Financial Foundations for Entrepreneurs

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in finance but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Carrie Cook, Founder of Revive Financials, located in Eagan, MN, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I build financial foundations for entrepreneurs who have built their businesses on the passion for their offering and let the rest slide. I take what they have, decide what they need or need to be fixed, communicate this to the entrepreneur, and with their approval, fix their financial foundation. This often involves establishing an accounting system- which accurately reflects the business accounting, savings plans, and profitability equations to be applied to all proposals, contract reviews, cash flows, pipelines, budgets, and hiring equations.

Tell us about yourself

I returned to school at the age of 55 to learn about finance and applied my lessons to my entrepreneurial community. COVID had come through and knocked down a lot of people, and I wanted to help in the commerce rebuild. I am motivated daily by the fire inside me and the entrepreneurs I meet every day doing amazing work and needing a little foundational help.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Making every decision and being responsible for every consequence.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

Juggling everything and not knowing about enough. It is hard to figure out that you need to know enough about something and give it a hard try only to discover you need to hire it out. You then need to invest time in finding a source, which you go to your network for. It all takes so much time, and being by yourself, it is the hardest thing I need to do.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Build a savings account of $20,000 and name it Contingency. Contingency can only be touched in the event of a dire emergency- COVID shutdown, office fire, or something like this. Put it in an interest-bearing account that you can get to if you need to.
Build a $50,000 savings account to get through cashflow shortfalls. This is only for cashflow shortfalls. This is not for business growth.
Now start your business. Keep a part-time job for the first year to pay for your home life. Build a trustworthy accountability group. Get some cheerleaders, and join two networking groups. Thank your God every day for the lessons learned, hard and easy ones. Try to remain humble.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://revivefinancials.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carriecook/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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