Cash Flow, Profit & Power: Business Finance with Taylor Smith

This week I'm joined by the brilliant Taylor Smith to bust the myths around finance for women in business. 

We get into the nitty-gritty of the financial foundations every entrepreneur needs, from setting up the right systems and software (think Xero, QuickBooks and Hubdoc) to actually understanding your profit and loss each month — because revenue is great, but net profit is what really tells the story. 

Taylor shares her journey from accountant to financial strategist, and we chat about the mindset shifts that turn numbers from something scary into a source of confidence and clarity. 

We also cover why so many women shy away from their finances, how to forecast for growth, why your property portfolio should be treated like a business, and the power of community and celebrating those small wins along the way. Whether you're just starting out or a few years into your journey, this one's packed with practical takeaways to help you take control of your numbers and grow with intention. 

So grab a cuppa and have a listen — you've got this! 

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Transcript

0:01

Good morning everyone and welcome to today's episode of the Girls in Property podcast. My goodness gracious me. We are officially in April now. My God, everyone made it. Everyone made it through January, through to March. I think there was some really interesting, interesting things that happened to most of us and we are officially now into spring, ladies and gentlemen, and we are ready to really supercharge ourselves. for this year. And what I'm really thinking about is I thought to myself, what could we really do to springboard ourselves into spring and into the next quarter? And what I was thinking was, is let's talk about finance and particularly let's talk about finances for our own business. Because I think, I don't know about you girls, but whenever I started my business, it was very much around, I've just got to make money and I've just got to market myself and I've just got to really just keep going. But sometimes it's more than that. Sometimes it's about actually taking stock of where you are financially and going, okay, well, how does my cashflow look? What are my projections? How much am I supposed to be making this year in order to spend it on this refurb or this new client or how many clients do I need to take on board? So let's take a moment to just take stock of where we are in this moment going into April. Let's understand how we can look at our cashflow, understand how we can look at our finances and really then catapult ourselves into the next quarters and really take ourselves forward. And the reason I got this particular person to come on today's episode was I met her at Samantha Hearn's event that I went to. And you know, when you just sit and you listen to a person talk and you just love their energy and you love the way that they speak and you love the way that they explain things. And I looked at Taylor and I said, Taylor, you have to come on the Girls and Property podcast because this is gold. So as always, I try and find you the best people to come on the podcast. I don't gatekeep anything. I want to share. the world with everybody. And so today I'm really, really excited about introducing this particular person. And just before I do so, and I introduce her in a fabulous way, I just want to also say, please do not forget that um also, we have now sold out of all our tickets to the Girls and Property Retreat coming up on the 24th of April. I cannot, cannot wait to see all of you there. But a lot of you have been messaging me in regards to other opportunities regarding working together.. So I just want to say for anyone who is interested, we have our brand new website that has literally got my heart and soul in it. So please check out uh www.girlsinproperty.co.uk and everything is in there from joining the community of over 130 women to working with me on a group basis or a one-to-one basis or just an ad hoc call. um and just really the story of Girls and Property and why I even formed it. So go and check it out. But today's episode is all about this fabulous woman. It is all about you guys and really helping your finances. So without further ado, I would love to introduce Taylor Smith. Hey, Taylor, welcome. Hi, thank you for the lovely introduction and the warm welcome. I'm so happy to be here. God, I'm so happy because do you know what? Let's talk about money and let's talk about debunking this myths that like only men can talk about money and you know, how many people, for example, I am that girl Taylor. I'll admit it. I'm that girl that if someone said to me like, how's your business doing? You know, what are your projections like? I'm like, I just look at the bank account and go, yep, there's a fair bit of money in there. I can afford that. But really I've got no idea about like the next two years or anything like that. And you know, my accountant asked me such an amazing question the other day. She said to me like, what is the plan Athena? Like what's your five year plan? Is it to sell? Is it to grow? Like what is your plan? And I went, do you know, I don't even know. So let's talk about money today. Yes, absolutely. And please know that you're not alone. This is one of the reasons why I'm really trying to shout and speak to as many people as possible about this subject because from, mean, you know, it wasn't that long ago where women couldn't even open a bank account, you know, like women have been left out of the know when it comes to money for so long now, but there's such a surge in women empowerment. women entrepreneurship, and I feel like the only thing that needs catching up on is the money side. Like, you know, they're smashing sales, they're smashing marketing, they're doing all these incredible things. This is the only area that I feel like we just need to catch up more on as a whole, as a race. So I think, yeah, it's definitely something that's really common, and looking at your bank balance to make those decisions is like the most common. thing across entrepreneurship at the moment. So please know that you're not alone. Just also know that there are simple ways that you can make more informed decisions so that you can keep your business going for longer and grow it quicker and all of the good things. Beautiful right and we're gonna be we're gonna be diving straight into that today because I love that and I want to I want to learn from you I want to get other girls to learn from you. So let's do it So Taylor before we sort of delve into it What's really important is for is for people to also hear your story as well Because like I said when I sat across the table from you I can just feel your heart I really can you have the most biggest biggest heart which is so beautiful that we can have a person who does Finances and accounting and financial planning with a big heart. Like I love the fact that the two come together So can you please introduce yourself to those who don't know you? introduce yourself, tell everyone about like where you come from, how you got into the position that you do now, maybe something that you're excited about this year as well and then we'll finish it with something that maybe people don't know about you for a bit of fun. Okay, sure. Yeah. So my name is Taylor Smith and I am, I say the official title is business consultant, but what does that actually mean? You know, I basically support female founders make more money and get more freedom in their business. And my view comes from a finite financial view. I look at the data in your business. I look at the finances in your business and we look at how we can maximize your profit and how we can strengthen your cash position. Now that that's who I am, that's what I do. But I started off as an accountant. So I actually, left school and university wasn't an option for me. I grew up in a very poor household and so I needed to work so that I could contribute towards family home. And I actually remember asking one of my mum's friends, you know, oh what's something I can make loads of money in that I don't have to work for someone the rest of my life? And she said to me, she was like, you could be an accountant. I was like, Perfect, I'll be an accountant. That was literally as in depth as my decision making was when it came to my career. And that's what I did. I was very focused. I started in a very junior position in an accounts team and I spent years, years in corporate basically working my way up the ladder. And I had a very successful career. I ended up finance director of multiple companies, international companies grow. We grew one to over 400 million in sales in the aviation industry. So it was a very male dominated industry, which I believe you may, that may ring familiar for you in property. For me, it was aviation. And I was in finance again, very male dominated. And I loved it. I had incredible experiences. I learned so much. and was very successful in growing the businesses. That was the brief. We need to grow these businesses into international businesses. Did that very well. But I got to the point where I knew I wanted a family. And for me, the reason why I wanted to work so hard is because I knew I wanted a family and I knew I wanted to be comfortable when I had that family. And so I knew that as soon as my family came along, I would not... do the job of any justice, I wouldn't do my family any justice, remaining in that kind of job. So I thought, I need to start my own business. What am I going to do? I know, I'll start an accountancy firm. That's going to be the thing. So I did that. And it actually still runs to today, but only for a select few clients. I'm not hugely involved. And that's like a, almost like a bit of a passion because of some of the people that signed on many, many years ago. But. The conversations people wanted to have with me were how much tax do I have to pay and when do have to pay it by? And that was almost the extent of the conversations. And that just wasn't what lit me up. It wasn't a conversation that, yes, okay, I could do that, but I didn't feel excited, energized, anything by those kinds of conversations. And I ended up, you know, really like, I don't know what you want to call it. soul searching, trying to find something that would work for me. I ended up stumbling across a real happy, clappy webinar, which is not my thing at all, but actually it really resonated with me. And that's when the consultancy firm was born. And so now I am very much in the conversation of, okay, you want to grow your business? Amazing. Let's see what you're doing now. Where is your profit leaking? How can we maximise this? What can we automate there? What's your pricing look like? All of these kinds of conversations that are centered around taking something from where it is now to growing it into whatever the founder wants, whether that's, you know, huge growth, whether that's they just want more time with their family. So actually they want a business that only allows them to work two days a week. Whatever that end goal is, I love helping that happen. And so that's what I focus on now. And that's, that's where my passion is. So. That's kind of a bit about my story and sort of where I'm at now. You also mentioned what were some of your other questions, sorry. the question was, so first question is, what are you excited about for this year? okay, so this year, and this also kind of feeds into what I'm celebrating as well. I am loving speaking on stages, in communities, basically connecting with large groups of people, because I didn't quite realize, until I got on stage, I didn't realize how many people were actually struggling or... ignoring or nervous about the financial side of their business. And as a result of me coming on stage, keeping things super simple and sharing just little things that can really help make a difference in people's businesses. I'm loving the connections I'm making and the difference I'm making for other people. And that is like the feedback that I get. is really what's lighting me up at the moment. I'm like thriving off that kind of energy. I'm like, oh yes, amazing. Now have you tried this? It gets me all like excited. No, I love that. And you know, I always talk about this and you heard me talk about this as well when I saw you, Taylor, I'm very much around aligning you as a person with your business. So you know, when you earlier said, you know, I was doing accounting and something felt sticky, something felt heavy. It just didn't align with me. Look at how you are now. Look at your tone. Look at your body language. It's because your soul is aligned with what you're doing and therefore you're coming at it from a place as I always say in my accelerator, coming out from a place of faith, flow and fun. Because it aligns with you and you can push it forward and I'm so, so into this I can't tell you because I think when I first started my business, you know, all the years ago back in 2022, it was so heavy and it was so sticky because I was absolutely desperate. to follow what someone else was telling me to do and what someone else was telling me was their version of success. And if you got 10 rent to rents and if you got 10 essays and if you took on three properties in this month and that this would make you happy, this would make you successful. And it's a load of crap. it's a load of crap. And I just wish there'd been something at the time or a person at the time telling me. That's not true, Athena, like just align yourself and, and find out more about who you are as a person before really pushing that forward. And I, I just love listening to you, Taylor. And I love your passion. love the way that I see your heart in what it is that you do. And that's why when you stand on those stages, you make that difference because they feel your energy and you feel theirs. And it's just a beautiful sort of combination. I love that. And then Final question. So what is something that people maybe don't know about you? That is like a fun fact to tell everyone. I did a skydive completely out of the blue. At the time, he was my boyfriend at the time. We were travelling in New Zealand. We did Australia, did New Zealand. And he was like, I'm going to do a skydive. I was like, good for you. There's no way in hell. I'm doing a skydive. I'm scared of heights. I'm not doing it. And then when he, I kept thinking about it and then someone was explaining it that it was like, it felt like you were flying as opposed to dropping. That sensation that makes your stomach go, I hate it. I absolutely hate it. And so they were like, no, no, no, it doesn't feel like that. It's like you're flying. I was like, oh my God, really? Like, oh my God, I've got to try that. That was partially true, but they didn't tell you the beginning part. which was the part that actually, so I go up, I think it was like the highest skydive in the Southern Hemisphere. I think it's like 13,000 or 21,000 feet or so. It was something ridiculous. We all had oxygen masks, which again, I didn't realise until we were in the plane. So I'm there absolutely crapping my pants, thinking, oh my God, I've got to do this now. We're going up in the plane. And I had to go first because I couldn't watch anyone else go out. I just had to go and do it. And the guy said, you know, you've got to put your arms back and we'll roll forwards and then as you roll forwards you just go like that and you go down. Okay, that's not how mine went. I freaked. I went forwards and then I literally like had a whole, I don't know, psychotic break. We were going down. We were spinning round, up and down. He was trying to grab my arms and my legs to restrain me, so to stabilise us. if you see the video you just see me going and during this time obviously i've got that drop feeling because he wasn't able to let out the little um there's like a mini there's like almost like a mini parachute which helps at that point yes you do feel like you're flying dropping but flying before that though oh my goodness i was literally having a heart attack i felt like i was dying it was the worst experience i'd ever had and but i look back at it now and i laughed i think do know what if anyone's thinking about it, go for it because it is definitely an experience but I won't be doing it again ever. Wow, wow, wow. Okay, brilliant. I love that. So that is so funny. That is so funny. Well, you're alive, so he must have been very good at his job. Bless him. Do you know what? That also shows your personality. The fact that you were like, yeah, okay, I could do that. um So fun fact about me that people don't know is when I was at university, I formed with my friend Gary, the skydiving society. at university because there was no skydiving society at university at Bournemouth and I really wanted to skydive and Gary really wanted to skydive. us being us, we went, we'll just form our own society. Like, why not? So we did. And it exists to this day because I had a conversation with somebody like two weeks ago and I was like, is it still there? And they're like, yeah, the skydiving society is still at the university. got, we made, we've got these branded hoodies made like everything. So I went and did my first ever skydive. which was a tandem jump at Bournemouth Airfield and a tan, is it a tan? No, I lie, it's not a tandem jump. It's a static line jump, excuse me. So a static line jump is when you jump out of the plane and your parachute deploys straight away. So there is, there is nobody with you. So when you're falling, you fall on your own and then you land on your own. So nobody was with me and I landed like 10 miles away. from the star you're meant to land on and they had to come and pick me up in my doggy, right? And then I went to New Zealand and I did a New Zealand dive in Queenstown with a tandem. I've skydived in Dubai, over the Palm. I've skydived, and do want to hear something really, really funny? And everyone is going to absolutely wet themselves laughing when I say this. They're going to go, course, if either that's so you. Taylor, I get the worst motion sickness, okay? I used to work in premium travel for seven years. I'm sick on boats, I'm sick on airplanes, I'm sick on trains. I'm that girl. I mean, I'm a bit better now, but I really am that girl. I've done now over 10 skydives, by far over 10, and every single time I have thrown up on the way down. No! I'm not even joking. I'm not even joking. I know. And I have to warn, have to warn if I'm doing a tandem, I have to warn the person who's with me to be like FYI, I'm really, really sorry. And they're, so good about it. They're like, look, just do it to the left or just do it to the right and it won't hit me. so, so I've got a video, right? gosh, I shouldn't admit this. I have a video. We need to talk about finance. I have a video that literally is mean to buy. people are gonna want to see this video now aren't they? I have a video of me in Dubai landing, the camera crew coming up to me going, hey how was it all of this? And I literally put my hand in front of the camera and I go stop recording I'm about to be sick and then I'm sick everywhere and it's just awful. So I don't think I've ever told that story before so yeah skydiving twins between me and you, um yeah. That is fantastic. my God, you are hilarious. I know. So we learn something new every day about each other. So yeah, yes. So I don't think I'd going to do it again. I think my skydiving days are over now, but I did do quite a few in different countries. So fun fact. There we go. Right. That's hilarious. I really would love to see this video. I know. I should not have told anyone. I need to find it. would be like, do you know what? I wonder if it's on my Facebook. Okay. People start stalking me. It might be on Facebook potentially. uh I shouldn't have told people that. Right. Let's move on swiftly. So Taylor, then moving on to, before we go into the finance bits, talking about celebrations. celebrations, you know, I know you touched on it slightly with all, speaking and everything, but what What are you really celebrating at the moment for you? For me, I think as I'm speaking on more stages and connecting with more people, as each time something more um incredible kind of sits in my chest, I get that bit more confident, I get that more assertive, I get that more belief in myself that I think, my gosh, yeah, no, people do wanna hear about this. Like it's not a boring. Subject it's not something where people just roll their eyes and just like my goodness like please shut her up like it and every time I do that and coming to these spaces like something else happens I Get a piece of feedback. I get a really good response like and all of that I just feel like it's just making me feel more and more Alight like I know I know that this is what I was put on this earth to do and it just helps solidify that for me So that's what feels really, really special and exciting. And for me, so I went through certain things over the years that definitely would say knocked my confidence and made me feel less than. And so to feel that transformation now, for me, I just feel like, yes, like this is exactly how I want to be feeling. And this is what I wanna show my kids, you know, and this is what I wanna help share with every other woman in this space who might feel or second guess herself, like. No. You are incredible and people want to hear what you've got to say. Yeah. Amen. Amen. And this is what I'm saying, Taylor, like when you sat across the table from me and you were just, you were just talking, like you weren't even doing anything. You were just talking. I could literally feel your energy. And this is why, because it's so aligned. And do you know what? I'm just going to caveat this. So first of all, amen. Love what you're saying. Love it all. And if I could say anything to the listeners, it would be this, right? So it. from you is it's to do with your identity and your self-identity as a person. And I always talk about this with my girls where I'm like, if you think about it, you have a belief. So the first section of it is when you have a belief and you're like, right, I believe that this is what I'm put on the on this earth to do. I believe that this is what I want to do. You then take action. So you then say to yourself, right, I'm going to speak on stages. I'm going to speak in communities. I'm going to do this. What will happen is one of two things. When you start to take action, you will either see the result And the result will be that it's positive, that it's well received, that it feels good in your heart and all of this. And with that action, your belief system then starts to identify with you as this person that is this, that does this. And what's so important is, is, is how our beliefs and our identity is triggered is in the results. So for example, let's just say that, this would have gone the opposite way and you'd say, this is what I'm destined to do. This is who I am. but the result would have been people would have been bored in your talk. People would said, get off the stage. They'd have heckled you. People would have said, who the hell do you think you are? Your belief and identity would have been shifted to go, oh, do you know what? That's not who I am. That isn't right for me. No, I'm not gonna do that. And I think that is where women get caught out the most because they allow external factors to therefore affect the results. Hmm. believe the result and external factors that they receive of people telling them that they're no good. They then believe that they're no good. They then believe that they're boring and they can't do it and nobody wants to hear from them. And so their identity becomes the spiral that they need to get off of and the circle motion. And what's beautiful is, is I think that what people therefore would be my advice is, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on this Taylor, just to help the women that listen to this from an identity perspective is, you had to have a belief and you had to put yourself out there to even know what the result would be in order to if it was right for you. And I think what I see so many women do is that they stop themselves from even allowing themselves to take action, to do anything in fear that the result will be negative and therefore their belief will just go, I can't do this. I'm not worthy. This isn't who I am. Like, What would be your advice, Taylor, to those women listening to this that are just at that cusp of have a belief, but they just can't quite take the result just yet. sorry, the action just yet, excuse me. Yeah, for me, I think something that everyone could do, that this is something that if anyone's feeling like this and everyone could do, is find someone, a community, some positive... some positive people in your life that are gonna cheer you on and give you that courage because I completely resonate with everything you just said. For me, it wasn't, unfortunately at that time, I wasn't in a place where I had a support network. So someone cheering me on saying, know, Taylor, you can do this, like just do it. Unfortunately for me, I was in the other side where there was no other option. I had to make something work and the situation that I was in was so bad that I had to just take the risk. And unfortunately, I know there'll be women in that position as well and all hats off to you and amazing for taking that courage and that leap of faith. But for women who are feeling this way, thinking, I think I've got something, but I'm not quite sure, please find, if it's one person, two people, a community even better. of people that are gonna cheer you on no matter what, no matter what, that are gonna support you, gonna give you feedback, constructive feedback, gonna be honest with you and really, really cheerlead you. That for me is probably the most important thing that you can do if you're in that situation because you have people that you trust. You have people that you know are going to be honest with you, but also you're going to have people that believe in you before you even have that solid belief in yourself. You know, before you have that belief to take that leap, there will be people and sometimes even strangers. So you don't even have to know these people for very long, but the people that I've met in different communities, my goodness, the incredible human beings that you can have access to, and I'm sure you have in your community, like lean on them. You don't have to do this on your own. You don't have to take this risk thinking, oh, you're kind of just winging it and you're not quite sure how it's going to land and you're nervous. You don't have to do that. Lean on the people that are in your, in your space, because honestly, if you're just honest with them and you open up to them, oh my God, the support that you'll get from these incredible women, honestly, will make such a big difference in your life, in your business. That is something I would say to do. Yeah. beautifully said, Taylor. I love that. And you know what? This wasn't actually my planned celebration at all. I had a different celebration planned, but I think it's absolutely beautiful as part of a celebration in this conversation, which is so, um, in March, I just literally hosted my final graduation lunch for my accelerator program, where I bring 10 women together. And do you know what? When I think about, uh, why I created that accelerator program, it was literally to have women have moments like you just explained, literally. And it was to bring the right women together to literally be each other's cheerleaders, to allow them to grow as people and as women in becoming who they're meant to be and then finding their right strategy. Whether that is in property, whether that is in business, whether that is in whatever it is, but enabling them to grow. And it's funny, you know, because I trusted the universe to bring me the right 10 women for the first cohort. I literally said to the universe, I sat quietly and I said, I trust you, bring me my 10 girls. It brought me my 10 girls and we hosted the graduation lunch and I did a post about it because it's amazing how each of them said, I've just gained 12, I've just gained literally uh nine other best friends. and they all said the same thing and they're like, we're now just friends for life because when you go into a container, which is so vulnerable and so open, you bear your soul. And when you bear your soul, there is only friendship that can be gained from it because you just see each other unmasked and naked effectively. And that is where growth happens. And so many have gone on now, for example, within six months of doing the Girls and Property Accelerator program, you know, some of them have left their full-time jobs. Some of them have pivoted into a completely different direction. So for example, someone came in wanting to do deal sourcing. They then realized they don't want to do that. And they actually want to do something to do with the NHS. Like they just enabled themselves. One took on their first ever investor because they got out of their own way and because we shifted their identity, they then grew and Okay. am so goddamn proud of myself for building that because because do you know what? And I wrote a post about this. If you think about it, you know, we all have those moments where we say to ourselves, how dare you create this from thin air? How dare you believe that somebody will actually be interested in this? Because this was an idea that literally was from my head onto paper, onto creating this for the women. Mm. Mm. the accelerator would never have been created. Those rooms would never have been formed and those friendships now would never have been made. And I hold such a responsibility to that in order to believe in myself, to give that to them. And so I'm today going to celebrate. the fact that I believed in myself and I'm gonna say this Taylor because you make an excellent point. Girls, if I can tell you one thing, because I had unwavering belief in myself, Mm. show you how amazing you are because I think the greatest gift that I can give with this podcast, the community, the events, the program, my greatest gift, Taylor, is to shine a spotlight on other women. to show them how amazing they are. And I'm essentially the, if you like, the container, or I'm the person that gives the space in order to allow other women to shine and other women to grow. And that's what I'm celebrating is the belief in myself that I now know my purpose and it's to support others. So I actually didn't mean this to be my celebration, but I think actually the universe has just brought this to me in this moment. So I'm going to take it with both hands. If you are interested in having a conversation, then please go to the website, girlsandproperty.co.uk, click on work with me and I'm doing my next cohort for the accelerator, which is going to be taking place and starting on Thursday, the 30th of April, 10 women. We've got about eight spaces left, but this was filmed in March, so I don't know how many will be left by the time. But do come and have a conversation with me, because if you are feeling like you're stuck and stuck in the mud right now and you need somebody just to say to you, here's the idea, here's the strategy, but here's the subconscious work that goes with it, because of course I do it with my very good friend, Akhtar Khan, then come and have a chat, because you might just change your life and you might just change your identity. I'm going to celebrate all of you taking that leap of faith into the abyss today and holding my hand when you do it. Taylor, thank you for that. It wasn't meant to be that celebration, but I'm gonna run with it, so yeah. that was such a lovely celebration. So lovely. And the difference it makes like, listening to you speak literally warms my heart. It literally warms my heart. I think it's incredible. thank you. Right. Let's give this podcast loads of jam packed value today. So let's talk about finance then. Now, as we said, we want to debunk myths today around finance, because as I said, a lot of people are so focused around getting the clients, getting the money in, getting everything that they need. But what about really understanding cashflow? What about understanding projections? What about understanding like, okay, I've got this money in the bank account. What should I be doing with it? So I think if it's okay with you, Taylor, let's start with the basics. So let's say that somebody is starting a property portfolio or they're starting a business today. What are the fundamental things that they should be putting in place in order to put the foundations right to grow their business? The foundations for me is data, like your information on your transactions. That is the very, that is the building blocks that you use that's gonna push your business forwards, but also it's gonna give you the visibility. So at the very sort of basic, like starting from scratch, you want to have some kind of system. You know, even Excel at the very beginning, okay, but actually you want to move on to some software. You need to be able to view your data so you can understand the key numbers in your business, how much money you're bringing in, how much you're paying out and what's left. You have to be able to see that information on your business, on your property portfolio, and you should be reviewing it regularly at the very least once a month. So quite often some people start with Excel. That's fine. If you want to start with Excel at the very beginning, and there's not many transactions, then yes. But what you are going to struggle with at a later date is when you want to go back to this information and say, okay, so how did I do last month? How did that compare to the month before? When you actually want to start optimizing and starting to understand where you might be able to make more money or where your cash gets tight sometimes, it's going to get harder. if all you're using is Excel. So there are so many, you know, super cheap softwares out there where you can start with your financial information. So your bookkeeping software, whatever that is, zero, QuickBooks. You know, I know there's cheap ones out there, but have it in a system where you can then... take information and view it from a monthly perspective so you can understand what's going on and you can see any kind of ups and downs and trends in your business. I think at the very start, the quicker you can get that implemented, the more information you have at your fingertips, which means the quicker you can start making decisions to take your business forwards. Okay, perfect. Can I just help the listeners with this one? That is perfect, Taylor. That is absolutely, I agree with you. That's exactly what I would have said for the foundations. So when I first started my business, ladies and gentlemen listening to this, I started with Excel. So when I first started, I obviously had one bitlet and you sort of just go, right, okay. So this is this input. This is this input. And I'll just tell you this, you start off with the best intentions, right? You really do. You start off saying to yourself, I'm going to be so good at this and I'm going to update my Excel spreadsheet once a week. And then you're like four months down the line and you're like, my God, what, what did I do? How did I do it? And then you'll look wading through all these receipts that are partially in your handbag, partially in your coat pocket, partially in your drawer. And then you're like, my God, now I need to do it. And it could be even worse. It could be that because you're so busy just juggling life that your accountant then says, Hey, FYI, I counted you in a week. um Can you please send me over your documents?" And you're like, my god, I don't have anything. And also you're like, oh right. So I understand when most of you come to me and most of you say to me, Athena, I'm just sort of starting out of my business. So I don't really see the purpose or the cost um incentive in getting zero or getting QuickBooks or getting any of these. My advice to you would be, if it were me doing it again, I would absolutely see it as a necessity. to actually get some proper software when you first start. I really, really do. And it doesn't need to be expensive. I promise you this. Like Xero is not that bad. QuickBooks definitely isn't that bad because they've always got these deals going on all the time, but it will literally help you to document. And what I now do personally, and this is to anyone who wants a little bit of Athena, what do you do? I personally use Xero and I attach something called Hubdoc. And what Hubdoc is, is it's a place where you can go and put all of your receipts and you can get the app. So for example, you know, as soon as I get a receipt, what I do is I immediately get the app open off Hubdoc. I take a photo of the receipt and I input it in. And then what I do is I do something called reconciling, which is a term reconciling the receipt against the, um, the amount, if you like in zero and put it together. And that is the best way to do it. And then what you do is you keep the receipts, um, separate. And I've just bought from Amazon. I've literally bought it like,.. I put the receipts according to the month so that if I have to go back and go, this was May 16th, I don't need to go through packets and packets of receipts, I just go straight to May, I take May's receipts out and then I find the receipt and then I go from there and I've got the photo of it. Now, that's taken me three years to get to that point. But I recommend that you all do it from the get-go, okay? Because trust me, you will forget things in zero. It will then mean that you have to pay more tax because you've missed off important key information, you've missed off certain things, and it is massive, massive headaches. So my advice is get the software, get your numbers right, and then start to really understand through P &Ls, which is profit and loss reports every month, what it is that you're actually doing. So I just want to say to everyone listening, please listen to Taylor and do that. thank you. And also one other thing that might help as well, if you want to keep it super, super simple, if you have a separate bank account for the business, however you've set it up, you can also just connect the bank account to the software. So you can just, will pull, the software will just pull every single transaction. And even if like Athena said, if you just have your receipts by month, just shove it in and maybe you don't get to Hubdoc just yet because that's too overwhelming. Even if you just do that. So you connect your bank account, it does all the transactions for you and you've got a copy of the receipt. You've just got to have to find it in your month, whatever. But it really is so worth it. It saves so much time moving forwards. And if you are seriously wanting to grow a business, if you're wanting to grow a portfolio, getting these, this system, because that's what it is essentially, it's the foundations of your financial system. Getting that set up straight at the beginning. it will see you through your whole years and it will make everything so much easier as time goes by. Easier, quicker, cheaper, you won't lose any receipts and forget about expensing stuff, like it saves you money. It's definitely a really good thing to take some time to think about and get set up right. m Amen. Right Taylor, so we've got the foundations, what's next? What's next is actually understanding the numbers that are going through your business and actually looking at them. So there might be some of you out there that have said, yeah, I have an accounting software, that's great. But do you actually look at your numbers? Do you actually understand what's happening on a month to month basis? Because a lot of people don't. So if you don't, don't feel bad about it, but just know that the moment you start looking at the transactions and the numbers going through your business, the more clarity you get. The more clarity you get, the more confidence you have in the decisions that you have to make, because let's face it, every day you're making decisions on your business, what to spend time on, what to invest in, whatever it is. Once you have clarity on your numbers and how you're performing, those decisions become so much easier. Instead of looking at the bank balance and seeing, I can afford that, but I think some things have got to come out, but I'm not quite sure. That whole process won't even happen. take place anymore because you already understand what you're going to have at the end of the month because you know what's to come out. You know what's going to be coming in. You already know that clarity. I can't emphasize the transformation it can have in your daily decision making as it when it comes to a business owner. Do know, I completely agree with you. So Taylor, I did not do this when I first started out. You know, I literally was just trying to keep my head above water because as business owners and you have your own business, you know, the most difficult thing to do is, is when you're starting out, you don't really have a team. So you, literally hold like 180 different hats whilst trying to, in some cases for some people juggle an actual full-time job and kids and life and home. And you're like, I don't have time to like even do all of this. I just need to keep making money. Just keep making money. And so this was me. I never looked at my reports. I had the software. I was like, you know, all the gear and no idea kind of a girl. And I'm happy to admit that because I think that's the best way to be. But I tell you what's really interesting is you are right. know, when you actually stop to really look at it and go, Well, what can I do? And it's only now, for example, again, after three years that I'm actually looking at this going, hold on a minute, I need to start taking a salary from this business, you know, because let's face it, so many people listening to this are in a stage of their business right now where they're not even taking a salary. It was me, by the way, which was me. And I'm now at a place to go, hold on a minute. This is how much I'm making profit each month. and that's continuous now for let's say six months and growing therefore I could actually afford to take this salary and then you can have a conversation with your accountant to go I'd like to start taking a PAYE salary and then you can go on from there and then you can grow. And then you can really understand from my perspective, and I don't want to jump too far ahead, but it's important I mentioned this, it's important that once you then understand the money, you can start to have real conversations with your accountant about, how much therefore, if we carry on at this rate, are we likely to end up with from a profit at the end of the year? And therefore, how can we be tax efficient? Mm hmm. move the money out and how can we really sort of use this in the best way? And those conversations cannot take place without you understanding your numbers because the accountant doesn't understand if you don't understand, basically. Exactly, the accountants, the accountants are incredible, but they work on, I need this, okay, they'll do that for you and they'll make sure that's done. So if you're not coming to them with a conversation or a question or, you know, they're not, they're unlikely to. Some accountants might. but they're unlikely to preempt and say, actually, do you know if you're growing that you can actually take this and you'll actually save a ton of money on tax. They're not gonna probably come to you with those kinds of conversations. So like Athena said, once you get clear on the numbers, you can then start having a real beneficial conversation with your accountant where you're talking about saving money on tax, making sure that you're getting paid as a business owner, which you should be, you know. So yeah, no, I completely agree. But it's getting that clarity first. And you only get the clarity when you understand what's actually happening in your bit. When you exactly and and to be able to move quickly through it, which the software would be allowed would enable you to do. Okay, so we've got the foundations. We've now got the clarity of the numbers. What about step three? Okay, so step three, I would say, once you understand where your business is at, money-wise, what's going in, what's going out, it's then looking forwards. So what are you projecting or anticipating to happen? So you should be... At the least you should be looking in 12 months time. You should be looking at the year ahead and saying, okay, what are my plans for this year? By the end of this year, what needs to have happened for me to feel like, yes, this has been a bloody good year. Okay, so you can only get to that point though once you understand how you're performing now. When you understand where you're performing now, you then should be setting these yearly goals. You should also be looking further ahead, but let's keep it super simple for this conversation. In 12 months time, what does that look like? Does it look like you want to have another property, two properties? Okay, what needs to happen for you to be in that position financially? Does it look like actually you want to get a uh team member on board to support you in your business? Okay, well, if that's the conversation you want to be having, so you can start freeing up your time, so you can start growing the business more. Where do you need to be financially? Like Athena said, you had that talk with yourself and said, okay, I can actually afford this now every month. By looking forwards and planning out, okay, well I know that over these next however many months, this is gonna come in, this is gonna come in, this is gonna come in, and I know that I'm already committed to this, this, this, this. What does that leave me with? What buffer do I wanna put in there? investment is it that I want to make? Do I want to get someone on board to help me, VA or an employee, whatever. So I think once you start looking forward, that's when you can really start directing your growth and channeling all of your energy, your growth, your profits into avenues that have a much more likelihood of working out in a positive way than an opportunity springing up on you. not sure if you can make the most of that opportunity, hesitating, maybe investing and it goes wrong and you run out of money or you know, those kinds of problems arise. But when you look forwards and you have that mapped out and you already know 80 % of what's gonna happen, it gives you that confidence, that peace of mind, and it gives you the option to make those, make the most of those opportunities that might arise. Mm. I would say having that forward looking, forecasting, that is definitely the most important next step. I love that. And you know, I was just thinking that Taylor, just in that moment, as you were speaking is, you know, we are not educated about this at school. We really are not educated about this and we are not educated as women about this or even encouraged in this way. And so I sit here as we're talking about this, because obviously, you know, when you go through it, and by the way, the only way in which I learned how to do any of what Taylor is saying is literally through going through owning a business like Even when I first started, because I'm the first in my family to really go through this, I've never had it where somebody sat down with me and went, right, this is how it works and this is how you do it. I had to make mistakes. I have made hundreds, my God, hundreds of mistakes doing it this way. I remember my first tax bill, for example, that I paid. I know I paid two and a half grand more than I should have. And I know that I'm never gonna get that two and a half grand back ever in my life. But it should never have happened in that way because... I was not educated, I didn't understand and I just listened to what an accountant told me to do instead of having my own thoughts process that I would now be like, don't do that. Like if someone came to me and showed me it, I'd be like, no, that's, you can do this, this and this, go back to your accountant. And I just really, really want to say like, Okay. for even giving it a go and even going, do you know what? I fancy starting a business. I fancy doing this and you know, learning about finance at the same time as trying to learn about marketing and trying to learn about who you are and trying to like keep the kids alive at the same time. And I just think as women, I just want to celebrate us all here because it is a lot. And I think Yeah, clap. Clap ourselves. Because, oh, like it doesn't, I just want to want everyone to know, like, it doesn't need to be too complicated, you know, just get some software so that you take it off your mind and you just screw Excel. Let's just get it all clear. Let's do then once you're in it, once you're in zero or QuickBooks, let's just look at the numbers and then understand it. That's then get some clarity and say, well, do you know what, if I'm making 500 pounds a month profit, and I continuously do this for the next 12 months, I'll therefore make X at the end of the year. Therefore, what's left, can invest in a VA or a salary or whatever. Let's just keep it really, really simple. It doesn't need to be that you need to go from zero to a hundred and in like 0.2 seconds because that will overwhelm you and that will scare you. Let's just keep it cool and let's just have more of these conversations so that the more we talk about it, the more that we feel kind of like. We loosen up and we're like, okay, I hear this. Like I want to keep these conversations going, you know, really badly. Okay. So if we've got the clarity then, and we know that what, what, what did we then do? Let's say that we've been in business for a year now. Let's say, let's take the years people businesses, they've just filed their first, their first books, their first accounts. And then now like, right, I've done the first one. Lovely, lovely. I now want to grow. I now want to go forward. You know, what should we looking at with these people? Okay, so for those people the first thing I would do because if you're looking to grow your business, of course more sales more income incoming money, but before you do that One thing that isn't often spoken about is the profit element because yes, sales is so important, but if you're not making any profit or you're making little profit, as you grow, if you have leaks, for example, if you're spending money on things that you don't really need or maybe something's not working quite right, as you grow, that problem just grows. So before you think to yourself, right, I'm drum up a load of sales, I'm gonna get loads of sales in. I would always say first, look at your profit, look at your costs. Everything that you're spending money on, is it either getting you new clients, servicing your current clients so they have incredible experience or saving you time? Does it tick off those three things? If it doesn't, do you really need it? Do you really need this fancy whatever or like, that's what I would ask yourself because once you get to a point where you've, You've got some data. You can now look and say, okay, how much profit am I making? Am I wasting any money anywhere? Make sure you're not wasting anything, spending it on things you don't need to. You understand all of your subscriptions. That's one that pops up quite a lot. Once you've got that nailed, then yes, if you're looking to grow your business, sales. And one thing I speak about, I know in property, obviously it's a little bit different, but if we're talking about business in general, You know, looking at sales is yes, new clients, absolutely. But also you want to be thinking about the, pricing. You also want to be thinking about the number of times a client can buy from you. So I'm not going to go into that too much because obviously this is centered around property. So it's a little bit different to a standard business, but you want to be thinking about all the areas of sales and how you can maximize. the sale so that as you're growing, you're not just spraying and praying and, you know, just focusing all your area on one area. So that's something that I would say is something worth looking at if you're at that point. Yeah, you make an excellent point there because what we see a lot of people do also, Taylor, is that they say, I'm a six figure business owner, I'm a seven figure business owner, but that's turnover. You know, that's the revenue. And it's like, you could be, and I know a lot of people who are this, by the way, you'd be a six figure business owner and you could be making like, I don't know, like. grand a month profit, right? Massive differences or so let's give an example here. You could be a six-figure business owner making a grand profit a month or you could be making, I don't know, let's go for not a six-figure business owner, but you could be making three grand profit a month, net, net a month. I think I know which business I'd prefer to run, you know? exactly. what you just said there is spot on. It's about the net profit, not just the revenue and to look at what your outgoings are. And this is, this is really important, particularly when it comes to property and refurb for example, is to really, really look at that and look at it. And to be fair, like all the girls are amazing. Cause I know you get your spreadsheets out and obviously you do your refurb costs and you're like, this property should make us X amount. And it's exactly the same that you should be doing for the entire business because I think what lot of people don't really get is that they think that they just have a property portfolio, but actually what they have is a business. And I think that as soon as you start treating it like a business, you can start making projections for the next one. So let's say that you've just done a flip. If you make the correct projections with the correct net profit, you can then know what you could offer for the next one and then get the next one going. And Yeah. uh No, it's not gone. No, I was just going to say it's a really common thing. And also it helps with, you know, anyone who makes comparisons. You see people online. I did six figures in this launch and did this. Okay, that's great, but how much profit do they make? So don't let that be the only thing that you focus on when you're looking at these other people in this space that might be doing amazing. Just bear that in mind. Yeah, do know, I remember the day that Girls and Property, the revenue of it was over six, six figures. And I remember I looked at it and you know was really interesting was I never did like a whole big song and dance about it. I never did because I knew that I always wanted to be that person that was like, yes, it made six figures, but actually this is the profit. You know, this is the profit. So I sort of just kind of, it just happened and I never really actually did anything with it. Whereas I see other And don't get me wrong, we should always celebrate and it's always a great achievement and I always want everyone to celebrate. So please do celebrate. Please do. I'm not saying don't, but just if you're viewing that going, did they do that? They must now be, you know, seven figure business owners. Like think about the percentage of the revenue of the profit margin that they're actually working with. You know, that's the bit that I want everyone to have a look at. So Taylor, if we were going to kind of, by the way, this is only part one podcast because we have so much talk about for finance. So you are coming back on FYI. Don't worry, ladies. She's coming back on. I promise. Just for this particular podcast, it's kind of like an introduction and kind of like a intro to finance that I want everyone to get involved with. What would be the best advice that you could give to somebody? And I'd like to give you to offer you two pieces of advice. We need to offer two pieces of advice for them. So let's go for beginners. some pieces of advice to get them all set up in the right order, parting words. And I'd like you to give somebody one that is two to three years in their business and some advice for them. So let's start with the beginners, what we got for them. So if you're a beginner and you're new in business, kind of what we touched on about getting your financial setup is the most important thing. Don't underestimate collaborations when you're new. So when you're in a community or as you're speaking to people, you might not necessarily have loads of funds to spend to speak on stages and things like that, but you have access to people. And not enough people leverage the people that they're connected to. So I think if you're a newbie in business, lean on people. that have similar mindsets in similar spaces, similar values to you, that also some that are maybe a little bit further along than you, because the amount that you can learn off of these people and also collaborate with these people, like Athena, you're so raw with your experience. It's so refreshing to hear, like hearing, like this is the sort of stuff that really makes a difference to people new in business. because you can learn from people's challenges that they've already faced, they've been through, they've come out the other side. So second to making sure your finances are in order if you're new in business, please, please, please lean on the people around you. Learn from experiences, talk to people, know, connect with other people because you could do potential business deals, but you could also just learn really important pieces of information like Athena, you very, you know. unapologetically shared today, which can really make a difference to your business. So take all of this on board and just be that sponge with people that you're around and you know, yeah, that would, that's what I would say if you're a newbie in business. I love that. And what about the two to three year people? Where are we at with them? to three years, again, second to the finances, which is so important, making sure you're understanding and forecasting and looking forward so you can make these decisions, I would say you're in this, I imagine, to grow and really create something special, whether that's for your family, whether that's for a wider audience. Don't hesitate in coming forwards and speaking publicly about what you're doing, who you're doing it for, and how you can help them. I think women I see in this space that are incredible at what they do and making a huge impact don't often come forward and share their experience, whether that's because they don't like, you know, speaking on stages or speaking in communities and things like that. But I would urge you to think twice about that. because the impact that you're trying to make, whether it be for your family, whether it be for the greater audience, you know, the greater of humankind, your impact will increase tenfold when you come forward and share your experience. You've been in this a couple of years now, you've probably gone through so many challenges, you've learnt so much, please know that what you've learnt is incredibly valuable. And all you need to do is step forward and share that. And the ripple effect you will have that will touch your business, other people's businesses, other people's lives, I can't even put it into words. So I would urge you to come forward and start being vocal about what you've created and how you're creating it and where you're taking it. Hmm Beautifully said Taylor and you know you are a beacon of an example of that because you you sat opposite me and you started speaking I'm sure all the listeners when I understand why imagine being in a room with her guys like you're just Brilliant, and you just have that that shining light on you, and you just want you just want to see other women win Mm-hmm. I think that's a rarity. I really do like a genuine rarity. And I think that that's so gorgeous. And to have it that you're a finance girl as well. I'm like, yes, girl, we've got some finance here. So I'm going to ask you on the podcast so that you can't say no. So you can't refuse me. I'm going to corner you. Basically, I would love for you to actually come in and do a community session for the women because I want to get them all up to speed with their finances. I really do. So would you accept the offer of coming into the community? would love to. Thank you so much for the offer, I'd love to. Brilliant. Well, we'll set that up. We'll get that going. Cause I think that what we can do is make it into a workshop so we can really get like hands on with the girls and be like, right, let's actually look at what's going on here. And that's actually, you know, where are we? And there's such an eclectic mix in there. I think we could make a really good, good one out of that. So I love the fact I asked you on the podcast, you couldn't refuse me. And, yeah, I love it. Like just keep having conversations guys, because you know, me and Taylor met and now we're doing the podcast and now we're sharing this love. Like who else can you meet today that you are going to. Inspire or who can you meet today that you think I could I could do this for them or they could do this for me and the best advice I can always hate you whenever you're gonna meet people and when you're gonna Join anything or anything like that. I actually lead always from a place of serving first rather than receiving so. now I get to basically help share their voices on this platform through as well so really gorgeous to that. And of course, just to say, just to wrap up this podcast, you know, I will extend the invitation to all of you. And it is purely an invitation where if you feel that you've been listening to this podcast for a while, you've been listening since day dot, you love it. For example, I will invite you to come and join us within the girls and property community. You know, it is a paid membership. It's 30 pounds a month. So literally just don't get yourself a takeaway for a month and you get a whole heap of education. We it's built on the circle platform. So it's a professional platform. There is no WhatsApp group. I hate WhatsApp groups. Um, you know, we do two calls every single month on the first Tuesday and the third Tuesday of every month. We'll do business conversations, finance conversations, property conversations. And because I've had the community now for like two years, the library of information from all the experts that have been in there is incredible. And I guarantee you, I guarantee you, if you come to me and say, Athena, I want to learn about Rent to rent. I want to learn about raising finance. I want to learn about service accommodation. I want to learn about personal branding. It is all in the library. And if it's not in there, I guarantee you give me a week to two weeks maximum, and I'll find you an expert who could do a topic on the topic that you want to talk about. And I will guarantee it because of my network of connections that I have. But it is just honestly, it's just full of love and full of joy. So it's not a sale. It's an invitation. I'm here to serve you. If you would like any information about it, then again, go to girls and property.co.uk or just DM me the word community on Instagram and let's have a conversation. it's just, just open your horizons to what is possible is all I would say. But Taylor, thank you so much for coming on the podcast today. I'm honestly like part two needs to be booked in ASAP. But I'm going to leave you with the parting words for all the listeners today. I want you to have the final voice. So what are your parting words today for everyone? Finance isn't as scary as it seems. You've already come this far. You've already done something so incredible and something that most people won't even do. The finance part can really make a difference. And you've got this. You've absolutely got this. And pat on the back for you as well for getting this far. I think you're incredible human. Oh my god, listen to that. I hope you heard her words ladies and gentlemen Yeah, forgive everyone pat on the back. Absolutely everyone on the back. There we go And you're right. You got this you got this. Okay every day as I've always said to you 1 % every single day. You don't need to do 20 % You need to do 30 % if you do 1 % every day the compound effect we're talking finance the compound effect will get you to your dream and you cannot fail so Taylor, thank you once again. uh Part two coming soon, I'm gonna book her in right now, don't worry. And we will get her into the community as well and we'll do a fabulous workshop. Sending you lots of love, enjoy your week, take care of yourselves, don't forget to DM us and we'll speak to you soon. Lots of love, bye for now. Bye.