January 26, 2012

In November 2011 the Company was nominated for the Women 2.0 international Business Model Competition. Out of 1000 companies, across 16 countries, and 63 cities Ascend was selected as 1 of 8 finalists for their business model & potential to be a disruptive technology.  Finalists have been selected to pitch their business model to a conference full of Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists.  The goal of Women 2.0 is to empower and connect women founders of emerging technologies to the funding community so they can grow and scale quickly.     LeAnne and Ascend will be participating in the Pitch Conference sponsored by Women 2.0 in February 2012.  The Company is raising $1 million dollars.

About Ascend Live:

Ascend Live is a private label of our small business budgeting software found at SpendonPurpose.com   The software was created for non-accountant types, and then tailored for the Mary Kay professional’s unique business needs.  Ascend Live helps Mary Kay community reduce overspending, keep more of what they make, and sparkle at tax time.   The software excels in her simplicity and use of a web-based “envelope system.”  Unbeknownst to the user, Ascend is a full blown dual-entry accounting system—hidden by intuitive features and language.   Ascend Live helps the Mary Kay sales force see how much money they have “left to spend” on everything from stamps to office supplies.  The Company is highly personable, with an approachable go-to-team for financial questions.  Their ancillary services, including courses, webinars, expert calls, coaching, virtual bookkeeping, blogs, and newsletters, have become a virtual oasis for Solopreneurs.  23,000 Solopreneurs are subscribed to the Company’s e-newsletter & video training center.

About LeAnne Ozaine-Smith

LeAnne is one sassy redhead whose “real job” is/was Financial Planning with a Mass Mutual Financial Group.  Additionally she is a Financial Coach & infectious speaker on “all things money” in a Solo-entrepreneur’s business.  As President of Ascend, she spearheaded 4 software applications, along with hosting thousands of webinars, working the speaking circuit, creating a video training center, and a newsletter list of 26,000 Solopreneurs.    Under her leadership, the Company has increased sales by 330% from its 1st year to its 3rd, and turned a profit in its third year.  Within months of releasing Ascend she brokered the Company’s first white label for Mary Kay, Inc.; she is Mary Kay’s active money management expert to their worldwide sales force.   LeAnne has published financial classes for strategic partners, an online university, & continuing Ed classes for Realtors.

People from all over the MK Community have been reaching out to us asking for some help in interpreting the news of the last week. I love that y’all trust Ascend on money stuff; you made me blush with delight! Alright all you savvy business women, let’s dig in.

The hoopla that went down around here while you were at Seminar will affect you both directly and indirectly. Here are the highlights in plain English:

· The Debt Deal: Congress and the President reached an agreement to RAISE the debt ceiling so that we didn’t default on our debt. (Need the 5 min crash course on the debt ceiling? Click here) This allows the government to borrow more money to make minimum payments on past loans. Double ugh.

· Strings Attached: The Debt Deal has strings attached. The government promises that it will cut spending over 10 years—the spending cuts will be will be felt in places that are considered “negotiable” (like Defense and Education) because that no politician is willing to go elbow deep in REFORM in the months leading up to an election year.

· Time for Vacation: Once the Debt Deal was brokered, and a congressional committee was appointed to figure out how exactly to exercise the Plan, they decided they needed a vacation. Off they went on “recess” against the express wishes of the President. Needless to say, the President isn’t keen on their choice and has asked them to come back to Washington.

· Kicked While Down: Days later, the sovereign USA got kicked in the gut while it was down: credit rating hit and the stock markets fell.

· AA+ Isn’t Good? Even though we met our deadline to pay the creditors, the rating agencies downgraded USA’s credit score. (more on why below) The credit score for government and business is based on how many big A’s you have next to your name. AAA is the best.

· Before You Say Who Cares: A worse credit score means the government will need more money for the same bills! That affects everything. Remember, your Income is the collateral the Government put up to borrow (more) money.

· The Double Whammy: The GDP (gross domestic product) and Unemployment/Jobs Report came out the day after the Debt Deal was brokered. It looked and smelled rotten. So Wall Street freaked out and dropped 10.8% late last week! Imagine 10.8% of the money in your checking account just disappearing. That’s exactly what happened to most of our IRAs and investments.

Holy Stinky Election Year

Look, there’s no pretty way to say it. As the world watched our government play politics until 11:59p something became very clear: The United States of America cannot make a decision to save its economic life… especially not with the 2012 elections just around the corner. Republicans are standing firm on not raising taxes, so they won’t vote on anything that smells of tax increase. Democrats are standing firmly on their commitment to not touching Social Security, Medicare as a way to decrease government spending. Impasse.

Be careful dear entrepreneur that you don’t bury your head in the sand, or throw up your hands in the air. Nothing is more important to our economy than the work you do in your business. You still have a fantastic business model to work with—so do the best you can with what you’ve got. Don’t wait for things to happen around you or for reform, do it yourself. You are in control of your Income and Expenses. Nobody is going to do it for you. And with high levels of unemployment, many people need leaders they can follow into starting their own business. Are you that leader?

If you want your voice heard in Washington use your liberty to make phone calls. Tell your Senators and Congressmen to go back to work and to courageously embrace reform. Tell them how you feel about the things you learned here today. If you have investments (or your spouse does) that are in the stock market, call your financial advisor with questions and ask if changes need to be done to your portfolio.

Most of all be diligent, work hard, be a good steward of your finances, and keep on keeping on!

LeAnne

PS: For the record I’m not an economist… I’m a professional financial advisor who just happens to own Ascend Live, which helps the Mary Kay professional keep more of what she makes. Sign up for Ascend at AscendLive.com

Reconciliation is an extremely important part of money management.
Reconciliation is an extremely important part of money management.
Reconciliation is an extremely important part of money management.

Just knowing what you have in your bank account is NOT reconciliation!

When I reconcile an account I am ‘touching’ with my mind each thing I spent money on. That gives me ownership and makes me AWARE of what I have just done. So it is NOT uncommon to say “Why did I buy that?”. Even though it does not fix it for that past month it makes me much more AWARE for the following month.

For the past 2 years I have found things that DO NOT belong in my accounts and that is the purpose of this article:
–A1 Member
–Grant Masters
–ClkBank
–Grants-R-Us
–APL*tunes

Those things look very harmless and could easily be overlooked on a reconciliation report. Since my corporate account is used by my husband, my mom, my children I just ‘assumed’ those were things they had bought or companies they had used.

Then I started noticing they came up over and over again each month. $15-$25 each per month. Varying amounts.    When I started my year-end clean up I noticed I had categorized them as Miscellaneous and you know you can’t have miscellaneous on a tax return. I keep thinking  I would get around to ‘asking them what it was’.   (The Ascend Team Inserts:  This is why it’s so important to do your books in a software program like Ascend; reconciling is easy, and all your expenses are categorized for you!)

Instead I goggled each company and found out they were all SCAMS. They had stolen our debit card and was using it under various names each month. So slight a thing people would not notice.

By the time I caught this last year the first 4 names had charged  $366.16 total to my account. Just yesterday I caught the APL*tunes….it looks enough like APPLE or iTunes that it had again had gone undetected. They have charged between $15-$25 each month for the past 4 months.

My bank researched everything for me last year and refunded the money back into my account and I am confident they will do this last batch. It all starts with AWARENESS.

Remember AWARENESS is the first step in Financial Freedom.

Linda

It is my personal belief that God will give us more when we take care of what he has already given us.

Whether it is our weight, our relationships or our money …awareness is key in getting started. Awareness means TRACKING. TRACKING. TRACKING. When you read that statement did you say …”I hate tracking or I don’t want to know or I am not good at that or blah, blah, blah.”   Those are areas that MUST MUST MUST change.

So figure out an affirmation to tell yourself when you hear your brain going in that direction.  Sample Affirmations I have used over the years:
–I am a smart, educated women. I will NOT be defeated by this.
–I refuse to be ignorant about this. No matter how long it takes me I will conquer this.
–I will not be defeated. I will not be defeated. I will not be defeated. No matter how many nights I have to stay awake to figure this out I will do what every it takes.
–Money buys me choices. Choices reduce stress in my life and the lives of people I love.
–I create wealth for my family. (when I see the color green)

Resources to help you track:   http://ascendlive.com

Ascend came into my life after I had mastered Quickbooks (so I personally use Quickbooks for that reason). The Ascend Program is $7.95 per month so it is less expensive and easier to use–and it was designed for the Mary Kay business.  It does splits, helps you budget and track track track.

–Linda Toupin