Meet Martha: Business Mentor & Health Coach
Martha is truly a powerhouse! She does it all while maintaining focus on mindfulness and health in all components of her life- she does see them as separate from her business but makes sure they go hand in hand each and every day! Martha is an Attorney, business owner, health and wellness coach, AND a business finance expert! She empowers women, in particular, to take control of their finances for their business- read on to find out the turning point that made all of this come to fruition for her!
Tell us about who you are you and your journey to where you are now!
I have been an attorney for the last 34 years and for 25 of them I have owned a Legal/Financial Trust where I assist bankrupt debtors to reorganize and repay their debtors. I am not their attorney but an administrator between the parties and Bankruptcy Court. The Trust is a business with employees and regular business expenses. After seeing so many businesses fail and running my own business, I started another business helping women in Network Marketing to develop business systems in order to push their plateaus and grow their income.
2. What is the mission of your brand? How does it empower women?
My mission is to show women that they can be proficient at business finance- That they are worthy of growing their business income. For too many generations, women have bought into the narrative that they aren’t business leaders and can’t manage money well. That is simply not true. I have programs to help women change their money mindset and implement a simple system to take control of the finance side of their business. With the proper tools women don’t have to rely on anyone else to understand their income and expenses.
3. What is the biggest challenge you’ve had to press through as a female entrepreneur and what are steps you’ve taken to overcome it?
I became an attorney in 1986 at the age of 26. Very often I was the only woman in the room, especially when I was appointed to my current position in 1995 at 35. Being taken seriously has always been a challenge in my field. Early in my career I decided I was an authority and I knew what I was doing and I made an effort to project that image. I would spend hours studying and reading, implementing, and making mistakes but I never gave away my authority. Right or wrong I was the decision-maker and supported my decisions with data and legal citations. So often women shy away from expressing their thoughts and use qualifying terms such as “can I just say” or “I’m sorry”. I do not use qualifiers because the men in the room don’t.
4. What advice would you give to a female entrepreneur in the beginning stages of launching her brand or business?
First, you must know yourself - what drives you, why are you doing this, what is your special message that only you bring to the world? We all have a superpower and it’s only a superpower if we know it and embrace it. Spend time figuring this out through reading and journaling.
Second, open a separate bank account for the business and only you should have control over it. Sign all your own checks and only if there is an invoice for the item. Be careful with expenses and only buy things that will move the business towards your goal.
Third, track your income in detail every time you earn it. This will helps you set your marketing topics, goals, and strategy. I have a simple Income/Expense tracking sheet in my IG bio @fit_boss_lady.
Fourth NEVER APOLOGIZE FOR YOUR BUSINESS.
5. What sets your brand apart from others?
There are very few women out there talking with women Network Marketers about how important the finance side of their business can be to achieve their income goals. The data they collect will help them develop an overall strategy including the use of social media to market.