She’s just launched a #1 best-selling book! Do you know the difference between sales, profit and revenue in your business? Have you ever sat down and been intentional about what your profit looks like and, more importantly, what you want it to look like? In today’s episode of the podcast, I chat with Money Mentor Clare Wood about her new best-selling book, Intentional Profit, and what you need to do in order to break down your mindset challenges when it comes to money in your business to become more intentional.
Introduction
Welcome to Episode 57 of the Hayley Osborne Show. Today I bring you my lovely friend Clare wood. As a guest on the podcast. Clare and I have been friends for just over three years now. And to introduce Clare was actually my very first business coach. She has been on the podcast before. And now I’m having her on here again as my epic guest because she has so much to share. She has been bringing so much value into the world of business. And I am so excited to have Clare join me today. She is just releasing her very first book bestselling book mind you called intentional profit. And if you didn’t know about Clare, just quickly before we get into the episode today, Clare Wood is a money mentor, author, speaker and podcaster. She’s a qualified accountant and a CPA, but she’s not your average bean counter. She uses her money-making mentoring powers for good. Clare helps service-based businesses to scale. While creating a lifestyle, they love Clare wood runs the profit Academy, an online school created to help business owners increase their profits exponentially. Clare is amazing. I love her. And without further ado, let’s get into today’s episode.
Transcript
Hayley Osborne:
You are listening to the Hayley Osborne show with me, Hayley, your host. This is your place to learn how to become the superhero marketer in your business to become the number one in your local community, both online and in your surrounding areas. Every week, I’ll be teaching you how you can achieve the best out of your marketing your business and be the most fearless superhero version of yourself. Small business owners are the backbone of the economy. And I’m here to demystify local area marketing to help you reach more customers, between myself from South Australia. And my wildly inspiring guests from across the world. I’m so excited to discuss all things marketing your business with you. I believe in you. So, let’s get started. Hi, Clare, and welcome to the podcast. I’m so glad you are here to celebrate.
Clare Wood:
It’s such a celebration. I’m sorry, we had to push record because I think we would have just spoken and spoken and I’m so excited to talk to you again,
Hayley Osborne:
Ah, you’ve been on the podcast before. But for those people that are listening that are new, I would love everybody to know who Clare wood is and what she does.
Clare Wood:
So I’m Clare wood. I’m a money mentor. And I help business owners to skyrocket their profits through what’s money management, which is like business finances and a money mindset. So I’m actually a qualified accountant, but I’m a cool one. That’s what I tell them. And I love teaching people about the foundations of profit because in the online world, everyone talks about sales and 10 figures and you know, six figures and all those things. And I really love to empower business owners to actually really understand the nitty-gritty of finances. And I’m also a big believer in the power of a money mindset and really understanding you know what your stories are around money and how it might be holding you back. So that’s me.
Hayley Osborne:
Wow. And also, you left off one thing. You’ve just released a very much sought-after Amazon. Number one best-selling book. Intentional profits is still in presale. Yes. Wow. Wow. Hello. Oh my god. Amazing.
Clare Wood:
I just got goosebumps when you said that. I think it’s really hit me if that makes sense. And as soon as you said that I was like I felt a bit of impostor syndrome and also a bit like, wow, that’s really cool.
Hayley Osborne:
Because it is really cool because you put in the work.
Clare Wood:
Yeah. And there’s been lots of valuable marketing lessons through this process as well.
Hayley Osborne:
I bet. So you want to tell the listeners a little bit about intentional profit, what it’s about who it’s for, and why we should all get our hands on one.
Clare Wood:
Yeah. So, this book is like a culmination of the work that I do. So basically, it’s about being intentional with your business. And what I find a lot is that people sort of like spending money and they’re like, oh, my gosh, I didn’t know that I’d spent so much and not really having a clear plan for what it is that they are doing. So, in this book, I break it down and show people how to actually like create a plan, like create a budget for your money, and how to kind of work through the limiting mindset beliefs that come up along the way. So, it’s kind of this. It’s like a woven story of my life where I’m at now what I’ve been able to manifest and create in my own life, and importantly, how the readers can do that for themselves as well. I’ve written it in a very practical way so that at the end of each chapter, there’s like an agenda for you to actually go on and work through so that you can take the actual learnings from the book, go and implement it into your business, and really help to grow your profit, because that’s what I’m all about.
Hayley Osborne:
Yeah, and honestly, just from obviously, we’ve known each other for a few years now. And you were my very first business coach, and you just come to the party with so much practicality and so much actionable steps. I honestly didn’t expect anything less out of a book like this from you because you genuinely want to see business owners do well because we all have a place to succeed. And I know that through my years of being in business if when you make more profit in your business, you have more choices with what you want to do. And that choice creates a massive impact. And you can help other people more and it just flows on. And that’s what you’re all about. And I just love that about you so, so much.
Clare Wood:
And the same you know, the work that you’re doing is just incredible. I love love, love watching your journey, and I’m cheering you on every single step of the way.
Hayley Osborne:
You’re like my biggest cheerleader. Thank you so much. All right. So, I want to talk to you about money. So let’s talk money in business and the difference between revenue and profit. Because it’s a very what’s the word? It’s very fancy; they’re fancy words. And they’re words that are used very like flippantly in business when that’s what pays your bills. Like that’s what puts money on the table. And I think it’s romanticised when it probably shouldn’t be, and a lot of things in business I think to romanticise but this is where you go into business into your zone of genius, right? Whether you are a bookkeeper and accountant running a business of your own, a marketer like me, a hairdresser, like whatever you’re going with that, but you don’t like go in as an accountant, like you just have, you’re forced to do that. So, you’ve got to upskill yourself. So, let’s talk about that. Because I think it’s really important. My initial question was about revenue and profit.
Clare Wood:
Everything you said, is completely appropriate and relevant. And I’m so glad that you shared that because this is the thing, we don’t really learn finance skills, both in business and in our personal lives, right? Like, it’s not something they teach us at school. And so, I found it really interesting. Because I come from a background in accounting, I worked in big, multinational global corporations. And when I go into the small business world, people like, I made $100,000 in sales. And I’d be like, how much profit? And I’m like, why do people not share this? And I’m like, it’s so different to big business, where like yourself numbers kind of just this secondary number that gets mentioned. But yet, when I asked most of my new clients, how much profit they make, they’ll say, Oh, I made 300 grand last year, and I got awesome, how much profit and they go? And they don’t know. And I’m like, Are you paying yourself a wage? Like, what wage do you make? And most business owners can’t answer that. And this is why I’m really passionate about this work. Because your profit is like the money you get to keep, it doesn’t matter if you made $100,000 If you spend $100,000, because you ain’t got nothing left. So, you know, this is what the premise of this book is about. It’s about, it’s not about cutting costs at all. It’s just about like being intentional, being like spending your money in a smart way, with a focus on long-term profit. And, you know, I speak about this a lot in the book about how sometimes you have to make decisions that in the short term, like cost you money, and you might go backwards a little bit, but ultimately, it’s about your long-term growth, profile, positioning, marketing, you know, all of those things.
Hayley Osborne:
It’s the same as I guess, hiring a coach for example, like yourself, if you want to work one on one with you, for example. And same as me, there’s an investment there. And most people I say most a lot of people well, why do you want to spend that money if you talk about it in your social circles and things like that, but what they don’t realise is it’s an investment that will traject Steeply your business like never before, and I find myself saying that time and time again, is that it’s worth the investment. So that’s the difference I guess on how to save money, how to spend money, where to invest money, and what are you wasting money on. Where’s money leaking out, like? It’s intentional profit, right? It’s all intentional.
Clare Wood:
Yeah, exactly. And there’s actually an Example I share in my book, which is about how, like, if I was super focused on my short-term profit, you know, there’s an example I joined a mastermind I was making about, I can’t remember the exact numbers, but off the top my head like $10,000 a month, I paid this three, you know, about $3,000 a month. And some people would look and be like, why would you spend so much money? But then like, that was the investment that took me into my multi-six figures, you know, I was consistently having 30,000, all the months at the end of the mastermind. And it’s like, Whoa, I never would have got there if I hadn’t spent the money gone backwards short time term. So and you know, yes, not all investments are good investments as well, like, sometimes we make mistakes, or sometimes we invest, and we don’t show up in the right energy. I know that that’s happened to me as well. I’ve worked with a fantastic coach. And I just wasn’t implementing the stuff that my coach was giving me. And so I didn’t have the income breakthrough. So yeah, it’s the tapestry of our learnings,
Hayley Osborne:
And as a coach money mentor, us, someone that has always invested in yourself, since I’ve known you, you’ve pretty much not gone without a coach, a mentor for yourself, like, so do you think that practice what you preach is really important as well in that regard? Or is it more because you just, you know, that there’s things to learn? Always?
Clare Wood:
Yeah, and look, I mean, I want to be clear about this. I don’t think that people have to have a coach to do well in business. Like, you know, I think sometimes that people like, they go, I there’s no way I can be successful without a coach, or you can be. But however for me, I love to have that sort of support. I’m forever learning forever growing. And you know, when I’m called to work with someone, you know, I love to lean into that investment. And, you know, it’s been some of the biggest and most transformational pieces of growth that I’ve had working with someone who was supporting me and guiding me on the journey. So yeah,
Hayley Osborne:
I want to talk to you about mistakes because you work with all sorts of different people, what is the number one common thing mistake that you see business owners make? We might have, we might have covered this, but I wanted to ask you that specific question because you would say commonalities along the way.
Clare Wood:
I think the biggest thing is like it comes down to money. It comes down to people not being across their finances. And, you know, I’ve worked with people making over a million dollars a year who like, are so stressed about money because they don’t know what’s going on, you know, people online, you’d look at and be like, Oh, my gosh, they’re super successful. When you dive into the numbers, you’re like, you know that you’re like, oh, $250,000 to the Tax Office. And this is the thing that I think a lot of people just get scared and overwhelmed. And tying into all of that, of course, is a money mindset like this work. I can’t stress it enough. You have to work on your mindset. I know that you would say this in the space of marketing as well. Like people, they get all caught up in their heads and don’t take action. And it’s like, ultimately, at the end of the day, what you’re believing is what you’re creating. So, if you believe I am building and creating a hugely successful business, that’s what you’re gonna do.
Hayley Osborne:
Absolutely. And I have a little mantra that done is better than perfect. So perfect is good, but Done is better. Because, you know, you will do it. And then you’ll realise how to do it better later. Or you’ll realise that you like me, you know, I remember starting this podcast, thanks to your help. And if I look back at the very first couple of episodes, compared to now, my confidence and my ability to like roll with the like, follow the bouncing ball and roll with it is far greater. And that’s only from doing it and putting myself out there and continuing to feel uncomfortable as hell to get to this point. So I love that. I love that now. What is the number one tip for business owners listening right now to know their money? Better? What would you say?
Clare Wood:
I would say go and learn the skill. If you aren’t a qualified finance person, go and learn. I have a course you could check out it’s called the profit Academy foundations. Go and work with your accountant or do another course. But learn the skills like you can’t. It’s like with marketing, like if someone’s like how do I market and you’re like we have to learn like this. And learning from a professional is just a fast track to growth. So I would say go and get out there. You know if you want to do it in a low-cost way grab a copy of my book. I talk about some of the foundations of business finance, but it’s a skill that we’ll pay again and again and again.
Hayley Osborne:
And money is a sexy thing when you are educated on your money. It’s you feel so much more internally powerful, because you’ve got the ability to choose and go right coffee today or not today, or, you know, invest in a business coach right now or wait a couple of months or and it’s just, it’s so it’s such a liberating feeling. So since I’ve known you, and since we’ve worked together, your Clare wood has gone from strength to strength. Absolutely. And what do you think? What have you kept doing consistently to create the success that you have? Now? I think you’ve always been successful. However, you know, what is that thing that you attribute to? That? Is it? I’ll let you answer that.
Clare Wood:
So I’d say two things. Firstly, consistency. You know, I say this to my clients. I’m like, every single week, I send an email to my list. Every single week, I produce an episode of my podcast, and it is extremely rare that there’s a day when I’m not on Instagram stories. And I think that that builds a lot of trust because people see you consistently showing up. And this is something that I see sometimes who will come in with marketing like they’re like a bull out of the gate. And they’ll write three emails in a week and be on Instagram, and you’re like, why am I not a millionaire yet? And I’m like; it takes time, like, I’ve been doing this for seven years. And marketing consistently, I’d say for probably five, consistently showing up on my various platforms. And I’m like, It’s not that sexy, like consistency. But it is very effective, particularly if you’re wanting to go to a long-term, trustworthy brand. So that’s the first thing. And the second thing is having absolute clarity around who I am. What I do, like my brand, is very, very clear. And I think for years. I didn’t really know that, like, I was kind of just trying to find my feet. And now like, I’m the money person, like, she’s all about profit. She’s an accountant by trade, like, money mindset, but, you know, like, my look, my feel. There’s a lot of, again, consistency, like people can know, like, can come to know what to expect with me, like they know what I’m going to be talking about. And I think this is the thing that sometimes I see on both of those fronts is the inconsistency with how they’re showing up. This does not mean like, you do not have to sit on Instagram 24/7. It is not that. But it’s just about having a consistent presence. And I’m sure you’ve had brands. I know people I follow and they’ll drop off for like four months. And then suddenly, like, I’m back, and I’m like, I mean, it’s something big happens in life. Fair enough. But I might, but then we now don’t trust if you’re going to keep, you’re not going to disappear again if that makes sense. So that’s one thing. And the second thing is not being clear. Like sometimes I see someone I’m like, pull up their vibe, and I’m like, What the frick do they actually do? Who do they work with what? And you’re laughing? People probably can’t see. But it’s true, isn’t it? Like, clear about what you are, who you serve? How do you help people? How do you expect your audience to feel that clarity?
Hayley Osborne:
Yeah, that’s right. And your website, your branding, your everything is shit hot right now. It looks amazing. Your website is just beautiful. And you know what, like, I think it’s just your personality and everything. It fits beautifully. And it’s just like a match made in heaven. And it you know, it does take time to get to that point. For those of you that are listening at the moment, if you’re thinking about starting a business like you can’t compare your one to someone else’s 20, You have to go through the Muddy Waters to be able to figure out what that looks like for you. Because if you are trying to be like somebody else, I guess the end product will be a massive failure because soon enough, you’ll feel disconnected. And if you talk if I talk to you, if I message you, if I read the words on your website, if we catch up, it’s just clear wood all the way. It’s awesome.
Clare Wood:
Authentic. is just, that’s where it’s at. I had someone who came along to my retreat about this time last year. And she just had like, she’s got this bold squarely really fun personality. And I’m like. You seem like a completely different person on Instagram. And she’s like, well, you don’t have to be professional. I’m like. I like this person better. And just be you because you’re awesome just the way you are. And, you know, the more that she stepped into her power, she’s attracting the right kind of people and repelling the wrong kind of people. And I said to her like, imagine what would happen if someone you know, like I in my early days on my podcast. I never swore on my podcast because I’m a mum and I like always thinking people have kids in the car. But then I remembered I worked with the client one day, and I’m like, I’m not a big Swearer. You would know that. But every now and again, I might drop, you know, a swear word in. And anyway, I said a swear word. And she just looked at me with horror, and I realised she’s never heard me swear before. And so I realised at that point I need to be more authentically me. Because otherwise, like, I don’t want someone to get really shocked. Not that I sweat a lot. Like, it’s pretty infrequent. But, you know, they need to know that sometimes I do or that might be coming. If we’re coaching together.
Clare Wood:
I’m becoming, might be coming. Know, it might just pop out. But it was really a beautiful lesson to me in really continuing to step into that authenticity. And yes, some people are going to be repelled by that. But your people are going to be attracted to it. You know, I love watching you talking about mum life, and you know, sharing the real parts of it as well. And people are gonna resonate and connect and be like, Oh, my gosh, thank you. Yes. And yeah, the people who aren’t your people aren’t, you know?
Hayley Osborne:
That’s so funny. I know, the mum life thing. I’ve had to really come to terms with how I’m going to visit that because first baby, everything kind of crumbled because my world wasn’t the same anymore. And I forgot or didn’t know who I was and how I was going to show up. And then coming into baby number two, because I had that fear around. I dropped the ball. But that was just because it was a huge life change. And baby number two was so different. I just cruised through. I had like backed up weeks worth of work in advance. I was able to be a mum. My business still works, and I still showed up as me. And then it just kind of blended and that, yeah, that’s how I want to come into this year with a little bit more. No, I’m not going to coach on being a mum or anything like that. But that’s my life. Yeah, that’s what makes me me. So I’m not going to shy away from that either. Because I had a massive fear of, I guess, not attracting, like people that don’t have children or men as well. And, you know, that was another thing. I’ve had a lot of, like, no future in my social media or my brand, but I’m a girly girl. And I was like, You know what, I can’t continue like this. So now there’s a bit popping up here and there because, you know, I wanted to attract both men and women. But now it’s just, you know, it feels a lot better. And my advice is to just go with the flow.
Clare Wood:
So and people who like your vibe, I used my tagline used to say business coach for women many years ago, and I would still have men reach out and say, Hey, would you be open to coaching? And I’d be like, Absolutely, like I’m not, you know, I’m not judging someone based on their gender. And it made me really realise that people who like your vibe won’t mind like they’ll be like, like I had pink, I had the word women, but the right kind of people were like, Yeah, I’m here for that. I’d love to work with you. So yeah, being yourself.
Hayley Osborne:
What’s next for Clare wood?
Clare Wood:
Well, the book is I really am now in the stages of really launching this book properly. On Tuesday, I’ve got a podcast episode coming out which is called how I accidentally became a best seller. And it’s a little bit tongue in cheek because, obviously, it was very intentional that I wanted to be a bestseller. It’s been on my vision board. It’s been something you’ll see that on the post that I did about it had hashtag bestseller is one of the hashtags before Roe before it becomes, Yeah, a bit of manifesting magic in there. But what I was expecting was the presale period. So I’ve got weeks of marketing coming up. And I was expecting that this period of time would all be building up to launch day, which is what I hoped that I might chat about. And then my publishers like you’ve gone best on I’m like, what No, no, like, I mean, I mean pre-sort of any time on social media posts. I’ve got all these posts I haven’t done yet. I haven’t. I still haven’t told my email list about the book yet. No, you haven’t. I’ve got so much more coming. And so for me now, I’m like I really like rather than it be a flash in the pan. I’d love the idea that I get to keep that momentum going, keep it in the charts that hopefully, I get to reach a lot more people through this book and the message inside and Yeah, and just continue to momentum for it.
Hayley Osborne:
Yeah, you’re going on tour as well.
Clare Wood:
I’m considering Adelaide. I have had a couple of people DM me and be like, Why aren’t you coming to Adelaide? But look at the moment; I’ve only got one place locked in, which is Brisbane, my hometown. And not that I live there anymore, but it was, so I’m starting with that and then I’m going to sort of see how it goes. Um, you know, obviously, the more places that I can come to, the better it’d be. It’d be fantastic to get down to Adelaide. I love Adelaide.
Hayley Osborne:
I know, if I was able to, like, bring not. If I was not breastfeeding, I would be flying. So that’s the reason but I would love I will see you one day soon. If you don’t come here, I’m coming to you.
Clare Wood:
I can’t believe we haven’t met each other. I know. I feel like we have known each other like, I’ve seen you. So reach out. But I always find it’s kind of funny when you meet. I’m like, I’ve met, you know, online best friends in real life. And people, I’ll give you a heads up people often, like you are so short. So, you know, sometimes the vision that you have of someone online is a little bit different from when you see them in, in real life.
Hayley Osborne:
I am so tall, 5’10 and a half. So I’m like, Yeah,
Clare Wood:
I look at extra short. I remember I met my old coach Ruby one day, and her name is Ruby Lee. And for some reason, it always envisaged her being quite short. And she’s actually really quite tall. She towered over me. Yeah, it was really unusual. And she’s like, Oh, you’re very short. And I’m so I must give off tall vibes online. But, um, yeah, it is always interesting meeting people in real life, and I cannot wait to give you a big hug.
Hayley Osborne:
I know. Okay, so the next thing is, how can people work with you? What’s next? How can they work with you? Aside from obviously buying your book? Where can they find you? I think they know where they can find you. But please, please give us the rundown. And if there’s anything that you have that would be helpful for people to download to get a taste of what they can expect from you, please let me know.
Clare Wood:
Yeah. So there are two ways that people can connect with me. The first is via my website, which is Clarewood.com Or come on over to Instagram @Clare_wood_coach. There is a tonne of ways that we can work together I do VIP days, and I do private coaching. I have a really bougie retreat happening this year. It’s going to be next-level, epic. I’m getting goosebumps even thinking about it. This is going to be the most amazing retreat that I’ve ever run. And what else I’ve got my course I’m about to launch another course in a couple of month’s time, which will be a mindset course. Obviously the book, there is a multitude of ways that we can work together. So please come on over to Instagram or my website. And let’s connect
Hayley Osborne:
Awesome Clare. It’s been so lovely of you to come on the podcast. Thank you so much. And I will see you soon.
Clare Wood:
See you soon. Thanks for having me.
Hayley Osborne:
I hope you’ve enjoyed listening to this episode. Make sure you have hit subscribe so you don’t miss any new episodes released every Tuesday. And while you’re there, leave me a review. I would absolutely love to read it. Also, don’t forget to tag me @Hayleykosborne over on Instagram and share this podcast with your audience so they can get learning too. If you want more, head over to Hayleyosborne.com.au/podcast for today’s show notes and links. I’ve also got an awesome free eBook, a new one waiting for you on my website, the 10 Essentials every local area marketing plan needs, and I will catch you next week for another episode of The Hayley Osborne show.
Links
Clare Wood’s New Book- Intentional Profit
