Edited_Ep. #64 Stacey Bennett
Michelle Fox:
[00:00:00]
Stacey Bennett: and it was like a wake up call for me that as much as I love giving away everything I have, at the end of the day what's going to make My impact sustainable in the world is resources, time and money are two very great resources and if you don't have them, it's hard to make the size of difference that I think so many of us envision.
Michelle Fox: Welcome to Nourish with Michelle Fox, your guide to a vibrant life after 40! If consistency has been a challenge for you and you occasionally forget self-care, you, my friend are in the right place. Tune in for weekly inspiration to nourish your mind. I know your plate's full and I want to help you support a life and a body that you adore. Let's dig in. I met our next [00:01:00] guest, walking her talk. As you know, if you've been listening to me for a few episodes or all of them, wink, wink, like if you haven't go back and listen to the rest, cause Our guests have been so juicy. The information has been so helpful in healing. and this guest is going to bring the goods as well.
Michelle Fox: So. Today I am with Stacey Bennett and just to give you a little bit more, so I don't feel like I'm completely teasing you, but she and I met through the Young Americans Center where we were both sitting as judges on a panel for these amazing entrepreneurial teenagers. And I invited her on this podcast because I was so struck by her
Michelle Fox: persistence and her perseverance
Michelle Fox: And so you will see some of that yummy energy as we get. talking, but just to read her bio. So, you know, a little bit more of her backstory she shares that she did not learn how to use money well, until she [00:02:00] was out of college and already deep underwater financially, like a lot of people,
Michelle Fox: Stacey thought she was just bad with money. Once she realized that she just simply lacked learnable skills, her life began to transform. Stacey came to understand there was nothing wrong with her. In fact, the opposite was true. She began to build her financial management systems around her behaviors and her habits.
Michelle Fox: And that's all in tandem with her personality and in service of her goals. We are absolutely going to dig into that in a moment. Doing so though, it unleashed a passion for and success with money. Amen. We'll say that again and success with money. And she has since been compelled to share that with others.
Michelle Fox: Seeing that many entrepreneurs lack the same skills and systems that have brought her success and fulfillment. She created the SLC group to provide people with the tools, [00:03:00] skills, and support they need to build sustainable, profitable companies. So Stacey, thank you for being here and welcome to the show.
Hey, I'm so excited to be here. Thank you. Thank you for having me and telling me about this delicious podcast that you're doing. I'm so thrilled I get to be a part of it. Hmm.
Michelle Fox: My pleasure. My pleasure. And I, I'm excited to dig a little bit more into your backstory. Before we jump there, are you willing to play a quick game with me?
Stacey Bennett: yeah. Yes.
Michelle Fox: Sure. I don't know. That does not sound all that believable.
Stacey Bennett: I'm a little nervous. I'm a little nervous. Like money? No problem. Games? I'm like, I don't know.
Michelle Fox: Fair enough. Well, how about this? I will. Throw you a softball. So this one, when I say the words sweet, salty, or savory, which one do you choose?
Stacey Bennett: Savory, savory every time.
Michelle Fox: [00:04:00] Ah, okay. And since just even in your title and the work you do, I know that you are a business woman. So looking at your inbox right now, would you say inbox zero or inbox 10, 000?
Stacey Bennett: I am a bit neurotic about my inbox, so it's never gonna be 10, 000, but if I get over, like, 15, I start having this, like, stress, like, 15 undealt with, you know, emails, I'm probably, I'm probably sitting at about 13 right now.
Stacey Bennett: So, that's where, yeah. So, it feels like 10, 000 to me, but other people would be like, 13, girlfriend, whatever.
Michelle Fox: That sounds about right. All right, last but not least, would you be willing to share a story with us about your childhood? Surrounding the kitchen.
Stacey Bennett: Yes. I have my favorite story. One of my favorite stories from my childhood, actually.
Stacey Bennett: I, I grew up in [00:05:00] the 80s and early 90s, right? So back when having a camcorder around the house was, like, ripe for family videos. We don't have a ton. But the one that we've had for the entire year is labeled Stacy's Cooking Show.
Michelle Fox: Oh, we need to hear more.
Stacey Bennett: It's so cute. I was probably, I was probably eight.
Stacey Bennett: And then I've got an older brother. He was about nine. And then my younger sister was in kindergarten. And so we did a cooking show. And my favorite thing to make was pudding pies. So it's the graham cracker crust. And then you make the pudding and you fill it and then you put whipped cream on top. Still probably one of my favorite desserts and so we did a cooking show where I was the lead in the kitchen just walking everybody through how to make a pudding pie.
Stacey Bennett: I had my brother and my sister were like my assistants while my mom was filming. And then at the end [00:06:00] of it, we did, like, interviews with the crew, and so my brother and sister and I got to answer these very professional questions about how we liked school and, you know, like, oh, it was super, super fun. I think I've seen it maybe twice, as an adult, just looking back and watching it, and it's just, I don't know, it's hilarious.
Stacey Bennett: Yeah. Missing the teeth and lisps and all the good stuff. All the good stuff. Yeah.
Michelle Fox: So it sounds like your entrepreneurial journey started at a very young age. I mean, what I'm hearing is you brought people together, you were, designing the show, you were directing people on what to do and where to be.
Michelle Fox: And so I can imagine that's only grown. As you are presenting as the entrepreneur that you are today. You know,
Stacey Bennett: it's so interesting that you say that because you're so 100 percent right. And if you [00:07:00] had asked me anytime before I started my business in 2018, I would have told you I don't have an entrepreneurial bone in my body.
Stacey Bennett: I just didn't see myself that way. but you know, when you say that you're, you're right and I mean, I had lemonade stands and I did all sorts of things when I was little and I think at some point, I like maybe even forgot how much I enjoyed and how good I was at doing stuff like that. So what an interesting piece to connect for me there.
Michelle Fox: Hmm. Yes. And one more that I'll grab and connect. Just looking at your awesome website. One of your taglines here is empowering businesses to create a world that works for everyone. And that is very much what I have seen in you just a little bit that I have gotten to learn and know about you. But even just listening to the story of you in the kitchen with your show, like you are bringing.
Michelle Fox: Everybody together. Would you say that that's something [00:08:00] that's innate in you? Or is that something that you've grown and learned how to be a connector?
Stacey Bennett: Yeah, I think I've learned how to get better at it. And I think it's an innate desire. Like I've always been someone who like the thing I enjoy the most is bringing people together and just wrapping my arms around all of them.
Stacey Bennett: And I love when I envision, you know, what I want for myself. It always contains other people and what I want for them and what they want for themselves. And one of the things, even as I'm building my business, I keep experiencing is Oh, I could, I could totally offer this person an opportunity to do this.
Stacey Bennett: it wouldn't be cool if they could grow that with the business and the business could provide this space for them too. And, so I do think that is very much like a natural, just. I, I, I got goosebumps when you read that tagline back because it is so central to how and why I show up in the world.
Michelle Fox: And I [00:09:00] believe that is where your work and my work intersects because we both have a passion for community and specifically healing and helping other women. be strong and feel good about themselves in community. And so the topic I would love to chat about today is cultivating healthy financial habits because my women in my community, we are busy.
Michelle Fox: Oh my goodness. A lot of us are in transitions, whether it's We have children who are leaving the home and or like me, I have teenagers, three of them, and they all have very different desires and goals. And on, on top of, you know, my desires and goals, some of the women in my community are going through divorce.
Michelle Fox: So I know that comes around the money conversation as well. A lot of us are looking at, you know, do I want to still be in the same job or I built this business? Can I try something else? And so. [00:10:00] All of this transition. And so today, as we kind of really dig in, I would love to pull out some tangible items that after today's conversation, women can walk away and say, Yes, this is this is what I'm going to try to improve my financial well being.
Michelle Fox: So with that, can you just start us off with even just one thing that may come up that you think could be helpful for someone to improve their life? Thank you for having me.
Stacey Bennett: Yeah, absolutely. I do love this conversation so much. because I mean, to think about being somebody who was like terrified of and frankly hated money to being somebody who was thrilled to come on a podcast and talk about it, right?
Stacey Bennett: you've got to imagine that There are a lot of people who don't see it possible for them to have a really positive, healthy relationship with money. And I feel like I very much model the opportunity. And so, I think that for [00:11:00] me, the first place to start is and was spending time with money in an intentional way.
Stacey Bennett: So spending time looking at money, spending time. Addressing thoughts and feelings that we have about money. and so in the progression of like, there's, there's the things to do, right? There's the things to start doing on a regular basis and the habits to build. But it really starts with With the relationship that we have with money, you know, is it something that we avoid because we're afraid of it?
Stacey Bennett: Is it something that we avoid because we have the thought that we've never been good at it or you know Our spouse always manages that or you know, we never grew up with a good example of how to do it Well, or you know, we just don't care about it. We're indifferent. It's not that we don't like it. It's just not interesting to us There's so much other cooler stuff to do, you know, like any of those spaces that we may be in I think that for me, money is such an [00:12:00] opportunity for personal growth and development for finding ways to both experience and express love in life, you know, and so the deeper we can connect to our money.
Stacey Bennett: And the more time we can spend with it in this sort of like positive vibe, I think it really opens up a whole, a whole other dimension that we can start to actually build skills and ask strategic questions, you know, and look forward at what we want for the future and have money be one of the, one of the rungs on the ladder that we use to kind of get there.
Stacey Bennett: so. That one, you'll hear, you know, in any of the places that I speak about money, kind of the first thing they say is like, well, how much time are you spending with money? And how is the quality of that time?
Michelle Fox: Let me ask you something. Are you ready for more connection? I know I am. And that is why I would like to invite [00:13:00] you to nourish the membership where we are building community. We are boosting your health and we are finding new ways to have fun with social media. Get access to exclusive workshops and expert insights teaching you how to create irresistible content in a supportive environment. Plus we'll nourish your body with mouthwatering recipes,
Michelle Fox: Helping you to make healthier choices in the kitchen and increase your energy levels.
Michelle Fox: But the best part I believe is that you will connect with like-hearted individuals and have a lot of fun as you walk your healing path. So come join [email protected] forward slash nourish and let's elevate our lives together.
I also want to expand on what you share about No profit, no impact, because I will tell you, I know I'm a bit older than you and women in my[00:14:00] community, I will say a lot of us were raised to believe that, you know, you keep money to yourself, you keep that as a secret and even worse. To my soul and my heart that I, I grew up seeing and, try to, you know, dispel that now, which is that money is bad.
Michelle Fox: I like, you don't want to be rich because, you know, rich people are bad or they do evil things. But why I love how you say. No profit, no impact is because that reframes that it's like, yes, a lot of us do want to have impact on the world. And I know there's, and maybe you can speak to it. I know there is research to show that when you give women money, we tend to do more good in the world.
Michelle Fox: And we have more money, or when we have more money, we're able to help more people. And so can you expand a little bit about that thought that you that you talk about?
Stacey Bennett: Yeah. yeah. First, just to that last [00:15:00] sentence that you said, if anybody hasn't come across or read Work, by Rachel Rogers, I've got so much respect for her as an influencer, as a business owner, and she writes in her book, we should all be millionaires on to that exact point that what women do with economic power,is, we serve the world, we serve our families, our communities, and ourselves, and in a way that really lifts all ships, and so, let's accumulate that wealth and that power and use it positively, and I just, I love it.
Stacey Bennett: Her fire and her passion around that. So Rachel Rogers is, is, I think, can speak to that, you know, better than I can and you know,where, it has impacted me in my life actually came out of working with nonprofit organizations. So I, you know, I met you working with young people judging, a teen business plan competition.
Stacey Bennett: Teens have always kind of been like my people. I love doing [00:16:00] mentorship and just being in the world. There's just such this great creative energy that is happening at that phase of your life. And I just, it's, it resonates with me. And so I, was volunteering as a mentor with an organization in Denver. for years, I was facilitating programs with them.
Stacey Bennett: I followed my mentee Sadie's all the way from ninth grade until she graduated. and then went to college. And so, I got to really see this beautiful journey, from upfront, and personal and getting to see her in her life and I fell in love with the program that I was a part of and the space they made for mentors and volunteers and unfortunately what was happening and is happening for a lot of smaller nonprofits and, you know, particularly is funding. after the tax laws changed
Stacey Bennett: in general, as more and more nonprofits are created, the funds and the resources are getting smaller and smaller. And so they ended up having to [00:17:00] merge with another organization and then with another organization and kind of today they don't really exist in the capacity that they did doing the work that they were doing at the time that I was involved with them and for anybody that was involved as a mentor and kind of coming up with this organization
Stacey Bennett: it really was a heartbreaking loss. It was like one of the most vulnerable, like safe and vulnerable and beautiful relational spaces I'd ever inhabited and anything I could do with them I wanted to do and then they were just not there anymore and they weren't there anymore largely because of money.
Stacey Bennett: And that happened in 2018 and it was like a wake up call for me that as much as I love giving away everything I have, at the end of the day what's going to make My impact sustainable in the world is resources, time and money are [00:18:00] two very great resources and if you don't have them, it's hard to make the size of difference that I think so many of us envision.
Stacey Bennett: And so I read a lot about B Corps there, there, that's a class of business that is really starting to take that seriously, that our impact, our social mission, the work we do with the world should actually be front and center in our business, not a second thought. It's not second to profit. It is right there alongside profit.
Stacey Bennett: And, it's not primary to profit either, because ultimately, if there's no profit, there's no impact. So that has been a driving force for me as I've been building my business is, you know, when I, when I look around, I, I, I see my impact and my mission is something that needs my protection, my guidance, my diligence, and my, my energy and not just my energy, but the financial energy, that I, you know, can put towards, I have a [00:19:00] responsibility to, to manage my finances in a way that makes it sustainable.
Stacey Bennett: And I think that has brought just a different lens and as you kind of pointed to I think women in particular but everybody I think I think this can be a general statement a lot of us can have the perspective that Accumulating money is bad.
Stacey Bennett: I think a lot of us struggle with this cultural pressure to not amass too much And also kind of a cultural pressure to succeed financially that can be very confusing and I think can muddy the waters about what we're actually here to do. And so this perspective that no profit, no impact has provided for me a new lens
Stacey Bennett: through which to filter that [00:20:00] information and a new way to look at my responsibility as a business owner, you know, that I, I can't afford to mismanage my company's money. I have people and a planet depending on me, right? And that, while, you know, I think it can be a little, a lot of pressure, it also is a very great guide.
Stacey Bennett: You know, like this is why I'm here. Ultimately, I'm here to make a difference. My money supports me in that. I'm grateful to my money for doing that, for providing that, you know, and I'm here to be a steward of it. You know, and to handle it responsibly.
Michelle Fox: So, and as you were talking, I don't think I introduced you in the beginning as a financial coach, but is that how you identify financial coach, a financial coach?
Stacey Bennett: You know, I have tested so many different names for myself and it kind of changes right now. you know, I, I'm the founder and vision setter at the [00:21:00] SLC group. And I also do kind of all the things, most clients know me as their bookkeeper. Or their profit first coach, right? And, So, yeah.
Michelle Fox: Can you say more about the Profit First?
Michelle Fox: Just the title alone, I'm like, I'm leaning in.
Stacey Bennett: Profit First is an incredible cash management system. It was created and then popularized by Mike Michalowicz. He's got a book by that name. It's called Profit First, if anybody wants to check it out. but he really introduces the idea that, you know, Cashflow management, so that the way that you interact with the day to day money that moves through your business, it needs to be habits based.
Stacey Bennett: It needs to work in alignment with how business owners think. and a lot of times what gets us in trouble is that the way that we think and the systems that we have to manage our money don't work cohesively [00:22:00] together, and so we end up overspending, or we end up with confusion about what our money is for, we don't know what to pay ourselves, or we're surprised by a tax bill, or, you know, those kind of things are rampant in business owners experiences of their money, because of our systems.
Stacey Bennett: if you've ever heard of like grandma's envelope system, I, that was actually the method that allowed me to dig myself out of that financial hole. I was working at a restaurant at the time and I would bring my tips home and I would divide them into different envelopes. This is my groceries.
Stacey Bennett: This is my gas. This is my, my, snacks and entertainment money. Right. And so that allowed me to, when I went to the grocery store with my groceries envelope, if it wasn't there, I couldn't spend it. Right. So that's a simple example for business owners it works the same way. And Profit First really leverages that system systematizing of how you spend your money and says, [00:23:00] instead of pouring all of your money into one account and then trying to keep straight
Stacey Bennett: what's available for what, what needs to be for taxes and what's for payroll and what, you know, what's for inventory and kind of all of those places, segment your money across different accounts. You've got an operating expense account and a tax savings account and a profit savings account. And then when you ask yourself, like, well, how much can I pay myself?
Stacey Bennett: Well, how much money is in your owner's pay account, you know, and it gets funded by a percentage of your revenue. And those percentages are really set based on, you know, what are some healthy, what is the healthy balance of how to allocate your money in a business. So if you bring in, you know, a thousand dollars.
Stacey Bennett: And you pay yourself 500 of it, that's a healthy allocation. If you bring in a thousand dollars and you don't pay yourself any of it, that is not a healthy or sustainable allocation. But that's how so many businesses run, right? [00:24:00] So it helps us kind of keep our operating expenses controlled to what we say, like we're going to use 35 percent of our revenue for operating expenses.
Stacey Bennett: Now my budget is my bank balance. Rather than I've got to have this number in my brain of what's going to be coming out of my bank account. What was my budget again? I haven't looked at it in three weeks or kind of all of the things that, you know, we do. Yeah. So that's profitable.
Michelle Fox: Thank you for breaking that down.
Michelle Fox: I was not aware of that. And so as far as tactical tools that women can use, and of course, men as well, we don't want to exclude anybody. But it sounds like one, we're going to spend more time with our money, looking at the money, being aware of what we have. Number two, we're going to categorize our spending and make our budget from there.
Michelle Fox: Can you give us a third item that we should probably be paying more attention to?
Stacey Bennett: Yeah, I, so [00:25:00] the concept of separating your money into different accounts and a profit first really addresses how to do this on a business side. Personally, we, I do it as well. When I coach young people or adults on how to do cash flow management in their own day to day lives.
Stacey Bennett: For me, the way that I've got it structured is I have a bill account and my bill account contains the balance of whatever is going to be coming out for bills, rent, utilities, mortgage payments, kind of all of that. And then I've got a flex account that is separate and that is the only one I carry a debit card around for that is what I put my groceries and my entertainment and kind of all of that in and then I have separate savings accounts for all of my different financial goals.
Stacey Bennett: So I like to travel, so I set aside money every month for travel. I have pets, so I set aside money every month for my vet bills and for things that my pets are going to need. And what this is allowing me to do is. One, I'm not having to scrounge at, you know, the last minute because I just haven't made [00:26:00] space in my budget for the big trip I'm going to be taking at the end of the month.
Stacey Bennett: For example, I remember I was probably 27, 28 when I took my dog to an emergency vet appointment for the first time and had savings. You know, I remember empowering, like it was a life changing moment. I had started, you know, putting money into this bucket every month for my vet bills. I had to take her to the vet.
Stacey Bennett: I pulled out my debit card. I transferred money over from savings and it was like, this works. This works. And so I encourage, you know, folks to separate your money, Instead of having to scrounge at the last minute for this upgrade or this car repair or this trip or this whatever, build it into your monthly cash flow so that it's stable.
Stacey Bennett: So every month I put 400 in my travel, even though I'm not going to be spending that until December when I go visit my family. You know, that, you know, [00:27:00] kind of thing you're paying for all year long. Another great thing to do this with is Christmas presents. Like how many of us get to the holidays and we are overwhelmed at how much money we just spent?
Stacey Bennett: Build that in throughout the year so that when Christmas gets here, you've got money to pull from. I found when I was, you know, I found that a lot of people have trouble with the conversation about how much should I be saving because that number is so varied. And truthfully, once you move money into a savings account, like what's it there for?
Stacey Bennett: Like it could be there for any number of things. And is this thing, worth me pulling money out of savings for. So by creating buckets and saving in buckets, it clarifies what you're using it for, why it's worth putting money aside in the first place, and then what sorts of things happen in your life that are worth pulling from savings for.
Stacey Bennett: You know, it's got a, it's got a job.
Michelle Fox: Yes, as a real [00:28:00] life example, my husband Steve and I, even before we were married, but once we started cohabitating about, I guess, seven years ago now, we did decide to combine our money. And we do, like, it's all in the same kind Bank, but we have, you know, one savings that specifically is for Christmas to your point.
Michelle Fox: We have one that we entitle freedom because I really believe that words are powerful. And so people talk about the emergency fund and I'm like, no, I'm not planning for an emergency. I'm planning to have freedom and knowing that I have this money saved aside for when, you know, the inevitable does happen, you know.
Michelle Fox: I feel free that I'm able to pull it out. And then we also have an account for what is it? Oh, travel. So yeah, similar to you as well. And so, yeah, every month we put a certain amount in and it just feels so light knowing that the money is there, you know, and we have it set. I [00:29:00] know for entrepreneurs, you might have to do something a little bit more physical as far as
Michelle Fox: moving the money yourself because Steve, my husband, does work for an eight to five. So we are able to, you know, allocate those dollars from HR. So we never even see that money leaving the paycheck. It goes straight into the savings account. So I just offer that to get people thinking like, well, what are my values?
Michelle Fox: Cause maybe travel is not a value and maybe, you know, the holidays isn't necessarily your thing, but right. Think about the things like you mentioned your pet, like if you are into pampering this pet and you want that money for the pet, like perhaps you have the pet savings fund. Yeah. I love that. That point that you brought up.
Stacey Bennett: Yeah. And, you said something a moment ago.
Stacey Bennett: Oh. Your, your point about how he's able to do it effortlessly. He just has it, you know, deposited, direct deposited into the different accounts. That is another piece that I would [00:30:00] offer as a tool is to the best, you know, as many places as you can, automate it so that it happens without you needing to, you know, whether that's automatic transfers into different accounts.
Stacey Bennett: I have a profit first system that I run in my business, right? So I've got my income account and then it divvies out into all these other buckets and I actually found a bank is designed for that and so they've got automatic transfers that it just automatically does 10 percent of my account balance to this account and 15 to this one and 35 to this one every Friday, whatever's in my income account just happens for me The idea of making it simple on yourself.
Stacey Bennett: Like, we're all busy. We've got a million things to do. And I spent a ton of time with my money when I first started this journey. A ton of it. And I loved it. Because I was learning and I was growing and it was fascinating. And now, like 10 years in, there's no way I could spend even a fraction of that time with my money.
Stacey Bennett: And so, I found ways to make it, As [00:31:00] efficient as possible and have it happen out of sight, out of mind as much as possible, you know,
Michelle Fox: yes, I am in the bucket of physically moving money from my
Michelle Fox: paychecks over to our buckets as well. But, you know, with the disclaimer that this bank is not sponsoring the show, nor are you necessarily endorsing them. Would you be willing to share this bank that does this automatic movement?
Stacey Bennett: Yeah, yeah, it's called Relay Bank. so they only, they're in the United States.
Stacey Bennett: and I, you know, I, I don't get any kind of like sponsorship or anything from them. And I love them because I have tried four different business banks before them. And I am pretty astounded at how challenging it is to set up and manage business banks. And if you use the kind of system that I do where you've got multiple bank accounts, it's that times 10, right?
Stacey Bennett: Like the, just the set up. piece alone is time consuming and frustrating, [00:32:00] so when, Relay came about and released all this, I think it's, I mean, within the last nine months or so, maybe, maybe the last 12 months, it, it, like, blew my mind, and I, I speak so highly of them because I love the work that they do.
Stacey Bennett: I also am a bookkeeper, and so I know kind of some of the Intricacies of how different banks work with business bookkeeping systems and how some of them can be a real headache and I love what Relay has done in like they took the perspective of how do bookkeepers and accountants and business owners need to be able to see their banking data for it to be sane and rational for them and then they created A system that works for that.
Stacey Bennett: So really, I just think has done a really great job of hearing the needs of business owners and bookkeepers in the market and creating a solution for it. so yeah, I highly recommend them.[00:33:00]
Michelle Fox: I will check them out. Cause yeah, I'm not. and I've been as fond of my bank as I would, I would like to, especially with all the charges that they charge me for certain things.
Michelle Fox: I'm like, shouldn't it be this hard? So I will be checking them out. Thank you, Stacey.
Stacey Bennett: They are entirely online. So I know some folks, they want a brick and mortar, relay doesn't have that option, but there are ways to do kind of hybrid where you've got your home bank that you deposit cash into and all that.
Stacey Bennett:
Michelle Fox: Now, one thing I want to circle back to when you were talking earlier in our conversation, you mentioned the term B Corp. I'm not familiar with that. What is that all about?
Stacey Bennett: Yeah. So it is actually a legal designation of business. Same as like an S Corp or an LLC, a benefit corporation is how it's stated at like the legal level.
Stacey Bennett: And then B Corp is sort of the certification. So, without getting too kind of in the weeds about it, basically, what they [00:34:00] do is they bake the mission or the impact promises of a business into the operations agreement of the business. So one of the things that happens as businesses grow is you get forced to choose between your shareholders
Stacey Bennett: and your impact. And there are, it kind of puts handcuffs on your impact at some point where if there's a choice that is better for your mission in the world, it's more environmentally friendly, more sustainable, more socially responsible, right? But it isn't as profitable. You're legally bound to do what is best for your shareholders.
Stacey Bennett: Even if it's against your mission, it's why so many businesses sell out as they get bigger, right? Like it's not just a bunch of, you know, mean, bad people at the top who make bad decisions. Like this is baked into the fabric of our economy and how business works. B Corps, they, because they are a legal class of business, they're able to [00:35:00] actually write in their impact promises that those things have to be weighted equally alongside the impact on profit.
Stacey Bennett: So if you are ever faced with that choice, that I want to make this choice, or I want to make this decision, it's more economically friendly, but it's not as profitable. B Corps are protected and they can make the choice that's more aligned with their mission. So there's a lot of really great companies out there that are certified B Corps, Patagonia, silk, almond milk, you know, like they're, they're a B Corp.
Stacey Bennett: There are a lot of companies and, and what they say is like, I promise that my mission, my impact, my sustainability. Is as important to me as my profits are, and you can count on me to make choices that are aligned with that. B Corps. Yeah, they're great. That is really good to know. Thank you for that. It's inspiring, isn't it?
Stacey Bennett: It gives, when I first learned about that, I was like, wait, there are businesses that are thinking this way? There's an [00:36:00] entire economy that is thinking this way. I know. Vote with your dollars. If it's got a B Corps symbol on it, pick that one over the one next to it every time.
Michelle Fox: Yes. I am a huge fan of spending money that aligns with my values. And so now it looks like there's an even easier way to look up these companies to see, Hey, are they truly aligned with my values? And Hey, am I going to still spend my money with them? So thank you for that hip tip. Sweet. So now as we wind down, is there anything else you want to add that can support our community and cultivating healthier mindsets around their money?
Stacey Bennett: Yeah. I think the thing that has made the biggest difference for me is to know that I'm going to make mistakes. I'm going to go through transition periods. I'm going to take risks and they're not always going to pan out as cleanly as [00:37:00] I like. So one of the things I had to be willing to do at the very beginning is Mess up and clean up my messes when I made them and I thinkBecause there's such a mindset around like you're either good with money or you're bad with money A lot of times we, we go to town on ourselves when we make a mistake with money or when we take a risk and it doesn't pan out.
Stacey Bennett: And the temptation can be there to say, I messed up, I'm bad with money. And I just really encourage people to take the perspective like no I'm just learning. I'm dancing, I'm experimenting, you know, my, my husband and I, when we first, you know, merged our finances, it was a completely different world of financial learning.
Stacey Bennett: You know, I had 10 years under my belt of really perfecting my systems and I felt so on lock about things and then all of a sudden it was chaos. You know, [00:38:00] and, and, totally throw another person in the mix. It's completely new skills, completely new conversations. And so just being willing to be messy at every stage, every stage of it, and, and let money be a guide and a teacher wherever you are on the journey.
Stacey Bennett: I think that just, it gives us a lot more space to be compassionate with ourselves and to continue growing.
Michelle Fox: So I know we have a listener, if not a hundred listeners right now, they're raising their hands saying, yes, please, Stacey. Yes. I want to work with you. Like how do we find you?
Stacey Bennett: Yeah. Awesome. Please find me.
Stacey Bennett: My website is the SLC group. co. So it's. T H E S L C group dot C O. I am happy to have a conversation, a strategy session to talk about you, your business, your goals, you know, and, and what the SLC group can do to partner with you and, and [00:39:00] being successful and keeping that heart centered impact first perspective as you grow a successful business.
Michelle Fox: Fabulous. I will absolutely add all of your links in the show notes. And I just want to say thank you for showing up. Thank you for showing up to empower others to know that they can make money and they are worthy of having a lot of money. So thank you for sharing your message and thank you for being here today.
Stacey Bennett: Thank you so much for having me. This has been delightful. Very great. Very grateful.
Michelle Fox: thanks so much for listening to Nourish. Have you been driving, doing laundry or walking around the neighborhood? Sweet. I've got show notes for you. Hop on over to michellefox.com/podcast. When you are ready. I will let you know that on the page, you will find resources to support what you just learned on today's show. And then of course you can grab some health supportive freebies as [00:40:00] well.
Michelle Fox: If you enjoyed this episode, I would be honored. If you would leave a review on whichever podcast platform you are listening on. It will help me with my mission to build healthier communities. One person at a time and it will help you because you will be part of that mission.
Michelle Fox: I'll be back next week and I encourage you to keep showing up for yourself and know that you and your health matter. Big love!
