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Tabatha Jones: Welcome back to the Intentional Next Act. I'm Tabatha Jones, and if you're new here, welcome. This is where we talk about career, business, money, reinvention, and figuring out what the hell comes next. Today, I am joined by my friend Felicia.
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Tabatha Jones: Founder of Adventuring Planning, she helps business owners and professionals navigate the financial side of entrepreneurship, including financial planning, taxes, retirement, and sometimes scary transitions from a corporate paycheck to working for yourself.
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Tabatha Jones: Which makes her the perfect person for this conversation. Because you all know I'm constantly telling you to build before you bounce. So today, we're talking about what you need to do with your money while you're building the business. Felicia, welcome to the Intentional Next Act.
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Felicia Greenwald: Thank you for having me. It's great to see you.
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Tabatha Jones: Oh my gosh, I'm happy to have you here. And friends who are listening, Felicia and I, we met, I believe, on LinkedIn about a year ago and just kind of loved each other's vibe and started connecting regularly. So usually every month, kind of chatting about life, what's going on, anything we're struggling with, supporting each other.
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Tabatha Jones: And one of the things I share with women as they're getting ready to leave their corporate role for entrepreneurship, which a lot of my clients are doing.
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Tabatha Jones: I do like to raise that awareness that entrepreneurship can be a bit lonely. In corporate, you're surrounded with people all day, you're running from meeting to meeting, you're probably traveling, you're busy, you're doing all those things. And when you get out into the entrepreneurial world, you're going, oh my gosh, where is everybody at? Am I just going to talk to my dog all day?
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Tabatha Jones: So, Felicia and I really bonded on this, and we love catching up.
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Tabatha Jones: So, Felicia, tell us a little bit about what's going on in your world. I know you're in this kind of tech space, we were just talking about it being extension time, so what's going on in your world?
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Felicia Greenwald: That it is, yes. In terms of what's really going on is exactly, like, first things first is helping my clients right now with getting all their taxes wrapped up so that I can finally feel done with the 2025 tax season, which is so funny because.
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Felicia Greenwald: Because I spend so much time looking at tax stuff and what happened, and then the other part of the time looking at forward looking things, I'm always in between a few years. So I'm, like, looking at 2025 things, and I'm forgetting what year I'm even in right now.
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Felicia Greenwald: It'sā¦ so it's funny to say, oh, we should start already planning for 2027, where I'm already sitting here thinking, oh my gosh, we're, like, almost done with 2026, and I'm still touching 2025 stuff. So that'sā¦ that's the first thing we're working on, uh, and also helping some people with some year-end projections.
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Felicia Greenwald: And staying on top of if we need to make some estimated tax payments, which we can definitely dive into a little bit more, because I think estimated taxes, once you get out of corporate, areā¦
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Felicia Greenwald: confusing, to say the least. And then, um, planning a trip. Right after, right after, uh, October 14th, we're actually going to Japan and Korea again, so I'm excited for that.
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Tabatha Jones: Wow! Oh my gosh, I love this so much. And I also loveā¦
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Tabatha Jones: and I'm sure you love this too, the best part of being an entrepreneur is you can take a vacation. You don't have to get the approval, you just have to have the approval from your bank account.
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Felicia Greenwald: I don't have paid time off, but yes, exactly.
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Tabatha Jones: Exactly. Oh my gosh. So, you know that most of the women I work with are starting a business on the side while they're still employed. And I absolutely love that. I never want a woman to quit a job and go all into entrepreneurship.
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Tabatha Jones: without really doing some experimentation while they still have a paycheck. When the option's there, of course.
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Tabatha Jones: Um, so a question for you, as we're talking to these lovely ladies, is financially.
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Tabatha Jones: What do you tell women that they should be doing before they ever think about leaving that corporate paycheck behind?
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Felicia Greenwald: Super, super awesome question. I think the biggest thing that we talk about when we're planning, and I'm totally on the same boat with you, where you should probably think about it for a little bit longer than you might feel comfortable with, just because it does give you more opportunities to.
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Felicia Greenwald: plan and to put some things in place, because there's a different conversation between, okay, I want to quit my job and start my own thing and doing it all on the same day, and then I want to quit my job.
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Felicia Greenwald: But Iā¦ I know that I need to set some things up before that. So, when you're thinking about it, when you're still working, it gives you so much more flexibility. Soā¦ because for me, too, it's like, you don't want to take on the wrong clients. You don't want to take on work that you don't want to do that.
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Felicia Greenwald: Because you're already doing work right now that you don't want to do, so why would you replace it with more work that you don't want to do?
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Felicia Greenwald: So I always think that that transition period is so nice. So what people call, like, taking on a side gig or, like, a hustle project or something like that. It's it's so nice to do that when you still have that consistent paycheck.
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Felicia Greenwald: And so the first things financially that you're trying to think about are, OK.
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Felicia Greenwald: What would make me happy to replace this?
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Felicia Greenwald: this income, and because you could say, Hey, I'm making for monetary sake $100,000. Do I need to completely replace that $100,000? And how long is it going to take me to do that realistically? You do want to start thinking about creating some cash flow runway, as we call it.
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Felicia Greenwald: So that if you do end up completely leaving and want to not work your current job, you want to understand, okay, how much do I actually have to survive off of? And it can also be looking at expenses to make sure that you're not incurring any expenses that would blow through that runway quicker.
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Felicia Greenwald: And then if you have ā a lot of people that I talk to have stock compensation. So they're receiving compensation through employer stock, whether it's restricted stock units, stock options, employee stock purchase plans.
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Felicia Greenwald: Those can have a different tax consequence depending on how much money you're making.
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Felicia Greenwald: And, of course, can also have, um, a different purpose if you stay versus if you leave. And sometimes that can also help people with launching their business, because.
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Felicia Greenwald: for the most part, people don't look at it. That's, like, the biggest thing that I see with people, is they're just not looking at things, which is a pretty big pattern along the monetary aspect in our finances. It's like, oh, that can keep waiting. Oh, I don't need to look at that right now. Oh, you know, those kinds of excuses that we make. Soā¦
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Felicia Greenwald: Even just looking at it, making a plan for that too, and using it even as a launch pad for a business, that could be a totally viable option.
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Felicia Greenwald: That probably helps a little bit with that question.
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Tabatha Jones: Yeah, I'm sitting here smiling, because it brings back memories of our very first conversation, because one of the things that I doā¦ I am not a financial advisor, I say this all the time, I want to make sure, you know, I never have a little lawsuit come in my way. I don'tā¦ I'm not a financial person, but I am a money person, andā¦
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Tabatha Jones: coming up with what I call your freedom number dives into a lot of what you just talked about. And I have clients work on this with their financial advisor, their CPA, their financial planner, someone like you.
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Tabatha Jones: If they don't have one, absolutely. We need to get some people to check in with you. Um, but really checking on those, what I call revenue leaks. I mean, we have expenses we pay for every month on a credit card that we never look at.
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Tabatha Jones: And I'm pretty good at looking at them, but I just ran my credit card through again and found another two expenses that are, you know, it's not huge, it's $78, but $78 a month times 12 months times however many years I've been paying for it.
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Tabatha Jones: So, looking at those financial leaks, um, I had a client once who was paying for three gym memberships. She only used one, and I'm like, that's thousands of dollars a year that wereā¦ or $1,000, $1,500-ish, a year that we're recovering thousands of dollars over the five to seven years she was paying for those gyms.
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Felicia Greenwald: Mm-hmm.
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Tabatha Jones: Umā¦
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Tabatha Jones: And then there's a lot of expenses tied with going to work. When I think about how much more I spent on gas and tire and oil and coffee and lunches and dinners and all the things that come with that.
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Tabatha Jones: wardrobe, my White House black market status. Um, all of those things, right, that we need to really look at, get serious and honest about. So, I love that you helped them look at this aspect of it in even a deeper way, and with a stronger lens.
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Tabatha Jones: Because it does make a difference, andā¦
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Tabatha Jones: I think you might agree with me on this. Does everything cost a lot more than you expected it to when you're in this world?
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Felicia Greenwald: Everything. I feel like everything does, and I think that itā¦
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Tabatha Jones: Everything.
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Felicia Greenwald: it can be surprising, but I also think we need to be very diligent, especially.
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Felicia Greenwald: Especially as if you're like me, like, I trust people, and I'm not, like, very skeptical of people, and I think that in the beginning, when I started my business, that was against me, because when you start your business, you're going to start to get.
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Felicia Greenwald: a lot of advertisements selling you services, selling you things that are going to help you grow your business by x amount of dollars. And I did fall for one of those in the beginning. I've learned a lot since that experience.
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Tabatha Jones: I wish I'd only fallen for one.
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Felicia Greenwald: Thankfully, right, it's like the one and the only, right, like, hopefully, and you want to just be very, very cognizant about those types of things that sound too good to be true.
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Tabatha Jones: Oh.
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Felicia Greenwald: Where people are selling you, again, I think the biggest red flags are, we'll help you grow your revenue by, you know, $10,000, $100,000, $1 million in X amount of time. Like, no one can guarantee that. No one can say that.
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Tabatha Jones: Yeah.
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Felicia Greenwald: They're going to be able to help you with something like that. Butā¦
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Felicia Greenwald: you're excited, you're looking to start your business, you're looking to help it replace your current salary, and you think, hey, like, these, you know, they're good salespeople, and they they convinced me. Maybe they can help me. So just being very.
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Felicia Greenwald: very diligent with any sort of.
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Felicia Greenwald: things that come up that definitely sound too good to be true. That'sā¦
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Felicia Greenwald: that, I think, can help you not spend money on things that you don't need to spend money on.
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Tabatha Jones: Yeah, it takes a little bit of rewiring, right? Coming from corporate, I was in corporate, I know I'm a lot older thanā¦ a lot older than you? A little bitā¦ I'll say I'm a little bit older than you. Um, I spent a really long time in corporate leadership. So, you know, if there was a problem, we throw money at it. We bring in a contractor, we get a new tool, we get new tech, we do whatever, a.
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Felicia Greenwald: Nothing.
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Tabatha Jones: And I took a bit of that mentality with me and thought, well, if I don't know how to do this, I need to hire someone who does.
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Felicia Greenwald: Mm-hmm.
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Tabatha Jones: but didn't understand the importance of alignment. Has this person ever really walked in similar shoes? Has this person any idea what it's like being in your 50s and starting this after all of that corporate training and programming and success?
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Tabatha Jones: Or are they coming at it with a, yeah, I'm happy to couch surf for 10 years because I started this at 22 and I have a good back still and I don't need expensive skincare. I'm like, no, that's not, that's not how we operate. And then there's a lot of really gorgeous influencers with really beautiful professional photo shoots at beaches and poolsides and in this beautiful clothing that look like they're crushing it.
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Tabatha Jones: And then we go and we hire this person and they might be crushing it. Some of their clients might be doing amazing.
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Tabatha Jones: But the fit isn't quite there, soā¦ I agree, you have to be really careful, and I've shared stories with how much I've spent on wrong things, which has beenā¦
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Felicia Greenwald: Mm-hmm.
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Tabatha Jones: I mean, we were talking about my new book earlier. It's literally one of the things that prompted me to write my book. I'm like, if I can save someone 10, 20, or more thousands of dollars with a $15.99 book.
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Felicia Greenwald: Mmhm.
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Tabatha Jones: That's what we're gonna do. We're gonna help women start smarter. And I say women, I know you work with men and women too. I do too. I always say I work with women and a few lucky men. Um, but generally a lot of my marketing and program is geared toward the tendencies women have. So that's why I.
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Tabatha Jones: I keep saying women, so for a listener, just kind of clarifying there.
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Felicia Greenwald: Yeah.
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Tabatha Jones: Um, so let's kind of pop over to a different kind of question. So, somebody has their first client and thought, oh my gosh, I have a business.
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Tabatha Jones: what should they do with that very first dollar, that very first payment, so they don't end up calling you next April saying, saying, oh my gosh, Felicia, I think I messed up?
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Felicia Greenwald: That's a very good question, too, and one that I see a lot of people kind of accidentally doing. Even myself, being in this world and a business owner, kind ofā¦ I stumbled upon it even, too, where I thought I was always going to be working for people, and then decided, hey, never mind, I can do this for myself.
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Felicia Greenwald: And when that happens.
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Felicia Greenwald: you have like a complete shift in what you need to be tracking, and how you need to treat every dollar going forward, because the biggest shift definitely is taxes, and when you receive a paycheck.
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Felicia Greenwald: you have all your taxes taken care of, you fill out, you know, one or two withholding statements, and you just get your net salary and you move on, you know, you contribute to your company's 401K, you contribute to a health insurance plan that your company is helping pay for, and then you.
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Felicia Greenwald: Want to switch things to being on your own?
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Felicia Greenwald: So I always try to recommend at least it's gonna sound like a lot, but holding at least 40% into some sort of tax account because even if it doesn't all go towards taxes.
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Felicia Greenwald: we could even, while you're doing your tax return, put some of that money into saving for your future self. So, it could be that you only owe 20% on taxes, or 25%, and that other 20-15% you can save for your future, because.
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Felicia Greenwald: The thing about having a business, too, that I think some people lose sight on is like, OK, why are we starting this business? It's not just because we hate our corporate job, but because we still want to create options for ourself. We want more flexibility.
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Felicia Greenwald: to spend with our spouse, we want more flexibility to spend with our kids, to spend with our dog, to go travel, whatever it is. And soā¦
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Felicia Greenwald: If you are receiving money, and you're not saving some of it for what you're working towards, and you're just putting it all back in the business, or whatever it is.
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Felicia Greenwald: What are youā¦ what are you getting out of it?
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Felicia Greenwald: So, even if it doesn't all go to taxes, even if it doesn't all go to a retirement account, at least it's goingā¦ you know, we can talk about it going to something thatā¦ that grows for you and becomes something thatā¦
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Felicia Greenwald: that you're happy for outside of just working. So, again, 40% sounds like a lot, but it's a good amount of money to set aside to.
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Felicia Greenwald: create more options in the future.
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Tabatha Jones: Yeah, I like that a lot. And, you know, something that Iā¦
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Tabatha Jones: say, and I think I even put this in the book, but I don't mean to keep plugging, but I just plugged it again. Is that we're all coming and starting in a different place. I mean, some of us have a double income household. Some of us had a job that made a ton of money and allowed us to.
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Felicia Greenwald: No, you should.
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Tabatha Jones: put a lot of money aside and pay down debt and do those things. Some are maybe single parents that don't have that same runway, soā¦
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Tabatha Jones: Making sure that you have enough and you're in the habit of setting that money aside so you don't get yourself in trouble is really, really wise.
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Tabatha Jones: So, good. I like that. I love spending money, but I also love not having to deal with the IRS. So, the better we can do up front, the better it is.
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Felicia Greenwald: Oh.
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Felicia Greenwald: It's like, whichā¦ Iā¦ Iā¦ it's always so funny to me, because I feel like the first thing that everybody's heads go to are, like, I'm going to jail. If I don'tā¦ if I'm not paying the IRS on time, if I'm not staying on top of my taxes, I'm going to jail. Andā¦
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Felicia Greenwald: that is definitely not the first thing that happens unless you're completely evading the IRS and doing some shady stuff. So it's funny that, like, a normal, everyday person is like, I'm going to jail. I didn't file my taxes last year. It's justā¦
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Tabatha Jones: Oh.
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Tabatha Jones: The things we worry about in life are actually really funny, because that's with the Irs. I'm like, it's either jail, or they're going to attach all my stuff, or they're going to try and take my firstborn, who's 31. Good luck with that. But I'm like, no, it's probably not going to be that serious. It's probably going to be a tuck into, and we're going to fix it and teach us.
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Felicia Greenwald: Yes.
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Felicia Greenwald: Yeah.
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Tabatha Jones: thank God I have a good CPA, and you're a great person for your clients to stand in here and help with this process, but it is one of those weird fears. I always say, like, that's a fear that's unlikely toā¦ a thing that's unlikely to happen, so let's let it go.
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Felicia Greenwald: Okay.
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Tabatha Jones: Um, and then a really funny story happened on the news once, and I was like, okay, I take back, I'm never saying that again, because that's something I would never have thought would happen, soā¦
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Felicia Greenwald: Every day, those news stories that you hear every day, I'm like, whoa, I exactly never thought that something like that could happen. And thenā¦
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Tabatha Jones: Thank you for telling me to go to jail.
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Tabatha Jones: Yeah.
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Felicia Greenwald: It comes up. I know.
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Felicia Greenwald: Never say never.
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Tabatha Jones: Never, ever say never. You just don't know. In fact, it's got me laughing, because I'm thinking about, as I'm sharing, as we were preparing for this, about this poor little squirrel in my backyard that I need to take to the wildlife rescue. And I'm thinking, it's never going to be able to escape that little basket I have it in when I get it in the car! And then I'm sitting here laughing in my head as we'.
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Tabatha Jones: it already got out of the basket once. Like, you don't want that to happen. So, things do happen, but going to jail for your first little tax infraction is probably unlikely. Oh my god, tax squirrel is so literal this week for me, I can't even.
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Felicia Greenwald: Yes.
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Felicia Greenwald: Exactly.
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Felicia Greenwald: I know, I know.
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Tabatha Jones: Oh my gosh. Uh, so Felicia, what's something, what is something that you see smart, really successful people doing with their business money that makes you want to grab them by the shoulders and say, please stop doing that?
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Felicia Greenwald: Oh. Oh. I No. I think the biggest things nowadays really are the misconceptions that go around on the Internet. Because, again, it it there's things that just sound too good to be true.
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Tabatha Jones: I'm kind of scared on this one because I probably do it.
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Felicia Greenwald: But at the same time, they sound legit. And so I think a lot of people, when they're first starting a business, get really distracted by, oh, I can start to write this off. Oh, this becomes a deduction. Oh, the things that I've been spending money on can now become a write-off and help me lower my taxes.
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Felicia Greenwald: The thing about that, thatā¦
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Felicia Greenwald: I always say it's like, okay. Take a step back. Whatever they're advertising, whatever you're thinking becomes a write off and a deduction on your taxes. Do you need that? Right? It goes back to, like, what we were just talking about. Like, do you need what that is? So a lot of times, it's always the car.
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Tabatha Jones: Thank you.
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Felicia Greenwald: Everyone's always getting excited. Oh, I can start to ride off my car. And for the most part, the business that people are starting are usually a service-based business, and usually we're sitting at our home. So the likelihood that you're actually using your car.
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Felicia Greenwald: for work is pretty low, unless you are visiting clients, unlessā¦ for the most part, like, a real estate agent is the easiest example for someone who actually does need their car, because they're traveling all over town, looking at houses with their clients, and back and forth, and all that stuff.
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Felicia Greenwald: But for the most part, like, especially for me, I'm like, I'm a CPA at home, like, what am I using my car for? I never, I mean, I go visit one client because she's in her 80s, and I don't even, like, for me, I'm like, okay, cool, like, two miles, you know, I'm not gonna, it's just, you have to think about what'.
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Felicia Greenwald: Even if it is a business deduction, you're probably only able to write off or include or lower your taxes by maybe 30-ish percent, maybe more, like 30% to 40% of what that cost was.
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Felicia Greenwald: So if you're spending a hundred dollars, you're only saving thirty dollars on your taxes. And that's what I, that's what I want, like, most people to really kind of understand and get ingrained early on is, hey. Yeah. You can start to deduct things on your taxes, and you should as long as it's ordinary ordinary and necessary for your business.
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Felicia Greenwald: But don't get so excited about writing off, like, oh, I am doing videos now for my business. I should be able to write off my makeup. And it's like, no, because your makeup is usually personal, and you don't really need to put on makeup for your video, right? Like, people will probably still watch it if you're not putting on your makeup.
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Tabatha Jones: You'll get more views.
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Felicia Greenwald: Butā¦
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Felicia Greenwald: Yeah. So you never know. Right? Exactly. So it's it's those kinds of things that I think people find very exciting, and the truth is.
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Felicia Greenwald: There's not a lot of excitement when it comes to write-offs and deductions like that, but that kind of stuff gets more views. And so you'll see it more. And it's like, oh, let me write off my pet because they were in a video, right? It's like those types of things.
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Tabatha Jones: Ha!
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Tabatha Jones: Oh.
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Felicia Greenwald: I would say talk to somebody who really knows what your business is and can help you really understand, OK, what is a valid deduction? And always track your income.
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Felicia Greenwald: Forget to track income and expenses until it becomes tax time. And then they're like, why does this take me so much time? And I'm like, because you're trying to remember what you did last April on January 1st, right? So I think like such, so like.
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Felicia Greenwald: It's just so much more helpful if you're tracking things monthly instead of waiting until a whole year goes by to track.
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Tabatha Jones: I tell myself that every year.
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Felicia Greenwald: I tell my clients this every time, too. Every client that I'm helping with their 1099 and business income, and they're dragging their feet on their taxes, I'm like, if you just did this monthly, we would not have to wait until, you know, October 1st to look at your numbers for extension deadline. I'm like.
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Tabatha Jones: Thank you.
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Tabatha Jones: Yep.
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Felicia Greenwald: Come on, man!
11:54:48 --> 11:54:59
Tabatha Jones: I feel attacked. There's literally a date on my calendar every single month to do my financials, and every single month, I'm like, nah, I'll do it next week, and then I don't.
11:54:58 --> 11:55:01
Felicia Greenwald: Oh, that's funny. Iā¦
11:54:59 --> 11:55:06
Tabatha Jones: It's terrible. It's a terrible habit. So don't do what I do. Do what Felicia says to do. She's doing it right.
11:55:04 --> 11:55:23
Felicia Greenwald: I'm, like, so the opposite. Yeah. I like I think it's because I'm a numbers person. I like looking at the numbers. So it's maybe like it's like how that that's it's a good question too. Like, how can you rewire yourself? Because it's like, yes. Other people's opinions aren't really gonna change your opinion sometimes. Right?
11:55:11 --> 11:55:12
Tabatha Jones: Ha!
11:55:23 --> 11:55:33
Felicia Greenwald: But it's like, how can you rewire yourself to think, like, okay, I need to do this today, because it hurt so much when I was doing it all at once. But it's likeā¦
11:55:33 --> 11:55:37
Felicia Greenwald: I guess it didn't hurt that much, right? It's like.
11:55:36 --> 11:55:42
Tabatha Jones: Sometimes we forget. It's like having a baby. You forget, and then 12 months later, you're like, oh, here we are again.
11:55:38 --> 11:55:40
Felicia Greenwald: Yes.
11:55:41 --> 11:55:46
Felicia Greenwald: Yes, exactly.
11:55:43 --> 11:55:53
Tabatha Jones: So wait a minute, so what you're telling me is the pair of Jimmy Choo's I've been eyeballing for a conference I'm speaking at, I cannot write those off if I wear them on stage once?
11:55:53 --> 11:55:56
Felicia Greenwald: Probably not.
11:55:54 --> 11:55:59
Tabatha Jones: Hang it. All right. No Jimmy Choo's.
11:55:57 --> 11:56:00
Felicia Greenwald: Aww.
11:55:59 --> 11:56:03
Tabatha Jones: Darn it. Fun sucker.
11:56:01 --> 11:56:05
Felicia Greenwald: Right? I'm just the messenger. No, I'm just kidding.
11:56:03 --> 11:56:04
Tabatha Jones: Oh.
11:56:04 --> 11:56:13
Tabatha Jones: But this is such a great conversation. I remember back in my corporate days, I used to buy a car, a new car, every two to three years.
11:56:13 --> 11:56:16
Tabatha Jones: And the last car I bought is.
11:56:16 --> 11:56:21
Tabatha Jones: It's still my car. I bought it in 2013. It's a 2011 Infiniti.
11:56:21 --> 11:56:27
Tabatha Jones: And it's so funny. I bought it after I had two promotions in a year, so I bought it in 2011.
11:56:27 --> 11:56:29
Tabatha Jones: Umā¦
11:56:29 --> 11:56:39
Tabatha Jones: I still have it. I think, ugh, I should get a new car. This car's getting old. I take it to go get something done. Like, I literally, for the first time ever, had to get brakes. It has 96,000 miles on it. I don'.
11:56:39 --> 11:56:43
Felicia Greenwald: Wow. You actually don't. Yes.
11:56:39 --> 11:56:41
Tabatha Jones: I got it.
11:56:41 --> 11:56:52
Tabatha Jones: we never see a car like this in this good of shape, and I'm like, alright, alright, it's not really worth the write-off, I drive 12 miles a year, like, I get it. The temptation is there.
11:56:49 --> 11:56:54
Felicia Greenwald: Yes. No, yeah, you're really not driving much.
11:56:53 --> 11:57:05
Tabatha Jones: No, there's so many shiny things, and justā¦ and I drive a little more than 12 miles a year, but I mean, being funny, even my insurance company sends me every year to give them the mileage, because they're trying to figure out if they can raise my rates back.
11:57:05 --> 11:57:12
Tabatha Jones: Because, you know, they did that deduction in 2020 when no one was driving. And I'm like, I still don't drive more than 1,000 miles a year.
11:57:06 --> 11:57:07
Felicia Greenwald: Yes.
11:57:12 --> 11:57:14
Tabatha Jones: It's so crazy.
11:57:13 --> 11:57:17
Felicia Greenwald: And they're like, dang, yeah, you're low risk for that.
11:57:14 --> 11:57:29
Tabatha Jones: So I love that you pointed that out. Yeah, I love that you pointed that out because unless you're a realtor or a mobile notary or someone who really is in their car as part of their business, you have to wait. Is it really worth it? Is this something that's nice to have? Is this something that's really going to give me the life I want?
11:57:29 --> 11:57:33
Tabatha Jones: Is it fun or is it just fun and flashy?
11:57:30 --> 11:57:44
Felicia Greenwald: I know it's so many. So many of our decisions always to go back to keeping up with the Joneses like I I'm in the same. I think we all think about our cars a lot, and I'm in the same boat where it's like I drive.
11:57:44 --> 11:57:59
Felicia Greenwald: A 2017 RAV4 and I'm like, I could have a nicer car, but like it gets me to point A and point B. It has, I have more miles than you on this 2017. It has like 106, seven, oh no, I'm at like 112,000 miles.
11:57:59 --> 11:58:00
Tabatha Jones: Wow.
11:57:59 --> 11:58:18
Felicia Greenwald: And but because it's a Toyota, you know, they they last a long time. Yeah. I'm like, I I could go another 100, and it doesn't matter. You know? It's like, you have to keep reminding yourself these things really don't matter. There's a wonderful book. I think I actually have it on my desk, the psychology of money.
11:58:01 --> 11:58:05
Tabatha Jones: Can I go to 300?
11:58:18 --> 11:58:23
Felicia Greenwald: And he talks about Morgan Housel. He talks about how.
11:58:23 --> 11:58:25
Felicia Greenwald: You don't.
11:58:25 --> 11:58:39
Felicia Greenwald: you like how the person looks in the car, but you don't really care about that person. You picture yourself in that car, thinking that other people will think you look cool in that car. It's like the whole psychology ofā¦
11:58:39 --> 11:58:40
Tabatha Jones: Wow.
11:58:39 --> 11:58:46
Felicia Greenwald: Aimee Sax, how our brains work and why we want what our neighbors have, and it's.
11:58:43 --> 11:58:44
Tabatha Jones: Yeah.
11:58:46 --> 11:58:55
Felicia Greenwald: It's you don't you know, it's just it's all, like, thinking that you'll look cooler to people because we all want societal exception. But, yeah.
11:58:54 --> 11:59:08
Tabatha Jones: I've never once looked at a woman and said, I love that Louis bag, we should probably just be friends, she's probably super cool, right? Like, I don't think about that stuff, but it'sā¦ sometimes, you know, that's the thing, like, the expensive bags and all that stuff, andā¦
11:59:02 --> 11:59:04
Felicia Greenwald: And you shouldn't.
11:59:08 --> 11:59:23
Tabatha Jones: in this side of theā¦ of life, I don't need as much of theā¦ the fancy stuff. To your point, we sit at our desks in our house most of the time. I work poolside a lot. When I show up to an event, I have plenty of clothes to choose from, because I probably haven't worn nice pants all week.
11:59:23 --> 11:59:27
Tabatha Jones: I tend to be singing from my chest up.
11:59:23 --> 11:59:25
Felicia Greenwald: Thank you.
11:59:26 --> 11:59:31
Felicia Greenwald: Exactly. No one needs to know what's underneath the camera.
11:59:29 --> 11:59:38
Tabatha Jones: No one needs to know. And if I'm talking to a client, I will warn them before I stand up, like, hey, I've got yoga pants on today. Close your eyes. Not that they care.
11:59:37 --> 11:59:40
Felicia Greenwald: It's so great. Yes.
11:59:39 --> 11:59:56
Tabatha Jones: Nobody cares. Oh my gosh. Well, before we wrap, is there any advice, any last piece of advice that you'd like to share with our listener who might be building a business on the side, maybe dreaming about leaving their day job, maybe not, but what is your best piece of advice for this person?
11:59:57 --> 12:00:14
Felicia Greenwald: It's something that's been on my mind, I think, ever since I started this too, and even more so recently, is building something is hard and people will judge you and people will not understand, but that doesn't matter. You need to think more, again, just about what matters for you.
12:00:14 --> 12:00:26
Felicia Greenwald: And not what everybody else is spending their money on, not what everybody else is doing, but what you think is going to matter for you, your family, your life, and what'll make you happy.
12:00:26 --> 12:00:42
Tabatha Jones: Oh my gosh, beautifully stated. Thank you so much for joining us today on the Intentional Next Act. Had so much fun talking to you, as I always do. Listeners, we'll be sure to share links so you can connect with Felicia. You can grab a copy of the Idea to Income Playbook.
12:00:32 --> 12:00:34
Felicia Greenwald: Thank you.
12:00:42 --> 12:00:50
Tabatha Jones: And you can join my upcoming free Idea to Income Jumpstart workshop coming up in the next couple of weeks.
12:00:50 --> 12:00:55
Tabatha Jones: All right, everyone, be well. Felicia, thank you, and we'll be talking soon.
12:01:01 --> 12:01:05
Tabatha Jones: There's the button. Good job. That was fun. How'd that feel?
12:01:01 --> 12:01:04
Felicia Greenwald: Perfect. Yay.
12:01:04 --> 12:01:06
Felicia Greenwald: Good.
12:01:06 --> 12:01:07
Felicia Greenwald: Do you feel good?
12:01:07 --> 12:01:15
Tabatha Jones: Yeah, I mean, it's fun just because I like to be conversational, and I'm only sharing audio on my podcast, and then we'll just use clips from the video, becauseā¦
12:01:14 --> 12:01:16
Felicia Greenwald: Oh, perfect.
12:01:15 --> 12:01:21
Tabatha Jones: Hopefully we couldn't hear my house cleaner drop something. That's why I'm in the garage.
12:01:17 --> 12:01:22
Felicia Greenwald: I don't. Oh, I didn't hear it. That's why.
12:01:21 --> 12:01:27
Tabatha Jones: Yeah, the microphone does a pretty good job of canceling, but that's also why it's on my lap and it was probably moving around.
12:01:26 --> 12:01:34
Felicia Greenwald: I didn't hear anything, I know, and that's one of the things, too, like, gosh, even, like, speaking of house cleaners, like, recentlyā¦
12:01:34 --> 12:01:36
Felicia Greenwald: Umā¦
12:01:36 --> 12:01:52
Felicia Greenwald: I I've been through so many house cleaners in Las Vegas. It was I had such a good one when we were in Orange County. Like, she was the best. Like, never missed a spot, was so thorough. It was only her too, which was, like, so funny. So she was at her house for, like, a while.
12:01:52 --> 12:02:01
Felicia Greenwald: And then when I moved to Vegas, I was like, what the heck, y'all? Like, there's always something missing. So now I'm on, like, my probably, like, fifth or six.
12:02:01 --> 12:02:17
Felicia Greenwald: And, but it was like one of those things where I was sitting there, I was like, is it worth it though? You know, like, again, like going back to like all of our conversations and I was like, yeah, it actually is because I, I appreciate having a clean home. Like that is something that I, I'm a clean person.
12:02:17 --> 12:02:28
Felicia Greenwald: freak. Like, it's so bad, and it's just because of how I was raised. Like, my mom was super clean, and then my dad was not, and it's just, like, I definitely impressioned from my mom.
12:02:28 --> 12:02:38
Felicia Greenwald: But, um, yeah, it's, like, theā¦ it's always, like, cleaning and food. I'm always, like, thinking so much about how we spend on those types of things.
12:02:38 --> 12:02:54
Tabatha Jones: That's not funny. I also like a very clean space. Like right now, sitting in the garage at my husband's workstation is making me insane. There's stuff everywhere. Behind me, everything's great. It's just cars and bikes. But his clutter status is crazy to me.
12:02:43 --> 12:02:45
Felicia Greenwald: Oh.
12:02:53 --> 12:02:55
Felicia Greenwald: You're like, this is.
12:02:54 --> 12:03:01
Tabatha Jones: And I remember I had started when I stopped working, I was like, I'm not going to have a cleaning company anymore. I can do this.
12:03:01 --> 12:03:07
Tabatha Jones: I have a 2,100-square-foot home. It takes me 12 hours to clean because I'm so anal. And soā¦
12:03:06 --> 12:03:10
Felicia Greenwald: Right? Exactly. I'm like, why is this?
12:03:07 --> 12:03:20
Tabatha Jones: Like, I'm not saying that it takes 2 days of the weekend, or it takes 2 days, and if I don't do it, then I'm so distracted by, I need to go clean the bathroom, or I need to go clean the kitchen, or I need to clean the stove, or, you know, it's just.
12:03:12 --> 12:03:14
Felicia Greenwald: It really does.
12:03:20 --> 12:03:23
Felicia Greenwald: It's just so worth it. The brain space.
12:03:21 --> 12:03:23
Tabatha Jones: Okay.
12:03:23 --> 12:03:28
Tabatha Jones: A couple hundred dollars, let them come do it once a month, and just do the little light stuff in between.
12:03:27 --> 12:03:40
Felicia Greenwald: Yeah, just really. And yeah, exactly. And then I only have to clean like right before people come over. And I'm like, okay. And that's like, yeah, like twice, two or three times a month, right? I'm like, okay, I can do that.
12:03:33 --> 12:03:36
Tabatha Jones: Right. Run the vacuum.
12:03:37 --> 12:03:38
Tabatha Jones: Thank you.
12:03:40 --> 12:03:59
Felicia Greenwald: and it's only the downā¦ like, we haveā¦ we have upstairs and downstairs, so, like, right now, where I'm at is, like, our upstairs, kind of, like, in the corner, too, so it's great, because I'm, like, very away from the rest of stuff that goes on in the home. Um, so it's, like, really nice also to have an upstairs, because then we only need to make sure, like, the half bath is, like.
12:03:59 --> 12:04:12
Tabatha Jones: We're the same. And it's just, like, that in the backyard, which somebody does that every Monday, and it's done. And I just, uhā¦ it's worth every penny. Um, we've had the same company, I think, now for almost.
12:04:06 --> 12:04:08
Felicia Greenwald: Yeah.
12:04:12 --> 12:04:27
Tabatha Jones: Well, since the pandemic, so since 2020, it was actually before I had hired them. So, and then I brought it back, but they're licensed and insured. So, and they're so good. Like if they break something little, like something super small got broken, I think it was the little ring inside my microwave.
12:04:16 --> 12:04:18
Felicia Greenwald: Wow.
12:04:28 --> 12:04:39
Tabatha Jones: they put a little note, they're like, Tracy will call you, she calls me, she's like, can you just tell me how much it is, or let me know, you know, send me the Amazon link, and I'll just order you a new one. I'm like, seriously.
12:04:39 --> 12:04:48
Tabatha Jones: But thank you for being honest. And then something little got broken, and there was a little note, like, sorry, Tracy, I'll call you. I'm like, it's not that serious, likeā¦
12:04:40 --> 12:04:42
Felicia Greenwald: A hundred percent.
12:04:47 --> 12:04:55
Felicia Greenwald: Yeah, that'sā¦ that's important. It's, like, the honesty, especially, I think is very important with house cleaners, because you're always afraid, likeā¦
12:04:55 --> 12:04:59
Felicia Greenwald: I don't know. Are they gonna, like, take something? Have you ever watched.
12:04:59 --> 12:05:02
Felicia Greenwald: Your friends and neighbors, have we talked about this before?
12:05:02 --> 12:05:05
Tabatha Jones: Why do I feel like I have watched your Friends and Neighbors? Is that.
12:05:04 --> 12:05:07
Felicia Greenwald: The one with Jon Hamm on Apple TV?
12:05:05 --> 12:05:09
Tabatha Jones: I think there's a season I haven't watched yet.
12:05:08 --> 12:05:14
Felicia Greenwald: Okay. But in the first season, he's, like, stealing from the neighbors.
12:05:14 --> 12:05:17
Tabatha Jones: I'm trying to remember.
12:05:17 --> 12:05:28
Tabatha Jones: heā¦ is that theā¦ wait a minute, maybe I'm thinking of the other show. So that was the one where he literally was stealing from people, and then his things got bigger that he was stealing, like artwork andā¦
12:05:27 --> 12:05:29
Felicia Greenwald: Yes, yes, yes.
12:05:28 --> 12:05:32
Tabatha Jones: Yes. Start with little stuff.
12:05:30 --> 12:05:37
Felicia Greenwald: But it's likeā¦ it's like he teams up with the house cleaner, like, to get into people's houses, and I'm like, damn.
12:05:37 --> 12:05:46
Tabatha Jones: Well, that's what a friend of mine, they went on vacation and they live in a really affluent area and the back of their house is pretty much glass, it's ridiculous.
12:05:46 --> 12:05:55
Tabatha Jones: And they went on vacation, and they came back toā¦ well, actually, 2 days before they came back, their landscaper called, and he's like, the whole back window is busted.
12:05:56 --> 12:06:11
Tabatha Jones: And so they called the police, and the police went, whatever. Anyway, somebody had gotten into her closet, specifically taken, I don't even know, she had, like, 20 Louis bags, like, she had just gotten one in Portugal, like, she gets them all over the world, I mean, I don't know what it's like to live like that, because I don't, but sheā¦
12:06:09 --> 12:06:11
Felicia Greenwald: Oh.
12:06:11 --> 12:06:24
Tabatha Jones: They got all of those. They found a secret compartment in her jewelry box and got the rings that her mom had left, and that's what the police said. They're like, they're probably working with somebody that you allow in your house regularly, and I'm likeā¦
12:06:23 --> 12:06:25
Felicia Greenwald: Oh, that's so messed up.
12:06:25 --> 12:06:30
Tabatha Jones: So the moral of the story is don't have a lot of Louis bags because your insurance doesn't really cover those.
12:06:32 --> 12:06:41
Felicia Greenwald: Yeah, and some of that stuffā¦ it's more sad when they take stuff that is, yeah, priceless. It's like, oh, well, this was my mother's or grandmother's, andā¦
12:06:41 --> 12:06:42
Tabatha Jones: That's the.
12:06:41 --> 12:06:44
Felicia Greenwald: You gotta have a safe. Yep.
12:06:43 --> 12:06:48
Tabatha Jones: Definitely. Yeah, and we do have a big one in the garage that we just keep stuff like that in that's, you knowā¦
12:06:48 --> 12:06:51
Felicia Greenwald: Important documents.
12:06:48 --> 12:06:56
Tabatha Jones: I'm not using one that I can get it, but it'sā¦ it's safe. When you said that, it reminded me my passport is in my purse. I need to put it back in there.
12:06:56 --> 12:07:00
Tabatha Jones: Um, anyway. All right. Well, I am going to.
12:07:00 --> 12:07:11
Tabatha Jones: Uh, download, get this ready to go, get us some clips, which will probably take me till the end of the day tomorrow to get them over to you. And then I'll give you a date for when this is gonna go live. I think it'll go, umā¦
12:07:05 --> 12:07:07
Felicia Greenwald: No rush.
12:07:11 --> 12:07:14
Tabatha Jones: I may just run it next Tuesday. We'll see if I can.
12:07:12 --> 12:07:14
Felicia Greenwald: Cool.
12:07:14 --> 12:07:16
Felicia Greenwald: I'm excited.
12:07:14 --> 12:07:21
Tabatha Jones: I did Tuesday, but I'm not really loving it, so I think I'll swap this one and redo next Tuesday.
12:07:20 --> 12:07:26
Felicia Greenwald: I am exactly the same, and I'm always like, why? Why am I this way?
12:07:25 --> 12:07:36
Tabatha Jones: You know what? It was my energy when I was doing it. I had been through Squirrel Gate. I hadn't gotten anything done that I wanted to do. Like all the things were going on and I'm just like, I just got to get this done. And then I got it done. I was like.
12:07:36 --> 12:07:39
Felicia Greenwald: Never mind.
12:07:36 --> 12:07:40
Tabatha Jones: I don't love it.
12:07:39 --> 12:07:42
Felicia Greenwald: I know, I haven't recorded inā¦
12:07:42 --> 12:07:59
Felicia Greenwald: months, like, I think one of the last times we talked, I was really good, and, like, batch recorded a bunch, and since I did that, I, like, I don't remember when that was, but I haven't batch recorded in months, and I'm like, like I mentioned, I'm going to Japan and Korea soon, so I was like, umā¦
12:07:59 --> 12:08:11
Felicia Greenwald: I might do that whole thing where you, like, do B-roll and just, like, voiceover, because that's kind of easier for me right now, is, like, if I'm already, like, out and about doing somethingā¦
12:08:11 --> 12:08:18
Felicia Greenwald: maybe just make content out of that. So again, I'm like, I'm back to almost, like, the drawing board of, like, okay, what's working? What should I do?
12:08:18 --> 12:08:30
Tabatha Jones: But the B-roll is great because you can use it again and again. Nobody pays attention. And if you use edits, you can put the little effects on it and you can change it. So it's like a flash in or speed it up or whatever you want to do.
12:08:18 --> 12:08:19
Felicia Greenwald: Stuff.
12:08:28 --> 12:08:32
Felicia Greenwald: Yeah, you can do whatever. So much so easier.
12:08:30 --> 12:08:33
Tabatha Jones: No one ever says we've seen this before.
12:08:32 --> 12:08:34
Felicia Greenwald: Yeah, exactly.
12:08:33 --> 12:08:37
Tabatha Jones: I know that because I feel like I'm using the same eight.
12:08:36 --> 12:08:42
Felicia Greenwald: Yes, which is okay. It's okay. We're probably putting way too much thought and effort into this stuff.
12:08:41 --> 12:08:56
Tabatha Jones: We are. Nobody else is thinking about it. Even when I went to Canada, I was like, I'm going to do some B roll, blah, blah, blah. And I get up there and nobody has their phones out. I'm not even kidding. Like, I did not see people on their phones anywhere I went. Not at tables, restaurants, not at restaurants.
12:08:43 --> 12:08:46
Felicia Greenwald: No, that's the thing.
12:08:50 --> 12:08:52
Felicia Greenwald: I don't know.
12:08:54 --> 12:08:57
Felicia Greenwald: Which is incredible. Yeah.
12:08:56 --> 12:09:05
Tabatha Jones: It was. And then I was like, well, I'm not going to be the American asshole. I'm going to just not. So guess who has no B-roll? No new B-roll.
12:09:00 --> 12:09:04
Felicia Greenwald: We are obsessed.
12:09:04 --> 12:09:13
Felicia Greenwald: That's okay. Well, no, it wasā¦ Let me know if anything else comes up or if I can help you with anything. Really good to see you. And thank you for this.
12:09:11 --> 12:09:16
Tabatha Jones: Thank you. Of course. Thank you. And then I will see you next month.
12:09:15 --> 12:09:17
Felicia Greenwald: Yes.
