If you have been following me, you may have noticed that I spent a week in San Diego, USA, almost a month ago. I took part in Amy Porterfield’s Entrepreneur Experience, which was quite the most awesome gift I have ever given myself!

Until this year I had never even heard of Amy Porterfield. But in February I fell for Facebook ads (it works! Lesson learned!) for Amy Porterfield’s B-School Bonus Experience. I found out that B-School is a course developed by Marie Forleo (again, never even heard of that lady) aiming to support business owners to increase their impact (and sales). I was at a point where I knew I wanted to finally allow myself to dive into making my dream of online courses on financial management for not-for-profits come true. This came at the right moment in time to boost my resolve – and my knowledge and skills for how to do this.

As many others, I have of course not managed to diligently follow B-School’s timeline of modules. (good to know when developing a course of your own!) Like many, I suffer from fear of implementation (what if …. I mess up, … it goes wrong, … people find me crazy???? waahhhh), and at the same time I am sometimes overwhelmed by the many new things I need to understand and possibly master which are nothing to do with my course and my expertise (such marketing, sales, etc.). And I do so enjoy the feeling of embarking for new territories, learning new things and trying them out (carefully). I am working my butt off on all of it, now, and have come to love and admire both Amy and Marie because of their inspiring, structured, creative guidance through both the hard and the new steps.

The Entrepreneur Experience was, for me, a big breakthrough in this process. The three-day Experience was a whirlwind, full of (famous) people who turned out to be incredibly inspiring individuals and great speakers.

For me, the whole event exuded Possibility. Anything and everything is possible. If you show up: if you work hard, try hard, and don’t give up but: adjust as needed. It doesn’t matter what size, colour or age you are – the room was chockablock full of power women (yes! 800 entrepreneurs and almost all of them women!) and there was space enough for all of us to be highly successful in this universe. We just have to keep showing up. As Rachel Hollis said: You WILL fail, and you should be nice about it to yourself as you are to a toddler learning to walk.

I am so excited about everything I set in motion this year (when is next year’s Entrepreneur Experience????). But indeed, I feel a lot like that toddler trying to take a step in the wide world, not having any clue of what is next. I am sure, that somewhere along the road I will likely forget to take a turn somewhere and will find myself at some other destination than I intended to reach. But that’s OK, because I will learn and I will get back up and I will get where I need to get in the end, even if it will be somewhere very different from where I think I am going right now.

Right now, I am sure I will develop a whole series of courses and coaching for (finance) managers and board members in not-for-profit organisations on finance, administration, and organizational management. My courses and coaching will be accessible online so that I can serve not-for-profits from different parts of the world in such a way that I can be in their ear when it is convenient and useful for them, and not just when I happen to be in their office. I am sure I will continue to work one-on-one as a coach and consultant, online and offline. And I am sure I will do face-to-face workshops, too. I am sure I will work on this with a few key people I trust in their expertise and integrity and love with all my heart. And I am sure that together we will serve hundreds of people in the coming years. I am sure we will help change people’s lives as we will help them build professional systems and practices that support their accountability towards funders, freeing up time and energy for a focus on their mission for their communities. And I am equally sure this will change our lives, too. All it takes, is a start. And all that takes (for me) is giving yourself a trip to San Diego and touching Amy Porterfield (and OK, a picture of that as reminder). I am on a mission and I am looking forward to meeting you on my way!

PS

I developed a content calendar while in San Diego (possibly not yet on the list of 10 things to do while in San Diego) and next week I will start writing about some questions I received about finance that are relevant for year-end reporting and the close of the year. Do subscribe to my newsletter if you want to receive a message when my next blogs are published!

How I can help

Check out these free resources I crafted for you:

• My checklist helps you make sure your annual report is complete: https://www.changingtides.eu/checklistannualreport
• Ten Esssential Strategic Documents Your Nonprofit Needs to Have: https://www.changingtides.eu/essentialdocuments

If you would like simple steps to set up and organise your finance & admin foundations guidance by me, you can get a bundle of six simple and short workshops here: https://www.changingtides.eu/financeandadminbundle

In case the bundle is too much for you at this moment, feel free to pick one or more of the workshops individually:

• Set up your financial processes: https://www.changingtides.eu/financialprocesses
• Understand important basics of bookkeeping for nonprofits: https://www.changingtides.eu/bookkeepingfoundations
• Be sure you are keeping all the documents you need for project donors, auditors, or officials: https://www.changingtides.eu/documentationfornonprofits
• Plan your cash flow for a year: https://www.changingtides.eu/cashflowfornonprofits
• Get a feel for how time sheets can be helpful to everyone in your nonprofit and set them up straightaway: https://www.changingtides.eu/timesheetsfornonprofits
• Learn how to calculate the price of time spent of your team members, including allocations for general costs that are used in different projects: https://www.changingtides.eu/feesfornonprofits

Please note, the bundle is cheaper than buying all six workshops separately: https://www.changingtides.eu/financeandadminbundle

Want to know more and ask questions?

If you want to discuss this more – jump into my nonprofit support community and get input from a wide range of peers and from myself!

Here is how you can join my free nonprofit support community

You can join my free nonprofit support community on the Heartbeat platform here. This group is a safe space for open exchange and discussion on potentially sensitive topics like boards, nonprofit management, fundraising, etc.

You can visit the community via a browser or via an app. Here is the link to download the Heartbeat chat app in the Google Play store.

Want to support me with a cup of coffee?

The seaside always inspires me and helps me think of articles, videos, workshops and courses I can create for you.

If you want to support me without getting a paid workshop, course or review – you can donate me a coffee and speed up my thinking process!

You can support me here: https://ko-fi.com/suzannebakker