Lay the Course Podcast · Vela Creative Co.

Steps to Making Your Money Work For You and Not the Other Way Around

·39 min·2 clips

Octavia says she had a negative $152 bank balance, then rebuilt to a six-figure and seven-figure breakthrough.

1. Lay the Course Podcast centers this episode on "Steps to Making Your Money Work For You and Not the Other Way Around." 2. Kelsey Stein is the host and owner of Vela Creative Co., and Octavia Conner is the guest, the founder of Say Yes to Profits and author of "Say Yes to Profits." 3. The episode asks how a business owner can stop reacting to money and start using money, strategy, and mindset to grow. 4. Octavia says her story is "Broke, Busted, Disgusted, and Breakthrough," and she ties that to a negative $152 bank balance and near-foreclosure. 5. She says she returned to corporate America, kept working the business part-time, and asked what the "six-figure Octavia" would do in meetings and sales calls. 6. She says she studied successful business owners and worked on her money mindset and confidence while rebuilding. 7. She defines money blocks as the beliefs that keep owners from taking their business to the next level. 8. She gives the example of replacing "I can't afford it" with "How can I make this happen?" 9. She says many owners feel they are earning money but never keeping enough, which creates a revenue roller coaster. 10. She says Say Yes to Profits starts with where an owner wants to be in three years, then reverse-engineers the plan back to today. 11. She says the firm maps services, price points, and what to do when money lands in the bank account. 12. She says the goal is to make money work for the business instead of sitting idle. 13. She says her firm combines bookkeeping, taxes, payroll, invoicing, financial coaching, and consulting. 14. She says that monthly meetings track progress by identifying what worked and what needs to be fixed. 15. She says one client with a consulting firm grew close to 800% in 10 to 11 months. 16. She says another client, an online school owner, grew 50% in about 12 months, and she wants clients to reach a six-figure bank balance before a seven-figure mark. 17. The episode has an interview format with Kelsey asking direct business questions and Octavia answering with examples and frameworks. 18. The tone is practical and instructional, with repeated emphasis on systems, accountability, and decision-making. 19. Business owners who want clearer pricing and cash flow. 20. Listeners wanting entertainment instead of step-by-step money strategy.

As heard by us

A grounded look at cash discipline, timing, and the first hire for founders.

The conversation follows Octavia Conner as she talks through rebuilding a business after an early attempt went wrong, and the money rules she now uses to keep from repeating it.

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Why you'd press play

If you need a cleaner plan before quitting your job, start here.

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