Not talking about money only keeps you poor and stuck and uninformed. And more often than not, it’s women who are not doing the talking.
This has been on my mind since the lockdowns -
I’m a sommelier and run my own wine events/education company, and clearly a lot of people in my industry got hit hard, many are still trying to recover, and will take years to get out of debt from that time.
I just put on an evening symposium called, “Wine, Women & Wealth” and I invited four financial experts to share some of their knowledge. It was a massive hit and I’m now thinking of doing it seasonally.
This is not a sales pitch, the event is done and dusted, but that evening confirmed to me how vital it is that people need to be more open about money, more confident about the rates they demand, and less shame about debt incurred.
Money isn’t everything, but it’s kindof like oxygen, you can’t really get far without it.
Erin, I'm sorry to read that many people in the industry are in debt now. I know that drinking was up during Covid, but I didn't think about the effect on sommeliers.
Yes, drinking was up during Covid… but at home, of course, which wasn’t helpful for restaurants and people who work in the event/restaurant industry.
Following lockdowns it’s been one punch after another: supply chain and inflation and interest rates kept people from spending, a massive drop in wine consumption for lots of reasons, and now …whatever fresh hell this is 🤪.
Anyway, this is now getting off topic from your post of being transparent about income, but I find all subjects swirling around money and revenue completely intriguing. I wish we talked more open and more honestly about it. 🙂
I completely agree that transparency around money is needed and also one of the only ways to continue to build revenue. I’d also be remiss not to plug how agents and managers and other colleagues that writers have in their corners can really help with long term career growth and success. I never guarantee that I can increase an author’s advance or speaking fee, but I also usually do improve offers over and over again.
This is an important post, especially for those starting out. I’ve been transparent with anyone who asks me about the finances around my cookbook deal and freelance writing gigs. I have a long way to go to build this into a viable career, but like Sally mentioned, you need folks on your team. Any entrepreneur needs a team.
Thank you. Yes. It's just a mind shift for creative people to even think about themselves as entrepreneurs! We like the romance. The entrepreneurs have people doing their work for them. Most of the rest of us do it all ourselves.
I've always felt creepy about asking people for money. I've recently been leaning into Arlan Hamilton's YouTube - she went from being homeless to starting an investment fund and has invested in over 100 startups by BIPOC, LGBTQ, and women founders, and has partnered with Mark Cuban. Now she teaches people how to make money. She's so down to earth, it doesn't feel creepy to me anymore. And she starts with baby steps, like here's how to make $1,000 or $5,000.
This is very timely, Dianne!
Not talking about money only keeps you poor and stuck and uninformed. And more often than not, it’s women who are not doing the talking.
This has been on my mind since the lockdowns -
I’m a sommelier and run my own wine events/education company, and clearly a lot of people in my industry got hit hard, many are still trying to recover, and will take years to get out of debt from that time.
I just put on an evening symposium called, “Wine, Women & Wealth” and I invited four financial experts to share some of their knowledge. It was a massive hit and I’m now thinking of doing it seasonally.
This is not a sales pitch, the event is done and dusted, but that evening confirmed to me how vital it is that people need to be more open about money, more confident about the rates they demand, and less shame about debt incurred.
Money isn’t everything, but it’s kindof like oxygen, you can’t really get far without it.
Erin, I'm sorry to read that many people in the industry are in debt now. I know that drinking was up during Covid, but I didn't think about the effect on sommeliers.
Yes, drinking was up during Covid… but at home, of course, which wasn’t helpful for restaurants and people who work in the event/restaurant industry.
Following lockdowns it’s been one punch after another: supply chain and inflation and interest rates kept people from spending, a massive drop in wine consumption for lots of reasons, and now …whatever fresh hell this is 🤪.
Anyway, this is now getting off topic from your post of being transparent about income, but I find all subjects swirling around money and revenue completely intriguing. I wish we talked more open and more honestly about it. 🙂
I completely agree that transparency around money is needed and also one of the only ways to continue to build revenue. I’d also be remiss not to plug how agents and managers and other colleagues that writers have in their corners can really help with long term career growth and success. I never guarantee that I can increase an author’s advance or speaking fee, but I also usually do improve offers over and over again.
That's a great point, Sally. Thanks for bringing it up. It's really the only time we writers have someone to negotiate on our behalf.
I'm working on a "How I make money" post as we speak!
This is an important post, especially for those starting out. I’ve been transparent with anyone who asks me about the finances around my cookbook deal and freelance writing gigs. I have a long way to go to build this into a viable career, but like Sally mentioned, you need folks on your team. Any entrepreneur needs a team.
Thank you. Yes. It's just a mind shift for creative people to even think about themselves as entrepreneurs! We like the romance. The entrepreneurs have people doing their work for them. Most of the rest of us do it all ourselves.
I've always felt creepy about asking people for money. I've recently been leaning into Arlan Hamilton's YouTube - she went from being homeless to starting an investment fund and has invested in over 100 startups by BIPOC, LGBTQ, and women founders, and has partnered with Mark Cuban. Now she teaches people how to make money. She's so down to earth, it doesn't feel creepy to me anymore. And she starts with baby steps, like here's how to make $1,000 or $5,000.
Great tip Shaun. I'm looking at her channel right now! For anyone who wants to check her out: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLoGADNKOleoeZF4U6MiE1Q