Empowering Women Entrepreneurs: Strategic Debt Financing with Sheena Brady, Founder of Tease Wellness
Thu Oct 31 2024
Key Takeaways
Finding Wellness in a Bustling World: How a high-stress career fueled Sheena's search for personal well-being, leading her to discover the power of tea.
More Than Just a Tea Company: Tease Wellness offers functional tea blends designed to seamlessly integrate into everyday life. Overcoming Barriers as a Woman Entrepreneur: Sheena sheds light on the challenges women face in accessing capital.Debt Financing for Growth: Sheena shares her experience using debt financing, an often-overlooked strategy, to scale Tease.Strategic Debt Financing: Sheena shares the benefits of leveraging debt financing instead of giving up equity and highlights how timing and planning are key when securing business loans.Financial Knowledge for Entrepreneurs: Understanding financial health through cash flow and balance sheets is crucial for avoiding pitfalls, especially when planning for an exit.Empowering Women Entrepreneurs: Sheena founded the Founders Fund to help women entrepreneurs access funding, mentorship, and education, focusing on financial literacy and business growth.
Episode Highlights
[03:50] Transition from Hospitality to Wellness: Sheena shares how unhealthy habits and burnout from her hospitality career led her to create Tease Wellness, a brand focused on wellness through tea.[08:50] From Layoff to Launchpad: Sheena's experience of being let go from her corporate job became the catalyst for building Tease.[12:45] Financial Challenges Faced by Women Entrepreneurs: Sheena reflects on systemic barriers, particularly around debt and credit history, and how this shaped her path to growing Tease.[19:20] Avoiding Equity Investment: Sheena discusses how she avoided equity investment for 11 years and strategically used debt financing to scale Tease, emphasizing the importance of knowing when to seek a loan.[23:10] Factoring Financing Costs into Direct Product Costs: Sheena explains how businesses should treat financing costs as part of their direct costs when pricing products.[25:50] The Role of Financial Literacy: Sheena and Christina discuss how cash flow management and understanding the balance sheet are key to preparing for a healthy exit and long-term business success.[28:50] Plan an intentional Exit Plan: The importance of financial literacy for women founders not only to maintain healthy finances but to build an exit strategy with a strong foundation.[33:20] The creation of Founders Fund: This organization supports women entrepreneurs through funding, mentorship, and education, with a focus on financial literacy, mental health, and business growth.Connect With Profit Reimagined
Explore Profit Reimagined and discover how you can turn purpose into profit: Website and LinkedInSubscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform.Discover if our Fractional CFO Services Are Your Perfect Fit with this simple quiz.We hope you enjoyed this episode! Tune in for more inspiring stories and practical insights from incredible women leading the way in business.
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Key Takeaways Finding Wellness in a Bustling World: How a high-stress career fueled Sheena's search for personal well-being, leading her to discover the power of tea. More Than Just a Tea Company: Tease Wellness offers functional tea blends designed to seamlessly integrate into everyday life. Overcoming Barriers as a Woman Entrepreneur: Sheena sheds light on the challenges women face in accessing capital.Debt Financing for Growth: Sheena shares her experience using debt financing, an often-overlooked strategy, to scale Tease.Strategic Debt Financing: Sheena shares the benefits of leveraging debt financing instead of giving up equity and highlights how timing and planning are key when securing business loans.Financial Knowledge for Entrepreneurs: Understanding financial health through cash flow and balance sheets is crucial for avoiding pitfalls, especially when planning for an exit.Empowering Women Entrepreneurs: Sheena founded the Founders Fund to help women entrepreneurs access funding, mentorship, and education, focusing on financial literacy and business growth. Episode Highlights [03:50] Transition from Hospitality to Wellness: Sheena shares how unhealthy habits and burnout from her hospitality career led her to create Tease Wellness, a brand focused on wellness through tea.[08:50] From Layoff to Launchpad: Sheena's experience of being let go from her corporate job became the catalyst for building Tease.[12:45] Financial Challenges Faced by Women Entrepreneurs: Sheena reflects on systemic barriers, particularly around debt and credit history, and how this shaped her path to growing Tease.[19:20] Avoiding Equity Investment: Sheena discusses how she avoided equity investment for 11 years and strategically used debt financing to scale Tease, emphasizing the importance of knowing when to seek a loan.[23:10] Factoring Financing Costs into Direct Product Costs: Sheena explains how businesses should treat financing costs as part of their direct costs when pricing products.[25:50] The Role of Financial Literacy: Sheena and Christina discuss how cash flow management and understanding the balance sheet are key to preparing for a healthy exit and long-term business success.[28:50] Plan an intentional Exit Plan: The importance of financial literacy for women founders not only to maintain healthy finances but to build an exit strategy with a strong foundation.[33:20] The creation of Founders Fund: This organization supports women entrepreneurs through funding, mentorship, and education, with a focus on financial literacy, mental health, and business growth.Connect With Profit Reimagined Explore Profit Reimagined and discover how you can turn purpose into profit: Website and LinkedInSubscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform.Discover if our Fractional CFO Services Are Your Perfect Fit with this simple quiz.We hope you enjoyed this episode! Tune in for more inspiring stories and practical insights from incredible women leading the way in business.