Episode•June 7, 2022•13 min

Unleashed Leadership with Nicki Conradt-Eberlin | Ep. 110

Nicki Conradt-Eberlin joins Tiffany this week to discuss how she helps others reach their financial goals as a life coach. Nicki breaks down how she transitioned from a corporate career to becoming an entrepreneur who helps individuals create their own playbooks for life. About Our Guest If you hang out with Nicki for too long, she’ll brainwash you into believing you can do anything. She is a life coach with a passion for helping individuals reach their goals through building habits of discipline, consistency, focus, and accountability. Her results-oriented coaching provides individuals the commitment to selfishly focus on themselves during their sessions. Nicki helps her overwhelmed clients by keeping things simple to create more results, not make things more complicated. Connect with Nicki Website: http://unleashedleadership.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unleashedleadership/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unleashedleadership Connect with Tiffany on Social Media Facebook: Money Talk With Tiff Twitter: @moneytalkwitht Instagram: @moneytalkwitht LinkedIn: Tiffany Grant This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

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Key Takeaways

1
Transitioning from corporate to entrepreneurship requires both financial discipline and mindset shifts.
Nicki used her corporate salary to fund her business part-time before going full-time in July 2021.
She cut non-essential expenses like Netflix to allocate more money toward business growth.
After leaving her 15+ year corporate role, she faced an identity crisis and had to build daily confidence in her new identity as an entrepreneur.
2
Budgeting is essential for both personal and business financial success.
Nicki created a sustainable budget with the specific goal of funding her business to eventually replace her corporate income.
She advises knowing exactly how much your business needs to generate to cover personal expenses before making the leap.
Entrepreneurs must plan for expenses often covered by employers, such as health insurance, vision, dental, and retirement contributions.
3
Paying yourself as an entrepreneur should start with a personal budget.
Nicki pays herself a fixed monthly amount that covers all personal bills plus fun money.
She recommends first determining your personal budget needs, then paying yourself that amount from the business.
She plans to potentially shift to a percentage-based model in the future once the business stabilizes.
4
Entrepreneurship offers flexibility in retirement planning.
Nicki notes that entrepreneurs can choose from multiple retirement vehicles including SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, and Solo 401(k).
She emphasizes that you can still build retirement savings—just in a different structure than traditional employer plans.

Intro

In episode 110 of Money Talk with Tiff, Tiffany Grant interviews life coach Nicki Conradt-Eberlin about her journey from a 15-year corporate career to full-time entrepreneurship helping clients build discipline, consistency, and accountability.
Nicki Conradt-Eberlin is a life coach and founder of Unleashed Leadership who helps overwhelmed clients reach their goals by keeping things simple and focusing on results-oriented coaching.

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– Nicki's Corporate-to-Entrepreneur Journey

Nicki worked at the same company for over 15 years, eventually becoming a training manager focused on employee development and leadership coaching. The COVID lockdown in March pushed her to start building her coaching business part-time while still employed full-time.

I knew I always wanted to be a business owner... but I never really knew how. And it actually, the month of March when COVID hit is when I was like, you know what, I think I can actually do this.
– Nicki Conradt-Eberlin

– Funding Your Business While Employed

Nicki stresses using your corporate income strategically to fund your business. She created a new budget specifically aimed at cutting non-essential expenses to allocate more money toward business growth.

I had to end up like cutting expenses, things that weren't necessary, for example, like Netflix... this amount of money that I need needs to be funded for my business so I can grow and have a bigger return later on in the future.
– Nicki Conradt-Eberlin

– Mindset and Identity Challenges

Even with her finances in order, Nicki struggled with confidence and identity after leaving her long-term corporate role. She describes feeling pressure from others and experiencing an 'identity crisis' when no longer tied to her previous company.

I felt the pressure from people... I was attached to this company that I've been with for so long. And now I'm an entrepreneur in my own company. And I'm like, who do I want to be?
– Nicki Conradt-Eberlin

– Navigating Inconsistent Income

One of the biggest adjustments was moving from a predictable bi-weekly paycheck to inconsistent business income. Nicki had to completely overhaul her budget to account for business expenses, personal bills, and discretionary spending.

You don't just naturally get a paycheck every two weeks like you did before. So really understanding how money comes in and how to make sure that I'm spending appropriately in my business, but also paying myself...
– Nicki Conradt-Eberlin

– Planning for Benefits as an Entrepreneur

Nicki highlights that entrepreneurs must proactively secure their own health insurance, vision, dental, and retirement plans. She notes that while these look different from employer-sponsored benefits, they are still accessible.

Just because you go into entrepreneurship doesn't mean that you don't get health insurance or you don't get a qualified retirement. It's just going to look different.
– Nicki Conradt-Eberlin

– How Nicki Pays Herself

Nicki pays herself a fixed monthly amount based on her personal budget needs, including fun money. She advises first calculating your personal budget, then paying yourself that amount from the business.

I pay myself on a monthly basis, and it's a specific amount. So I've allotted in that budget to pay all my personal bills. But also include fun money in there because I deserve to still have fun.
– Nicki Conradt-Eberlin

Topics

career transitionentrepreneurshipbudgetingmindsetpersonal financeretirement planninglife coachingpaying yourselfidentity shiftbenefits for entrepreneurs