The Finance Cafe – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode, Shauna Frederick sits down with the insightful Anna Giampà, a seasoned Family Enterprise Advisor with over two decades of experience in consulting, business planning, and corporate strategy. Anna’s journey is rich with entrepreneurial ventures, academic excellence, and a deep commitment to lifelong learning. As a former faculty member at Montreal’s Concordia University, where she taught Entrepreneurship & Strategy, Anna has empowered countless business leaders with her practical wisdom. Beyond her consulting career, she co-manages a thriving real estate portfolio and nurtures her passions for food, travel, and continuous growth.

Anna and Shauna explore the transformative power of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in driving business success. Anna demystifies KPIs, breaking them down into simple, measurable values that act as a scoreboard for your business, helping you track progress and uncover opportunities for improvement. She delves into the four key types of KPIs—financial, operational, customer, and marketing—and illustrates how they can be customized to fit any business, regardless of its size or complexity.

Through practical examples, Anna reveals how even the simplest KPIs, such as tracking new customers or enhancing revenue growth, can have a profound impact. She underscores the strategic significance of KPIs, showing how they can guide your strategic planning and decision-making processes, ultimately fostering structured growth.

Websites:

Canada Benchmarking Tool: Financial Performance Data (canada.ca)

Connect with Anna:

LinkedIn: Anna Giampà, MBA, FEA

Instagram: annafiorilli 

Facebook: Anna G Fiorilli

In this episode, Shauna sits down with the brilliant Jackie Porter who is a leading Canadian financial planner with a stellar 25-year career dedicated to empowering high-achievers. As a trusted advisor to executives, business owners, and legal professionals, Jackie offers expert guidance on complex financial matters that go beyond simple Google searches.

Her journey to financial success is as inspiring as her expertise. Raised by a single mother, Jackie faced early financial challenges that ignited her passion for building wealth and financial independence. Today, she's a multi-award-winning financial planner, author of "Single by Choice or Chance," and a sought-after industry expert.

Jackie has a knack for turning complex financial concepts into actionable advice. In this podcast we're diving deep into the power of mindset when it comes to money. From overcoming financial barriers to skyrocketing your business, Jackie shares practical tips and strategies to cultivate a growth mindset. Discover how to shift your perspective, unlock new opportunities, and take control of your financial future. Get ready to be inspired as Jackie shares her wisdom and empowers you to reach new heights in your entrepreneurial journey.

Connect with Jackie: LinkedIn: Jackie Porter (Lawyers Financial Advisor) CFP, RWM, EPC

Twitter: X

Instagram: Jackie Porter | CFP (@jackieportercfp)

Website: askjackie.ca

It is extraordinarily common for entrepreneurs to wear many hats, but at what point is it taking you away from your strengths and draining you of the energy required to run your business? On this episode of The Finance Cafe Podcast, we are excited to dive into a conversation with Glenda Plews from Payworks, an amazing Canadian company designed to do the heavy lifting of payroll, HR, benefits and more. Host Shauna Frederick digs into thought provoking topics that will help you evaluate what you, as an entrepreneur are spending your energy on, and if it is optimal for the success of your business. 

This episode of The Finance Cafe Podcast is all about risk.   

If you are like most people, the idea of risk is scary and something we'd typically avoid. But as this week's guest, Geeta Tucker, President and CEO of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Manitoba, says, "the very nature of entrepreneurship is risky", so we need to learn to get comfortable with it.  

Geeta and Host, Shannon Pestun, breakdown why it is so important for entrepreneurs to not just take risks but embrace them. They share how you can overcome the imposter syndrome and fear that often keeps us playing small, preventing us from seeing ourselves and our businesses reach it's full potential.  

Listen in as these experts unpack and explain the several different types of risk that an entrepreneur may experience in their journey like financial risk, repetitional and situational risk. 

Most importantly, they share strategies to help you create a business environment where you feel safe and comfortable with risk and uncertainty. They explain how how you can validate and evaluate those strategies so you feel confident taking the risks you need to build your business and succeed.  

Visit thefinancecafe.ca for more valuable resources helping women entrepreneurs embrace the financial side of their business. Find the support and tools you need to feel capable, confident and connected in your business. 

Right now take advantage of our self-paced e-learning tool, designed for women entrepreneurs by women entrepreneurs, at the low rate of $379 or 4 monthly payments of $99.  

At The Finance Cafe we are passionate about advancing women’s entrepreneurship. We believe that means creating a space to change the conversation women have around finance, and creating financial literacy resources and tools that address critical gender gaps. The resources you need to empower you in your life and business.

A pure service business is one in which the service is the primary entity that is sold rather than a tangible item that people can physically see and touch. A business with a physical product, or products, can find pricing much more straightforward as there are many hard costs associated with producing and getting a product to market, then in a service based business

Women are also more likely to be in a professional service industry such as retail, health care or education. Did you know self-employed women struggle twice as much as men when it comes to setting rates?

In this episode host, Shauna Frederick, is joined by Founder and Managing Lawyer, Evelyn Ackah of Ackah Business Immigration Law. After 12 years of practicing law on Bay Street in Toronto, Evelyn moved to Calgary in 2008 and launched her firm in 2010. She understands first hand the unique challenges that having a service based business presents and the gender barriers faced as a women entrepreneur.

Shauna and Evelyn unpack important topics like:

• how pricing our services connects with our own value (women entrepreneurs often say they charge less than their male counterparts)
• knowing your ideal client
• reviewing your client list every year to ensure you are working with aligned clients who value your relationship and service
• knowing your "why".

For more information or to reach out to Evelyn:

Twitter: @AckahLaw twitter.com/AckahLaw

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ackah-business-immigration-law/

Instagram:@ackahlaw /www.instagram.com/ackahlaw/

Facebook:www.facebook.com/AckahBusinessImmigrationLaw/

Website: www.ackahlaw.com

We hope this episode inspires and empowers you in your entrepreneurial journey.

Shannon and Shauna believe you can achieve the business of your dreams by being intentional about your numbers and knowing how they come together to form a story. Join us at the The Finance Cafe to learn how to build your business one number and one story at a time.

In this episode, Shannon sits down with Patrice Mousseau, CEO and Founder, to talk about the journey from her crockpot in the kitchen, to a global stage.

Patrice is a conscious entrepreneur and the owner/creator of Satya Organic Skin Care, a skincare company that delivers NPN-approved, USDA Certified Organic products to serve those with sensitive skin conditions.

For years, Patrice was a news anchor for leading television and news stations in Canada, but that all changed when her baby girl developed eczema at only 8-months old. Watching her baby suffer was the worst feeling in the world. When her doctor only prescribed steroids, Patrice researched scientific literature and traditional medicines and the formula that she created in her kitchen crock pot cleared Esme’s skin in just two days.

Satya has since helped tens of thousands of people around the world access clean, effective skin relief, and is sold globally online and in over 900 retailers across Canada including Whole Foods, Indigo and The Bay.

Check out Satya's social channels for important eczema tips and resources all month long for #EczemaAwarenessMonth!

Twitter: @satyaorganic

LinkedIn: @satyaorganic

Instagram: @satyaorganic 

Facebook: @satyaorganic

Website: satya.ca / satyaorganics.com

All listeners are welcome to use the discount code FINANCECAFE for 10% off their first Satya purchase on satya.ca / satyaorganics.com.

In this episode, Shannon sits down with Michéle Soregaroli, Co-Founder, CEO and Master Certified Coach at Transformation Catalyst Corp to talk about how to use differentiation to increase market share.

Michéle helps clients generate significant financial results by giving entrepreneurs the perspective they need to challenge business paradigms, become industry leaders, and champion excellence in their industry.

What is differentiation? In business strategy terms, differentiation refers to the principle of setting your company apart, a way to stand out and distinguish your business from others and give people a reason to choose your company or product over another.

In this episode our goal is to help you understand how differentiation is tied to your bottom line.

We'd love to hear your takeaways from this episode! Follow us on social media and join the conversation.  Visit thefinancecafe.com for more insights and information on our blog and to learn more about our online e-learning platform. A 7 module, self paced course designed for women and by women to empower and equip women entrepreneurs like you.

Here at The Finance Cafe, we’re changing the way we talk about finance and empowering women entrepreneurs to see their business in a new light – one story and one number at a time.

Women are more likely than men to be perfectionists, holding themselves back from answering a question, applying for a new job, asking for a raise, negotiating a contract, until they’re absolutely 100 percent sure they can predict the outcome. Women tend to apply for a promotion only when they met 100 percent of the qualifications. in contrast to men who will apply when they met just 50% of the qualifications.

In this episode Shauna and Shahr Savizi, co-founder of Fuckup Nights YYC, sit down to talk about how successful entrepreneurs view failures and how a shift in mindset can view failures as something to learn from rather than something to be afraid of.

Fuckup Nights is a global movement and a speaker series that shares stories of professional failure. Each month, in events across the globe, we get three to four people to get up in front of a room full of strangers to share their own professional fuckup. The stories of the business that crashes and burns, the partnership deal that goes sour, the product that has to be recalled, we tell them all.

Social Media Links

Instagram:

@FuckUpNightsYYC

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shahr-zad-s-22939314a/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/fuckup-nights-calgary/

What would you say if you knew the success of your business lives inside your financial story? Our financial literacy course is designed to teach you how to read the story of your business - one number at a time. Head to thefinancecafe.ca and take our free financial literacy quiz. Remember us the code Podcast10 to get 10%!

There can be different motivations when starting a business. For many entrepreneurs, the bottom line is more than just profits, but rather a passion to make a difference in the world.

In this week’s episode, Shannon sits down with Jenn Harper, Founder of Cheekbone Beauty, to explore her journey as a social entrepreneur and the growing impacts of social enterprises. 

We take a deep dive into how Jenn has built up her business, her path from Dragon’s Den to Sephora, and how important it is to foster a space for Indigenous women and youth to feel represented, recognized, and supported in the industry.

Jenn Harper’s book suggestion for women entrepreneurs:

What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing by Bruce D. Perry and Oprah Winfrey

Websites:  www.cheekbonebeauty.com

Social media handles:

LinkedIn

Twitter

Instagram:

Jenn Harper

Cheekbone Beauty

Are you being held back by your lack of confidence when it comes to your business and finance? We can help, join us at The Finance Cafe and use code Podcast10 to get 10% off our Financial Literacy Program; a program designed by women entrepreneurs, for women entrepreneurs. We will empower you with the knowledge and understanding you need to confidently grow your business and your bottom line.

One of the most important components of building a financially viable business, that many women entrepreneurs often neglect, is to construct a budget for your business.

In this week’s Finance Cafe podcast, Shauna chats with financial expert Alicia Fowler of mod Accounting & Tax,  to unpack some of the common budgeting mistakes women entrepreneurs make, how women can confidently navigate their business budget to fulfill their financial goals, and how establishing a clear, and organized budget can ultimately set their business up for success.

Linkedin: Alicia Fowler  

Instagram:  Alicia Fowler

Visit The Finance Cafe and use the code Podcast10 to save on our online Financial Literacy Program for women entrepreneurs.