Podcast Episode: Amanda Thompson - financial advisor, mother, domestic abuse survivor, and ironman athlete

Transcript

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (00:01)

Amanda Thompson, welcome to the podcast. It's great to have you here.

Amanda Thompson (00:06)

Thanks, Melanie.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (00:08)

You've done so much and learned so much. You have quite a journey from athletic experiences to being a financial advisor. Let's dive in and share your story.

Amanda Thompson (00:25)

I'm an open book, so what would you like to know?

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (00:28)

Okay, how did the athletic side start?

Amanda Thompson (00:32)

I've always been really sporty, and in fact, I've done a human movement, which is an applied science degree. So it's always been a part of my life, and I fell into financial advising just by chance and absolutely loved it, and ever since, I've been, you know, I can make a Lycra analogy with money any day of the week, so to me, they're actually not much different in terms of goal setting and creating habits. Yeah, so, and then Ironman Triathlon came about because a friend thought it would be really cool to give me a birthday present that was a half Ironman entry, and I, being someone who is always up for a challenge, took it. And I have done over 30 half Ironmans since and had a couple of world championship appearances.

So yeah, that's the story of my last 12 years.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (01:32)

Okay, and you told me that you have eased up on doing the Ironman competitions. Do want to talk about that?

Amanda Thompson (01:40)

Yeah, look, not by choice, unfortunately. I was telling you off air that my three metronomes or my three most important things in life are my two children, family, work, which is my own business, and triathlon. And there's this concept that there's only room for two and a half out of three of those. So it's always an evolving concept and just before I was supposed to head across to Taupo for my latest World Championships qualification, I went out for a run and didn't come home. I landed in a cardiac ward for three weeks just before Christmas last year and was diagnosed with blood clots in my lungs, which, unfortunately, was a physical legacy of a severe domestic violence attack I'd had a year earlier eased up on the triathlon is very nice way of putting in my eyes that know something was taken from me without choice and having to deal with that is a brand new experience for me but one that I'm committed to and starting to share my story like talking to you today about how everything joins together and how you know that endurance mindset still has to stay with me through this next chapter.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (02:58)

really does. I would like to learn how did you overcome that domestic experience?

Amanda Thompson (03:07)

I'm still healing, Melanie. I think that I really spiralled emotionally after it. I had court appearances because he was charged by the police. There was a whole host of things in that year. I lost my confidence completely. I lost work for a period of time because I was just depleted. I was diagnosed with acute PTSD as a result.

of the attack. And so when I landed in hospital a year later, as much as I had this big cry of what had happened and the realisation that his violence was still living inside me, I woke up the next day and just went, I'm not letting you run my story anymore. You are not the author of my story. I am. And so

That was my real step to healing was starting to say, you no longer have a name. know, as much as yes, you're going to pop up in my dreams and my life without things, and there'll be triggers that go on that are related to you. It's time for me to refine myself, refine my energy, refine my confidence and write my next chapter. And so since the start of this year, so since probably 2025,

I've taken, you know, put one foot in front of the other quite slowly as compared to training for a triathlon. And a part of that is sharing the story because I believe that we learn so much from stories, you know, and I love what I do for work, and I needed to get back to that, but I needed to get back to it as the person I wanted to be doing work as well. And even that's evolved in the way I plan. So I think out of adversity, I've found purpose, which is good in a way. No one wants to have to go through adversity. But it's how you utilise that or where you gain strength from it.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (05:08)

Yes, I think you have a really important wisdom to share because I have seen in recent months and years, I have understood more that women from any walk of life can end up in a situation like that. And it doesn't matter how successful people might look. It doesn't matter how independent we might feel; we can end up losing our independence or our sense of self or our confidence, and it sounds like you are trying to reshape who you are after everything. So I hope everybody can learn from firstly how you are reshaping your identity after this trauma, but also how you grow and maintain your financial independence because you'd have some extra wisdom about that as a financial advisor.

Amanda Thompson (06:07)

Absolutely, and I think for me, I mean, this is a part of what I say, really rough year, and I was saying just the other day, I literally lost a year of my life. It's a bit like COVID all over again in that we just, you, I couldn't, I was out of action for a year.

A lot of that was guilt and shame. You know, I pride myself on helping women through these battles ⁓ themselves. And I actually do a lot of work with women who have been in similar situations, coercive relationships and things like that. And I was so ashamed that I had found myself in that. Then, it takes time to unpack that ⁓ and realise that that is the work of someone else as well. And when you're a positive person, often those things can happen.

And now I do share my story, like you said, if it can happen to me, you know, it can happen to anyone. was, luck's not the right word. It's unfortunate, I've realised that I do practice what I preach, and I had this buffer of money, and I did, you know, have that financial knowledge to be able to stand on my own two feet. And well, I don't know whether standing on my own two feet is the right word, but I had a buffer that, you know, did protect my daughter and I financially when all this occurred. It's financial advice we all learn from the same textbook. And I think for me, one of the differences is that the lived experience and how I bring that lived experience into how I connect with my clients, male or female, I really believe that that connection piece is missing by a lot of people in those types of industries.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (07:52)

I completely agree that although we need to understand the concepts of an industry, it could be from a textbook or from online, wherever we learn, beyond that, the lived experience helps us to understand the everyday practical reality of implementing a lot of the concepts that we know are needed.

Amanda Thompson (08:16)

Especially around money, Melanie, because if you think about it, money is so emotive and people think of it as this material thing, which it is, you know, like if you go and get a hundred-dollar bill, that's a material thing. But money, as the concept, is so emotive. Every single thought we have with money is attached to emotion or feeling. And so how can textbook advice necessarily be the same for everyone, because the feelings attached to money are different?

to everyone as well.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (08:48)

Absolutely. I'm wondering what sorts of feelings about money you have seen. It's almost cliched these days to hear that people don't think they deserve to have as much money. And I want to ask you for a response about the mindset that maybe other people shared, but that I had. I grew up religious and surrounded by volunteers.

And it was all about being selfless, being generous, don't be greedy, things like that. And there were all of these values that tell us you shouldn't want anything. And then you end up with nothing, and you can't survive. Have you seen people with that sort of mindset?

Amanda Thompson (09:30)

Absolutely, think that you know there's a part of my industry is money coaches, and a lot of them do work around money mindset, so I'm not a qualified money coach, but I really believe in this concept because we have to travel backwards to understand who we are, and your story is so common in lots of different ways. know if you've got, I've had people that have had gambling parents, know things like that, so they come from this scarcity mindset and trying to switch that to an abundance mindset can be hard for people because we're taught to be selfless. Yeah, especially women, especially women, and then one step further, especially mothers. ⁓ And so you've really got to work through that is saying that we do, but we do want things as mothers. We want security for ourselves. We want to be able to provide for our children. So it's about switching, you know, as opposed to thinking about money.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (10:05)

Yes.

Amanda Thompson (10:29)

As I said, money is the tool to get us what we want. And what we want is generally a feeling. And so if you think of the feeling that you're chasing first and then put money to it, sometimes with that understanding, you can break past some of those mindsets that you were taught because you didn't really talk about money either back then. So it wasn't a thing you were taught about. It was just this concept of giving and giving and receiving so politely, or giving back, and things like that. I think you can do everything. It's just that we deserve to, anyone deserves to achieve the feeling they're seeking. Anyone.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (11:08)

Absolutely. That's true. So what does your work involve these days then? What sort of, which part of the process, which step do you normally guide? I'll ask later. What advice do you have for people who are starting from scratch, and also those who are maybe looking to grow and get more flexibility?

What do you do?

Amanda Thompson (11:40)

So I mean, my passion is actually small business, believe it or not. I love helping small business people really grow and scale ⁓ and make sure their legacy financially is secure. But I think like attract like as well. So I help a lot of women, in particular, going through divorces or things like that, come to terms with ⁓ what life looks like after, what the next chapter looks like and.

starting to build that confidence. So a lot of that, the way I do that is I'd say that knowledge brings clarity and clarity brings confidence. And so I do a lot of financial advice with educated reasoning. And so I make my clients be a part of that process. And then they've got that ownership as opposed to just handing across a document and saying, You need to do this. I really involve them in the decision-making. I'm still a qualified financial advisor. So generally we talk about investments, insurance, superannuation, cashflow, debt, all of those things, but it's about rounding it out. And I think the word holistic gets used too much, but it is the perfect concept. I really do provide that holistic advice, but with connection. And I really believe in that connection. So if I take on a client, I want them long-term. It doesn't mean that they have to pay me all the time. It's about having that relationship and someone they trust and feel comfortable with to fall back on for the questions. That relationship lasts through the ages.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (13:16)

Yes, the word holistic was almost kidnapped by the crystal and chakras, seen as great as that may be for other spaces. But the word holistic is very useful when we can look at the entire big picture of someone's life. So I'm wondering if that's what you mean by that. Where just looking at the numbers, there's normally a story behind the numbers.

Amanda Thompson (13:44)

Absolutely. It's, you're right, so holistic to me. So I do a lot of workshops for financial wellness. If you can convince an organisation that finance is a part of a personal wellness package, then it should be. wealth, health, it all goes together. The biggest thing at the moment is personal development. Be kind to yourself. We hear that every second day, be kind to yourself. Well, isn't getting financial literacy and confidence with money? And your own finances are a part of being kind to yourself. It means treating gently, but putting your hand up and saying, No, I want more. I want to learn more. I want to understand this. want the confidence. Because then you've got your self-worth. You've got all of those things. Yeah, absolutely. mean, financial that and as I said, for me, that holistic concept is it's still attached to a feeling.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (14:38)

Finance, I think you might be one of the few, possibly the first, on my show, really focusing on finance. And the reason I was so excited for this is exactly what you said, that it is a part of looking after yourself. And even having very basic finances, there's a point where it means that someone can afford the gap payments or the difference in

costs of healthcare, of therapies, even after going through a trauma like yours or something different, having the extra resources to recover from that, but also having the right finances to look after what we eat and whether we work out in groups that might cost a bit. It's to some extent, although there are free options for a lot of the types of wellness,

There will be a point where anyone will need to use finance to even just sort out help.

Amanda Thompson (15:45)

I use the example of quite often, I get people to set goals as I was saying to you up here, but they're always personal goals. Yeah, so nothing money-related, but this client owned her own business, and her goal was simply two kids, yeah, two special needs children. So she wanted to make sure the connection with her husband remains. So her goal was as simple as I'd like to go on a date night every fortnight with my husband. So I do help, you we have to have specific goals.

And as easy as that sounds, that's there's money and money needed, you know, because to have a date night with her husband meant she needed to get the children minded with no family around. So there's a cost involved in that, let alone what you want to actually do on that date night. And so we work through, well, how do we use what we've got and money as the tool to provide you with that goal?

And so when she went on, she started going on date nights, it was really cool. We would, you know, and then we went on to the next goal. So there's some of the things that I do in that sense. You know, small steps, you small steps for everyone. Some people want to jump off the ledge, and I don't think you necessarily need to just jump off the ledge either, you know, because you're not necessarily getting the education when you just dive straight in.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (17:04)

What sorts of things do people want to dive into a bit too quickly?

Amanda Thompson (17:09)

Home loans, investment properties, because we live in Australia and bricks and mortar is what we've been taught is the be-all and end-all. Some people just want you to tell them what to do, and that's diving in as well. I just need to invest, or can you, so that's more what I mean when I say diving in has come with the blinkers on and what they want, but it's all money-related. I want to pay down debt. want to save this. I want to

You know, back back, what do you want, what do you want to feel?

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (17:40)

Yes. What did you want to feel? But also, how willing are you to understand things? And I have been following some entrepreneurs overseas who say, Do the thing that you understand and know. And I appreciate that. But when there's a, when we have less of an understanding of the very basic personal finance, let me know if you agree that we need to understand the essentials of why we're doing what we're doing at least. Because do you think there's too much of a quick fix? And do people, almost, if they just dive in with whatever you tell them without understanding it, do they sometimes even slip into old habits because they're just doing what they're told?

Amanda Thompson (18:27)

This is where I say I bring the sport analogies in. you go if you want to run a marathon yeah and you go on your first training run and run a marathon you'll pull up so sore you've probably injured yourself it'll be absolute hell you won't want to do it again and so you may not ever make it whereas if you start small and enjoy the winds along the way you know I did my fastest K or I hit 5k 10k, you're actually developing and committing to the habits that you need to sustain it as well. There's no difference with money. So if you do what I tell you to do without one understanding, you're not going to be truly committed to it because you're going to question. You're going to question your decisions. And when we question, we'll tend to err on the side of caution and won't commit to what we have put in place either. It's easier to just go, no, this doesn't feel right. Whereas if you do it slowly and create the habits and sustain it, then you're more likely to reach that goal. And when you reach that goal, you know, it's an awesome feeling. It's like crossing the line in a triathlon. And then you want to sign up for the next one straight away.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (19:39)

Yes, I'm keen to ask a question about small businesses or businesses that are trying to grow because one issue that I've heard about online and offline is people who create something that's going smoothly, but there's no real option for them to take a break, or they are irreplaceable. And it could be because some people

don't know how to replace themselves or they think they can't afford it. And I'm not referring to any one person in particular, but I'm wondering about that now, especially I'm in early stages. Other people could be in early stages. I'm curious, is that something you want people to think about early on when they are setting up a small business? How can you make it not completely depend on you to the point where you could become burned out?

Amanda Thompson (20:38)

I think that all businesses, when they start out, matter where, what, or if you haven't got one, you need a business plan. And it can be one or two. It doesn't need to be what we think of these massive business plans. That's the first thing. Where do you want this business to go? What are your goals with this business? Why did you start the business? What is going to be a good old-fashioned SWOT analysis? What are you going to be your strengths, your weaknesses? said weaknesses could be ⁓ that I can't...

You know, can't delegate. You know, what are the threats and what are the opportunities, and the threats are on one. How am I going to take time off? You know, all of those things. But also cash flow. You know, everyone, everyone does budgets, but a cash flow forecast should be in place to see how you're going to pay yourself as well. So this is the problem with a lot of small businesses. They don't factor in a salary for themselves. They just take and hope that it grows and things like that. Whereas if you can do a cashflow forecast, you can say, when, how, and how much am I going to get as a salary? And then you're planning. So I need holidays. So what's that cashflow? So if you are a one-person show, you may shut down. So I'm shutting down over January. I need a break. Yeah. So there's no incomes coming into my business in January.

So I've got to make sure I've got enough to get me through January into February. That's the only way you can do that, with a cash flow forecast. You can't close your eyes, rub a magic lamp and say, I hope January is going to be okay. So the other thing about small businesses is we go into it and we think we've got to be perfect. And so many people think the finances will come. The finances will come or I'm not great at that. So I'm going to focus. We hear so many things in small businesses, too. Do what you're good at.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (22:27)

Yes.

Amanda Thompson (22:27)

You know, concentrate on what you're good at. Well, you've got to be good at it, you've got to be kind of good at finances, or you've got to have enough money to outsource some help to do that. So that's, that's, that's the traps that people fall into quite quickly with small business.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (22:44)

Yes, you need to plan for the quiet times.

I'm have you worked with anyone who's very much the face of their business and then trying to figure out, what's that going to look like a few decades from now?

Amanda Thompson (23:02)

I do it every day, that's me. There's only one reminder. It's highly unlikely I will ever hire another financial advisor because I'm yet to find one exactly like me. So I am the face of my business. As much as I have help around me, they are not me in terms of with the clients.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (23:04)

That's you.

Amanda Thompson (23:25)

have I come across people all the time, but all the time I'm looking in the mirror when I have my team and my team meeting with myself, you know, dealing, dealing with that. And it's about what your long-term goals are. As much as I've got a, you know, potentially saleable business, it's not as saleable as someone who runs purely on transactions. So I've got to make sure my business is providing for my future with that less of a goal in place that I'm going to sell my business for big dollars when I'm ready to.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (23:55)

Right. So are you saying that not everybody needs to have the goal of being scalable for a big sale one day?

Amanda Thompson (24:03)

No, no, you know, so a lot of people, so if you are going to sell, you, if that's not a part of your plan, then obviously your business needs to provide you with something that you're putting away for your retirement or your future. So there's lots of different avenues. Again, it comes down to you. The only person that understands your business is you. And so you've got to have the right people around you, that's my job, to support you in getting what you want and helping you along the way. It's not for me to tell you what you should want.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (24:35)

sure. What are the basic habits? Let's go back to personal everyday habits. Now everybody will have an opinion on those, but I'm so curious. We had an era, probably a decade ago, maybe less, but everybody talked about avocado toast like it was a financial, political statement.

Amanda Thompson (24:57)

I'm

And remember it was $13? Tell me where you can find Avocado Smash now for $13. So back then, they were bitching about $13 avocado on toast.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (25:11)

Now it's ten or twenty dollars more than that.

Amanda Thompson (25:14)

Yeah, you know the habits. So the habits for me, I'm known for saying budget's a dirty word. I don't like the budget. It says a lot about me is I don't like people telling me what to do. And I find budgets are quite restrictive and dictating. So I use the word spending plan. It's again, I am always positive. Yeah, Melanie. So for me, a spending plan is trying to create that surplus. You know, and how do you, so I think that

That switches you on in a positive way, whereas budgets are just like, it's a spending plan that gives you choice. So I think one of the basic things we can do is —well, there's lots of fun, lots of them. So it's mindful spending. So really thinking about what you're spending money on. You know, again, it comes down to what your goals are and what you really want to save money and understanding that. And you're more likely to

be shopping or out at breakfast, for example, and say, Do I really need to go to breakfast? If we bring the avocado toast into it, do I really need to go for breakfast today? What am I sacrificing if I do go out for breakfast today? Am I sacrificing time to get to the goal that I want? That's one thing. And I think that

That's one way people just don't understand, is that again, it's about goal setting and understanding that your goal is not what your next door neighbour's goal is, or it's not what the mother's group goals are. It's your personal goal. It's the only way you'll start to do mindful spending. My second thing is in the era of online shopping, walk away, walk away from that instant gratification, put it in a virtual shopping cart, come back 24 hours later and go, do I really want that?

And the third thing for anyone is start small. Most people will have superannuation. So it's your money, whether you like it or not. So pay a bit of attention to it. Go and have a look at where it's invested, what your fees are, is there insurance attached? What's my legacy? In other words, who's the beneficiary of my super? Does my super fund offer a free financial planning call? Most of them do. So start small.

You know, pay attention to something that is yours. Your superannuation you own. You may not be able to touch it, but it's still yours.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (27:34)

It is yours. You can get a financial advice call through Super.

Amanda Thompson (27:40)

Most of the industry super funds will have a general advice line, and they'll help you work out what investments or talk you through the beneficiary, or what it would be if your salary were sacrificed a certain amount into super. A lot of them have calculators online, and they're online as well. That's, in essence, you're paying for that by paying for the fees of your super fund. So utilise it.

So you don't necessarily need to go out and enlist a financial plan straight away. I'm not telling anyone to do that. If anything, my only little plug is I have a book called Financially Fit Women that men could read as well. And for $40, you can get the whole range of basic ideas on how to start working through things. But your other option is that free option. If you're in an industry super fund, have a look if they've got those opportunities for you.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (28:32)

And definitely send a link to the book, and I can share that with the audience for sure. Are there any other resources that everybody can access, at least in Australia, that we should be using more?

Amanda Thompson (28:47)

Look, mean, the one that people don't know about is the financial counselling helpline. So we have financial counsellors, is often referred to as debt counsellors as well. If you are on Centrelink, if you're on any type of pension, you actually are eligible for free help. So people who are in really dire straits can access that through the financial counsellors’ helpline. The Money Smart website is one of the best resources that we have. So that's monysmart.gov.au. That's an amazing resource. ⁓ That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (29:42)

Do you have any ideas on even categories, anything that someone could use online if they're even in another country, because we get people looking at the podcast from anywhere?

Amanda Thompson (29:55)

Well, you can get onto the Money Smart website,

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (29:57)

And talking about retirement, the thing that I realised, having seen the old comment on the grandparents that passed away a few years ago, people should, I think, expect the worst, but also the best.

I mean, people can get really sick. I watched someone being sick for years on end and needing a lot of expensive treatment and having needs for the right environment, things like that. And we don't know how old we're going to be when we retire. I don't know. I don't know how your clients or your community would even plan for what age they're going to retire.

Amanda Thompson (30:29)

Thank

And there are laws, aren't there, about when you can access your super, when you can access the age pension? But who says you can't retire earlier than that if you want to, and you have the capacity to? And so again, even retirement, as much as the governments will spook how much an average person needs in retirement, I argue that your retirement is going to be completely different than anyone else's because I sit there.

For example, how often would you see someone the same age with exactly the same circumstances? Four grandchildren, the exact same ages, boy, girl, different schools. So even those things, triathlon, whatever it is that you want to do, painting, ceramics, whatever a retirement looks for you, even charity work.

So, who exactly is the same in retirement? How can anyone tell you other than getting some personalised advice for it?

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (31:45)

sure. I'm curious about how you even define retirement because some people identify as being retired but still work part-time or occasionally. Is that still within your definition of retirement?

Amanda Thompson (32:00)

I think so, it's different for everyone, isn't it? So retirement for me would be I can't see myself ever retiring from work, you know, or speaking, you know. I hope retirement looks like travelling the world, speaking for me. I think retirement, you know, generally is we stop full-time work, and we've got a choice on what we do next, you know, so if the choice is to go, I'm going to work a bit, or the choice is I'm going to go and volunteer.

That's where I see retirement. It's probably one of the words that you would not go to the dictionary to find the definition of.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (32:40)

Definitely, definitely. And we're seeing people finding flexibility at all sorts of ages now, especially this is the perfect detour because women, mothers who may be sacrificed a few years and then need to figure out what they're going to do next, they tend to look for a bit more flexibility. So I'm curious, what have you seen that

works for different people. know we're all different, but what have you seen that works for that sort of flexibility?

Amanda Thompson (33:12)

Look, I think more and more women are starting businesses from home to get that. Work from home in Australia has been quite good for that as well. So more women are able to go back into the workforce with the work-from-home concept. But the other interesting thing is if you go back 15, 20 years, the mother could, or the father, you were living off one wage. The cost of living is so great now.

And mortgages that we take on are so big now that often you need two wages. And so it all comes into cash flow, doesn't it? Again, we come back and we full circle to cash flow. How much money is coming in? How much money is going out? What can you do? How do you do it? What do you change if you do want that lifestyle or flexibility around what you do? It is a very general concept.

because again, it depends on who earns what and how many hours and what the opportunities are to work from home. But, you know, the biggest rise of small businesses, small work-from-home businesses, is for females for that very reason, to bring in an income while they are staying at home.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (34:23)

work from home. If someone is starting a business from scratch, are there any very essential dos and don'ts there?

Amanda Thompson (34:32)

cash flow, cash flow, cash flow. You know, I see people, you know, I see people make the mistake, and I will call it the mistake of starting their own business. If they've got capital, it's great, but they put it into, well, they get sold, courses galore, you know? Courses galore, online advertising, online marketing, all of these things.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (34:34)

Okay.

Amanda Thompson (34:56)

Try to take that out of your equation to start with and really figure out what your value proposition is, or what it is that you're selling, and work through or scale in the right way. A reward could be, my business is going so well, now I'm ready to engage in some assistance with marketing or social media or professional development, paid ads, whatever it is. I mean, sometimes some things need paid ads, you've got to factor it into your cash flow. So cash flow, cash flow, cash flow and the bank balance. The two big numbers you need to know, your bank balance and your cash flow.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (35:35)

So part of looking after yourself is to look at the numbers.

Amanda Thompson (35:40)

Mm-hmm. Yeah, look at the numbers and understand them. Take the time to absorb and understand why they look the way they do.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (35:49)

understand why. Okay. So then, once that's all going smoothly, have you got any tips for scaling a bit? I know that not everybody wants to scale these days; it seems like a million is the new normal, and a billion is the new aspiration. That's the impression I'm getting.

Amanda Thompson (36:10)

Yeah, a what though?

A million turnover, a million profit, you know, like this is the thing. know, what numbers mean what to who? You know, a million turnover and you've worked 60 hours a week, a million turnover and you've worked 20 hours a week. See what these fin influencers and all of these people promising the world, they throw numbers out, and it excites us. You know, except stop and look at your own thing and what time. And you know, the basics of things that you could do is, if I'm going, say you want to work 20 hours a week, if I worked for someone 20 hours a week, what would I get paid? And whatever that is. Well, OK, if I'm going to start my own business and work 20 hours a week, what does my business need to make so that I'm getting what I would get if I'm working for someone else for the same thing? So there's simple tools like that that you can do as well. Scaling, when you're built, I think.

Again, you've got to revisit your business plan. You've got to redo your business plan. You've always got to go in aware. That's the thing, isn't it? Just go in aware so that again, you're confident with the decisions you're making. Get the support. If you're ready to scale, you should have enough money to get the support in the right areas you need as well. The other thing about scaling, you know, without going too deep into numbers, is what will it take to scale?

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (37:23)

So.

Amanda Thompson (37:37)

What area are you going to scale? Is it going to take more energy with less profit to scale? What area is the best place to scale in? Who are your clients? Are you going to get new clients to scale? Are you going to upsell to current clients? Are you going to increase? There's lots of ways to scale. So how are you going to scale?

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (37:58)

Yes, that's a question. Would you go from offline to online or vice versa? Would you go from one location to more locations? So it's more complicated than just a vague ideal. So there are costs in scaling.

Amanda Thompson (38:08)

Well, of course.

Yeah, absolutely, there are costs in scaling. So what's the trade-off? know, and is it really, you know, what does that mean? And again, the physical and mental exertion of a business owner to do that as well. So, you know, more than scaling, know, think sustainable. What's a sustainable business? You know, will I be, how will I keep going, and can I do this? And if I do this, is that sustainable? Both mentally you know, mentally, physically and financially.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (38:49)

Calling it sustainable is so significant to me because, one second, calling it sustainable is significant to me because I was looking at other forms of sustainability a while ago, and what I learned from the environmental sustainability people is that whatever habit you are doing in your life, can you actually keep it going beyond the short term?

And that translates so much to financial sustainability and also your health. So it sounds like part of what you were saying is, we going to be able to look after ourselves in the new amount of success and type of success that we're pursuing?

Amanda Thompson (39:36)

Absolutely. If you want a case study on scaling, should go and listen to Christina Carlson's story. know, Kiki Kay, she speaks quite openly about how she was opening physical stores everywhere and X amount of staff and on the outset, it's huge. But with that came costs, more costs, you know. And when it fell down, it fell down hard.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (40:03)

What happened?

Amanda Thompson (40:04)

So she went into receivership because of COVID and because of the rent of the physical stores and things like that. She talks quite openly about it. So if you ever get the chance to see Christina Carlson live or hear her story, it's quite amazing how honest she is about what's scaling, what eventuated from scaling for her.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (40:29)

That's definitely worth checking out. So we need to consider how we are going to create a safety net for ourselves, and also just prevent burnout. In the earliest episodes of my podcast, I heard from multiple former and current small business owners who became so burned out. was affecting their physical health. And this seems to keep happening and

In one sentence, my experience was that I was just giving for nothing to the point where I was sick every other week. That's common.

Amanda Thompson (41:07)

Yeah, and it's a common thing.

Yeah, very, very common.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (41:14)

It's so common. So it sounds like the essentials for what we need to do. I adore how this really has intertwined with wellness so much. It's not simply numbers. And actually, this is probably something we can both agree on. Numbers are manifested in a tangible, visible, everyday life. It's not just ink on a

page or digits on a screen. It's how you're actually living your life.

Amanda Thompson (41:53)

Yeah, I agree. And this is where I think people fall short, in that they don't align money to these conversations or finance to these thoughts and conversations. We forget that it is a part of it; we often see money and finances as standalone, but it is encapsulated in everything we do.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (42:19)

appreciate that so much. Frankly, it was the last thing that I was thinking of. I just wanted to make sure I was eating the right things and whatnot. But then other things just fall short, and it will affect your whole life if you're not prioritising it. We all need to think about this, whether we have a business or our own home or everything or nothing. And I saw a little clip from Eleanor Cardone, who said that wealth is wellness and wellness is wealth. And I'm now starting to believe that because the same essential message is coming from you as well.

Amanda Thompson (43:00)

Absolutely. I mean financial stress is huge. Yeah, if you're living paycheck to paycheck, do you really think that is doing your health any good because you're worried you stressed, you know ⁓ Again, I bring that triathlon mindset that endurance mindset. It's the positive endorphins. It's the stress hormones. It's all of these things ⁓ Money's no different than sport, you know, and sports a physical thing we do to our body, but so stressing about money

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (43:29)

Absolutely. I like to wind up these podcast conversations with three nearly universal pieces of wisdom that everybody should follow. So to look after ourselves, again, whether we have everything or nothing or something in between, we all need to look after ourselves. So what are three things that we can all do to keep ourselves financially sustainable?

Amanda Thompson (43:58)

First and foremost, go look at your super. Go look at your superannuation. Second is to seek help. Don't be embarrassed to ask for help. And three, just like any triathlon, just take a small step forward. It could be the biggest step of your life.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (44:18)

Amanda, thank you so much for all the wisdom.

Amanda Thompson (44:22)

Thanks for watching me.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (44:24)

It's been great and a great lesson. We've learned a lot. Thank you.