NANCY WARD FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION
AJ: Welcome, Nancy Ward, to the Thriving Through podcast. I'm delighted to see you today.
Nancy: Yes, thank you so much, AJ, for having me.
AJ: What was your path to being a self-employed consultant?
NANCY'S PATH TO FINANCIAL COACHING: FROM $40K IN DEBT TO ENTREPRENEUR
Nancy: Well, I can give you the long version, or I can give you the short version, because my long version goes all the way back to when I was a kid. I just loved math. And I was a Girl Scout, and I was knocking on people's doors, and I swear, I was born to be an entrepreneur from such a young age. But over the course of my years, I've had different jobs, and I've always had a passion to help people.
When I was in college, I went and walked into my classes, and they're like, hey, you want to get a credit card? I'll give you a free t-shirt! And I'm like, yeah, sure, I don't know anything about credit cards! So anybody who's a Gen Xer watching this is thinking, yeah, that was me walking on college campus and just getting the credit card scheme coming my way.
But at that time, I was away from home, hours away from home, and said, sure, I'll get a credit card, and I'll eventually pay it off. And I didn't really understand how money worked. And fast forward a little bit longer, and I was $40,000 in credit card debt.
And how do I know that? Because I'm a numbers person. Plus, I had a car payment, and I remember one day coming back to my mom's house, it was about a 4-hour drive away. And she's like, I can't believe you got this new car. I said, but mom, they gave it to me at, like, 0% or 1%, 4% financing. She's like, yeah, but you have so much credit card debt. I'm like, yeah, but I pay my bills every month. I'm not behind. I haven't bounced... I mean, I'm justifying everything to say, yeah, I have $40,000 in credit card debt. I'm proud of it. Why would I ever? I don't know.
But again, I was good with numbers. I was at a point where I had a balance, and then I did a balance transfer on top of that, and then a promotion on top of that. What in the world was I thinking? So, fast again, fast forward, I got married, we took care of all the debt, I started raising my kids, having children, I have two of them, and as some lives live you, we ended up getting a divorce.
And I said, I do not want to do this ever again, where I get in such a spot of being in such debt that this is gonna happen to me again. No, I refuse. I'm not gonna pay the interest fees legally. I'm gonna try my best to avoid paying the interest fees. And I was like, you know what? There has got to be other people that are out there in the same boat as I am, not knowing how to do this. I'm a numbers person just by nature.
There's so many other people that are out there, and I developed the weekly debt plan years ago because I said I can send a little bit of money every single week to my debtor. And it'll be paid off. And I had a spreadsheet, of course, of all of how I was gonna pay it off with no interest. It was deferred interest, which is to me, one of the worst types of interest to have if you do end up getting that deferred interest payment that's on your bill. But I made sure I paid it off before that payment was due for the fact that I didn't want to pay any interest.
And somebody said, well, why don't you help other people, and be a coach, and help them with their finances? I thought, okay, well, that's an awful idea. So I started doing that as a part-time, and a few years ago, back in '23, I said, okay, I'm done with the corporate America, I'm ready to go on my own, and like I said, I'd been a serial entrepreneur all the way since 1995, and I went to the courthouse to say, hey, I have a business, I want to fill out some information about being a business, and so forth.
So I love what I love about this business is just helping other people. And money may not be people's superpowers, but I look at those arts and crafts when I look at, on Facebook or Pinterest. That is not my superpower. I can't take 5 items and make something beautiful, some beautiful corsage for somebody. My brain does not work that way. It works with numbers.
So that is, like I said, a little short and roundabout way in order how I got into my business, but I really, like I said, I really enjoy helping people look at their numbers in a different perspective without the constraints of budgeting.
THE PIVOT: FROM CONSUMER TO BUSINESS COACHING
AJ: You originally started out working with consumers, B2C, business to consumer. You went through a pivot that I think you said took you about a year to come to the realization of. So tell us about the pivot, and why you made that pivot.
Nancy: Well, I'm sure a lot of your listeners are thinking, yeah, I've got problems with my money, but no way I'm talking to somebody about this. No way I want... and they're gonna tell me to stop drinking my Starbucks. I could care less, because it's your money, but at the end of the day, it's what are your goals?
And as I was working with some of my clients, they were talking about, oh, I have this small business. And, should I keep doing my direct sales? And having these really good conversations about things. And I'm giving them business advice, not necessarily, hey, look at this credit card and this credit card. I was talking more business, and I'm thinking, well, how about doing this? And I was just doing so much encouraging. And they said, wow, this is great, thank you so much, I'm gonna apply this in my business.
And I sat there and said to myself, I'm like, you know, you probably should write off the fee to me as a business expense, because you're using this as with more information to get help with your business, which then turns into paying your personal credit cards, into having a better financial system. By all means.
And that was the thing, is that there's so many other solopreneurs that are out there that are using their personal credit cards in order to fund their businesses. And that was the pivot where I realized, hmm, there's a lot of solopreneurs that need, number one, just somebody to bounce off their financial information. And number two, they need help untangling their personal and business finances. Because they're stuck in this cycle of I started a business, I have one credit card, or maybe I have two credit cards. I don't know when I'm using it for business, and I don't know when I'm using it for personal. And I have clients coming in and saying, I don't know if I made money or I haven't made money until the end of the year.
And I'm like, that is such a challenge, because a consultant should know and any consultant, any solopreneur, should know if they're making money. And having that conversation was pivotal, and saying, man, there's a lot of people out there struggling with this, and I am seeing this conversation more often than I thought I would. And that's when I pivoted to say, I'm going to help solopreneurs more often instead of consumers.
THE SOLOPRENEUR FINANCE CHALLENGE: MIXING PERSONAL AND BUSINESS MONEY
AJ: So you work primarily with solopreneurs to help them untangle their business finances from their personal finances.
Nancy: Absolutely. It's a huge problem because they're not taught this. Nobody is teaching this in school. You could go get your MBA, and are they gonna teach you how your personal finances work? No. When people start a business, they have a business credit card, or they have a personal credit card with a small line of credit that they're using, and they think I can write this off on my taxes. Well, yes and no, but you need to know what money is going where. And then they're paying from their personal account when they should be paying from their business account.
So there's just this mirage of spending happening, and they're using credit cards, and their interest is just accruing, and they don't have visibility into their finances. And that's really what I help do, is create that visibility so that solopreneurs can understand, did I make money? How much money am I making? What are my expenses? Where is this all going? And helping them see the numbers in a way that makes sense to them.
Because I realized that solopreneurs, they're busy doing their consulting work, they're busy marketing, they're busy trying to get clients, and the last thing they want to do is put on their finance hat and look at their spreadsheets and look at their numbers. But if they don't, they're flying blind. They don't know if they're actually profitable. They don't know what they need to charge. They don't know where their money is going. And that creates so much stress and anxiety.
WORKING WITH SOLOPRENEURS: BUILDING FINANCIAL SYSTEMS
Nancy: So what I do is I help them build simple systems that work for them. Not complicated accounting systems, not something that requires a CPA degree, but simple systems where they can see at a glance, am I making money this month? What do I need to bring in to cover my expenses? What's my profit margin? Where can I invest back into my business?
And I help them separate those finances. So if you're using a personal credit card for business, let's figure out how to untangle that. Let's get you a business credit card. Let's get you a business bank account. Let's make sure that you're paying yourself properly. Let's make sure that you understand what needs to be set aside for taxes. All of those pieces that solopreneurs just don't think about when they're starting out, or even when they've been in business for a few years.
Because what happens is they get to the end of the year, and their accountant says, great, here's your tax bill. And they're like, wait, what? I thought I made money, but I don't have any money left. Where did it all go? And that's because they haven't been tracking it properly throughout the year. They haven't been setting money aside. They've been treating their business account like a piggy bank, taking money out whenever they need it for personal expenses.
So my job is to help them create those boundaries, create that clarity, and create systems that are sustainable. Not just something they're gonna do for one month and then forget about, but something that actually works with how their brain works and how their business operates.
MONEY MINDSET: REFRAMING SHAME AND LEARNING THE LANGUAGE
AJ: I think one of the challenges for a lot of consultants is the shame piece around not knowing this stuff. There's this feeling of, I should already know this. I'm running a business, I should have my finances figured out.
Nancy: Absolutely. And that's one of the biggest things I work on with my clients is that mindset piece. Because there's so much shame around money. There's so much, I should know this. I'm a smart person. I went to college. I have all these degrees. I have all this experience. Why don't I know how to manage my business finances?
And what I tell them is, you were never taught this. This isn't something that's intuitive. This isn't something that just because you're smart in your area of expertise means you're automatically gonna be smart in finances. These are learned skills. And more importantly, the rules that you were taught about money probably don't match your money moves.
I read this in a book, and it was talking about reframing your brain. And it was saying, instead of saying I'm bad with money or I should already know this, reframe it to say, I was taught rules that do not match my money moves. So it's a different reframe, because you can't keep continuously beat yourself up about that. And I should already know this is what people say to themselves.
Money is a language, and I'm still learning it. And it's so true, because so many people have not been taught that. And they have their ways, they're stuck in their ways, but with this reframe, it was just interesting how you could look at it from a different perspective, and all of a sudden, that whole line has totally different meaning. So I really like that book, yes. Reframe your brain. Makes sense.
ESSENTIAL SYSTEMS FOR NEW CONSULTANTS
AJ: Second question. What's one piece of advice you wish someone had given you when you started consulting?
Nancy: Invest in the systems from the get-go. Because I did not realize how challenging being the IT person, and the HR person, and the marketing person was all gonna be. Because if you have that all set up from the beginning, you have a well-oiled machine instead of feeling like you're continuously struggling and struggling and struggling.
AJ: Okay. And what advice would you give to solopreneurs about the systems that they should set up? Sort of what the basic systems are they should set up?
Nancy: Definitely, I would definitely have the website, have an email list, have some social media, and a lot of networking. And I've realized, just with networking and having that perfect elevator pitch that really grabs people is what's really important. And practice, practice, practice. The more that you get accustomed to your elevator pitch, it comes off your tongue without any issues at all. But refining that before you start practicing is really important, so people understand what you do, and know how to refer you.
THE POWER OF A CLEAR ELEVATOR PITCH
AJ: Yes. So if we were at a networking event, and I said, so, what do you do? What does your elevator pitch sound like?
Nancy: You're gonna put me on the spot, aren't you?
AJ: Yep, you just gave the advice that we should know our elevator speech.
Nancy: Nice to meet you! I am Nancy Ward, I am a financial coach in Cincinnati, Ohio, and I help solopreneurs untangle their personal and business finances, because so many of them don't know if they've made money or have not made money until the end of the year, instead of on a monthly basis.
AJ: Oh! Very smooth, very nice. So, do you find when you're at networking events, do people kind of lean in and say, oh, that's interesting, tell me more?
Nancy: Or they say, that's me.
AJ: Oh! Well then, that is a winning elevator speech. If they stop and they say, that's me, you've got them. You've got it nailed.
Nancy: And if it's not them, they definitely know other solopreneurs that just don't want to put the finance hat on.
AJ: Love it. And for those listening and watching out there, you just heard a great example of an elevator speech that is effective, because she's getting people saying, that's me.
CONNECTING WITH NANCY
AJ: Yeah, very good. And now this last question, and it is the most important question. How can listeners connect with you if they want to know more about you and your work?
Nancy: Thank you. You can hit my website at weeklydebtplan.com, and all of the socials are Weekly Debt Plan. My LinkedIn is NancyWard1. And that's how you can connect with me.
AJ: Perfect, love it. And we will have the LinkedIn profile URL in the show notes. Well, actually, all of the links will be in the show notes, so if you didn't catch that, go back to the show notes, and we'll have them there. So, Nancy, it has been delightful to talk to you today. Thank you so much for being a guest on the Thriving Through podcast.
Nancy: Thank you.
AJ: And for all of you listeners and viewers out there, until next time, keep thriving through.