Latest / The SmallBizChat with Melinda Emerson / Becoming a Menopause Millionaire with Carole Hodges

Transcript

Becoming a Menopause Millionaire with Carole Hodges · The SmallBizChat with Melinda Emerson

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  3, 10, 1, 0, ignition, liftoff,
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  Ending small business failure.
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  Welcome to the Small Biz Chat podcast with a number 1 small business expert Melinda Emerson.
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  Bolinda's goal is to end small business failure, and she'll give you the information
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  you need to succeed and live the life you've dream of.
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  Now here's the small biz lady herself.
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  Melinda Emerson.
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  Hi, everybody.
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  I'm Melinda Emerson.
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  These small biz lady, and welcome to small biz chat.
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  You know, we have an amazing show for you guys.
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  Small biz chat is a peer to peer interview show that give small business owners a way to get
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  advice that they need but might not know.
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  And maybe not today might not be able to afford, but the mission of small business chat
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  is to end small business failure.
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  So listen.
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  On small business chat, our goal is to give our small business audience an opportunity to hear
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  sage advice from multiple angles to take your business and your life to the next level.
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  We are now gonna be talking with miss Carol Hodges.
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  You know, Carol is the author of menopause millionaire, but she is also a menopause
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  millionaire.
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  So she's gonna be talking to us about how she shifted from a business coach to a financial
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  expert after seeing the roadblocks of retirement, which are experienced by so many
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  business owners, especially women.
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  Know, she believes that menopause is not only a physical change, but it's a wake up call.
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  It's a this midlife change.
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  It gives us an opportunity to look at everything.
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  Our finances our health, our relationships, and our life purpose.
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  You know, and it's really interesting.
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  So I'm really excited to have Carol with us.
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  And another thing that I wanna do, guys, to think about, you know, According to CNBC, 34%
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  of entrepreneurs have no retirement savings plan in place.
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  And the top reason is insufficient income from their businesses.
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  Carol is here.
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  She's gonna be giving us advice on how to make better personal financial choices so that we
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  can build up retirement fund.
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  Carol, welcome.
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  Oh, hi, Melinda.
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  I'm very happy to be here tonight.
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  Well, I'm excited to have you, you know, your husband sent me the most beautiful email about
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  you.
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  And he said, you have to interview my wife.
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  And I'm like, alright.
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  Let's do it.
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  He told me how awesome you are and how you have this great book menopause billionaire coming
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  out soon.
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  And so I said, hey.
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  Let's do it because I think you know, small businesses need to be thinking about this
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  issue.
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  So thank you and and welcome so much for you to be on.
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  So tell me Do you think that small business owners have the wrong attitude about money?
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  Well, that is a very loaded question.
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  The real answer is yes and no because some of the attitudes that a small business owner needs
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  for success is things like optimism and really ready to take a risk and move forward.
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  The thing is that that very optimism when you're in the last half of life can lead you to
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  actually lose money invested into something just based upon your optimism and perhaps lose
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  money that might have been available for tirement.
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  So it's a time, I believe, to to look at what your attitudes are, the results that you've
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  gotten so far and adjust them so you can have the second half of life that you'd like.
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  Alright.
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  So what if you didn't start your business until your forties?
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  And let's say you cashed out your 401 k to really launch your business.
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  How do you prepare for retirement when you kinda did that?
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  Like, what, you know, where do
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  you start?
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  Well, since that can people can start all kinds of of businesses.
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  And cashing out your 401 k may not be what I would suggest because you save that over a
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  period of time and it has the opportunity to grow.
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  However, if that's the position that you're in, I'd say really listen to experts very important
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  that you grow your business.
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  You have time, and many people are waiting till they're seventy.
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  And beyond to retire.
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  So that gives you 30 years.
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  It started in your forties.
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  So that that is enough time, but you have to be aware of that time and maybe a little extra
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  urgency in making that business successful sooner.
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  Okay.
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  Yeah.
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  Well, we all wanna be a success, but it doesn't always happen.
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  But let's talk about women business owners for a second.
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  You know, 88% of women business owners don't even do a 100,000 in revenue.
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  I mean, that's a nationwide statistic.
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  So, you know, how do they find money to set aside for retirement when they're like, you
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  know, they're they're they're bare their head is barely above water trying to, you know, run
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  their business.
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  I mean, a lot of them have basically created jobbies for themselves.
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  As opposed to an actual business.
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  So what would you tell someone in that position?
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  Well, we need to find the money from somewhere.
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  And one of
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  the things I would look at people sometimes especially business owners ignore social
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  security and yet making sure that you have put enough in the collect from Social Security can
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  be one way to make sure there is something there for retirement.
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  What people don't realize is that that the max of social security right now is around $35100 a
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  month.
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  Now that's if you've maxed it out and you've waited till over 70.
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  But You can have some money there.
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  And if you've gotten used to a minimal budget, then perhaps your need is not as So check your
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  Social Security first and do just like you did.
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  And if you had a job, you would put aside a little bit out of every paycheck.
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  It may not seem like a huge amount, but five 10% would be ideal.
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  Take 10% out and put that aside.
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  You will build up over time.
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  Good stuff.
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  Good stuff.
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  So you call yourself the menopause millionaire.
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  Tell me what that is.
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  What does that mean?
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  Well, what I realized is by the midpoint of life, pretty much every woman has already been
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  a millionaire.
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  In other words, had a $1,000,000 passed through your fingers.
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  And between then and the end of life, You'll probably need another 1,000,000 or more.
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  The idea of being wealthy with the $1,000,000, I think is one to adjust a bit.
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  Because everybody has handled a $1,000,000, and I live in California.
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  And I tell you California, a $1,000,000 does not buy you a mansion.
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  It buys you a nice, perhaps, modest house.
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  Wow.
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  Okay.
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  So California is not the place to retire to for sure.
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  Sounds like it.
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  So alright.
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  So what about some business owners planning to sell their business to fund their retirement.
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  How realistic is that?
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  The biggest thing a business owner needs to ask themselves if they wanna sell the business, is
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  how does it operate without them?
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  A true business that can operate without the owner can be worth far more.
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  The other thing I see is not planning ahead.
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  There are if you start at at 50, thinking you're going to sell your business and you look
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  at perhaps the business partners that you have who might buy the business?
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  You can get the most if you have a business that's already grown and it is ready to really
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  to hand over to someone else.
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  The least amount of money for a business is one in which you are doing most everything
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  yourself, and you'll end up selling your business for the assets might be the cost of
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  your computers and printers and and other things, which can be quite minimal.
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  There are plenty of folks who will talk to a business owner ahead of time to look through.
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  You can get a business evaluation to give you a realistic idea of how much you can sell your
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  business for it.
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  That'll help you
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  Okay.
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  And then the the next question I wanna ask you before we go to break is okay.
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  So how do you determine how much money you'll need in retirement?
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  That's where you have to stop and ask yourself where you wanna retire.
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  You have to look into your future a bit.
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  She said if you were retired in California, it's going to be a whole heck of a lot of
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  money.
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  I know plenty of californians who have moved off to Arizona.
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  I have some moving to, New Orleans, Louisiana, and they're doing it because you can have a
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  better quality of life with less money.
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  Know that, and then you can start determining how much money you need for retirement.
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  You know, I actually read in a magazine recently number one place in America to retire
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  to is actually Oklahoma City Oklahoma.
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  In terms of the cost of living and the tax benefits, and how much house you can get for
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  the money was actually in Oklahoma City, which I I I found kind of fascinating and
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  interesting.
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  Now some of the considerations that you think you should be making at age fifty, like, around
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  things other than money, what do you think those are?
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  That is to really look into yourself.
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  It is to to look at who you are.
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  A a woman age fifty is seeing her her role as a mother change as her children become adults,
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  And she may not have stopped and said, what do I want after motherhood?
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  And the same question, what do I want after my working days?
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  Because it could be completely different.
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  I've had people who wanted to live in other countries.
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  You this is the time to really say do a deep dive and say, what do I want to accomplish?
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  What do I wanna be in the rest of my life?
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  That's a really good point.
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  You know, I think 50 is an interesting point for for women and men and especially business
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  owners.
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  Interestingly, though, the average age of a business owner in the United States 49, not 29.
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  So, you know, sometimes people are just getting rolling in their business good at age fifty.
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  Well, you know what?
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  I I think that there's a lot of information, and there's a lot of stuff out there.
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  But, you know, what kinds of tools do you suggest people look at if they are just getting
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  started with their retirement planning?
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  1st of all, check your Social Security.
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  Just go to, you know, ssa.gov and find out where you are.
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  That's a good thing to know because that'll be one element of it.
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  Then Check any other assets that you have that could be building such as real estate.
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  Know what you have there.
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  Really look at your assets.
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  And then as we've already discussed, look at the value of your business, see if that's
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  something that you can build up.
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  Because that could very well be a retirement plan, but you need to have a clear succession
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  plan.
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  Place and have it backed up by life insurance on people that are important to the business
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  that you know, we crash your plan if something happened.
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  Yeah, look to experts.
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  You have experts on this show.
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  You know, look at how to increase the size of the business and continue to get advice from
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  experts.
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  Are you tired of struggling in your business, not taking a paycheck?
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  Dreading dealing with your business in the morning?
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  Are you regretting even starting your business in the first place?
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  Well, I know you're tired.
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  And I also remember what that kind of tired is like, but the good news is it's time to stop
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  feeling that way.
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  Stop.
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  I'm Melinda Emerson's small business lady, and my new book to fix your business is a 90 day
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  turnaround plan to get back your life and reduce chaos in your business.
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  I've been in business nearly 20 years and let me teach you how to build a business that works
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  for you.
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  Grab a copy today.
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  Welcome back to Small Bishop Live.
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  I'm talking with Carol Hunt.
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  Who is a financial advisor and business coach, and she's gonna talk to us about women and
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  money and our issues related to money.
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  So Carol you know, should women borrow money to launch or grow a business?
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  It seems to me that not enough of us do, but I wanna know what you think about that.
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  I'd say absolutely.
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  Yes.
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  The reason why you will have to go through more hoops in order to borrow money.
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  Those are good hoops because anyone who's going to lend you money wants to know how they're
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  going to get paid back.
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  That may force you to create a solid business plan that you don't need to create if you just
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  rated your 401 k for the money.
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  You have to do some work that is is valid work.
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  Sometimes we hate to do that.
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  I know that as a mom, I learned how to put a safety pin and something and rig things up and
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  just keep on going.
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  And sometimes we can take those attitudes into a business.
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  But if you ever want shark tank, which I highly Jess for anybody who wants to grow a business.
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  Look at Shark Tank, and the questions they are asking are good questions to ask yourself.
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  But if you can possibly borrow money, 1st of all, create a structure like a corporation and
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  s corp so that the liability is not totally in your name, you would like to borrow money in a
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  corporate name.
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  The reason why is they are going to look to the business in order to get the money back.
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  There are times you can arrange that you are not personally liable the corporation is
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  liable.
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  That can protect your home.
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  That can protect your other assets.
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  So borrow money.
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  Yes.
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  Do that if at all possible.
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  Alright.
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  So I'm a female business owner, and my business is doing pretty good.
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  Should my husband's name go on all my financial assets or my business?
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  That depends.
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  If you have formed a corporation, then you may want him to be part of the corporation.
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  If you are working just as a single business owner and you are liable for everything, you
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  are opening up to both the rewards but you're also opening them up to the liability.
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  Make sure that you sit down with a good business attorney and understand the
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  difference.
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  A blood CPA and attorney are are vital so that you understand in your business how it's
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  structured in both the benefits and the liability.
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  It's just as easy to give your husband if he's to participate and if something happens to It's
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  just as easy to put him inside a will or trust.
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  Okay.
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  And now let's say a woman business owner is doing very well.
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  And finds herself making more money than her husband or her partner.
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  How can, like, they manage that without, you know, the partner, our husband feeling, you
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  know, devalued because suddenly the wife is is the main breadwinner in the home.
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  One idea is to separate the money.
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  In other words, the business money is in the business.
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  And as a business owner, you know you have expenses you wanna keep that money over there.
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  You want to give yourself a salary and bring that home and I think it's grade.
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  What my husband and I do is we each have our own separate bank accounts, but we have we put
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  our money into the joint bank account that we decide together.
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  And that can be a way to make sure that The the money is in the right place to the for the
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  decision set are for both of you.
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  Okay.
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  And then what's the best places to go to get advice about handling personal and business
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  finances?
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  Look for good consultants, look for financial advisors, financial advisors that have a
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  background in working with businesses would be a good choice and interview several.
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  So you have one that is a a good fit that you can feel good and confident about.
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  Good enough.
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  Alright, Carol.
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  What is your favorite podcast that you like to listen to?
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  I have to admit that I don't listen to that many podcasts.
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  CAS, but what I do listen to is audible books.
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  I listen to them on my drive time and very much love that.
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  Alright.
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  So, Audible, that's your favorite podcast.
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  You just pick a book and get on the road.
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  I love it.
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  What is your favorite business app?
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  What is your favorite business app?
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  So I'm gonna do Carol Delatoro, and Natalie, you get to go last this time.
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  So
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  what's your favorite app?
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  I like to simplify.
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  And for me, it's just getting my emails on my phone so that I can keep connection to people.
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  So do you use Gmail?
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  Do you use Outlook?
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  What do you use for email?
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  I use both.
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  I use blue box and I use Gmail.
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  Alright.
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  Good stuff.
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  Good stuff.
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  What is your favorite old school marketing tip?
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  Favorite old school marketing tip.
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  So this time, I'll go Harrow, Natalie, and then Delatoro.
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  You'll have the last word on this one.
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  My favorite is reach out and touch five people every day.
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  And to me, in in person is great, but do five new people on LinkedIn, on Facebook, some way
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  reach 5 new people every day.
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  I love it.
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  I love it.
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  And and my favorite thing is actually reaching five people reaching him on the phone because I
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  believe Magic happens over the phone.
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  So I love to try to to talk to people human to human.
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  Good stuff.
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  And, Carol, what is your favorite business book?
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  Well, the book that I'm reading right now is Mary McNally.
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  What's in the way is the way.
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  And it's a spiritual book, but it's really about being where you are, being present and
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  growing.
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  And I think that's a vital attitude towards any well, as a human being and as a business
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  person.
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  Well, listen, you guys.
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  Thank you so much for being here with me.
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  On small biz chat.
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  Believe it or not, our time is up.
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  Thank you so much again to my guests.
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  I appreciate you all.
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  So very much, and and we do small fish chat because our mission here is to end small
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  business failure.
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  And I will leave you with this.
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  You never lose in business.
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  Either you win or you learn.
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  God bless everybody.
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  Good night.
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  Thank you for listening to the smallbizchat podcast with Melinda Emerson.
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  For more resources and small business success strategies, visit succeed as your own boss.com.
• 19:43
  Subscribe to this podcast wherever you listen to podcasts and join us next Wednesday.