When Life Deals You Unexpected Blows: Turning Loss into Lessons about Time and Money
Hello, everyone! πππΌππΎ We're all given the same 24 hours in a day. How we choose to spend that time can make a big difference in our future.
It starts with awareness.
Today, I want to share with you how one Latina, Mercedes Gomez, CPA, turned devastating experiences into lessons on how to live life more fully. She'll explain how they affected her career choices. She'll also answer the following:
π΄ Questions to answer in your business plan
π΄ Why resources matter, not just money
π΄ What she advises for those of you who want to quit your job right now
π΄ Please subscribe here to show your support for my independent, positive, business-related newsletter with a Latino perspective.
π΄ Here is Mercedes Gomez, CPA...
EARLY EXPERIENCES CAN BE PROFOUND INFLUENCES LATER
Mercedes Gomezβs early memories of her childhood are full of love, unity and a family coming together to make it in this world as entrepreneurs.
βMy parents owned a pharmacy and a hotel. And I was very involved with the operations, from getting cash in the register to changing towels or handing things to our guests in the hotel.β
Gomez remembers going with her parents on eight-hour trips to Lima, the capital of Peru, to stock up on supplies for their businesses.
AT ANY MOMENT, DEVASTATION CAN OCCUR; ARE YOU PREPARED?
And, then, at the age of 9, Gomezβs world was shattered.
βMy mom passed away. And, as a result of her passing, the family businesses completely turned. My family was under great financial stress because of my momβs medical treatments. And the businesses went under.β
Just like that.
Pure joy: Mercedes going on a trip with her parents to get supplies for their businesses
THE TIP JAR (tips provided courtesy of Mercedes Gomez)
STARTING OUT: βIf you are pursuing an idea, either an idea that has been proven or not, you need to have a business plan.β
Mercedes Gomez says these are some of the questions youβll need to answer in your business plan:
-What services are you going to provide?
-Who do you want to work with?
-How much do you need to be able to provide the services?
She reminds us that βyou can find business plans online that are very detailed and are free.β
STEEPED IN SKILLS (mid-career): βFor someone who has a family, I think itβs important to speak to your spouse.β
βMany times, when weβre single, we can just eat rice and beans and kind of [bootstrap] ourselves. But when it comes to having a spouse and children that expect a certain level of resources,β she says itβs different.
Gomez intentionally uses the word βresourcesβ instead of βmoneyβ because she says, βI like to look at families as teams. And someone needs to watch for the nutrition of the rest of the team. And someone needs to watch for the care of the rest of the team.β
STARTING OVER: βI really get a lot of people that just want to quit their job right now. And they canβt handle it [anymore]. They donβt want to deal with it anymore. And they want to jump ship. No plan. They just want to get outβ¦ I advise against that, until thereβs a plan to transition out.β
PRACTICAL APPLICATION ON βTRANSITIONING OUTβ: βMaybe cutting back your current full-time career to maybe part-time. And slowly cutting back on one side to give that time and energy to the other sideβ¦ Transition one into the other.β
IβLL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN: When Gomez first started her business, she would be approached by potential clients.
She says, "I would give them pricing, and they would come back with a lower amount. And they would want to go back and forth with me about my services and my pricingβ¦ Those relationships were difficult at the beginning and were difficult throughout the relationship. I really learned to say βnoβ to clients that did not see my value and needed to have that back and forth with me.β
BEST ADVICE FROM βLA CASAβ/BEST βHOUSEβ ADVICE: βMy dad always said to save moneyβ¦ He would always remind me to make sure that Iβm saving my money.β
Mercedes with her sisters, who practically raised her after their mom passed away
PROCESS PROBLEMS WITH AN EYE TOWARDS LEARNING LASTING LESSONS
Her mother's death and the ensuing loss of the family's businesses left Gomez with probing questions she tried, as a child, to understand.
βWhy, if we were doing so well, how are we now on the other side of the coin?β
It made her ask questions about savings and long-term financial planning.
Fast forward ten years. Gomez moved to the United States and was studying accounting.
She then started her career.
ASK YOURSELF, HOW WELL ARE YOU SPENDING YOUR TIME?
But it was in her second job that something, once again, rattled her.
She enjoyed contributing to her team at work. Gomez was working, specifically, with two bosses. She says they had a great work ethic and loved their families. In short, she loved working with them.
βAnd, within one year, they passed awayβ¦ It was an incredible shock for me because I didnβt see it coming. I was working with them on a daily basisβ¦ And, as I attended their servicesβ¦ I could see these families in front of me. And I realized, wow, these people spent more time with me at the office than at home with their families.β
That stark realization of how we spend our lives and our limited time on earth renewed that fire inside of her.
She had to figure out how she could start a business of her own.
SAVE YOUR MONEY WHILE FIGURING THINGS OUT
Gomez thought about it for a year. At the same time, she saved and saved and saved. Enough so that, when she decided sheβd open her own business, she could cover her basic expenses for a year, if she had no clients.
She started her financial planning & personal finance business, Intentional Health and Wealth. Some of her first projects involved bookkeeping. But she knew she wanted to make it into much more. Gomez wanted to be able to teach others to plan for the long-term, offering, for example, money coaching workshops.
BE PROACTIVE; LEARN TO CREATE YOUR OWN ENVIRONMENT
Looking back, those precious early days with her parents became βa huge partβ of her everyday life. βWithout knowing, my parents taught me to create my own environment.β
She learned through her experiences, βWe are not exempt from lifeβs downturns and, maybe, health issues or what not. And even though Iβm not waiting for itβ¦ I prepare myself to have the resources I need ifβ¦ I need to step back from whatever Iβm doing. And I teach my clients also to have those emergency funds and those plans in place, so that not only themselves, but the people around them, can be taken care of.β
Today, as she travels with her husband while they run their separate businesses, Gomez thinks back to her mom and dad.
βI didnβt realize how much I loved visiting other places and, at the same time, kind of learning from my environment and putting it back into my work. And I think that I can make a direct connection to how I lived with my parents when I was young.β
INDUSTRY: Financial Planning/Personal Finance
STARTED BUSINESS: August 23, 2019
LATINO/HISPANIC CONNECTION:
Born in Peru
Parents were born in Peru
EDUCATION:
Florida Atlantic University β Masterβs degree in Accounting
Florida Atlantic University β Bachelorβs degree in Business Administration (Accounting) and International Business/Trade/Commerce
DREAM JOB AS A KID: βI wanted to be an actressβ¦ I didnβt want to be an actress, like on TV or in the movies. I wanted to be an actress in a theatre, speaking in front of peopleβ¦β
BIGGEST GOAL YET: Gomez says sheβs been working with clients helping them save, get out of debt and get their finances in order.
βMy next big goal is to help them β bring them to the next level β which is investing and building wealth... long-term.β
To help them, sheβs educating herself and working on her own investment portfolio.
βSo my goal is to build a large portfolio that I can use as evidence of what my clients can accomplish.β
NO NEED TO GO IT ALONE
HELP ON THE OUTSIDE...because we can all use a helping hand:
No Hard Selling
No one likes the hard sell, regardless of whether youβre the salesperson or the one who has to hear it. Learn from entrepreneur Ramon Ray in this FREE webinar how, as a small business owner, educating your customers can spur sales and build loyalty. This is part two of a four-part series.
SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) Orlando
βYour Marketing Roadmap β Stop Selling and Start Educatingβ
Thursday, July 7, 2022
Virtual Webinar
FREE
https://www.score.org/event/your-marketing-roadmap-stop-selling-and-start-educating
WORKING ON THE INSIDE...because we know our culture has a hard time asking for help:
Planning: Doing It Right
Are you a good planner? I know thatβs not my strong suit. I could stand to get a few pointers. If that sounds like you, listen up! This FREE webinar is important because good planning is something that is not only good for business, itβs good for helping you achieve personal goals and objectives. This workshop will tackle the planning process to increase your chances of executing your goals. Plus, youβll learn accountability tips for the action part of the process.
SBDC (Small Business Development Center) University of North Florida Chapter
βPlanning to Succeedβ
Thursday, July 14, 2022
11:00 a.m. EDT β 12:00 p.m. EDT
Online Webinar
FREE
INSPIRATION FOR THIS ISSUE:
It takes most of us well into adulthood to realize just how precious our time is. How that affects our career choices and financial decisions varies.
But imagine being 9 years old and faced with your world being turned upside down with the death of your mother.
For Mercedes Gomez, she was at an age where she was old enough to understand what was going on, but not old enough to really understand the full impact of it or to make choices about it.
As she got older, that experience, as well as the sudden death of her two bosses impacted her relationship with money and how she spent her time. I would argue, it fundamentally altered how she viewed options available to her.
It reminded me of a quote that comedian Chris Rock said that always seemed profound to me: βWealth is not about having a lot of money; itβs about having a lot of options.β
And, in the end, what you want in life are options. You never want to feel like youβre doing something because βyou had no other choice.β
May your life always be filled with many options β options that return the power back to you.
Memories: Little Mercedes just outside her parents' pharmacy in Peru
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π΄ Thank you for your time and support. I'm grateful. Wishing you a safe 4th of July π½and a productive and happy week.