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Episode 25 // Financially Fierce Founder: Candyce Bakke
Championed by our friends at Community Futures Saskatchewan
Are you ready for this!? We’re back with Season 2 of The Gab Lab, bringing you more insights and more intel to blow your mind and build your bottom line.
We're kicking things off with none other than the incomparable, the one-and-only, Ms. Candyce Bakke (Feissel), Founder of Sheer Escape, Director of Operations of The Style Academy, creator of My Life Planner, and Life School!
If you’re feeling like you’re working too hard but not getting anywhere, download this episode, step away from your desk, and listen in as Candyce walks us through how she’s able to build not one, but four wildly successful ventures simultaneously. Pay attention, because she shares with us her through-line, the thread that runs throughout all of her businesses and anchors the majority of her decisions.
Episode Timeline //
[00:00] Introduction of #FinanciallyFierceFounder Candyce Fiessel
[01:56] Candyce's four successful ventures
[08:10] How a personal trauma took Candyce and her business to the next level
[13:09] How and why to work smarter not harder
[15:04] Personal development meetings in business
[16:20] The performance-based salary rule
[20:18] The business model and how to scale it
[23:36] Making one-on-one meetings meaningful
[27:37] How and when Candyce reviews her business growth stats
[28:45] Why she purchased an existing business (Style Academy) instead of starting from scratch
[32:57] The mindset of being an investor
[35:07] Saving money for investing
[37:49] Candyce's story of overcoming divorce and lessons learned
[40:42] Candyce's purpose in life
[43:57] Step up and sign up for ‘Financially Fierce Fridays’
Founder’s Take //
There were so many mind-blowing moments in this episode. However, I was able to discern three core pillars that have structured Candyce's financial and entrepreneurial reality:
Work smarter not harder // Candyce, with such grace and vulnerability shares with us the trauma that reinvented her relationship with money, and ultimately, her approach to doing business. There is no doubt Candyce has worked for every penny, client, and success that's come her way, BUT it didn’t come from working herself into a state of overwhelm and fatigue! It came from getting smart with her time, her money, and her strategy. Working smarter not harder required her to get uncomfortable and choose to do things differently. Tune in to learn how Candyce chose a different path and where that path has taken her.
Surround yourself with amazing people // From the first day of working with Candyce, I knew building a tribe was one of her many gifts. If you’ve been struggling to build a team, or at odds with the art of delegation, turn this episode up! Candyce doesn’t manage her people, she develops them. Seriously, there is so much value in better understanding Candyce's leadership philosophy, you’ll want to circle back, hit pause, and take notes.
Think like an investor // Very early in her entrepreneurial journey, Candyce chose to invest in personal and professional development. Candyce chooses to see decisions as investment opportunities; investments in her education, in her team, and her businesses. It’s a choice that has shaped her approach to doing business and has had a radical impact on her outcomes. Imagine having enough cash set aside to personally bankroll the expansion of your business?! It's possible! This is the episode and the #FinanciallyFierceFounder to show you how!
Mic Drop Moments //
BOOM! There it is! I promised you intel to blow your mind and build your bottom line.
Here are just a few of my favorite mic drop moment's compliments of
#FinanciallyFierceFounder, Candyce Fiessel.
“Your capacity has to be the top priority.”
You may have started as a solopreneur, but you can't stay there, not if you want to build a business. Taking on every single task takes you away from being in your zone of genius. So instead, opt to build systems and structures by documenting all of your processes and procedures as you move through them. Then hire accordingly. This is the way to share and scale your passion and purpose with the world.
“Develop people, don’t manage them."
Candyce's success in large part can be attributed to her investing in the success of her people; not just as it pertains to their professional development, but their personal development as well. As Candyce points out, "They are the ones responsible for making your business successful. Invest in them and watch your ROI grow".
“Work smarter not harder."
A practical rule to scale and grow any business. It's one that Candyce implements consistently by innovating and improving on operations, and encouraging and empowering her team to take on more responsibility.
"There is power in the pause."
Flying a million miles a minute can be extremely destructive. Take time to connect with yourself. Take that pause to understand where you’re at, why you’re there, and where to plan to be.
"Flow forward."
Candyce’s life story teaches us to keep flowing forward. Whether it's a personal trauma or a professional setback, there's strength in remaining fluid. Release the struggle and celebrate your strength.
Those were some of my favs. Drop me a comment below and let me know what landed with you!
The Bottom Line //
To stay in business you need to be making money. But doing business with passion while serving a purpose is a profound way to approach how you scale your business. Candyce achieves this with grit and grace. Her leadership is the epitome of how purpose, passion, and profit can come together in a business and a balance sheet. If you're looking for a framework on how to become financially fierce, this is the episode for you!
Become Financially Fierce!
Every Friday, starting October 1st, you have an opportunity to learn and implement one simple, five-minute money practice that, over time, will radically transform the trajectory of your financial outcome.
Join the Pros for five minutes or stay for fifty, you have an open invitation to roll up your sleeves, forge a healthy habit, and strengthen your financial framework.
About the Founder // Candyce Bakke, Director of Operations, The Style Academy
Candyce thrives as a high-performing entrepreneur who has pioneered multiple sustainable businesses with engaged teams. Her unique approach to leadership is built on nearly two decades of experience, a deep investment in herself, building tools to support her teams, and tenacity to triumph over tragedy and setbacks.
Candyce attended the Salon Summit Business College in Tampa, FL, becoming an industry leader, incorporating Summit’s cutting-edge business model into Saskatchewan’s salon industry.
Candyce is also an advocate for empowering and mentoring women, with initiatives that benefit and engage the community.
While inspired to build and sustain Saskatchewan’s creative industries, she has blazed entrepreneurial trails with a solid track record of investing in people, supporting communities, and advancing an industry she loves.
In her newest venture My Life Planner, she proudly shares the tools birthed from the commitment to enjoy all life has to offer while continuing to achieve success as an entrepreneur and mother of two young boys. She inspires others with her passion as she shares the stories of the strength she has gained through her vast life experiences.
About the Champ // Community Futures Saskatchewan
Community Futures Saskatchewan has been in the business of encouraging and supporting their communities, volunteers, and small business owners for more than 25 years. They know what it takes to start and grow a business, to raise money for a community project, or organize to provide a much-needed community service. And they'll approach your idea in a way as individual as you are.
Connect //
GAB LAB CHAMP // Community Futures Saskatchewan www.cfsask.ca
GAB LAB HOST // Taunya Woods Richardson taunya@nailthenumbers.com // 1.844.844.3660
FINANCIALLY FIERCE FOUNDER // Candyce Bakke at https://candyce.disha.page
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