I’m high.

Not exactly what you want to hear from your numbers person.

Fear not! It’s completely legal, and all natural.

I’m high on the bankable breakthroughs I made at the #eWNConf. I may also be feeling giddiness from the 14 hour car drive home with only 3 hours sleep.

You read that right, FOURTEEN hours to drive home. Followed by three hours of unconsciousness before my 6 year old decided it was time to get up. Can I take a moment to thank the universe for coffee? This morning The Numbers Whisperer® is running at the speed of caffeine.

Once the coffee hit my system I knew I had to share my breakthrough with you.

You are my breakthrough.

You personally. You uniquely. You and your business challenges. You are my breakthrough.

To explain (or as Inigo Montoya says in The Princess Bride, to summarize) we need to rewind to last Wednesday.

Lisa Nichols – What’s Your Zip Code?

Lisa Nichols, CEO Of Motivating the Masses, was the first speaker as part of the pre-conference schedule. My amazing colleague and friend Tai Goodwin (more on her later), told me Lisa was a not to be missed speaker. Tai was right.

Just the chance to hear Lisa Nichols speak was worth the 14 hour car ride.

Three hours flew by, and I had a new zip code.

I wasn’t planning a move to Fiji, or even to move somewhere warmer than Minnesota. Sounds nice though, doesn’t it? No more snow. Beautiful beaches. Tropical breeze. How could life not be perfect if I moved?

Your happiness is a state of mind, not a place on the map.

Your success is fueled by your mindset, not the swankiness of your office.

Convenience and conviction do not share the same zip code. – Lisa Nichols

I realized that I had been living in a place of comfort and convenience. While it’s easy to live there, I realized my goals would remain goals rather than achievements. Time to send in my mental change of address form.

Lift as You Climb with Sandra Yancey

Want a serving of inspiration served up with humility and grace? Meet Sandra Yancey, Founder and CEO of eWomenNetwork. Sandra spoke here in Minnesota this past spring. After her presentation I managed to get few moments with her one-on-one.

Fast forward to last week. It’s the kick-off to the conference, and the Exhibitor Extravaganza. I was one of those exhibitors. To make my booth fun and inviting we were offering Selfies with Maxine the Math Mutt, fun props supplied at no charge. My big goal? Get Sandra to visit my booth.

I spotted her moving quickly through the crowd. This was my chance! I dashed over and (politely) got in her way and just blurted out my request. “Sandra a few months ago you spoke at my chapter of eWomenNetwork in Minnesota. Because of that I’m here today, exhibiting. I would love to have a picture of you at my booth. Can you give me just a minute?”

I’m sure she had somewhere to be, yet she accepted and came over to my booth. She was game to wear a pink boa, and asked someone else to take the picture so I could stand with her.

Look at the picture again at the top of the page. That’s a real smile on her face. Sandra, the CEO of a multimillion dollar business, took the time to stand with me, wear a silly boa, and be in the moment.

Lift as You Climb – Sandra Yancey

Sure that’s easy to say. I couldn’t tell you how many times Sandra said that during the conference. Yet every time she said it I thought of that moment, and knew she lived it.

Reality Thwacks Me HARD

I wish I could say I left the conference perfectly poised for success. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to say? To feel? To be?

Not me.

Reality ran me over like a Mack truck.

As I reflected back on the conference, and considered my next steps, one thing kept coming back to me.

Who wants to talk about sales, revenue growth, and marketing? Everybody.

Who gets excited about a new campaign, marketing idea or tool? Everybody.

Who wants to talk about numbers, pricing, or even your bottom line? Nobody.

Yes you need sales. You can’t make a profit from zero dollars. Yes you need marketing. People can’t buy from you if they don’t even know you exist. You also need to understand what drives your bottom line and how to achieve your profit goals.

You can sell a billion dollars worth of products and still go bankrupt. Just look at US car companies.

But it’s not sexy. It’s not exciting. No one is talking about it. No one wants to talk about it. How can I achieve my own goals? I have a responsibility to my family, to my daughter.

Maybe I should go back to my six figure income as a CFO or an Investment Banker. Corporations know they need to understand and manage their bottom line. That would be so much easier.

Tai Goodwin Picks Me Up

Joining me in the car on the marathon drive was Tai Goodwin, Founder of Bankable Brilliance. As I teetered on the brink of walking away, of staying in my comfort zip code (how quickly we forget!), Tai stepped in. Remember we had 14 hours in a car together, so I had no choice but to listen.

First she acknowledged all my challenges.

Yes people think more sales automatically means more money for them.
Yes people are going to easily get excited about marketing.
Yes people think a bookkeeper or CPA is all they need to take care of their finances.
Yes people think financial success will just happen if they work hard enough.
Yes people think the numbers stuff is just too hard.
Yes people think watching paint dry while chewing broken glass is more fun than talking about their pricing.

Then she threw me a curve ball. “That’s why you need to do it. No one is talking about this, but the reality is they can’t succeed and flourish without understanding their profit drivers. Why can’t you be the trailblazer?”

Excuse me? Trailblazer? That sounds hard, challenging, and scary.

Tai had one final comment for me to consider.

Brilliant women face their fears. – Tai Goodwin

You Are My Why

I sat there in silence for quite awhile.

Was I scared? You bet. To truly flourish in my business I would have to take on the trailblazer role. I would have to trade an uncertain future for a comfortable, convenient one that I could have in a corporate setting.

Why would I do that? Why would I want to do that?

You. You are the reason I will take the risk. You are the reason I will face my fears.

I want you to succeed and thrive. You need to understand and master the numbers in your business to achieve your goals. I will help you. Together we can grow your bottom line.

Let’s Do This!

Tai challenged me to help 10 people achieve Profitable Pricing in 30 Days. In fact she spent a chunk of the drive helping me to create a program designed for you. Using my proven system, this program will get you where you need to be in 30 days.

Are you ready to become profitable? To be successful and soar? To be one of the 10 people I help make it happen in the next 30 days? Sign up for a free call with me to find out if this is your time to profit.