050 Business, Transitions and Money with Amber McCue

Hey there, real quick, before we jump into the episode, listen, if your earnings treadmill hasn't set you free yet, running faster won't either. Listen, hustle without principles just going to burn you out. So here's what I want for you. I want you to join me for my money machine experience live. It is three free trainings. Deep dive into how to escape the treadmill and build a money machine that actually works for you. All right, grab your spot here by going to moneymachinelive.com and I'll see you in the free training. Oh, my God. This episode is gonna be killer. This is with a dear friend of mine, Amber McHugh. Listen, if you're an entrepreneur that's looking to scale, looking to understand what does it take to build a business but also build financial freedom in the process? You gotta listen to this episode. Amber McHugh scaled her business from, if I got it right, 6 cities to 26 cities during the pandemic. But we also talk about things like family, financial freedom, how the money is working, how you scale the team, the challenges, the issues that might come up, and how do you navigate those? So this episode is golden. Get in there, listen to it, let me know your comments, let me know what you think, and enjoy. See you soon.

This is the Affluent Entrepreneur show for entrepreneurs that want to operate at the end a high level and achieve financial liberation. I'm your host, Mel Abraham, and I'll be sharing with you what it takes to create success beyond wealth so you can have a richer, more fulfilling lifestyle. In this show, you'll learn how business and money intersect so you can scale your business, scale your money, and scale your life while creating a deeper impact and living with complete freedom, because that's what it really means to be an athlete entrepreneur.

Hey there, Amber. So good to have you on the Affluent Entrepreneur show.

Mel, it is always so great to speak with you. I'm pumped.

Oh, my gosh. I mean, we've now known each other for a number of years.

I know it's weird how time flies and how we reconnect in different ways. You know, once there was the random Facebook messenger call. I was like, oh, hey, what's up? This is great.

Yeah, yeah, it's crazy. And you've done some. I want everyone to hear your journey because, you know, so many people think that they're locked into a path, but you've done some incredible. You started out as a photographer.

Yeah.

If I recall correctly. And. But you really focused on one, building your business, but more importantly, building other People's businesses. And how do you help people become what you call the modern CEO, which we can talk about what that is. And I think it's going to be very similar to the affluent entrepreneur in dynamic. But for those that don't know who Amber McHugh is, can you kind of just give a rundown, tell them from whence you came?

Absolutely. Family is one of my biggest values. When I think about who. Who is Amber McHugh? Mom to three girls and one of my daughters. I've got a big age gap because my first daughter came with me to college. So she is actually in university now in California and wrapping up this year, actually. And I've got two other girls. My family and I live and work from anywhere. We follow my husband's job. Our next. We were recently living in Ethiopia prior to Chicago, where we are now. And we have. I'm going to. I'm not going to say it out publicly yet because I don't want to jinx it. So Africa somewhere, exact location, tbd. Because it could change. But we built a business by stepping into this idea of the modern CEO. And I do run two businesses, the photography company and the consulting company. From anywhere, which is really exciting for us and a big part of who we are as a family, but also impacts clearly how I show up in the business and how I connect with our teammates in the business, too.

Yeah, yeah. And so I know we can get right into some of this, is that, you know, one of the core pillars of the affluence blueprint is really about this whole idea of generate and how do we scale income, how do we scale profitability? But I think there's an element to this is, you know, like I tell people, we don't want the money in the sense of the money. We want the money for what it might give us. And what it might give us is the ability to buy back our time. And you kind of restructured your whole business one to start to build one. Flexibility. So you could do it from anywhere. Yeah. So you could raise children, so you could grow it remotely. But then in this path, just in the last couple years, you've now also looked at it and said, how do I scale it? So tell me a little bit about that. That part of the journey.

Oh, my goodness. You know, you hit on so much there. And, you know, thinking about the scale journey now absolutely ties back to the beginning journey where we have this idea that, oh, Matt may want to change jobs and, yeah, we would like to have more location. So flexibility as well, but we didn't know exactly what that was going to be, exactly how that would come about. We just had the vision for it and knew we needed to start taking steps to put that all in place. So we're building a business with this idea of we want location, freedom, flexibility, financials to be able to support that and the freedom that comes along with that from a time perspective. And so fast forward we're building that. Okay. My husband, it becomes clear what my husband's going to do and how that's going to look in our life. And it moves slower than I expected, but it's all happening. And then fast forward to living in Ethiopia and we're doing it. Our photography business, for example, was in six cities when we were in Ethiopia and came back from Ethiopia unexpectedly because of the global pandemic in March 2020, landed in the US March 17, 2020, left Ethiopia the 16th. So like overnight long haul land and it's so quiet here. I'm like, oh man. Yeah, okay. It's different. I'm like the middle of the streets in Chicago where we landed are completely empty. And of course we're looking at our business and the photography business saying we're going to be shut down. And we were less than two weeks later. And then on the consulting side, the people, clients, I work with, myself, everybody's in very uncertain times. And so we're adjusting to see how we support there. And what we decided is that this is our time to grow. We've had six cities in the photography business. We've been wanting to grow. We've got to get some fine tune some things and scale up our marketing. So. So we took that time to do it and we knew that it was going to be an investment. Gulp. Making an investment of time, financials on advertising and opening in new cities when you're completely shut down.

Yeah.

So we made a big bet. Like we've been wanting to do this scale up. We've been sitting at six cities for a while, but now feels like the right time. And it was the perfect time. In those four months of a shutdown, we went from six to 10 cities. And the next year, 2021, we had the model in place, so we added 10 more.

Wow.

Now 2022, my team said no more, no more additions until we've got to streamline some systems. We want to look at profitability because we knew growing and scaling and moving towards scale through growth was going to require an investment.

Yeah.

So we took the time, we made the financial investment as well. And now we're at a new level, so, so we need to operate a little bit differently. So we're fine tuning some things.

This is great. And for those of you listening, I hope you're hearing what's going on. One is first off, making sure that you decide where you want to go, how it looks, and the willingness to make an investment in that future. But also realize that that investment as it comes in takes from you. Growth doesn't come without a cost. And a lot of people think that growth is positive. It's just, it's a great thing. Growth is good. But uncontrolled growth can actually choke and destroy a business and it can destroy you financially in the process if you're not careful. And that's why I love what you said is now you're sitting back saying, wait a second, we need to focus now. We've got, we've, we've now increased ourselves by three times. You know, now we got to look relook at this thing from a perspective of profitability. In other words, how much cash am I going to be able to take home for this? And the second thing, and I think this is really important, is that the systems you had in place when you had six cities are likely not the systems that you can have in place when you have 26 cities to operate effectively, efficiently and profitably.

You are spot on. And our team would say, and this is where the balance as a leader of a company comes in. Because the team was saying, we're not ready. We need to get these things in place for that growth. And the reality is they were ready. Right? And if we would have paused and continued to pause, and continued to pause, you know, you could, you can get in this space of never being ready. And the reality is you can't always predict what you're going to need. So we sort of observed and decided that, hey, yes, there are going to need to be things that change, but we're not going to know exactly what is needed until we step into it. So we got some things in place and we stepped into a lot unknowing like, okay, we expect these things are going to come up. We need to watch out for these things. And then we get to 26 cities later and it's very clear, okay, here are the things we absolutely must do because of a new level of knowledge, to add anything more, to do anything more, and it starts to shift your strategy. Okay, can we add revenue in a more scalable way? Right. We were very focused on growth for a season, knowing that we get to scale, but now what we look at changes. Where can we gain efficiencies, where can we improve the customer experience and where. Yes. Can we increase profitability? Because growth costs.

Yeah.

So now we got to reset that.

And that's. So now you're kind of in a. Not, not, I would say not a pause, but, but you're taking a moment. It's kind of like climbing the big mountain. You, there's a moment in the, in that climb where you just kind of stop, get your breath, get your bearings, what's next, make sure you're, you're energized and well rested and then you move for the next peak.

Yes, 100%. And you know, there's this space where my team was saying no more, no more growth. And okay, and what do we need to do to get ready for the next season of growth? So really defining, what is it that we need to do to move back. Right. To get back on the climb? Because if we just say like no more, we could be hanging out there for a long time.

It's so true. And this may come as a generalization side and I want to be careful about that. But when we start to grow, whether it's exercising a muscle, exercising a mind, exercising a business, we're going to places we haven't been. Just like exercise, when you first start working out, you get muscle soreness. It's because we're moving beyond the boundaries of what we know. And I think sometimes the team, because we're starting to move into unknown territories, will say we're not ready. And as a leader, as you call them, the modern CEO, it seems to me that it becomes the leaders ability and responsibility to paint the vision, but also the pathway to the possibility and how, how to do it and give them, give the team the skill set, think they need, but the certainty of that journey. Am I, am I saying it right?

Yeah, absolutely. I completely agree with that. And there are moments where I find myself in a situation saying, oh, you prepared for this, right? You've studied this, you've learned this, you, oh, you had these lessons before that inform where you want to be going in this moment and how you want to navigate this new situation. And on the team side, I think it's also painting the vision, sharing the path, getting everybody on the team the tools they need and also ensuring that it's not my edict that we're going to have 10 more cities. And this is the vision, but engaging and connecting so that this is our shared vision. And there's A connection there. And sometimes I may go too far on that. But I am very much a collaborative leader. So if my team say no, okay, there's a reason for that. Let me hear that. What do you need to be ready? And we literally have a dashboard that we're going back to once a month. We've actually, it might be more than once a month. We've already checked in on it this year because I pulled it up and I said, hey, remember these are the things we said we wanted to do before we could grow. Well, 50% of them are done.

Wow.

So we're moving at a pretty good pace here. And it instills confidence and people can see, oh my gosh. When we set our minds to something, when we are clear on our goals and everybody's clear on what they need to do to move toward that vision. Like, okay, okay, we can make some stuff happen.

So good. Because I love dashboards and scorecards. We use them in the affluence blueprint with my folks because if we're not checking the pulse on the patient, we don't know if the patient's even breathing right.

And sometimes we get over complicated. But the reality is there's a handful of metrics that we can look at personally and business wise to tell us, hey, we're on the right track, we're on the right trajectory. Oh, do I need to tweak something? Do I need to change something? And I get it. We live in a world of creatives and visionaries and everything. But at some point we got to measure it, to manage it in order to manage it, to get to the goals we want. So here's a question for you, because I know you're doing this because you love what you do, but there's a personal side to this. Obviously, as entrepreneurs, we have a vision for our business. We have a vision for the impact we want to have. We have a vision for the solutions we want to create and the passion for that. But we also have a vision for our life. We also have a desire to have a certain type of personal life, a certain type of lifestyle, if you will. How, if you looked at it, how have you married the two or synced the two, if you will, to make sure that one is feeding the other. Because you and I both know entrepreneurs that are so focused on their business that they, and they're what I call treadmill entrepreneurs. They. But they do it at the expense of their relationships, their health, their stress levels, all these other things. And to me, that one sided success is Actually not success.

They're so. Mel, you are hitting all the things that are so on my mind right now. And it's interesting because I was a workaholic in corporate, you know, working late, way too late. Like, boss, who I had great relationships with messaging. I am in back at 2am like, what are we doing? Like, looking back, there's nothing that was so important that we needed to be up at that time doing it. And so I have that mindset. And I also have chronic migraines, and it was recently confirmed that I likely have fibromyalgia, which is. I'm just learning about. There's. I don't even know what I do with that at this point. So I've had chronic migraines. My first migraine was when I was in third grade. Wow. So the doctor this morning, he's like, 30 years of dealing with this. Oh, 30 years. And there was a season where I could just plow through and it wouldn't impact me. And then there was a season where I'm like, but I don't even want to live like that. Then I realized.

That, oh, this could also be impacting your. Like, there. It's all interconnected. Right. So I led with this idea of family as core value. And through all of this, I'm realizing, like, oh, wait, but are you showing up in a way in your life, in your business that demonstrates that, oh, no. Okay, maybe you're working too hard. All right, time to change some things. And then not even too hard, but just too many hours, like, not at work, just, you know, silly. So I won't even say not smart, because I was, like, getting a lot done, but it was just overkill. So I realized as people were saying, you know, you could probably bring it down a notch and everything would be fine. And it's so funny. I have a younger brother. My dad married some. I have a younger brother who's like 7 years old, same age as one of my daughters. And he said to my dad, you know, Amber's done a lot of good stuff. Why is she working so hard? Like, she's doing. I'm like, oh, my gosh. And so there's still a replaying of this that comes up. So I'm constantly checking in with myself, with my team and with my family to say, like, oh, this is going to be a busy season, so I'm going to be really focused. There's this proactive communication. We keep each other in check. And it's not always I don't love. I don't like working weekends. I don't typically do that, but there are a couple of seasons, like, we. We run a planning event for entrepreneurs called the Plan A Thon. I worked four weekends in a row, and I was done at the end of it. So there are seasons where it comes up, but we're in conversation as a family when that happens. And we're also looking forward. My husband and I are having a lot of conversations around this. Like, all right, what does this look like in 5 years, 10 years? Where do we want to be forecasting ahead to balance current reality with future also? Again, pulling toward that vision.

So good. So good. And this is what I. I actually. And this is why I say that the whole idea of work life balance is a myth. Is that too often. Too often we're trying to. They say you got to get balance, and balance insinuates that you have this. This weight on one side and a counterweight on the other side, and they're pulling against each other in the middle is your life in this middle of this tug of war. And what is balance? And that's why I said it's actually more about work life harmony. If I can harmonize the things in my life, the factors, whether it's health, whether it's relationships, whether it's business.

Then now all of a sudden, things aren't tugging at each other. And I think one of the greatest.

Movers of harmony is what you're doing when you say the communication is intentionality. Is that. Is that we actually are having intentional conversations, whether it's around money, whether it's around our vision for our financial plan, whether it's around business, whether it's around our children, that we're actually having real conversations.

Around.

What the intent is in this season of our life and knowing that, hey, you know what? I might work these next four weekends. But it wasn't a surprise. It was done in a way. I mean, Stephanie and I, which, by the way, she gets migraines like crazy, too, so y' all need to talk. Yeah.

Yes.

I tell her they're mal grains that just. She just, you know, and I tell her there's no medication for a malgrain. You're stuck with it. So. But, you know, we actually look at a year, and at least at the beginning of the year, we automatically plan, you know, every 90 days, you know, a vacation or staycation, whether it's. It's just shutting things off. So we are together. We're reflecting, we're reconnecting, we're rejuvenating. So we can recharge and, and hit the ground running on the other side of it. But instead of going through our business and our life and then seeing, oh, we have a free weekend, let's go do something we do the other way around and say, no, those are the weeks or the weekends or the three days or the four days and we block it out, we lock it in and we don't change it.

We don't change it.

And it's intentional. And what I'm hearing from you, especially with, with kids and all these things, is that y' all are being intentional. Here's this California guy using y'. All. But whatever.

If it totally worked, you know, as hearing you say that, I'm just reflecting on our time overseas and I'm so excited to get back there. And I was actually just today looking at the school calendar for the location, I hope where we get locked into. And I was reminded that the international school, the international community versus where I'm sitting right now in the US looks at this a little bit differently. Like there's a one week fall break, there's a one week spring break, there's a three week winter break and plus you know, some peer teacher conferences, some weekends in between. And you know, we're going places. Like we are in incredible location. Okay, what are we going to do is Cape Town, Dubai, Rome? I mean the list of possibilities that was, those are some of the locations we went to before. So we're going to open up some new possibilities with a repeat to Cape Town. Highly recommend it. But like we live for this. And the other thing that I find, Mel, and I wonder if you find this as well, but when I have that thing to look forward to, it pulls me through. Like it creates an excitement for a life, for what we're up to, to for what we've got coming. That I'm like, oh, getting some stuff done before we get to go on this awesome vacation. No problem. Like it just feels so joyful and for the family too. Like we're thinking, okay, what do we need to do to get ready for this next move? And it's all, there's so much enthusiasm around all of it. Like we love where we are, we love where we're going and it just brings a lot of joy to so many elements of life.

I love that because we talk about it in the affluence blueprint, this idea that one of the three critical outcomes is a richer lifestyle. And richer lifestyle isn't about money in the bank, it's about the experiences and the feelings you create in life. Now, money helps, and that's one piece of it. But if money is the sole piece. And that's why when we talk about the affluent entrepreneur, I'm not talking about just money. We're having life conversations because especially for, you know, with children, to give them worldly experiences, they're irreplaceable. It's so, so valuable to do that. But then you look at yours and Matt's relationship. When Stephanie and I got together, we're now married ten and a half years, and I got the better end of that deal. And that is we looked at each other and said, we want to create experiences with each other, memories with each other. Now, those cost money. So we plan for it, we build it in, we create the financial plan we look at. But that's, that's what's pulling us. That's why I say the first core principle from a financial standpoint is to understand your why before your how and how much. You know, so many people say, I just want to have a million dollar business. I want a million dollar revenues, and it's just an arbitrary number. But the real question is why.

Yeah, I completely agree. And sometimes I feel like that why question can feel like a big one to answer. Like, what if my why is to generate more cash flow so I can have freedom? Yeah. Like, go with whatever comes to mind in that moment. And it doesn't have to be the. Like, the depth will come as you step into it. Like, I didn't realize. I knew I wanted to volunteer, I knew I wanted to give back. But when I was sitting in Ethiopia, those words and that, that want, that didn't feel very deep. Like, give back. Okay. Yeah, we all, like, build in a give back model. It's easy, it feels like no brainer. But then when I'm standing in Ethiopia and I see the opportunity to give back and see the opportunity, the need, and see the compassion that people have for people, each other, and the way community comes together, I'm like, oh, okay, here's where I can support. Here's where I can volunteer. Here, like, the path becomes clear. So I hear why. And so I, at the beginning, I was like, oh, this just feels, you know, like it could be, it's generic, it could be anybody's why, but the depth can come in the nuances as you step into action. So don't let not having a deep enough why hold you back.

So true. And the why is going to change. Yeah, you don't have to set it and say, oh, my God, it's like. It's even like the kids that are coming out of school, going into college, and, you know, say, hey, what are you going to do for a living? And they're supposed to have the answer to the rest of their days at 18, at 17, at 16, are you kidding me? I mean, and yet it's going to unfold when life happens. When I got cancer, when my granddaughter was born, the why shifted. The why changed. When I met Stephanie, the why changed and being okay with that. And I think that the key thing that you said there, and I see it a lot in personal development, is that, well, think about your purpose and journal on it. And this. That clarity doesn't come from contemplation. It comes from action. And the action might simply be go. Well, that didn't feel good. I don't want to do that again. Well, great. Now, you know, one less thing that you're going to do, but over time, you're shaving away to the one thing or the two things that give you the clarity and the movement and the depth, as you call it, to continue to move forward.

Mm.

Yeah.

I could not agree more. And it's scary at the beginning, and I will say, as I was hearing you talk and reflecting for a minute on where I am now, it's still a little scary sometimes. Like, 10 years into running the business, like, oh, right, do I really know what I'm doing? Right.

You're a decade in, and you're still questioning it.

Exactly. Like, no, you got it. Just keep working it. Like, keep going. And that's like, stay in action. And not necessarily, like, 247 action, but strategic, focused, measurable. Right? What. What matters? I talk about them as the $100 bills. Like, are you going after the ones and the fives? Are you keeping your focus on the honeys and keep that focus on the $100 bills and be strategic to go and get them and not just grab anything that's laying around. Right. So take focus. Strategic action. And it's constantly going to be evolving and changing.

I want to throw something at you just. Just because we were talking about this. It's been a decade, and I probably. And I know the answer, but let's just see the thing that drove you, say, eight years ago versus the thing that's driving you today. How much has it changed?

Oh, you know, it hasn't overwhelmingly changed.

Okay.

Nuances, shifts, evolution. What I will say is a big shift for me is things that we conceived of as they become reality. Like, oh, oh, okay. Like, it's more of. It's a continual awe, which I think probably that realization makes it very fun along the way too. But I'd say it's a continual awe of what entrepreneurs do, of what my peers do, of what my. Our colleagues do. And it's a continual. Oh, my gosh. Like, it all just works if you stay at it. Because 10 years ago, we never would have thought we would have a team in the photography business. A team of 50. We operate smaller in the consulting business. All strategically done and purpose and intention for both of those team sizes. But there was always part of me that was like, oh, I want to. I want to support people in growing my business. I want to create an environment where we care for each other and we love each other up. And it's not just about push and grind, but we're doing something cool. And I never would have imagined it's happened in the way that it has happened, because when we started the photography business, Joanna and I were like, okay, this is going to be a way to not have the job anymore. And then we're like, oh, wait, but we want freedom. And then the layers started coming. Don't create another job for yourself. Create something that will give you freedom. Well, how do we do that? We're the photographer and the stylist and the shoot director. Oh, wait, you don't have to be the stylist and the shoot director. Oh, wait, it doesn't have to be you doing XYZ. Now fast forward, right, 50 employees. So it's shifted and evolved. And so I'd say the big difference is the nuances and how it came to life. Never would have expected.

Awesome. Awesome. Now, we're coming towards the end of our time, but I want to shift gears a little bit. Yeah, because you're in a household similar to mine in the sense that Matt's. He's a W2. He's an employee.

Yeah.

Okay. You're an entrepreneur.

Yeah.

Stephanie is an employee, you know, executive. Just, you know, they're. They're both amazing careers in their own right. And I'm an entrepreneur. I've been that for decades. I'm an entrepreneur because I'm unemployable by anyone else. Okay.

But the two of you find a way to get on the same page. And the two of you are working towards a common goal, financially, personally, aside from his career and your business. Tell us how that works with you.

You know, I love listening, learning from engaging, connecting with people who I just do not understand. Like, Right. I like to say I understand Matt's world a little bit because I, you know, I've read on it and I like, I try and we live it like it create our lifestyle. And then at the flip side, he, he's like, I don't know what you. I don't understand how this works. And, you know, could I bring him along on some of it? Maybe. But he still offers great perspective.

Yeah.

And same. We're a partnership, so I think that's probably a key thing. I love to learn from people who have different perspectives because it may unlock something that I didn't see before and I don't know. So I think that's a big value add in our partnership and in our relationship now. Does that mean we duke it out? Sometimes we're like.

So, yeah, you know, we got as yet, as I'm sure you and Steph do.

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

Like, we figure our way through that. We have admiration.

And I usually grovel my way back saying, sorry, honey.

Matt probably kindly says sorry more than I do, meaning I should probably say sorry more. But I may be more stubborn.

Matt, I'm sending you this clip.

I love it. So I love the different perspectives that can be brought in. And sometimes I do have to say, like, okay, good that he knows that I can't take that in right now. Like, I can't focus on that right now. Which I'd say is another great thing to be able to live the way that we do. He'll take care of some stuff, I'll take care of other stuff. Like I manage the day to day financials. He's looking a little bit more long term right now. Like, and we're sort of, you know, debating some things and how we invest and how we set ourselves up for 10, 20 years from now, but embracing those nuances again and the differences all of us have and that pulls through to team everything.

Yeah.

You're working on Mel. Like, okay. Anytime you want to share banter about that. Oh, I love it.

Yeah. And I think that's, you know, one of the things that I think is really important, especially when we start having money conversations, especially when we have these conversations, is realize that if you're in a committed relationship, y' all are in a money relationship too. I mean, money is one of the biggest stressors in relationships in life just in general. The fact of the matter is that I believe it's the missing link between mental wellness and physical wellness. Because without financial wellness, you can't rid yourself of the number one stressor in life. And so if we truly, if we come at it from the traditional roles where one party in the relationship is all money and the other party is not, there's a separation there that I think should not exist. I think it causes problems down the road. Unknowns. I watched my mom as well as my mother in law when both Stephanie's dad and my dad die, freaking out and saying, can we keep the house? And it was because. Not because our dads kept things from them. They just grew in that space where they didn't have the conversations and therefore they didn't know. And yet with Stephanie, and it sounds like the same with you two, is that you have the conversations, you all know you're on the same financial page, you know where you're going now, how you get there and all that stuff. Like we just did a really cool assessment where it was almost like they pitted us against each other to see what our values were financially. And the good news is that they put it on a graph and the color scheme could be green, blue or red. And green meant that we were in sync. Blue meant that we're eh. There's a little bit of difference. Red meant that we're on totally different pages. So the good news is that there was no red for us.

And most of it was green. And the funny thing was we were laughing about it, going, I bet if we did this in the first year our marriage, there'd be a whole lot more red.

Exactly. And as you were talking, I'm like, oh my gosh. The stories were coming up. There were moments I managed our budget so I knew where everything was going. Matt spends the budget. And I was like, dude, come on. Like, do you not see what I'm going through? So we made a trade at one point where he was going to manage the budget. Like our budget's a mess. What are you going to yell at me like, what are we going to do about this? He's like, nah, it's all good. We'll make more of it. Like we got to keep the money flowing. I was like, oh. Which for me was a mindset at the time. Like what? Like I'm working hard on this. And he say money is just going to keep flowing. In fact, he said this to me a couple of weeks ago too. He's like, we're getting stagnant. We gotta get some money moving around so we can bring more in and hit our next level. I'm like, yes, I see it, I know it. We have to give to receive. And we Gotta, like, line things up and take action. And if there are checks I haven't deposited, I notice, like, oh, you gotta do something with that. So there's this conversation. There's the practicality of managing budgets and looking at our financials and doing fun assessments, and then there's, like, this little bit of energetic alignment that we factor in as well. And it's cool that we have similar values on that. Like, before, I would have resisted, and I'm like, all right, all right, you're right.

Yeah.

But.

But I think that's the. That's the key. So, I mean, those of you listening, if you're in. In any kind of committed relationship or are going to be, they're your partner. They're your partner in life, in everything. Finances, money. As hard as the choices, as hard as these conversations can be, they're healing and they're bonding for. For the relationship.

And I think that if you intend to. If you truly intend to achieve your financial vision personally, it can't be done without those conversations.

Completely agree. And when you said healing, they're healing. If we listen, like, as Matt has said some key sentences about money to me over the years, and I'm like, oh, I heard that. Now I know where you're coming from. Okay. Actually, there's some truth to that. Like, where do I need to adjust? And I felt my shoulders just drop a little as you said. They're healing. I'm like, oh, you're right.

Yeah. So good, so good, so good. Oh, man, I could talk to you forever. We could just. All things business, money, everything. Life, relationships. Oh, my God. Yeah.

If I can make it to Cali before Africa move, that would be a win.

Let's do it.

That would be a win.

So let. Just so everyone knows, how can they kind of follow you? Because you're doing a lot of really amazing stuff for entrepreneurs. With entrepreneurs, not just photography. You're helping people build and scale businesses the right way. At least in the way that doesn't suck the life out of you.

Exactly.

How do people find you, Amber?

We. I'm super easy to find. Ambermcch.com Amber McHugh on Instagram Amber McHugh Facebook page. Amber McHugh Easy, breezy all right, we'll.

Make sure that we put it all up in the show notes, and y' all should be following her. She's. There's a. First things first. The people that I try to bring on the show, a lot of them are my friends, but they are amazing souls, amazing hearts, amazing examples of what's possible. And I feel like I am the one that's blessed to be able to say they're my friends.

I could not agree more. You build an incredible circle and could not feel more lucky to be a part of yours.

Oh my God. Thank you, Amber. Thanks for being on the show and I know we've got some things planned this year together, so I will know all the moves, all the things and everything. So thank you again.

Thank you.

Thank you for listening to the Affluent entrepreneurship with me, your host, Mel Abraham. If you want to achieve financial liberation to create an affluent life stuff, join me in the Affluent entrepreneur Facebook group now by going to melabraham.com group and I'll see you there.

And that's it for this episode of Building your Money Machine where we help you learn how to master your money, eliminate financial stress, and live a life of choice. If you found this valuable or helpful to you, here's what love for you to do. If you do me a favor, go to Apple, Apple Podcast, or wherever you're listening to this podcast and rate and review the show. It helps us tremendously to keep us at the top of the list so we can continue to get this information and this message out to people. Because I truly believe that financial freedom is your birthright and I want to help each and every one of you claim it. Thanks so much.