The Most Expensive Thing I Do is Discount Myself.

Okay I’ll admit it. I’m undervaluing myself. That sentence makes me want to curl my hands up into little fists and then pull my crewneck sweatshirt collar up over my mouth (my tell when I am concentrating or want to crawl out of my own skin) I want to pull the blankets over my head but really quickly hold them up and let my babies cuddle in with me and then we slink down under the comforter I should probably replace and … you get the gist.

I’ve spent the past year working on my entire life from a ‘whole woman’ approach. Not just business owner stuff. I’m talking I’m doing deep work on what I want, need, don’t need, don’t want, love, hate, actually hate even more, want more of (not much) want less of (like every single thing except Skymiles and nice meals) and it’s been jarring to say the least.

I’ve learned I don’t need more money. I actually just want more time. I want to be less accessible and more intentional. I want to give more anonymously to people who need it. I want to be with my immediate family, my parents, my siblings and their families and that’s it. I want to cook more. I want to write more. I want to be on my phone less. I want to be with my kids more. And so I need to find a way to start working differently in my business. I need to untangle myself here a bit from every fiber and thread that weaves these two brands together. I love what I’ve built, and I want to build it even bigger with smart decisions and less Kalin driving on some highway somewhere listening to another true crime podcast and zooming back to teach another workshop that night.

A few weeks ago I faced the numbers. Because the numbers don’t lie. And for that exact reason we all love to avoid them don’t we? I’m blessed that many of the numbers are great. I married a man who developed a passion for personal finance and that right there probably saved me from financial ruin in many ways. So the numbers on lots of stuff are solid. We save a lot. We live within our means. That damn pickup truck is still going. We have no debt. But the number I pulled that I had been avoiding is the revenue. The top line. Exactly how much is being brought in.