Welcome back to this first edition of FinanciElle “Statements” for 2019! For this week’s interview I had the opportunity to interview Sabina Wex, Founder of Sabina Wex Consulting.

Sabina helps her clients understand their customers – she’ll help you position yourself as a thought leader in your field and a trusted advisor to your target market, she’ll help you spot strategic audiences for new opportunities and then test the waters with them, she finds and analyzes information about your audience and builds an understanding of how it’s relevant to you and your business, and she’ll identify the right companies to strategically partner with.

Paolina: What has been your hardest experience dealing with your business and finance and what did you learn?

Sabina:

The hardest experience for me has been chasing clients who don’t pay on time. I’m very diligent about sending invoices in a timely manner and following up about them, so there’s no reason why the client shouldn’t pay on time.

I constantly think about my finances and my budget for the month, so when I don’t receive a payment within two weeks of sending an invoice, it really hurts my personal financial health (and puts me in a scarcity mindset). To cope with this unfortunate reality of freelance life, I invest heavily in my emergency fund to give myself a sense of financial security and stability. I also introduced a hefty late fee into my contracts, which seems to act as a good deterrent for clients tempted to pay late!

Paolina: What advice do you wish you had gotten about finance when you were first starting your business?

Sabina:

Don’t consult for free! It takes up an enormous amount of time to talk to people, think up ideas for their business and how you can work together. People will often ghost or realize that they don’t have the budget to work with you after your initial free consultation. So now, you’re out time AND money!

I began explaining to potential clients that I’m an expert and my time is valuable, so I need to be compensated for my work. If you’re struggling with this, I recommend reading Katy Mansell-Carter’s excellent piece on how to charge for initial consultations.

Paolina: What topics would you want to learn more about when it comes to finance and your business and why?

Sabina:

I want to do my own taxes. This year, my accountant is going to help me learn how to file my taxes so that I don’t have to rely on an accountant every year. I’m very diligent about keeping track of my income and expenses, so learning how to do my own taxes is just the next step.

I don’t want to have to rely on someone else to keep track of my financial health. I’m independent with most of my business administration, so why can’t I be independent in my business’ finances?

Headshot by – Patrick Fulgencio.