- 2 days ago
Maxxed Out - Season 1 Episode 3 - Faith & Finances
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Short filmTranscript
00:00You actually owe $80,000.
00:03Ah!
00:04Wait a second!
00:05Money affects every aspect of our lives,
00:07but most importantly, our relationships.
00:09You think it's coming off the top?
00:10You said it.
00:11Oh, wow.
00:12I am Leah Collins, and I'm a financial relationship coach.
00:15But I heard you did.
00:16Yeah, I'm pretty good.
00:17One person has nominated someone in their life
00:20who is drowning in debt.
00:23I help people take control.
00:25Let's break the bad habits that are holding us back
00:28and keeping us maxed out.
00:40I'm on my way to Two Sisters Sweet Creations,
00:43which is a bakery in DeSoto, Texas.
00:45I am going to meet Yolanda.
00:47She nominated her older sister, Deidre,
00:50because her personal and business finances are in disarray.
00:55The twist is Yolanda and Deidre are co-owners of the bakery,
00:58so she kind of nominated herself.
01:00I'm here to determine if this is a business management issue,
01:03a sisterhood issue.
01:05Let's see what we'll find out.
01:16Welcome.
01:17Yolanda?
01:18Yes, I'm Yolanda, and you are...
01:19I'm Leah.
01:20Very nice to meet you.
01:21Nice to meet you.
01:22I'm so glad you're here.
01:23Yes, me too.
01:24Yes, thank you so much.
01:25What can I eat?
01:26We have some cinnamon pecan cookies.
01:27Okay.
01:28Would you like one of those?
01:29Sure.
01:30I'm excited.
01:31Yes, me too.
01:32My initial impression is that it's more bakery than store.
01:35Like, I did expect a lot more storefront.
01:38But you did head straight to the cookies.
01:40I did.
01:41I did head straight to the cookies.
01:43Mm.
01:44Yes, yes, yes.
01:45This is really good.
01:46That's the reaction we like?
01:47Yes.
01:48How could they possibly be struggling when these cookies taste this good?
01:51What's going on?
01:53Gosh, we're just, you know, trying to make sure we're keeping our heads above water.
01:58And it's just, it's been difficult.
02:00It's been really hard.
02:01What isn't going so well?
02:03Just making enough money.
02:04That's, that's the, that's the problem.
02:06How much is this cookie?
02:07That cookie is $2.50.
02:09I would pay $4 easily for that cookie.
02:11Okay, okay.
02:12I think it's under price.
02:13I can tell you that right now.
02:14Okay, it is delicious.
02:15Okay, thank you so much.
02:16Mm-hmm.
02:17Yes.
02:18Hi.
02:19I'm Deirdre.
02:20Leah.
02:21Hey, nice to meet you.
02:22What's going on?
02:23What's up?
02:24What's going on?
02:25You called these people.
02:26Well, actually, yes, I called her here.
02:27She's our financial planner.
02:28Okay.
02:29Just, you know.
02:30Okay.
02:31Okay.
02:32Hi, Miss Nikki.
02:33Hey.
02:34Hey, sister.
02:35So how much does she know?
02:37About you coming?
02:38Yes.
02:39Uh, this one.
02:42We've talked about needing help.
02:45So now we're here.
02:46Well, how do you feel about me being here?
02:48Um, we do need the help.
02:49It's a bit of a surprise.
02:52We had discussed bringing in some financial help.
02:55I just didn't know this was happening today.
02:58But I'm just ready to hear whatever it is.
03:00Do I need to strap you in?
03:02We can still bake a cake later if you want to.
03:05Okay.
03:06Mm-hmm.
03:07I'm Deirdre.
03:08And I'm Yolanda.
03:09And we are the owners of Two Sisters Sweet Creations.
03:12See, the D is for Deirdre.
03:13The Y is for a yo-yo.
03:14Get it all together.
03:15So we got to show you.
03:16No?
03:17Okay, no, for real.
03:18Girl, you are crazy.
03:20We definitely were really close growing up.
03:30And we have always been together.
03:33You know, I'm big sister.
03:35I am a protector.
03:36I love my sister so much.
03:39She's so incredibly smart.
03:41She's so loving and caring and nurturing.
03:44All those things she said about me, I am.
03:49No, you didn't.
03:51See?
03:52I have a husband of 21 years.
03:56And we have four amazing children.
03:59I am auntie extraordinaire, of course.
04:02I love my nieces and my nephew more than anything.
04:07We own our bakery now, but formerly I was an educator.
04:12Total of 22 years in public school education.
04:15I worked in the OR as a nurse and I absolutely loved it.
04:19However, we love to cook and we love to bake.
04:21We used to give things away to our coworkers.
04:24People started saying to us, you should sell this.
04:27And so that's why we decided, okay, we're going to have a bakery.
04:31We started the bakery in my kitchen.
04:34We baked around the clock.
04:35And then we opened our bakery in 2022.
04:38We call our customers our sweetsters.
04:41But the only problem is there just isn't enough of them.
04:45We experienced a decline in sales, foot traffic.
04:48So the business has had a very hard year.
04:50The lack of income forced me to, you know, live off my credit cards.
04:55Whatever we need to do to make purchases, we will take from our personal finances and do that.
05:00And it just has taken a toll on, you know, the pockets.
05:04Yes, yes.
05:06At which point did you all decide to leave your jobs and pursue this full time?
05:10In 2018, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.
05:17That was very devastating for me.
05:19I decided that the bilateral mastectomy would be my best option.
05:23When I had the surgery, I...
05:25It's okay.
05:26Sorry.
05:27You can take your time.
05:29I had a battle with breast cancer.
05:36It totally changed my life.
05:38The surgery and my healing journey, it shifted my priorities.
05:42And I know that if I can survive breast cancer, I'm cancer free, I feel like I can take on anything.
05:49It just created a sense of urgency for me.
05:52Right.
05:53I've always wanted to be an entrepreneur business owner.
05:55And I knew at that time that I had to make it happen.
05:59Okay.
06:00Can I get a tour of the place?
06:02Of course.
06:03Okay.
06:04We'd love to give you a tour.
06:06So we're gonna start here.
06:07Okay.
06:08These are our brand new ovens.
06:09Okay.
06:10$7,600 for both of those.
06:11The vent hood, that cost us nearly $10,000.
06:14Mm-hmm.
06:15These are our mixers.
06:16And how much are these?
06:17$350 to $400 for each one.
06:20Oh.
06:21Mm-hmm.
06:22And this is our merchandiser or refrigerator.
06:24These are all of our ingredients.
06:26And our stainless shelving, we purchased all of these.
06:29And let us show you our other space, Sweet Bee.
06:31Other space?
06:32Yes.
06:33It's right next door.
06:34Where?
06:35We have another space that we're renting.
06:37We call it Sweet Bee.
06:38And we have big plans for it.
06:40Ooh.
06:41This is nice.
06:42So what do you use this space for?
06:44We wanna be able to offer some different types of classes,
06:47some educational opportunities.
06:49How much do you pay for this space?
06:50A little over $1,300 for the month.
06:53Okay.
06:54How often do you all utilize this space to bring in income?
06:57Currently, we are not really utilizing it as we should be.
07:00Well, let's head back and let's talk some numbers.
07:02All right.
07:03All right.
07:04I'm confused.
07:05I don't understand the purpose of this space.
07:06It really just looks like a big storage unit.
07:08There's no way this is cost efficient.
07:10Everything they do in Sweet Bee, they can do in Sweet A.
07:13So what are your biggest expenses?
07:15Our biggest expenses here at the bakery would be the rent.
07:20How much is the rent?
07:21$3,300 a month.
07:23Is it $3,300 for both?
07:24For both of them, yes.
07:25And then we have our brand new ovens, which we have here.
07:29Yes.
07:30All shiny and new.
07:31And did you have to do anything to get the space up to bar?
07:34Yes.
07:35Yes.
07:36We had to do a lot.
07:37It was a dance studio beforehand.
07:38Okay.
07:39We hired a plumber.
07:40He ran gas.
07:41He ran the water from the back to the front.
07:43And what was the total cost?
07:44So we poured about $50,000.
07:47$50,000 is a lot of money to spend for a small business owner.
07:51It would have been smarter for them to find a location that had previously already been a bakery or a restaurant.
07:57Do you know what your business debt is?
08:00Business debt is around $30,000.
08:03Okay.
08:04What was your income last year?
08:06Not enough.
08:07Oh, it was straight poverty.
08:10You know?
08:11No, really.
08:12This last year, my salary was $17,000.
08:17Yolanda, she's at 22.
08:20Okay.
08:21I saw the look, but that's the reality of it.
08:23So why does she get 22 and you get 17?
08:25Well, that's a decision that I made.
08:28To give her more, Yolanda has a family.
08:32Payroll has been the biggest conflict.
08:37Just the other week, I knew we had not made enough.
08:40So I ended up paying her $1,200 and I paid myself $10 because I don't want to see her and her family going without, especially the children.
08:53I feel like it should be split evenly.
08:56That's how I feel.
08:57But you have kids that I love.
09:01And they need to be taken care of.
09:07So it's just a sacrifice, you know, to help, you know, the family out more.
09:12If it means any of the other children can do some of the things that they want to do, I'll eat noodles.
09:18How does that impact you?
09:20Does that hurt you at all?
09:21Does it hurt me?
09:22Well, yes, of course it hurts me financially.
09:24Yes, it does.
09:25Is there any time you've gone without basic needs?
09:27What about medical expenses, medical needs?
09:31Yes.
09:32Health insurance?
09:33I don't have health insurance.
09:34It's cheaper for me to pay when I do need to go to the doctor out of pocket.
09:37OK.
09:38Yeah, I'm just grateful that, again, I'm not having to have, you know, some type of medical procedure, major or minor, where I would have to pay a deductible.
09:46But what happens if you do?
09:48Well, then we could just cross that bridge when we get there.
09:53And I'm going to say this.
09:55Faith is something that's really extremely important to both of us.
09:59I just believe that God is, he's going to always make a way, regardless as, you know, what the situation looks like.
10:06Which I 100% understand, respect.
10:08OK.
10:09And I just want you to know faith and financial discipline can't coexist.
10:12Yes.
10:13OK?
10:14I'm going to try to combine those two to find an approach that's going to work.
10:19That sounds great.
10:21OK.
10:22Well, I want to give you some homework.
10:23OK.
10:24In addition to submitting your detailed financials to me, I also want you to go through this Money Moves Makeover Workbook and really just focus on step one, which is identifying your values.
10:37And start coming up with your short and long-term goals.
10:40OK.
10:41All right.
10:42I'm excited.
10:43It was nice to meet you all.
10:44It was nice meeting you, too.
10:45It's very nice to meet you, too.
10:46Calling Leah to come in and help us with our business finances, I definitely feel like it was the right move.
10:52I guess I can take my apron off.
10:55We have literally been praying for advisement because we know we don't have all the answers to that.
11:01You know, she's an answer to our prayers.
11:03Until next time.
11:04All right.
11:05We'll see you next time.
11:06Bye-bye.
11:07Deidre and Yolanda are like many entrepreneurs.
11:10They want to turn their passion into profit, but they really don't understand the fundamentals of actually running a business.
11:16However, I want to help them increase their revenue and achieve their financial goals.
11:20Oh, they have some examples.
11:22We can get started on this.
11:23Do you all have a budget?
11:25I don't have anything to budget.
11:28We have been making pennies.
11:30It's been rough.
11:31It is a shared commercial kitchen space.
11:34We feel like it would not be ideal for us.
11:36We can't jump at everything that everybody is saying to do.
11:43Click, click, go.
11:44Who's that?
11:45I don't know.
11:46Been in this game for a minute.
11:47True that.
11:48Let her know.
11:49We got fired.
11:50We don't quit it.
11:51Easy call.
11:52Easy call.
11:53Hi, Deidre.
11:55Hi.
11:56After going through the business financials, I have a complete picture of the predicament that Deidre,
12:01Yolanda, and the business are in.
12:03Good to see you again.
12:04You too.
12:05We have a lot to talk about, but hopefully they'll be able and willing to make big changes.
12:12We had homework.
12:13So how did that go?
12:14We agreed on five values for ourselves.
12:18Faith, of course.
12:19Family.
12:20Discipline.
12:21Consistency.
12:22And integrity.
12:23Okay.
12:24Yes.
12:25And what about the goals?
12:26So for business, we did those together, of course.
12:29And so for short term, we said we definitely want to pay off our debt.
12:34And another short term goal was to be able to pay ourselves a decent, livable wage.
12:41Is there a monetary value attached to it?
12:43In my last career, which I had been for 22 years, my salary had gotten up to about $80,000.
12:50So if it was something comparable to that, at least it would be where I left off.
12:54Got you.
12:55Like everything going forward needs to have a monetary value attached to it.
12:58Look, we tired of playing.
13:01Tired of being broke.
13:02Yeah.
13:03Oh, I'm glad to hear that.
13:04Yeah.
13:05And my goals, I just really want to spend more time with my family.
13:12I mean, I don't really get to see them that much.
13:14That's kind of the point of doing this, right?
13:15Yes.
13:16Exactly.
13:17And I need to lose some weight, OK?
13:19Because, I mean, you know, I'm thicker than a snicker, but I
13:23need to get on down a little bit.
13:25Well, I did a little homework of my own.
13:27OK.
13:28Thank you for sending over your financials.
13:31Let's have some little boxes for you.
13:34OK.
13:36So go ahead and open.
13:39And tell me what you see.
13:41Sprinkles.
13:44Dig down in there.
13:45Dig in?
13:46Yes.
13:47OK.
13:50Is this fake, or is it real?
13:53Ooh.
13:54The Lord really answered prayer.
13:58I see your big head home, you're real.
14:00Oh, OK, it's not OK.
14:02I don't like sprinkles.
14:05At all.
14:09This stack here represents your personal and your business
14:12debt, which is about $100,000.
14:14And this is your take home pay, which is about $40,000.
14:21So you've been trying to make this $40,000 stretched to not only cover your expenses, which isn't even
14:25included here, but also the debt on top of your expenses.
14:28Mm-hmm.
14:30How does that feel, or what are you thinking?
14:32It feels like it looks.
14:33Mm-hmm.
14:34It does.
14:35Yeah.
14:36Like stretching $1, you know, trying to make $1 out of $0.15, you know.
14:43We have been making pennies.
14:45It's like we've been trying to do something about it.
14:47It's just been hard financial times.
14:50Looking through the finances, I didn't see anything, any house payments coming out.
14:54Oh, from me.
14:56I saw this day coming where I would not have enough money to perhaps cover my mortgage.
15:02So I called my mortgage company and had a conversation with them.
15:07We talked about some options.
15:09I selected the forbearance.
15:10I'm going to do that for three months until we could, you know, just try to, you know,
15:16bring in more revenue with the bakery.
15:18I learned a lot about Deidre once I looked at her personal finances.
15:21Her personal debt is about $74,000.
15:24And that doesn't even include her mortgage, which is $150,000 that she's not paying at all.
15:30The business is carrying debt of about $30,000.
15:33So when you combine that $30,000 plus Deidre's $74,000 in personal debt, she's over $100,000 in debt.
15:41Have you possibly considered house hacking to reduce your living expenses?
15:46And what house hacking is, is basically renting out a portion of your home.
15:50That's something that I did when I was getting out of debt.
15:53Is that something that you would consider?
15:55No.
15:58Absolutely not.
16:04I've had two family members to live with me since I've been in this home.
16:08And it was not a good experience.
16:10And I thought that that would help me financially, but it ended up hurting me.
16:14It's not something that's on the table for me to consider at all.
16:17And for me, my house is being hacked.
16:20By my four kids.
16:26Well, let's turn to your business finances.
16:29From looking at Yolanda and Deidre's monthly expenses, I can see why they're not able to make a dent in their business debt.
16:35Their monthly revenue is $11,600.
16:38Their monthly expenses are about $10,000.
16:41This leaves them with $1,600 a month, but most of their profit is going towards their $30,000 of debt, leaving them very little to pay themselves.
16:50How did you choose the storefront that you chose, and why did you choose it?
16:53Well, we knew we wanted to be in Dallas.
16:55We wanted to be in a community where there were people who looked like us.
16:59And it was a very, very reasonable price at the time for what we felt like we could afford.
17:05Has it increased or is it still the same?
17:06No, it's increased about $600, $700.
17:09All right.
17:10Do you all have a budget, a personal budget or a business budget that you stick to?
17:15I mean, I don't have anything to budget.
17:19You need some money to budget.
17:21Yeah.
17:22We do have a budget here.
17:23Okay.
17:24And the money moves makeover workbook that you can begin utilizing.
17:28And if you have any questions, just let me know.
17:30And I want you to see, if possible, where you can allocate funds to marketing so that we can try to get your revenue up.
17:36I know you do social media, but do you do any other type of marketing?
17:40No.
17:41No other real marketing.
17:43Okay.
17:44And also, we're going to look into some bookkeeping.
17:47Sometimes what I suggest to my clients is I'll come in and I'll set up their accounting system for them,
17:52show them what to do, and then I'll come in quarterly and tell them where they need to make changes.
17:57And I have a whole presentation that I can show you how to do that as well.
18:00Okay?
18:01That sounds great.
18:02All right.
18:03My plan for Yolanda and Deidre is to reduce their overhead expenses because the two spaces that they have are not serving them.
18:10Increase their income by raising prices.
18:12Change their marketing strategies.
18:14Get them to create and stick to a budget for their business.
18:18And teach them some bookkeeping skills.
18:21Until next time, thank you so much, ladies.
18:23All right. Thank you.
18:25My sisters called me in to help them.
18:27I thought they'd be more receptive to my solutions, my advice.
18:31However, I'm really concerned because Yolanda and Deidre seem very resistant to anything new.
18:37But this is not a good business mindset.
18:40You can't get stuck.
18:41I did a little research, and the average price of a cookie in this area is about $5.
18:48And Yolanda is $2.50.
18:50So that's something, again, that y'all may want to reconsider because they're worth it.
18:53I've had them.
18:54I've had several.
18:55Raising our prices will potentially price some people out.
18:59But just because we love our customers, it does not mean the financial burden should fall on us.
19:13Hi, ladies.
19:14Hey.
19:15Where are you going?
19:16How are you today?
19:17I'm good.
19:18How are you?
19:19Good to see you again.
19:20You too.
19:21I think.
19:22We'll see.
19:24Well, we have the ingredients that you asked us to prepare for the seven to a pound cake.
19:29OK.
19:30Kind of interested to see how this is going to work out.
19:33Yeah.
19:34Leah has asked us to get these items or these ingredients ready.
19:40But we don't know exactly what it is we're going to be doing with them.
19:44But, you know, we're going to let her do her thing, and she's going to let us do our thing, and it's going to be a nice collaboration.
19:49We are going to bake a cake.
19:51All right.
19:52OK.
19:53But we're going to bake with a twist.
19:55OK.
19:56With a twist.
19:57The recipe is basically going to be a metaphor for your budget.
20:01OK.
20:02Or the lack of a budget.
20:03OK.
20:04The ingredients will represent your expenses, and the cake basically represents your business.
20:09After meeting with Yolanda and Deidre and going through their financials, I can tell that they have some blind spots in their operations.
20:15I'm using one of their own best-selling desserts to show them exactly what's happening with their finances.
20:20So the first thing we're going to do is add our sugar in.
20:23So the sugar represents your overhead expenses.
20:26I think we need a little more sugar.
20:28You have quite a bit of overhead expenses like that sweet next door.
20:31Wow, that is a lot of sugar.
20:32It is a lot of sugar, Leah.
20:33OK, next we're going to add in the butter.
20:35OK.
20:36OK.
20:37I think we need one more stick of butter.
20:38So the butter represents your ingredients in inflation.
20:41And we all know that the cost of food has gone up significantly, and your prices have not.
20:46So you're literally baking in a loss with each sale.
20:49So let's put one or two more sticks of butter.
20:51Oh, Lord.
20:52So much butter.
20:53Now let's see how the attachment will go in.
20:56And we're going to turn it on.
20:57OK.
20:58And while that's creamy, I'm going to go ahead and crack the eggs.
21:01OK.
21:02How many eggs?
21:03We have six eggs here.
21:04So for the eggs, let's do two.
21:06That represents your marketing.
21:08So we're going to do a little less than we need.
21:11This is very interesting, Leah.
21:13This is actually going to spill out.
21:15Do it faster.
21:16Because that's what happens when you don't have a budget and you're operating in chaos,
21:19and you don't really have a strategy or a plan.
21:21Operating your business without a budget makes it easy to mismanage cash flow and overspend.
21:26This is not a good business model.
21:28Is this the flavoring?
21:29It is.
21:32All right.
21:33This is your interest on your lawn.
21:34Oh, my gosh.
21:35OK.
21:36So I think the flowers should represent your labor.
21:39Because I know you all pour a lot of time into your business.
21:43So I think we'll put this and maybe, like, one more bowl of this.
21:47OK?
21:48Even though I understand the metaphor, that is not how I would describe what's going on with us.
21:54We're not just completely out of control.
21:57So the purpose of this was to show you what happens if you don't follow a plan.
22:01Mm-hmm.
22:02So the metaphor was the recipe is your budget.
22:05OK.
22:06And so if you're just winging it with your budget, it's kind of like winging it with a recipe.
22:10You would never do that, right?
22:12You would never do that.
22:13Mm-mm.
22:14Mm-hmm.
22:15So I just wanted you all to really see a visual of how well you manage your recipes and your products that you produce.
22:21You want to do the same with your business operations, your financial operations, your financial management.
22:26Does that make sense?
22:27Yes, it does.
22:28OK.
22:29It makes a lot of sense.
22:30The price of a cookie in this area is about $5.
22:33Mm-hmm.
22:34And it always is $2.50.
22:35Mm-hmm.
22:36Yes.
22:37So that's something, again, that y'all may want to reconsider because they're worth it.
22:40I've had them.
22:41I've had several.
22:42Yes.
22:43I'm going to have more.
22:44We definitely agree with you.
22:45We're just trying to keep it affordable for people, you know, being afraid to lose existing customers.
22:51You're losing money.
22:52So either way, it's a loss.
22:53Yes.
22:54You're already losing.
22:55You're losing everything else by increasing your prices.
22:57Yeah.
22:58And just a personal story, I did the same thing with my accounting firm.
23:00So my prices were average.
23:02Mm-hmm.
23:03And I knew I wanted to increase them because the ROI, the return on investment, just did not make any sense.
23:07Mm-hmm.
23:08And I had this one client, and I knew, like, I should charge her a lot more.
23:10And I wasn't going to do it, but something told me to do it.
23:12So I doubled the price.
23:13Mm-hmm.
23:14And I just knew she was going to walk away.
23:15No, she signed a contract immediately.
23:16Yeah.
23:17She didn't care.
23:18Mm-hmm.
23:19She did not care because she knew the services that I provided were worth the value.
23:22And sometimes if you're too low, people think, what's wrong with it?
23:25You know?
23:26Mm-hmm.
23:27Really, you have given us a lot to think about.
23:28Mm-hmm.
23:29We have to keep considering what Leah is sharing with us.
23:31But raising our prices will potentially price some people out.
23:35But we're paying more when we go to the grocery stores.
23:38And just because we love our customers, it does not mean the financial burden should fall on us.
23:44Right.
23:45Wow.
23:46Girl.
23:47Now that is a mess.
23:48Mm-hmm.
23:49Wow.
23:50That's a mess.
23:51This is what it's supposed to look like?
23:52Yes.
23:53This is a mess.
23:54Y'all let me know how it changed.
23:55Come on, you can get the first place.
23:56Y'all let me know how it is.
23:57We'll be sure to bring you a piece when we see you later.
23:58See you later.
23:59All right.
24:00See you later.
24:01On the holidays or during special events, you can do pop-ups.
24:04I absolutely loathe pop-ups.
24:06I don't want a pop-up anywhere.
24:08For me, that's a non-negotiable.
24:11But I think most of us are more understandable.
24:16I'll do it.
24:17And try to make a girl feel responsible.
24:21Hi, ladies.
24:22Hi.
24:23Hi.
24:24How are y'all?
24:25Doing great.
24:26Doing good.
24:27How are you?
24:28Good.
24:29Yolanda and Deidre have got to make some adjustments, or their business will continue to be a sinking
24:32ship.
24:33All right.
24:34I don't know what this is, where we are.
24:36No.
24:37No?
24:38All right, well, let's go in and check it out.
24:39All right.
24:40They've built something beautiful,
24:42but to keep it alive, they have to think strategically.
24:51I brought you here to Ms. Gina's.
24:52It is a shared commercial kitchen space.
24:56Ms. Gina used to be a restaurant,
24:58but they transformed it into a commercial kitchen
25:02to help local small businesses, such as yourself.
25:07Shared commercial kitchens are becoming much more popular,
25:10especially businesses looking to get their product out
25:13into the market, without the hefty overhead
25:15of a brick-and-mortar store.
25:16You can rent them monthly, weekly, daily, even hourly,
25:20and provide the same quality product
25:22without any hassle or maintenance.
25:25So here they have refrigerators and another set over here.
25:30They have an oven that appears to be similar to the oven
25:33that you all have at your store.
25:35OK.
25:36Triple sinks over there.
25:38And so the reason I brought you here is we talked about reducing
25:42your overhead expenses, and this is one of the quickest ways
25:45to do it, either getting rid of one of the suites
25:49or moving into a shared commercial kitchen.
25:54I'm agitated, and I am not going to go in a shared kitchen.
26:02This seems like we're taking a step back.
26:05When I started one of my businesses, I jumped in 100%.
26:10Did not work out.
26:11So what I did was I went back to work, paid off my debt,
26:14created a nest egg savings, and then I came back harder
26:17than ever, stronger than ever.
26:19I know you love nursing.
26:20You love education.
26:22So maybe that's something that you all
26:23would want to consider.
26:26Essentially, what I'm proposing to Yolanda and Deidre
26:29is retrenchment.
26:30It's basically when a struggling business reduces overhead,
26:33closes storefronts, and liquidates assets
26:36to get back on track financially.
26:37If the sisters remove the cost of rent
26:40and everything associated with it,
26:42they could focus on paying down their debt
26:44and increasing their savings.
26:45And yes, that may mean that they need to return
26:48to their previous jobs temporarily
26:51so that they can rebuild their finances
26:53and stop hemorrhaging money and get medical insurance.
26:57You know, going back to education for me at this point,
27:00it's not something that I'm interested in.
27:02That means maybe I would have to go back to nursing.
27:04I'm not sure that I'm willing to do that.
27:06I just don't know.
27:07And maybe what you can do is on the holidays
27:10or during special events, you can do pop-ups.
27:12So you're increasing your profit by increasing your revenue,
27:16but also significantly reducing those expenses.
27:18I absolutely loathe pop-ups.
27:20I'm just going to tell you, I do.
27:22I agree.
27:22We feel the same way.
27:24Quite frankly, I don't want a pop-up anywhere.
27:28We have an address, and people can drive to us.
27:31Why?
27:32What is the thought process behind that?
27:33Well, it's just a lot of work to make something,
27:37and then transport it to another location.
27:40You don't know what the business is going to be.
27:43You don't know how many customers you're going to have.
27:45It's really unpredictable.
27:46To me, it's more unpredictable than the expectancy of the customers
27:51that we have right now.
27:52For me, that's a non-negotiable.
27:54I don't want to do pop-ups.
27:55And the first thing I felt when we started talking about the shared space here,
28:04your kitchen is like your sanctuary.
28:08It's your domain.
28:09We don't have anybody else's stuff in there with ours.
28:12We don't have to try to figure out when somebody else is renting the space.
28:17And right now, if we want to go into our bakery at 2 o'clock in the morning, we can.
28:21We can.
28:22We have already set the atmosphere in our space.
28:27We pray in there.
28:28We cry in there.
28:30We laugh together in there.
28:31That's where our creative juices flow also.
28:34So moving into a shared space, we feel like it would not be ideal for us,
28:40because that's somebody else's vibe.
28:43Just to address some of your concerns, they do have kitchens where you can rent your own room
28:48so that you're not sharing with other people.
28:50And you can have your own dedicated space.
28:52And that would still cut your overhead expenses.
28:54Reducing overhead is definitely something that would be nice.
28:58You know, we do want to cut costs where we can, especially in today's economy.
29:02Would you be willing to get rid of one of your suites, maybe suite B?
29:06We've actually had that conversation before, because that would save us money as well.
29:11Right.
29:12But we just still, we just need to have more conversation about, you know,
29:17whether or not we really want to get rid of it.
29:20OK.
29:20I don't know.
29:21I just feel like I've been caught off guard.
29:22We need more time to talk about it and think about it before we make any final decision.
29:28Take some time to think about it, and we will regroup later, OK?
29:31OK.
29:33I'm concerned, because I'm offering all these solutions to their problems,
29:36and they don't want to consider them.
29:38I think it's uncomfortable for them.
29:39They don't like change.
29:40Bye, ladies.
29:41Bye-bye.
29:42But all this pushback on every idea, I'm not here to force anyone to do anything.
29:46We can't jump at everything that everybody is saying to do.
29:51And again, I like, I really do appreciate the help.
29:54I just wish, like, come and walk a mile in our shoes before our final assessment as to
29:59what's going on or what you should be doing.
30:01Yes.
30:01Yes.
30:02Yes, absolutely.
30:02Yeah.
30:03Even right now, the numbers that we know exist, they say, stop.
30:10Go back to education, you know, do something else or whatever it is, get a shared kitchen space.
30:17They say quit right now, but that's what faith is to me.
30:21Faith is, like, hoping for something that I don't see.
30:25God has never failed me yet.
30:27And so if I continue to trust in him, I know that everything is going to work out all right.
30:33Hey.
30:35Yawanda and I have these friends, and we want to see what they have to say about what it
30:44is that's going on.
30:45Yes, you have dreams, but right now, that's going to bankrupt you, right?
30:49Hmm.
30:53Let's go, let's move, let's go, let's move, let's go, let's move, let's go, let's move.
30:59Can't nobody do it like me, can't do it like you.
31:02Baby, because we going to dig in, honey.
31:04Because who hungry is me?
31:06It's the small ones that are the eaters.
31:08What?
31:08It's girls.
31:09Hey.
31:10Hey.
31:11Hey.
31:13We didn't get the memo until we were wearing ruffles today.
31:15Yawanda and I have talked to each other about so much, but we have these friends that we've
31:22known for many years, and we decide we want to see what they have to say about what it
31:27is that's going on.
31:28So how you been, girl?
31:29Girl!
31:30You know life be doing the number, but we here, baby.
31:33Every day.
31:34Every day.
31:36What about you?
31:37Where y'all been?
31:38You want to start?
31:40Well, yes.
31:41I'll start.
31:42The last several days, we've been very busy.
31:47Y'all probably did not know this because it's not something that we talk about, but we have
31:52been having some serious challenges financially in our business, and so we're actually pulling
31:58from our personal finances.
32:00So we reached out to a financial advisor so that she could help us with that.
32:04We went on a field trip, and we went into a commercial kitchen.
32:09It was a shared space.
32:10Yep.
32:11That was something that was presented as an option to us.
32:14Also, perhaps doing pop-ups.
32:16And we were like, um, no, we don't know about that.
32:19All right.
32:20Pop-ups.
32:21Isn't that something that we do?
32:23First, I was kind of having a problem with it because, you know, like, you don't really
32:27know us like that.
32:28You know?
32:29Number one, right?
32:30Right.
32:31You don't want to do pop-ups because it will take you away from the bakery or because
32:35it's too much work.
32:36It is a lot of work.
32:37You know, we would have to bake, transport those items to another location.
32:42They may or may not sell.
32:44Stuff like that could potentially do numbers.
32:46You never know.
32:47Mm-hmm.
32:48So, one thing I will tell you, if you want to stay top of mind for people, you got to
32:53stay top of mind.
32:54That's true.
32:55Right?
32:56Being out there is currency.
32:57People need to see you, hear you, see what you're doing.
33:01How can I use them?
33:02So, what are the other options?
33:03I heard you say pop-ups, right?
33:05Commercial kitchen.
33:06Was there anything else?
33:07The bakery is where we're operating from.
33:10Okay.
33:11But we also have space B.
33:12We use it as storage space.
33:15We can do classes over there.
33:17Whenever we do our videos, we're sitting in those big chairs.
33:21And so...
33:22What was the goal of that second space?
33:24To use it for those types of things.
33:26Mm-hmm.
33:27I think, just knowing you guys, like, the space where you actually bake, that's where
33:32your heart is.
33:33Like, yes, you have dreams, and yes, you want to do things.
33:37But right now, I think that maybe just letting sweet B go, if that's going to allow you to
33:42keep baking, you know, you sometimes have to sacrifice a limb to save the whole.
33:47Yeah.
33:48What else did the financial advisor say that could be viable?
33:51One suggestion that she had was going back to work.
33:54Like, going back into education and nursing.
33:57And so, we were like, who are you talking to?
34:00Right.
34:01That part.
34:02You said we were doing that?
34:03Right.
34:04No, ma'am.
34:05So that's not an option.
34:06So that's off the table.
34:07Well, is it off the table?
34:08You know, like, one of the main reasons why I decided to get out of that is when I was
34:16diagnosed with breast cancer.
34:18And having a medical illness such as that will make your priorities shift.
34:24Yeah.
34:25And it gives you more of a sense of urgency about life and how you're going to live the
34:29rest of your life.
34:30Returning to education, I would just feel like I am going back on the things that I
34:38promised myself.
34:40And I don't know if I'm willing to do that.
34:44I commend you for taking those courageous risks.
34:47But I do worry.
34:48You know, y'all are self-employed.
34:50And so, you know, I'm married to someone that's self-employed.
34:52So I know what comes with or does not come with being self-employed.
34:55And that's insurance.
34:56I love it.
34:58So just, you know, what are next steps?
35:01So I'll say this.
35:03If I were paying a medical insurance premium this year alone, I would have spent more
35:07money on insurance premium than I would have just going to the doctor paying out of pocket.
35:13But you should, at the very least, maybe consider a catastrophic policy.
35:18Say you leave here today, God forbid, you're in an accident and you're in the ICU for a month.
35:22That's going to bankrupt you, right?
35:25Hmm.
35:26But just look into it.
35:27That's going to cost money that I just don't have right now.
35:31Literally, I don't.
35:32This is so hard.
35:35Right now, it feels like I'm in a wilderness.
35:41This year, we're going into our, you know, fourth year in the business and we need to revisit
35:49our business plan.
35:51You know, we need to modify it and we don't know what we're going to do about it.
35:56Right now, I don't see any other way out.
36:00The math just isn't mathing.
36:02We could be two steps away from the breakthrough that we have been praying for.
36:19Hello.
36:20Hello.
36:21How are you?
36:23Doing great.
36:24I haven't seen Yolanda or Deidre in a couple of weeks.
36:28I'm eager to see if they've implemented any of my feedback.
36:31How have you been?
36:32Busy.
36:33Okay.
36:34Yes, we have been.
36:35As you can see by the workbook.
36:36I see.
36:37Lots of notes.
36:38Have you made any progress?
36:41Yes, we have.
36:42Okay.
36:43We really do want to keep our space, you know, the one space.
36:46Okay.
36:47And we don't foresee giving up, you know, our bakery, but we've put a lot of thought
36:52into the Sweet B. And we feel like that would be a really good decision for us to just
36:58really let that go at this time.
37:00Congratulations.
37:01I'm happy to hear about getting rid of Sweet B.
37:03Mm-hmm.
37:04That will reduce expenses by about $1,300, right?
37:06Mm-hmm.
37:07What about the business model in general?
37:09How are you going to generate more revenue?
37:12We reopened again on Wednesday.
37:15And about how much additional revenue do you bring in on Wednesdays?
37:18Anywhere from $800.
37:19Mm-hmm.
37:20To $1,000.
37:21It's an improvement from where we've been, right?
37:24Okay.
37:25Um, another thing that we, um, say that who we're going to do is raise our prices.
37:30Yes.
37:31So that will definitely bring us more revenue.
37:34Okay.
37:35Good.
37:36I'm so happy to hear about that.
37:37Yes.
37:38And bookkeeping.
37:39That's something that I do want to provide to you all to help you keep your finances organized.
37:46I'm glad you all made these choices.
37:48I always talk about small wins.
37:50But you're still kind of at a break-even point, right?
37:52You're still not able to pay your basic living expenses, let alone your business expenses.
37:58I don't see any other way out.
38:01The math just isn't mathing.
38:05Um, well, I would like to just push back just a little bit on some of the things that you mentioned.
38:12Okay.
38:13Respectfully.
38:14We're going to go back to our core values, right?
38:16Mm-hmm.
38:17I feel strongly about faith over everything.
38:20I just believe that God is an on-time God.
38:22Mm-hmm.
38:23And if we keep doing the things that we're doing, he's going to make a way where you don't see a way, right?
38:28Mm-hmm.
38:29It's just the financial piece that, you know, we have to work out.
38:32So I just think it just requires a little bit more time.
38:35We're not going to give up because we could be two steps away from the breakthrough that we have been praying for.
38:42You know, you...
38:43Can I tell you a personal story?
38:44Yes, you can.
38:45Okay.
38:46I was in the same situation.
38:47Mm-hmm.
38:48I started this business, and it really took off in the beginning.
38:52Mm-hmm.
38:53And then it just kind of fizzled out.
38:54But I kept holding on because of that initial opportunity.
38:57And I hung on for about three years.
38:59Mm-hmm.
39:00And so at a certain point, I just said, okay, God, I know you put me here for a reason.
39:03I don't know why, but when it's supposed to happen, it'll happen.
39:06Mm-hmm.
39:07And when it popped, it popped.
39:09Yeah.
39:10Harder than ever.
39:11So I understand the faith part is what I'm trying to say.
39:13Yeah.
39:14I'm not discounting that at all.
39:16We're putting our faith in God, and we know that he's going to get us to the next level.
39:21Okay.
39:22This has been a wonderful experience.
39:24It's been very eye-opening.
39:25And just learning the importance and value of not only the business, but also of ourselves.
39:31Yes, absolutely.
39:32Yeah.
39:33We know we are going to be successful.
39:35Mm-hmm.
39:36Absolutely.
39:37And even when we fall down, we don't stay down.
39:39That's right.
39:40We get back up.
39:41Right?
39:42Well, I will be checking in in a few months.
39:47And if you've made progress, great.
39:50And if not, would you be open to other options or something from that point?
39:55Of course.
39:56Yes.
39:57Definitely.
39:58Yolanda and Deidre have had a lot of wins.
39:59Cutting costs by eliminating Sweet B, raising prices, which will raise revenue, increasing
40:05their business operating hours, and they're willing to learn foot keeping skills.
40:09All these things are steps in the right direction.
40:12You all have made progress for sure.
40:15And I want you to know that I am very proud of you all for that.
40:20Yes.
40:21And we still love you.
40:23Even though I know that more changes need to be made to make their business profitable,
40:30as an entrepreneur, it's true.
40:31You have to have faith and belief that you will succeed.
40:34We appreciate you.
40:35Absolutely.
40:36Right.
40:37But along with that, you need a business model that will truly sustain you.
40:40And when it doesn't, you have to be willing to pivot.
40:42Next time on Maxed Out.
40:57This represents your debt.
40:59Richard has nominated his sister Krishna.
41:01Here's her personal ATO.
41:03How much do you think you owe?
41:04Who's counting?
41:05Apparently no one.
41:06I created a monster.
41:08Richard inviting a financial coach in my business right now is kind of pissing me off.
41:14You got to live within your means.
41:15I'm just a girl.
41:16You're going to be a homeless girl.
41:18This is all one big joke to Krishna because Richard's always been her safety net.
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