Do you need to work on your boundary setting? Do you need to work on your self-worth and your confidence? Uh so think about some things that you can do that has nothing to do with your business, but will in turn positively impact your business journey. So yay. Yay. First episode of 2026. Feels good, baby. We appreciate you guys so much. You can always find us over on Instagram, even though we said we don't really post a whole lot, but still we're over there. We message people a lot though. I post on my stories. Yeah. We love to do a good story post. So you can find me, Kailee, at eclecticdesigns.co everywhere. And you can find me, Tina, everywhere at visualflo.co. And don't forget to look at the branded and booked podcast Instagram to see what these tarot cards look like. Yeah, I'll be posting those. Um, we have an amazing season ahead with some great guests. We've already recorded one of them. We can't wait. So good. Thank you so much. And we'll chat with you soon. And here's our signature. Bye.