Why I’m being pulled toward this work: The invisible money game we’re never taught
I’ve always had a sense that I was missing something when it came to money.
As a kid, I liked to save coins in a little blue box, take them out and stack them, counting what I had. And later, when my dollars became more and my parents asked to borrow some, I gave it to them. I don’t remember getting it back, but I wasn’t keeping score. It just felt like something I did.
I remember watching my mom stress about money. I didn’t know the details as a little girl, but I knew we didn’t have enough. Later, when things got really tight and serious, I asked her to show me where the money was going, let’s make a plan. For the first time, she actually did and I wrote the numbers down on the back of an envelope. There, sitting on a bench at a park, I realized: this isn’t as bad as I thought. There was a plan in there, somewhere. That made me feel better.
Seeing the numbers made it less a scary unknown, something I could work with.
I used to think money was hard and complicated. That rich people had some secret code. Then I found the FIRE movement and realized, oh there’s a system. There are rules, like a game. And I could learn to play.
Starting a business really pushed me into that game. I learned how money flows differently to owners than to employees. I understood (and even empathized at times) why companies outsource. I understood how profit works (and who gets left out).
That changed how I see the world. It also changed how I see my role in it.
I'm not trying to win this game by traditional standards. I'm more interested in making the game visible to people who didn’t even know there was a game.
I care about money because it’s one of the main systems shaping our lives and it’s one most people feel disconnected from, ashamed of, or exhausted by.
But money is a process. You don’t have to have it all figured out. You just need enough clarity to make your choices.
I don’t want to be the expert who teaches you everything. I’d rather be the game tutorial. The person you watch play. “Here’s how I’m doing it. Take what works.”
I believe that when people have more clarity around money, they can rest more. They can eat better, breathe easier, parent with more patience. They can help others. They cause less harm.
People might still suck sometimes, but a well-fed, well-rested person is a lot less dangerous than one who’s starving, sleep-deprived, and not sure about tomorrow.
That’s why I care about money and consciousness.
Not because I think we can fix everything.
The game’s gonna be rigged as long as there are people committed to rigging it.
But once you know that? You can stop unconsciously playing their game, skip that side quest.
Or play your own game inside the game, build something that works for you and the people you care about.
That’s where I’m going to play.
The personal development I didn't know was coming: How my business changed me (Why my intuition chose the 2000s makeover instead of the 90s one)
Originally published on Substack
My business gave me a late 2000’s natural makeover but it could have been a 90s business template makeover if I had ignored my intuition.
The way it could’ve gone:
I would have joined a networking group like BNI, ignoring the internal squeeze I felt my first 2 visits. I would've tried so hard to fit in, imitating the way members did things. And it probably would’ve worked, just matching myself to their template of a “successful entrepreneur”.
Just like a 90s makeover.
The makeover artist would’ve looked at my frizzy, kinky curly hair, big glasses, and comfy clothes and thought “She’s got potential.” And then remade me into a classic 90s fashionable woman: straightened the hair, ditched the glasses for contacts, traded out the comfy clothes for pencil skirts with heels. And then erased my face with makeup to create a new face, just like every other fashionable woman’s face.
But I didn’t finish that makeover.
The pull in my stomach wouldn’t let me - it screamed “NO!”
It warned “If you finish this, then you can’t stop. You have to keep bro marketing and networking and showing up ALL THE TIME. That straightened hair needs regular straightening to stay that way. And that makeup requires daily application to keep your face fabulous. Starting means not stopping if you want to keep this success.”
So I took the harder path. I followed my intuition, not knowing where that led, just knowing it was better than staying in templated makeover hell.
Instead, I got a completely different metaphorical makeover.
And that was like a late 2000s makeover. The era of the natural hair and curly girl movements. There was no template for this kind of makeover. It was new.
The makeover artist was creating her own art as she looked at
my metaphorically scraggly hair, tired from constant flat ironing,
my red eyes, dry from daily contact use,
my slightly too small clothes, bought trying to fit in.
The artist could see the real Me hiding and worked to bring her out.
They’d get rid of the flat iron and coax my kinks and curls back to life. They’d tell me to return to glasses and find me clothes in the right size and silhouettes.
And after the makeover I wouldn’t be a new person with a new face and new hair. I would just be more Me.
That’s what doing my business my way did. It made me more Me.
Building my business brought out what was already there, showed me what I unknowingly was already great at instead of contorting myself to fit another’s ideal of a “successful business person”.
And I’m glad I took that way. The natural makeover is superior because the more you complete the makeover, the more YOU you are. Over time, it’s easier to maintain because you become more You.
Just like curly hair getting curlier and healthier with each wash.
My 5 Rs framework to help create a simple process that works for you: And how I used it to untangle my business's onboarding process
Originally published on Substack
How I stumbled into the 5 Rs Framework
Other people’s templates typically don’t work for me but I didn’t know why until I started my own business.
After a lot of trial and error, I figured out why using a template is sometimes more confusing than working without it. And I used that knowledge to create the 5 Rs framework to improve templates so I can actually get work done better.
Why templates can be confusing
A good template is a shortcut, a way to skip failed trial and error and start Doing The Thing.
But that doesn’t always happen.
I don’t blame the template, though. What’s missing is context. What apps did the creator have in mind when they turned their own process into a template? What apps, team size, and workflows did the creator assume someone would use with this template? That’s what is missing.
Instead of giving us context, we usually get a template with step-by-step instructions, a checklist, or a workflow and those unspoken assumptions are left unsaid. If you are operating your business similarly to the creator, then you’re probably fine.
But if you aren’t? You get what happened to my newbie business-owner mind: confused and frustrated and ditching the template to rely on my own imperfect memory, exactly what I was trying to avoid.
The 5 Rs framework
I stumbled into this framework this year, 3 years into running my current bookkeeping business. I’m currently geeking out about frameworks so you’ll see more of these in future.
I’ll share each step below and then use the example of my client onboarding process to show how I apply each step.
Reference - Have a reference point to start creating your process
Use someone else’s: Borrow a template or framework as your starting point, even if it’s not perfect. Acknowledge that others' processes might not align with your style or software.
Or create your own: Brain dump your own list of steps on paper, a doc, or your preferred app.
Review - Use your process and note what’s not working
Use the process repeatedly, identifying issues, inefficiencies, or missing steps.
Brain dump what you’re actually doing (on paper, audio, or video) and reference your template to avoid missing steps.
Revise - Revise your process to better fit what you’re actually doing
Add or subtract steps to refine the workflow.
Advanced - Organize into phases or sections to clarify the flow and make gaps easier to spot.
Realign - Realign your process to your goals
Ensure the process aligns with your goals, adjusting it as needed to achieve your desired outcomes.
Repeat - Continually revise your process
Accept continuous improvement: Revisit steps 2–4 regularly. Processes will never be perfect, but each iteration brings greater clarity and a better experience for everyone involved.
How I used the 5 Rs to untangle my bookkeeping business’s onboarding process
Reference
When I started my business, I had several templates that detailed how to onboard a new bookkeeping client. The problem? Each template’s onboarding was dependent on the creator’s tech stack, team, what makes sense to their brain and other factors that didn’t match me. But I felt more comfortable relying on those templates than creating my own.
Review
While using the templates, I skipped steps because they didn’t fit my workflow. For example, one template separated contract creation, contract sending, invoice creation, and invoice sending. But I used Dubsado which let me combine those actions into one step. Skipping steps in a template was a clear sign I needed to update my process.
Revise
I brain dumped what wasn’t working into a Google Doc and used that to update my onboarding process in Asana. I also added Asana project sections to divide onboarding into phases, like setting up the client in our internal systems.
Realign
My bookkeeping business goal is to take bookkeeping off of the owner’s crazy long to-do list. Unfortunately, onboarding can feel like more to-dos since they have to provide information and multiple documents.
My current process did not feel aligned to that goal. The owner gets our checklist of tasks in their portal to complete when it’s convenient for them. They also get a deadline to complete all tasks in 2 weeks. Seems good but I've noticed that most people don’t start the tasks until the 2nd week. And the list can feel overwhelming.
So I have 2 ideas to realign onboarding to my goal: 1) Shorten onboarding to 1 week and 2) Require an onboarding call to compete all tasks on the call. But if someone is able to complete the tasks before our call, then we can cancel it.
Repeat
I continuously review my process, revise and realign it to closer match my goals. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve repeated this for just the onboarding process.
Takeaways
I hope this 5 Rs framework helps you figure out how to improve upon a template or even create your own from scratch.