226: Strategies for Stress-Free Forecasting to Achieve Lasting Financial Success

Kristen: 0:00

The very first thing we always encourage people to do when you're planning for a year not necessarily a quarter, but a year is to take that step back and we actually have our clients think through their exit strategy and it changes.

Camille: 0:24

So you want to make an impact. You're thinking about starting a business, sharing your voice. How do women do it that handle motherhood, family and still chase after those dreams? We'll listen each week as we dive into the stories of women who know this is Call Me CEO. Welcome back everyone to Call Me CEO.

Camille: 0:46

This is your host, Camille Walker, and here we celebrate women building businesses, especially mothers building businesses. As we know, that throws a little bit of a wrench into all of the planning, multitasking, figuring out what you're going to do day to day, week to week, to make the goals happen. And today we actually have an expert not only on the goals, but the financial standpoint and big term goals, a year out of, five years out, 10 years out. What are those goals that you're setting now so that you can create the steps to make that magic happen? So we have Kristen Hillman with us. She is a CEO and financial strategist. She is the leader of the table, which is a monthly membership that helps women entrepreneurs understand their finances and achieve their goals, and she also is a strategist for one-on-one If you have any needs for figuring out what your goals can be, how to put on that CEO hat and make your dreams a reality.

Camille: 1:41

So thank you so much for being with us on the show today, Kristen. Well, thank you for having me. I'm looking forward to it. Yeah, anytime I can get a Texan on the show, it's always a good time Sometimes. Yes, yes, tell me, tell our audience where you're from, a little bit about your family and you and how you got into the world of finance. Absolutely.

Kristen: 2:02

So I am in Houston, texas. I was born and raised in Texas but lived in different parts of the state. I am not a Texas end-all be-all, though. I have aspirations of moving to the Northeast someday, maybe in our empty nester years, which are very, very soon for us. But I went to university and college for accounting. I worked in the accounting industry and had a amazing career at a very unique private equity fund and I was their controller for a long time, traveled globally. I loved my job, but when we had our first, it just was not working and I wanted both and in those days both was not possible. So I stopped for about two years and quickly realized that just is not my makeup and started consulting. When my oldest started school, we ended up doing things a little bit different and we have part-time homeschool both of our children. My oldest is a senior in high school now and I have run this business alongside homeschooling for 13 years now.

Kristen: 3:21

So, yes, and you know the business has evolved, as most people's do. We rebranded just a few years ago. The business is Viticula, financial, and Viticula is actually Latin, because my kids have gone through a classical education. They learn Latin like learn how to speak it, learn how to read it, which people say it's dead. It's not dead in our home, but it means little vines and there's something about opening a bottle of wine, sitting down, collaborating and discussing, and so that was the basis for the name of the business. I want women to be able to feel comfortable having a conversation about their finances and bringing it into the same conversation with their aspirations and goals, because I don't think business should be siloed out. Legal is separate from marketing or finance, and that was my vision with. Veticula is to bring women to a table to discuss, and so, therefore, then the table evolved from there, which is our membership, and it's really about education and providing the opportunity to have you know CFO in your back pocket.

Camille: 4:36

Yeah, Ooh, I love that and I love that your approach is very holistic and it's not all about the hard numbers, but it's about creating that genuine connection with what's happening in your business as a whole. So let's back up a little bit with building your own business and creating your own goals and what that vision looked like, because I think that that is a big part of, I would imagine, what helps you to guide and teach people how to do it for themselves. So when you went from corporate, you, you came home. You're with your son. He's 18 now. So this is rewinding the clock a little bit, but how did you create and establish landmarks or goals for building your own business?

Kristen: 5:17

That took time.

Kristen: 5:18

You know, in the early years, when they're little, you don't think long-term and that's really something that I try to work with people on is to adjust from the mistakes that I made. I was just. I want to keep working. I don't know what this looks like and, oh, I might have to do it at 4 am. You know that kind of mindset and it just slowly evolved through the years in terms of I was doing corporate consulting for a while and once I found this online space in 2017 and realized there were women like me out there wanting both and they were doing both, but they did not have the education on the financial side of the business, which I will. You know, I'm all about heart and passion. I'm a holistic business person, but we're also here to make money.

Camille: 6:14

And.

Kristen: 6:15

I want. I realized so many of my friends that I was meeting in this space had no idea how to really be strategic with that and it just blossomed from there and it is just my passion to be able to help women like really grow profitable businesses that are reaching specific goals, and so really that's probably when I started getting much more strategic about what I want it to look like and, like I said, depending on my children and their goals, we could be empty nesters in eight months or a year, which is mind blowing to me and scary and that means things will shift some as well, you know and what's next for us, and so I think that's always got to be on the mindset, especially of a mom.

Kristen: 7:07

Ceo is really thinking through what do I want it to look like in five years? Corporate, you think 10 years all the time, but here five years is a pretty decent chunk to think through.

Camille: 7:20

Yeah, I agree with that, because each season of having whether you have babies, toddlers, and then school age and then a mixture of school age I have four kids, and so I have children in each grade or each school type high school, junior high and elementary school and so, in five years from now, though, I will have only one in junior high and one in high school, and that's a big difference.

Kristen: 7:48

So five years isn't that long, but in this world it feels like a long time right, it's kind of sad.

Camille: 7:55

It's exciting and it's sad. I'm just like, oh, okay.

Kristen: 7:59

So no, we're not going to cry today.

Camille: 8:03

Being a mom is the best. I love it so much and it is but you have to look at it in terms of seasons. So I love that you talked about in the beginning of a new business. Though you are, you're up in the nighttime, nap times, like you're doing what you can with the energy you have, and I think that there is very real value in that. In this conversation, we're going to be talking about what to do, kind of in that next stage of like you haven't established something, but now you're looking at it and saying, okay, I want to set these longer term goals. I want to make sure that I'm paying myself first what would be a first step or good first steps to take so that we are taking care of acknowledging the goals and then making them happen.

Kristen: 8:50

That is such a good question and so relevant. So in the table we have a private podcast that people submit questions anonymously and I just answer it. It's completely off the cuff because it's private. These people already know me. We have office hours but I'm just answering it. It's completely off the cuff because it's private. These people already know me. We have office hours but I'm just answering questions. The group gets to benefit and I literally recorded a podcast last week on this and as we're preparing most of us you know this is when we're recording.

Kristen: 9:20

It's getting close to the end of the calendar year, so people are planning for the next year. The very first thing we always encourage people to do when you're planning for a year not necessarily a quarter, but a year is to take that step back. And we actually have our clients think through their exit strategy and it changes and it might change and it might be different every single year. But right now, what do you want your exit strategy to be? Do you want to run this business for 20 years? Great, let's build it that way. Do you want to run it for five years and then sell it? Okay, let's make sure we're building it so that in that five-year mark. It is the most profitable sale we can do. Or do you want it to where your team members take over? Okay, let's plan for that. And so really actually thinking through what is my exit strategy.

Kristen: 10:15

A lot of times, especially for women, we are managing so much that we don't really think about. You know, just like I don't want to think about my kids leaving home, we don't want to think about that stage of when this business that is one of our children needs to no longer be a part of my life. But I know that I don't want to be doing CFO work for another 20 years. That's just I'm, I'm old and I just don't want that. I know that at that point that's too, that's too long, and so we really that's step number one, because finances, they should support all the other things. So we got to think about the other things first.

Camille: 11:02

I like that. Okay, so thinking about in terms of a year, but then also, what is your exit strategy for when you hope to sell? Or whatever, or to pass it on, or just to be right off into the sunset or whatever, and we can plan the next year to actually be working towards that goal.

Kristen: 11:24

What does that, you know? To make sure that that goal is going to be seamless and successful. And next year, when it's time to plan again, it might be a completely different exit strategy. But at least right now we're being really intentional. We're not just trying to get exposure and trying to sell as much as possible and hopefully be able to have enough cash to take that trip or whatever it is Like. We're really want to be building with intention.

Camille: 11:51

What do you think some blind spots are for doing that? Or maybe things that people overlook after having helped so many people through this process?

Kristen: 12:03

I think a lot of people really forget, especially if you've worked in corporate, you're so thankful to not be there, which I loved, my career so I don't have those emotions, but most people that I work with that did do and that's totally fine, but I think a lot of people forget to plan financially for the future. Very rarely, when somebody starts working with me, do they have retirement planning, do?

Kristen: 12:30

they have a real tax strategy, like they're just too much in the entrepreneur mindset and one of my goals is to educate women. If you're off the ground and you're bringing in some sort of money, we need to put on the CEO hat at some point, even if it's part-time CEO, part-time entrepreneur. But getting out of that mindset of today and now and really thinking long-term and I think that's really hard and I don't know if it's because of the stage of so many businesses, because this space is still very young, or is it because we're women and we're multitasking and that's just something that's not the hottest fire at the moment, you know, but that's a really big block. And when I start to talk to women okay, you're making enough, we need to really bring in a tax strategist. Or let's talk to your financial planner about the best way to be doing some retirement planning. That seems like a foreign concept for some reason.

Kristen: 13:35

And that I think a lot of times people think I don't have the money to do those things. Well, let's plan to make sure you do, you know.

Camille: 13:44

Yeah, what would you say? I have a few questions about that and I know I would be this person if I wasn't married to a CFO. I know I would be because I've had to. I've had the luxury very much a luxury of him having those long-term visions because he was an accounting and CPA student. He had that long-term education and I feel like, if that's not something that you had classes for, it isn't necessarily something that's top of mind. I don't think it would have been for me. So, with that being said, what do you think is a good benchmark of, maybe a level of revenue where I mean, yes, like we should have started thinking about this as college students. Okay, let's just put that out there. Revenue where you would say, okay, this is a good time for a tax strategist, this is a good time for setting aside a certain percentage of income, no matter what it is you're bringing in. Like what would your overall kind of general advice be for something like that?

Kristen: 14:55

Well, I think the very first step is actually being strategic about your owner's pay and what that looks like, and to me that needs to be processed, analyzed, calculated and implemented before we get to thinking about any of those bigger picture items. So the profit first strategy.

Camille: 15:17

Do you like that book? I?

Kristen: 15:19

actually I like the concept, but I'm not as much a fan because I feel that if you go profit first, the methodology is okay. Here's our profit. I'm going to pull my owner's pay out first. Mm-hmm but I think we're missing a really important piece on analyzing that profit and so-.

Camille: 15:43

Hey, get nerdy with me, let's hear it. What would you say?

Kristen: 15:46

So I will tell you and it took me a while when I first started doing my one-on-one CFO work with female entrepreneurs but we've simplified a profit loss statement to really make it super simple to know is my business financially healthy? Am I spending too much on a certain area? Am I underspending on certain areas of my business? And I just really really feel the profit first skips that step. It pulls out the owner's pay first, which is very important. But I think we have to do it in tandem with actually analyzing what is your profit and what's happened to create that profit. Where is it? Is it healthy, is it not healthy? Because if you don't actually know a high level concept of what's happening in your profit, what is your revenues? When I go real nerdy, I talk about gross profit and I will wave that flag until I die. A female entrepreneur needs to understand what is gross profit and what theirs is, and that is a technical conversation.

Camille: 16:55

Let's talk about it. What's gross profit?

Kristen: 16:57

Yeah, the gross profit is what is available after you have performed the service or sold the item. So most of my clients, all my one-on-one clients, are service providers. Most people within the table are as well, and that could be an influencer, a coach. We have professional organizers. I have health and fitness businesses. They're providing a service. When they sell it, you receive your revenue right, you've got your money in the bank but most of the time, it is not just you doing something. There's costs involved, there's team members involved, and everything that you have to pay out to perform the service reduces your revenue. That is called cost of sales, creates your gross profit.

Kristen: 17:45

And really understanding what you have to run the business and pay yourself is so important, understanding how much of that revenue is left, because there's a difference between paying for marketing and paying your team member that goes in with you to do the move in. If you're a professional organizer, very big difference on how we're going to analyze that cost. You can't perform that service without that team member. Then we need to look at your profit after that team member is paid Right.

Camille: 18:18

It's part of that equation. Yeah, yeah, all right. So when we talk about yeah, gross profit.

Kristen: 18:24

and then you know, the major areas of the business that we like to look at are administrative support, marketing, business investments, owner's pay depending on how your tax structure is and then all the other things, the operations, subscriptions, the dues, the giveaways, those kinds of things, websites.

Camille: 18:45

Yeah, there's always so many hidden costs, yeah.

Kristen: 18:47

Yeah, the operations tends to have the most number of transactions but should be the least dollar amount, which is always kind of interesting.

Camille: 18:59

So as far as the tax strategist piece, is what level would you say that's necessary?

Kristen: 19:07

I think that's when you have excess. Once you have built in your owner's pay into that, We've got your marketing. We feel like that's a healthy amount based on your gross profit. You're doing some business development or business investments, right You're?

Kristen: 19:23

doing masterminds, continuing education, whatever that looks like, and you've got a healthy profit. Profit percentages really vary based on industry, so you can't just give a blanket number on what's healthy, right. But if you are paying yourself a decent salary and there is excess, that's when we need to start talking about tax strategists, retirement planning, when there's excess, because one those people cost money. So we got to make sure we can pay their fee and keep the business healthy and that there is, after their fee, access to actually implement what they're telling you to do.

Camille: 20:04

Yeah, yeah, oh, I like it.

Kristen: 20:06

Right. So you can't really, and that's where and we talked about this, I think, before we started recording it took me a really long time to develop the table, because finance is so individual. It just is. It should be. It should be because we have so many. It's personal. We have personal goals. Everybody's is different, and what tax strategies we're going to implement? What is a healthy owner's pay for each person is different. It just is, and so I've just kind of went off on a little bit of a tangent about that. But really understanding what is healthy for you takes a little bit of time, a little bit of education and knowledge. That's where you've got to put on that CEO hat and kind of learn your business from that side.

Camille: 20:56

Yeah, Well, tell me a little bit. With the table where you have people at their in a group but you're talking about individual numbers that can be very proprietary or, you know, personal, how do you navigate that piece of it?

Kristen: 21:25

because technically it's not. The structure of the table is. We have a portal with a library of templates. I have live office hours which are never recorded, and I'm finding that people really actually are okay asking questions All of these templates as well as I have kind of one main driver that if people don't have a way to understand their numbers, this one template is what I recommend they use but, it's not required.

Kristen: 21:49

All of these templates people share privately with me on office hours. So I'm looking at their Google sheet. We're having a conversation, but we've structured it in a way that we're talking about percentages and we're talking about goals. So the whole group that shows up to office hours that day is hearing the conversation. They're not seeing the private information, but I can see it to give that custom answers. We also have a private podcast.

Kristen: 22:17

People submit their questions it is anonymous and then I just answer it completely off the cuff there. Submit their questions it is anonymous, and then I just answer it completely off the cuff. There's no script and that is something that people are really loving. They're just listening and getting education and hearing somebody else's question and the whole group benefits from that private question. So it's a pretty unique setup.

Kristen: 22:38

We do not have a community in terms of, like, a Voxer or Slack access, because we just found people said they were not willing to have those conversations publicly. So and I understand that and that's completely fine. I don't know if I would, you know, but we're trying to at least normalize the conversations that we need to have about the numbers and talking about them and becoming educated so you can look at your numbers and know that they're telling you something. I always tell people they help us make our decisions. They don't make our decisions for us, but they give us information. You know, people are really good about doing that with marketing. They take their marketing data and then they make tweaks. It is the exact same thing.

Camille: 23:24

Do you find that people feel a little bit more taboo about their finances and their money, that maybe it's like out of sight, out of mind kind of thing, or there's. I mean from what just having interviewed different people about money, mindset, mindset, money, personalities, like it is, so I feel like it's an onion. There's a lot to unpack there. There are different layers to income, understanding, education, mindset, all of the things. How much of the work of understanding finances do you think is mental and of mindset? Where you say that you have a holistic approach, is that the part that is the holistic piece?

Kristen: 24:04

When I say holistic, I really am meaning more about looking at your business, taking a step back, looking at the whole thing together, looking at your time, your heart, your passions and some of the data bringing it all together. But the mindset piece is pretty much everything it is. And we actually developed a money personality quiz. Not we, I developed this thing. I spent two years developing it. We do have one. It's called Made for Money and we have four different personalities. I did it internally so I could help communicate with my clients better.

Kristen: 24:41

I was starting to realize some clients wanted more and more details and what we were providing they wanted more. I found other clients what we were providing the same thing was too much and they're like can you give me one graph? So we started digging in and it actually not only does it dictate how we present information the same information but how we present it is different to our clients based on their money personality, but we also use it in the table. It helps me get there so much faster in office hours with somebody when I know their personality. I can tell you. So our four personalities are motivator, analyst, dreamer and enthusiast. And the dreamer and the enthusiast if you use the word budget, they are literally going to run out the door.

Camille: 25:32

They don't want any part of it.

Kristen: 25:33

They don't want the conversation and that's okay, you know. So we talk about different things. We're putting in some bumpers, we're putting in some bumpers, we're putting in some boundaries that will help you stay healthy, those kinds of things. But I did it because it's such a huge part, especially for women. I don't, I was raised in this world, you know. I grew up and became a woman in finance and, like you, a man's world. Private equity is like the Wild West, a good old boys club. That's where I learned how to look at numbers and finances.

Kristen: 26:10

Women just look at it differently and there is fear attached to it. There is a hesitation to even speak about it and I'd say 90% of our one-on-one clients. The very first thing they said when they got on call with me was I don't know what you're going to say and their you know shoulders are up in their ears and they're just petrified. And I'm like we're fine, like we're going to look at where we are and we're going to just start making some decisions and tweaks and we're going to get you to where you know you're a little bit more content and we're going to start to see that bank account go up, and but there's so much fear attached to it. It's it's my goal to take away the fear. That doesn't mean it's going to be an easy. You know we have an economy.

Camille: 26:55

you know if we have a recession. We have a recession, but let's build some things into place and let's talk about it versus ignoring it. I love that. That it's a sense of empowerment, because I think that fear I would imagine for the most part, is coming from a place of simply not understanding the mechanics or understanding what's going on, or having the background of finance and accounting classes and all of those things that if you do have those just kind of like what I was saying before where my husband, his favorite radio or a podcast to listen to is Dave Ramsey and we were in.

Camille: 27:37

Whenever my second son is in the car with him, he asks if they can listen to it together. Last night we were in the car driving home from a family party. He got $60 from family members cash and we asked him so what are you going to do with that money? And he said you know, I was thinking I might want to get a Nintendo switch. And then he kept thinking for a minute. He said but you know, if I want the long-term goal, I could seven times this money by putting it in an investment, and by the time I'm 16, I'd have $400. And he just pulled that out and I looked at him I'm like jet, that was amazing, that's so cool, you know that. And he's like, well, yeah, cause that's what I learned. And it was just because it was a part of his environment of hearing and listening to and thinking about long-term of what could I turn this cash into if I was patient with it, rather than that next shiny object which I wasn't listening to.

Kristen: 28:39

Dave, Nancy, I know, I was so proud of it, and especially in our immediate gratification culture, that a child is even thinking that way is impressive.

Camille: 28:50

Yeah, yeah.

Camille: 28:51

So it was a cool moment, but I think a lot of it is like the exposure to even thinking about finances in that way and using it as a oh. I could use this and create something even bigger if your mind is in that perspective. So what I like about your community is that it's not about shaming and it's not about how why don't you know this and how do you not know this? It's more about having that community feel like we can figure this out together, and I think we all know that traditionally, women are not in the classes with the finance and the accounting, and it's happening more and more, thank goodness, but I feel like there is definitely a discrepancy there. So I love that you have this community for women to empower them and to give them tools for success, because, at the end of the day, creating that life is it does involve the numbers.

Kristen: 29:45

Yes, because we're here to make money. We are and, yes, you want to be making money with something that you're passionate about and you want to be helping people. But if you're going to invest this much time, you need to be making money and making sure you're not being wasteful with the money that you have made. I think it's just so important. I love that Very sure?

Camille: 30:10

Well, we have a surprise for you all listening, that you can use the discount code Camille to get 15% off of the table membership. We will have a link in the description below so that you can access that. Is there anything else you want to tell the audience about what that membership looks like or how what's involved in that? I mean, we've talked about it quite a bit, but is there anything else we have?

Kristen: 30:34

we've talked about it a lot. Um, I think just the most important thing is that we have built it in a way that we're really trying to make it approachable but yet protect those fears and those emotions, and hopefully you know, kind of like you talked about peeling that onion you know, we're not looking to strip you and, you know, expose you and your weaknesses and your fears.

Kristen: 31:02

It truly is about education. You know I am not educated in marketing, so I bring in experts because that's not my wheelhouse. They don't expect me to know how to do that. That's not part of my education at all. I would never expect somebody to know what I know. I mean I worked in corporate for 25 years. That's an unrealistic expectation. There is zero, zero judgment at the table. It's really about I want every woman to be succeeding in a way that actually is hitting financial goals and like making sure it's worth your time.

Camille: 31:41

Yeah, ooh, I love it, I love it, I love it. Well, this has been so helpful. To wrap everything up, I want to ask you the question. I ask all of our audience, or all of our guests, and that is what are you reading, listening to or watching? You can share one of each, or one, whatever one you want to share.

Kristen: 32:01

Well, what I'm reading right now? My daughter, who I said was 16, just bought me the third Gilmore Girl book.

Kristen: 32:13

yes, so the it is her memoir, um, and, of course, on the spot, I'm blanking kelly oh, so you're talking about lauren graham, it's not lauren graham, no, it's the third gilmore which is the grandmother oh, emily g Gilmore in the show, and it is her story which is mind blowing and fascinating to me. She was part of the original chorus line one of Tony, but it's special because I told you before we started recording, my daughter's a pre-professional ballerina and she oftentimes spends her summers in other places and I go with her because she's a teenager and two summers ago we were in San Francisco. She was training there at the San Francisco ballet and we watched Gilmore girls every single night the entire.

Camille: 33:07

I love Gilmore girls. Yeah, it the best. And so if they're autobiographies, then so you're these.

Kristen: 33:14

These books are like an autobiography no, it is, yes, it's, but it's just of, and I'm gonna look this up because, um, I cannot believe I'm blanking kelly bishop, there we go kelly, bishop kelly bishop. So she was Emily Gilmore, the grandmother and a prima ballerina right.

Camille: 33:34

Yes.

Kristen: 33:35

Yes, she was, and so it's just super, super special that my daughter bought me this book and so that's what I'm reading right now. But I love her story as well. It is absolutely fascinating, but it just kind of ties into personally what, um, we, you know, our life is like and what we value and um so that's what I'm reading.

Kristen: 33:57

It's actually it's called the third Gilmore girl. Oh, that's what it's called. Yes, that's the name of the book and it's Kelly Bishop. I can't believe I blanked on her name because I'm literally reading it right now. Um, but yeah, it's her autobiography and it's her story and um it's been fascinating.

Camille: 34:17

I'm going to listen to that. I actually just saw Lauren Graham um in person. She was doing a book tour for her most recent book release.

Kristen: 34:26

So, yeah, oh well, that might have to be the next one that I do. So, yes, it's a really good one Talking as fast as I can, is her first or second one.

Camille: 34:34

I believe this is her third book that she just released, but yeah, so fun, such awesome people.

Kristen: 34:41

Great, and I mean we had so much fun watching that show because it's one of the shows especially if you have a daughter coming of age that you know Rory Gilmore makes some really bad choices.

Camille: 34:54

And ruined her in the last season. I'm just like why?

Kristen: 34:58

But I mean, even when she was in high school she made some of her choices and it wasn't glorified it was like, okay, this is the real life consequences of that decision. So it was kind of nice little parenting bonding.

Camille: 35:14

Absolutely Starting the conversation and saying oh why, what would you do if something like that happened? Or what do you think about that decision she made? I'm watching it with my daughter too, and I think we got to season five and I'm like, oh, this is getting a little bit grown up. She's only 13, but yeah. I love that show. That's the one show I brought to the hospital with me when I was in labor every time, which is hilarious because you don't bring DVDs anymore.

Camille: 35:40

But I did. I brought, like the box set DVDs of Gilmore Girls. That's very cool, okay so do you want to share what you're watching or listening to? Or move on to the next.

Kristen: 35:51

Oh no, so I am watching. My husband and I watch a show together and we're going through it, and so we're actually watching the new season of Lincoln Lawyer right now, is it?

Camille: 36:02

good as the other ones, Cause we started watching it and I we didn't get very far yet.

Kristen: 36:06

Yes, I mean so far we're only on episode, I think two or three of the newest season. Um there's just not a ton. I just don't live like graphic violence. I just don't see the point. It's not relaxing or enjoyable to me. So there's just not a ton of options. And I do like smart shows. Yeah, I think, hands down, my favorite TV show ever is Madam Secretary.

Camille: 36:30

Love it so much. I haven't seen that.

Kristen: 36:33

Oh, I've watched the whole thing. Actually, my daughter and I watched it and she's not into politics but she loves her as a character.

Camille: 36:41

So that's when you didn't watch with your husband, you watched with your daughter.

Kristen: 36:45

Okay, I'll have to check that out Awesome.

Camille: 36:47

And then listening to.

Kristen: 36:55

Listening to. Honestly. A lot of times, I'm listening to podcasts of either my clients or podcasts that we're considering wanting to be a part of, so Awesome.

Camille: 37:01

So last question is a motherhood moment you'd like to share. It can be something fun, heartfelt life lesson, just the most recent, whatever that's touched your mother heart.

Kristen: 37:15

We're.

Kristen: 37:16

We're kind of in the throes of a lot at the moment, both of my kids are looking to leave home, so um, but my oldest he's a baseball player and so he's hoping to play in college. He has a couple offers and we're kind of working through that right now. But his baseball journey has been a significant roller coaster, more than most, and he's had some really hard summers and he is now getting to see the fruit and the blessings of not giving up. And he's wanted by schools and we're going through that process and I would have quit. And during some of these downturns that he's had to deal with, and it is just my heart is just swelling with pride and joy for him because he's he stuck it out. He, you know, worked through something that most teenage boys would never work through and now he's getting these great, amazing opportunities that he's just going to thrive and we know that. But it's been a journey and it's so exciting to see him on the other side of that.

Kristen: 38:30

So I would say that's my top one at the moment.

Camille: 38:33

I love that that's such a teen. Years are tough and watching your kids fight through things and process things and have the resiliency it gives you hope for them as adults, because it really is. It's tough out there, and I think that's been one of even in a marriage. I think it's one of the hardest things for us like knowing how to parent them and help them through, and also giving them the space to make mistakes and learn from them. So that's a big payday for you. I'm so happy to hear that.

Kristen: 39:04

Oh, thank you.

Camille: 39:05

Thank you so much. Yeah, well, this has been so wonderful, Kristen. Thank you so much for taking the time, and please tell our audience where they can find you, and we will, of course, link everything in the show notes below.

Kristen: 39:18

Absolutely so. We are on Instagram it's at Viticula dot financial um, as well as our website is Viticula financialcom Um. Our Instagram people laugh. I call it. It's proof of life. People don't find somebody like me through Instagram, right, they come to make sure we're the real deal. It is through word of mouth, through podcasts, through conversations, and so the table is absolutely such a blessing to get to have conversations with women that aren't quite ready for full one-on-one support, and so I'm really hopeful that some of your listeners you know, find value in our conversation and know that it's okay to be scared to have these conversations, but they're worthy of having.

Camille: 40:08

Absolutely, absolutely, and I feel like we approached it in a way today you certainly have that it's there is never a bad question. You're not, there's nothing wrong with you, or you shouldn't have shame for wanting support and help because, like we said before, finding experts, coaches, mentors, guides is what it's all about. Because we rise together. Collaboration is always the way. I shared a quote today on my Instagram that said something like women at the top are not about competition, we're about collaboration, and there's a reason for that. I feel like there really is an energy of rising women together, and I truly believe in that, and I know that you do too. So thank you so much for being on the show today. I really appreciate it.

Kristen: 40:56

Thank you for having me. I've loved it.

Camille: 40:58

You're welcome. Well, thank you everyone for listening. If you found this show helpful, please give us a five-star rating and review. That helps other women and mothers to find these stories, to be inspired by them and to achieve their own goals and dreams. I hope that you found something inspiration, inspirational today, and that you have a wonderful week. We'll see you next time. Hey CEOs, thank you so much for spending your time with me. If you found this episode inspiring or helpful, please let me know in a comment and a five-star review. You could have the chance of being a featured review on an upcoming episode. Continue the conversation on Instagram at callmeCEOPodcast, and remember you are the boss.