You Can Build Wealth and #treatyoself

I'm really excited to introduce you to my friend Cortney Cruz today on the show. Cortney is a Millennial Money coach, and she does not mess around when it comes to telling you the truth about money and how it works. This is something that we tend to think of as a taboo topic. And Cortney is all about changing that perspective and changing that perception. And her motto is, you can build wealth and treat yourself at the same time. And I love that because that just really gives permission to spend your money on things that you love. And she talks about how to do that how to identify what intentional spending looks like her number one tip for how to fix your money mindset. And Cortney is a friend of mine that I have actually had the pleasure of meeting in person, we took a ridiculous trip, amazing trip to Puerto Rico together as part of a mastermind that we were in. So you will get to listen in on this conversation from two friends who haven't seen each other in a long time. And so I just wanted to make sure that I did a proper introduction before diving into the juiciness of this episode. Enjoy.

This is The Entrepreneur School podcast where we believe you can run a thriving business and still make your family a priority. This show is all about supporting you the emerging or early stage Entrepreneur on your journey from solopreneur to CEO while wearing all of the other hats in your life. My name is Kelly Sinclair and I'm a brand and marketing strategist who started a business with two kids under 3am, a corporate PR girl turned entrepreneur after I learned the hard way that life is too short to waste doing things that burn you out. On this show. You'll hear inspiring stories from other business owners on their journey, and learn strategies to help you grow a profitable business while making it all fit into the life that you want. Welcome to Entrepreneur School.

Hey, Cortney, I am so excited to chat with you today.

Hey, Kelly, I'm so excited to be here.

Okay, awesome. So we are going to dive right into like a super juicy question. Because, you know, my listeners are busy moms, and we don't have all day to get to the good stuff. So we're gonna skip right to it. And I want to ask you, as an entrepreneur, as a mom, and as a finance coach that you are or money coach that you are, can you let me know and let our listeners know, what is the best advice that you would actually give yourself? If you were back kind of near the beginning of your business?

That is a really good question. And giving my old self advice is actually something that I think about a lot. So as far as the advice that I would give myself when I was first starting my business, I feel like it is really important to be thoughtful and intentional about your investments, especially in the beginning of your business. I think that it is great to hire help. I think it's great to outsource, I think it's great to get coaching. But coaching and courses and programs are not magic pills to success. So I think that is what I would tell myself especially right now I feel like the online space is very, very saturated with coaches for everything and courses for everything. And it's just a matter of finding the right coach and the right course or the right program for you, instead of hopping on something because it may be a trend or that person may be popular, or they may be, you know, selling their program like a magic pill if they're doing that it's a red flag.

Yeah, so what advice do you have to help people sort of make that decision? Like how does somebody determine what is the best investment for me for my business, and I know this is going to play into or more generally, as well, because that's, that's really what you talk about, and why I love following you because you're just like, stop buying stuff you don't care about, like, that's how, that's how we're gonna, you know, be happier as well in the things that we're spending our money on, because we have to work hard for that money.

Yeah, yeah, definitely. And that's a good question too. As far as like how to find the right investment for you. Honestly, I would invest with somebody who you would kind of want your like life and business to be like. So if there is a coach who is just like in hustle mode all the time, constantly working seven days a week and like juggling multiple things and that's like kind of their vibe, if you don't want your life and business to be like that, then that coach that program, that course that's not going to be the one for you. So just be really thoughtful. The good thing about the online space is that it's really easy to like binge somebody's content, and kind of see what they're about, see how they live, not just their business life, but their personal life too. So you kind of want someone that you can relate to, and that will understand how you know you want to live and the type of business you want to create. So like, if you're a mom of young kids, you know, you might want a coach who's also a mom of young kids, you know, or if it's the opposite, and you are, you know, child free, single, maybe you want somebody that that's more of their vibe, because they're going to teach what worked for them a lot of the time, and how they created the business and the life that they have. So if that's something that you relate to, and that's the vibe that you want, and a business and life that you want to live, I feel like that's a good indication on who's a good coach for you.

Oh, that is such a good point. And a reminder to that. And this isn't a realization I also had recently, which is, being a parent, being a mom is actually different than running your business, when you don't have kids or your kids are out of school or older or more self sufficient. Because, you know, there's just things that some people might tell you to do that are literally not going to work. And instead of getting frustrated by why that won't work for you finding somebody who actually has that connection and relatability. And similarities to you, that's such a good point to be looking for that. Well, I love it. Okay, I want to dive into you as a money coach, and a little bit of your philosophy around the way that you look at money, and how we can talk about this in a in a business sense in terms of entrepreneurs who are thinking about money mindset, how to manage your money as a business owner, and how to think about how to invest your money as a business owner, because I know there's a lot of stuff up in there.

Yeah, so I guess digging into kind of like the money mindset piece, because that is essential for everybody, you know, whether you're a business owner are working nine to five. But the, the shift that you need to make in your mind, in order to achieve like a financial goals, since we're on that topic, is you need to believe that you can actually do it. So I like to say that there are like kind of two types of people that I talk to when it comes to like increase on working together, one of the types of people are going to be successful, and the other type of the person is not. And the reason why is because if your initial thought when you are, you know, told the steps that you need to take to achieve a goal is to think of every excuse as to why you can't do it, you're not going to achieve the goal, and it's not going to be successful. And you really need to flip that switch and reprogram to instead of think, you know, oh, I can never save that amount of money because something always comes up or I'll never be able to pay off my debt. Because last time I tried this happened into I can do it. I just need to know how or I can do it. I just need to know what steps to take. And that is one of the most impactful things that you can do in order to achieve any goal.

Do you have some suggestions for people on how they can make that shift in their mind? Or what is really getting in the way?

Yeah, so it does get a lot deeper. And that's why it's one of the first things that I cover in my programs, because it really kind of sets the stage to take all the other steps. But there's a reason that we think the way that we think right? So the first thing that you can do if you are kind of struggling with money mindset or mindset in general, is think about different things that you heard when you were growing up about money. So I know for me, it was a lot of like, we can't afford that. That's too expensive. We even like you know, the when you're a kid and you're like driving past fast food or something, it's like, oh, we don't have money for that we have like food at home or whatever the case may be. Some other ones are like money doesn't grow on trees or all of those things that we would hear growing up and as kids moving into adulthood. Those are things that we keep in the back of our mind and beliefs that we have, that you will repeat in your adult life. If you don't really dig deep think about it and think about where those beliefs are coming from. And then what you can kind of do to show that, you know, those things aren't true.

Hey, I just want to pop in for a second and chat with you a little bit about content creation, you know, that thing that you know, that you're supposed to do in order to get visibility, and find clients online? And you know, you're just not finding time to actually do that thing? Because it can be overwhelming to think about, what am I supposed to write? What video should I be sharing? Where am I going to have the time to make all of the beautiful graphics that go along with having a lovely Instagram page, all of the things? Well, I made for you a tool called the simplified content system. And inside of this, you're gonna find exactly what I use to be able to plan and create all of my content in an hour a week. So it's a calendar that you can edit, that you can put in what you're doing, where for any kind of platforms, whether you're using Instagram, other social medias, whether you're doing email marketing, whether you're on YouTube, all of it can go in one place that links nicely to this beautiful caption document. And I've also created a number of trainings and templates for you to make it even easier to get your content out and into the world. So that you can be seen, so that you can get clients and so that you still have time to go to all of your kids sports activities. Okay, so you can grab it at EntrepreneurSchool.ca/content.

I'm just like thinking about some of my own stories, this is how you kind of refer refer to it sometimes as the stories that you're telling yourself are the stories that have been taught to you about money, and for sure that money doesn't grow on trees. And I think I even actually said one earlier, which is like, you have to work hard for your money, right?

Mm hmm. Yeah, definitely all of those money stories. I know, a big one for me was investing is too hard. And it's only for rich people. And because of that belief that I had, I did not even attempt to learn anything about investing until probably like four years ago, is when I really started, like doing my own research and really getting educated when it came to investing for, you know, my future, my family's future, it is so much easier than I thought it was. And also investing isn't for rich people investing is what makes you rich. And since I shifted that belief, I just invest so easily I you know, see my money growing, it's, it's now became a thing that I do. I am somebody that invest when my old Money Story was investing is hard, and it's for rich people. So that's just kind of an example of how you can shift it.

Totally. I'd love to hear more about that shift for you and your personal story about that.

But yeah, so as far as like investing in general, or,

Like how you've shifted your money mindset to a point where you're literally a coach or money coach, and you tell other people how to think about money. I love watching you on social media, because you're like, they're literally putting on your makeup talking about different investment things like it ain't no fish.

Yeah, it really like money is the reason why finances and money can seem so difficult is because it's so emotional. You know, like, we all know that we should be saving money, right? Like, we all know that we shouldn't have credit card debt. If we know those things, and it was just a matter of math and numbers. Everybody would be doing it. But it's not that simple. It's so emotional. And, for example, before I kind of shifted my mindset and had, you know, my own financial transformation, I used to spend so much money on things that I just did not care about. Like when my daughter was younger, and I was a single mom, mind you taking care of my daughter. So I don't even know how I was like, I can't believe that I was spending that much money. But for example, I would overspend on my daughter a lot that was like my scapegoat, because I could justify that a lot more than just kind of like blowing money on myself. So I remember a particular Christmas, I must have spent like 1000s on this like three or four year old little girl. I have a picture of everything. And when I look back at that picture now, I used to be so proud of it at the time when my living room was just full of toys and like little electronics and all of those things. Now I look back on that picture. And it kind of makes me wanna vomit, to think about the amount of money that I just wasted because so many of those things never got open. So many of those things she would use for maybe like a day or two or just not at all. So many of that stuff I just had to end up like donating or giving away later. And after I kind of did the work to shift my mindset, I realized that the reason why I was overspending so much, was to overcompensate for being a young single mom, I internally thought, being a young single mom is bad. And in order to prove that I'm a good mom, I need to make sure that I am filling my living room with Christmas gifts and overspending on her because that's how I'm going to show that I'm a good mom. That even sounds that sounds crazy, right? Because we all know that the amount of money that we spend on our kids is irrelevant at the end of the day, and so many other things matter, you know, your love for your kids the way that you you know, treat them and everything like that. But that's really what I believed. And it wasn't until I had to, like I said, kind of do the work, dig deep and really think about why I was doing that. Because there's a reason why we do everything. There's a reason why, you know, you walk out of target every time you go in spending $400 When you know that you didn't, you know, intend on going in and doing that there's a reason because it gives you a certain feeling. And that's what you're looking for. It's not the item itself, that you're buying. It wasn't those, you know, toys and electronics and stuff that I was buying, it was the feeling that it gave me to be able to, to prove that I was a good mom by the amount of money that I was spending.

Yeah, yeah, I think so many people can relate to that, like, I have, like a limitless supply of whatever for my children at all times, because they feel like, you know, you don't want to ever feel like you're restricting them or limiting them or, or not giving them enough, we all will feel like we should, you know, they should have more than whatever we had whatever that is to, you know,

Yeah. And that's a good point as well, because that's also something that I was thinking about. But in reality, I was actually doing my daughter a disservice by showing her that all of these material things that weren't even that important to her are what mattered the most, when now, what we as a family enjoy spending our money on is experiences. So do we still spend money? Absolutely, I love spending money, I feel like everybody should enjoy spending money. That's what money is for, it's to use as a tool to live the best life that we can. And everything that we do with our money from saving money to paying off debt to, you know, buying real estate, all of those things are incorporated to us living our best life. And that includes just spending money on things that we feel, you know, that bring us fulfillment. And that's the key. It wasn't that I was just spending too much money, it was that I was spending money on things that I did not care about at the end of the day, and that my daughter didn't even care about at the end of the day. And that's what's wasteful. So now in my life, and this is what I teach in my programs. Also, it's not about restricting spending, it's about spending money, intentionally. So if you buy a Starbucks every single day, and you drink one quarter of it, and it's just left on your desk until it's just, you know, a watered down pile of nothing. And then you're throwing it away at the end of the day, every day that Starbucks isn't fulfilling to you. But on the other hand, if that's part of your daily routine, and you love it, and you drink it on it, you know, it makes you fulfilled, it makes you feel happy. That's not a waste of money. So it's not about a particular expense being a waste or not being a waste. It's about figuring out what's really important to you, not what other people say should be important or you know, shouldn't be important, what is actually important to you, and then making money decisions that support that.

Yeah, oh, I'm so glad that you brought all of that up. First of all, money is meant to be spent. That's my favorite thing that you said I wrote that. I want everybody to love spending their money. Because it's a tool is not just something you're supposed to like hold on to because you're afraid you're going to lose it was probably some other money mindset thing that could be we could dive into even more but no restrictions and as well around that right and then subjectivity. This is about what matters to you, what do you care about? And that might not be the same as you know, other people in your family or even your partner, or somebody else who has a lot of influence, which can cause a lot of challenges, I'm sure as well, right?

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Like making my decisions based on what's important to somebody else is never going to feel fulfilling.

Yeah. Awesome. Okay. Well, I want to talk a little bit about you being a mom and an entrepreneur, and what that looks like for you like what, first of all, what's the most challenging part? Let's be real, we like to have the real conversations here.

Yeah, the most challenging part is, is like holding every single position within a company, basically. So you know how, when you're in your nine to five, you have one role and you know exactly what that is. And you know, what's expected of you, but when, when you're an entrepreneur, especially a solopreneur. Or even if you do have like a virtual assistant or something like that, being able to juggle everything is definitely the hardest part, and creating and sticking to like a particular schedule, because I know for me, I have ideas constantly, right. And I'm the type of person that if I'm in the middle of doing something, and I have an idea, I will switch to starting that. So actually finishing something to completion, when I sit down to do it, instead of starting seven different things, and then halfway finishing them all. And then like stressing out the next day, because then you have like seven things that you need to finish instead of the one thing that you could have just finished yesterday. I feel like that definitely is the hardest part. And that's also where, you know, hiring and outsourcing. And finding somebody that can kind of take things off your plate that you don't need to be like front facing for is important. But I also think it's important to at first know how to do all those things. Yeah, that way, you know, you're outsourcing them correctly, and you know exactly what you want, because then it's just going to be more helpful in the long run.

Oh, absolutely. Because you need to be able to have some oversight and an ability to understand the effectiveness of somebody else helping you out with that thing. If you don't know anything about like ads and how they work. How are you supposed to know if you're getting like good results?

That's exactly right. Exactly. And it's the same thing when it comes to like, like finances, for example. Whenever somebody comes to me, and needs, they say their own words that they like know nothing about finances, they need help, but they're willing to go get a financial advisor. That is the perfect example of if you don't know how this whole process works, you should not be outsourcing that to somebody else, when you don't even understand what they're doing. Because number one, financial advisors all charge will normally it's like a like a 1% fee, right? That will add up a lot over time. And if you don't know anything about investing, if you don't even know what they're investing in for you or how any of that works, you can be missing out on so much money, just because you are uninformed. Nobody is going to care about your money as much as you do. So I would definitely say keep that in mind. Make sure that you know like with anything with your finances with roles in your business, make sure that you know that rule you know about your money, you know about investing all that stuff before you completely outsource that to somebody else.

Mm hmm. Yeah. Such a good point. And back to what you were saying about wearing all of the hats and doing all the things inside of your business and then add on all of your mom jobs on top of that. Yes, right. Like you're trying to plan dinner and figure out where your kid has to be and go to pick up and organize a sleepover and whatever else make sure they get lunch me the next day. Like all of the things playing through your head at the same time, I think has to be Yeah, probably a general consensus, the most challenging part, but there's also great things right, what would you say is like the biggest benefit that you've seen from being an entrepreneur.

Definitely the biggest benefit is being able to it's a double edged sword being in control of my schedule is also the biggest benefit, even though especially at first it can make things a little bit more challenging at the end of the day. That is By far, the My favorite part of entrepreneurship is being in charge of my own schedule and being able to put what I really enjoy and what I'm really passionate about into the world. Without anybody else telling me what to do, like, what I can post, what I can't, what I can talk about what I can't, what I can include in my program, or what I can't, because part of my job app, when I was working in finance was to create new programs for like newly hired employees. And I really did love to do that, especially because I could add in different things that I just came up with. Because we talked a lot about like mindset and stuff like that, too. I was pretty much teaching them what to teach our clients. But also, there was like this kind of roadmap that I had to follow, and certain things that can be said and not said, so I just love I love the freedom. I love the freedom and being able to make an impact in the way that I want to make it. I feel like that's definitely the best part.

Oh, that's so good. And I love that. I think that's one of the most exciting things about watching other entrepreneurs and for me, working with other entrepreneurs is feeling that passion coming through and whatever it is that you're doing. And you can definitely see that with you, Cortney, on your social media because you create like the best content ever. So I hope everyone who's listening to this is going to definitely check out Cortney on Instagram and on tick tock and all the places, we'll make sure all of your links are in our show notes. But tell us a little bit more about like that overall, like what are they going to find from you? Who are you? What do they get from you as far as like your personality, your philosophy, the way you look at things? Because I think that's what makes you really unique. I mean, we can hear your bio all day and your your, you know, story of how you got here into this entrepreneurship world. But I'd love to just, if you were to introduce yourself in five seconds, what would you say?

Oh, my gosh, in five seconds. I don't know if I'll be able to do it in five seconds.

Okay, you have 30.

So quick summary. As far as like What to Expect When You're in my world is I definitely want to say kind of like a no nonsense approach when it comes to talking about money. I am very open with money, I feel like money should not be a taboo topic. So that is not something that I believe, also, my you know, social media is my programs, it is a no judgment zone. So there is no judgment for buying Starbucks, there is no judgment for paying for, you know, a nice dinner. Really my philosophy when it comes to money is money is a tool. Money is not a good or bad thing. It's a tool just like anything else. And we are meant to use it to live our best, most fulfilling lives. And that is the theme of everything that I talk about. And everything that I teach is really how to use money as a tool to live your best life without feeling guilty without feeling restricted. And creating whatever life you desire, because it's possible.

Yeah, you have a tagline.

For Oh, yes, you can build wealth and treat yourself at the same time. You absolutely can. And that is definitely the theme as well.

So good. It's amazing. And talk a little bit about how you work with people and who you help.

Oh, yes, definitely. So the main way to work with me is through my signature program, it's called The Financial Glow Up. And I named it that because after I got laid off from my corporate job, I had to completely transform my finances. And I feel like I definitely had my own financial glow up. So that's really all of that, in my experience, both in corporate but with both of my own transformation. That is what I bring into all of my programs now. And the people that I work with, I really focus on helping women. Sometimes I get asked if I only help women? No, I don't discriminate, but I love being a voice and a resource for women because there's not especially when I first started, there is just not that many resources out there specifically for women where you know, women and moms are talking about money and making money and managing money. That's just not something that I saw. And probably one of the reasons why I was not informed for so long is because I don't relate to any of these old men talking about money. Yeah, it's not something that I related to. So yeah, I definitely felt is on just helping women helping mothers, again, just be able to take control of their finances, be able to be financially literate, be informed, and just make decisions with their money that are going to help them build wealth for themselves and their family that's going to, you know, help them have money in the bank. So that way, they don't have to worry or stress out the next time something comes up. But also be able to have such a good relationship with money that all of that feels good, it feels good to save money, it feels good to spend money, it feels good to use money for travel, it feels good to use money for, you know, gifts, or you know, donating or giving back or whatever you're passionate about. And just, yeah, like I said, just really think of it as a tool and a resource that is yours to make whatever decisions you want to make with that just goes along with that theme of living our best life building wealth and treating yourself at the same time.

That is so good. Absolutely. It's so important that you're doing what you're doing. So I want to say thank you on behalf of everyone who's listening to this as well, that you are giving such amazing advice to I've like one more question, because I want to think about this in terms of how did you as a as a financial coach, think about your business finances differently, especially like when you started getting clients, and you started making money and started having to think about spending money as a business owner.

Yeah. So honestly, one of one of my favorite, like books or resources when it comes to business finances, especially if you're new is profit. First, I feel like everybody should read that book. And really my philosophy with that, especially if you are like in the online space, like a service provider or a coach, because there's not a lot of, you know, overhead that we need, right? So my philosophy with that is start doing the work and start doing things before you try to start, you know, spending 1000s of dollars or you know, just spending a bunch of money on something that you haven't started yet. Number one, because you might start doing something and realize that you don't even like doing it, and that you want to change directions completely. I actually started like posting on social media a few years back as like a beauty page. So like a beauty Instagram, like beauty YouTube videos, I like doing my makeup, but I am not passionate about lipstick reviews, like anymore. So if I would have just straight from the gate, before I even started doing the thing, just dumped a whole bunch of money into it, that would have been something that I regretted because it ends up not being you know, my passion. So I would definitely say just start start with whatever resources you already have. And then once you start, you know, doing the work, and seeing if that's something that you really want to do and start growing a little bit, then look into, you know, what you can invest in to kind of keep that momentum. But at the end of the day, what we're looking for as business owners is profit, right. So if you are making $100,000 in your business, you know, throughout the year, but you spent $100,000 on you know, XYZ, you are not profitable and your business is not going to be sustainable. So I would say it really just comes down to, you know, work with what you have at first until you start making some money in your business and have that you know, proof of concept and realize that you actually want to continue to do it. And then make intentional strategic investments as you grow.

I love that you brought that up about that. Like you have to be passionate and, and have some clarity around that you're doing the thing that you want to do and, and as a brand, coach, that's definitely like in my realm of expertise, but I will also say that, that decision, you can make it and allow it to evolve, it can turn into something else right? It's not like you're stuck in this thing forever now. It's going to be part of your journey. It's going to be part of your story. And I love even that full full circle for you because starting out like a beauty blogger kind of thing and now you make beauty videos, while talking about money and talking about Like the things that you spend your money on that are makeup related products and making money off of selling some of that too, like so it's really all kind of come back together for you, which is beautiful.

Yeah. I have never ever realized that I kind of like, you know, you forget some things that you do sometimes I'm like, Oh my gosh. Yeah, I did.

That's so good. Okay, awesome. Well, I'm I could talk to you forever and ever. And I'm sure we'll talk to you again on the podcast in the future. But before we sign off, I would love for you to just let everybody know how to connect with you. If you have anything that you want to share with them, now's the time.

Yes, definitely. So I am @moneywithCortney on pretty much all socials like Instagram, Tik Tok YouTube, because I do plan on starting to post on YouTube again, but finance related content instead of the makeup stuff that I used to do back in the day. And I also do have a resource for everybody a free resource is called The Rich Girl Cheat Sheet. So it is going to help you put money back in your pocket, it's gonna help you save 1000s Even if you are living paycheck to paycheck. So if you want to put some money back in your pocket, that is a free resource that everybody can have. And then if anybody wants to know more about my signature program, it is called The Financial Glow Up. Doors will be opening again soon, it's going to be in February. And that program is for you if you are really serious about taking back control of your finances, and you want to do it in a way where it does not feel restricted. And it's not tedious and you don't have to spend hours in a spreadsheet. What I do with you in there is I help you create an intentional spending plan that is as automated as possible. So you can take care of all of those important money goals that you have, while still being able to enjoy your life and spend money on things that fulfill you at the same time.

Amazing. I have two highly recommend working with Cortney. I took one of her challenges a few months ago and was able to save money for an upcoming trip and exciting adventure. A helicopter tour of Hawaii, which

That's so exciting. I'm so jealous.

I need to do and like right as we're recording this. It's one week from today when I'm going so stay tuned. If you're listening to this, you should definitely be following on social media because I'll definitely be sharing some of that. So

I will definitely be stalking your Instagram Kelly.

That's all for you. I'll be like well, Courtney said she wanted to see it. So I'm gonna post all the picture.

Please do. A

mazing. Well, thank you so much for being here.

Thank you so much for having me. It's so fun.