😅 Fake It Till You Make It: $100K & CEO Secrets

🏦 Finance Fix

So You Put Personal Money Into Your Business?

 Maybe it was $300 to build your website.

or it was your own savings to cover your first ad campaign.

and you have definitely been paying for business stuff on your personal card for months now…

Whatever it was, if you’ve put personal money into your business, make it count. And if you’re not tracking it properly, you are leaving money on the table!

• 💰 You deserve credit for what you’ve invested.

• 🧾 It could reduce your taxes later.

• 🧠 And it helps you actually see what it took to get your business off the ground.

Record Your Personal Contribution (no accountant required):

1. Label it for what it is: an “Owner’s Contribution”
   This just means you’re putting money into your business not earning it from a client. (Investrio app does this!)
    

2. Track it (somewhere!).
   Use a Google Sheet, your Notes app, or your new favorite app (hi 👋).
    

3.  Example:
   

   • 04/18/25 – $142 – Instagram ad (paid with personal card)

   • 04/20/25 – $360 – Domain + hosting (used savings)

Make it easy on you in the future.

Start separating personal + business now. Even if you still use the same bank account, get in the habit of tagging what’s what. 

You’ll thank yourself come tax season. 😉 

🎯 Grants for Solopreneurs & Small Businesses

💖 Up to $10K for Women Entrepreneurs
The Amber Grant offers monthly $10,000 grants to women-owned businesses — and a shot at $25,000 at the end of the year.
📅 Apply here by April 30, 2025

🧪 $10K for Technical Tinkerers
Z Fellows will pay you $10,000 to pause your day job for a week and build your dream side project.
📅 Apply here (rolling)
 

💻 $15K from Square for Black Founders
Square’s Black Equity Grant Program supports Black-led tech companies with up to $15,000 in funding.
📅 Apply here (rolling)
 

📣 $15K for Social Impact Founders
RCF Innovation is awarding $15,000 grants to entrepreneurs creating meaningful social change.
📅 Apply here (rolling)
 

🏙️ $20K for Food Entrepreneurs on the East Coast
Santander’s Cultivate Small Business Program offers grants and business support for food founders based on the East Coast.
📅 Apply here by May 1

Picture this: You’re 23 years old.

You help build a startup that powers every AI tool you know today. Then you get pushed out. Most people would cry, rage, maybe grab a little severance cash and peace out.
 

Not Lucy Guo.
 

She kept her equity. Fast forward to 2025: Her small slice of the company?

Now worth $1.2 billion. 

And just like that she dethroned Taylor Swift as the youngest self-made female billionaire. 💅
 

Here’s the part that matters for you:

Even if you’re running a small business, long-term ownership matters.

💥Ownership > quick cash
It's tempting to take early money (partnerships, bad deals, rushing to "exit").
But holding onto your piece  even when it’s hard  protects your future wealth.

💥Build assets, not just income
Lucy didn’t just build Scale AI; she moved on and built Passes too (now worth $150M). As a founder, your skills, brand, and intellectual property are your real assets.

💥Bet on yourself, even after setbacks
Getting pushed out didn’t end her career, it multiplied her moves.