Joey Albertson on Why Money Feels Personal & How Women Can Reclaim Their Confidence

Entrepreneurship often promises freedom, purpose, and the chance to build something meaningful. Yet for many women business owners, opening a bank statement can trigger anxiety, shame, or self-doubt. In the latest episode of The Profitability Podcast, host Joey Albertson—a seasoned accountant turned “financial therapist”—delivers a deep-dive talk on why money is emotional, especially for women juggling mission-driven work and personal lives. Drawing on real client stories, psychological insights, and practical frameworks, Joey guides listeners toward understanding the hidden beliefs that shape their financial decisions. In this article, we unpack the episode’s core themes, interpret Joey’s lessons for a professional audience, and explore how targeted consulting services can help turn emotional barriers into strategic breakthroughs.

Money as an Emotional Mirror  

Every dollar we earn, save, or spend carries more than its face value—it reflects our personal history and beliefs. For many women, childhood experiences imprint lasting narratives about scarcity, worth, or approval. Perhaps a parent cautioned against frivolous spending, teaching that wanting “more” was greedy. Or a past relationship conditioned us to feel unworthy of financial autonomy. These stories become an emotional lens: undercharging for fear of rejection, hoarding cash to feel safe, or avoiding financial discussions altogether. Although spreadsheets present clear, objective data, our minds often overlay them with feelings of guilt, shame, or inadequacy.

Recognizing money’s emotional dimension is the first step toward change. When we accept that numbers alone cannot explain our financial behaviours, we open space to explore underlying beliefs. This shift reframes balance-sheet reviews from judgment to self-inquiry. Instead of asking “What’s wrong with me if my bank account is low?” we learn to ask “Which past story is influencing my spending or saving today?” Over time, uncovering these patterns can transform anxiety into curiosity, guilt into understanding, and avoidance into proactive engagement.

In practice, treating money as a mirror means pausing before each decision. Are you negotiating a new contract or price increase through the lens of fear? Do you hesitate to invest in a team member because of a scarcity mindset? Bringing awareness to those feelings allows you to separate emotional impulses from strategic choices. As you build this discipline, financial management becomes not just a technical task but a powerful tool for personal growth and business resilience.

Overcoming Financial Shame  

Shame around money can feel isolating, like a secret we dare not reveal. Joey describes a client who likened sharing her bank statements to a “financial mammogram” (which in itself is extremely uncomfortable, but in could turn out to be a life-saving procedure). That analogy underscores how vulnerability and exposure often accompany financial transparency. When shame takes hold, it overrides facts: a business owner with a healthy cash reserve may still avoid looking at statements, convinced the numbers will confirm unworthiness.

To overcome shame, it helps to enlist a neutral ally. In Joey’s practice, she and her CFO colleague act as “financial therapists,” offering objective reassurance: facts are neither good nor bad, they simply are. This third-party perspective breaks the cycle of self-criticism. By hearing that current figures reflect solid progress, it often is far beyond where the client believed they stood. For now, women can begin to reclaim trust in their financial leadership. The relief of having an unbiased partner validate the data often proves more transformative than any spreadsheet adjustment.

Building shame-resilience also involves reframing financial reviews as celebrations of progress. Instead of seeing a monthly check-in as a test, consider it a milestone: an opportunity to acknowledge wins, identify trends, and plan for next steps. Over time, these positive associations erode the dread that once accompanied each login to online banking. As shame subsides, confidence grows, paving the way for bolder company decisions; raising prices, hiring new talent, or investing in mission-driven initiatives.

Five Mindset Shifts to Regain Control  

Moving from emotional reactivity to strategic agency requires more than lofty affirmations—it demands actionable mindset shifts. Joey outlines five core pivots that reshape how women entrepreneurs relate to money:

1. Normalize Monthly Check-Ins
   Block out 30 minutes each month to review income, expenses, and outstanding invoices. Consistency turns fear into familiarity and builds trust in your ability to lead financially.

2. Leverage Data for Decisions
   Treat profit margins or cash runway as a business coach—objective and unemotional. Choose one key metric and let it guide pricing, hiring, and marketing investments.

3. Price for Profit, Not Just Survival
   Align rates with the true value delivered. Many entrepreneurs undercharge by 50–80%. Conduct a pricing audit to ensure fees support growth goals and mission impact.

4. Build and Protect Cash Buffers
   Aim to save one month’s operating expenses, then automate profits using a profit-first system. A healthy buffer reduces shame and fuels creativity.

5. Treat Your Venture as a Real Business
   Separate personal and business accounts, keep books up to date, and implement simple systems—even a basic spreadsheet proves your capacity to lead financially.

Implementing these shifts often begins with the simple act of scheduling that first check-in. Small wins compound: reviewing numbers one month reveals a pattern to adjust pricing the next, which frees cash to build your buffer in the months after. The cumulative effect of disciplined practices rewires nerve pathways, transforming money from a trigger into a tool.

Putting Strategy into Practice with Expert Guidance  

Even the most committed entrepreneurs can stall without hands-on support. Recognizing this, Joey offers a suite of one-off and comprehensive consulting services designed to translate mindset shifts into operational reality:

• Pricing Audit
  A market-agnostic deep dive that maps your service capacity, benchmarks fees against growth targets, and uncovers hidden undercharging. Ideal for businesses ready to align revenue with mission.

• Budget Buster + Profit-First Implementation
  First, a customized budget that reflects true operating needs. Then, a profit-first system automates cash allocation—ensuring you save before you spend and steadily build your buffer.

• Tax Strategy Call
  A 90-minute session with Joey’s in-house CPA, Bailey, to uncover tax savings through deductions and structural planning. Clients consistently recover multiples of their investment in the call.

• People-Process-Profit Overhaul or Profit Overhaul
  A three- to six-month partnership that reimagines your entire financial infrastructure. From team roles to software selection, this end-to-end solution accelerates clarity, scalability, and impact.

Each service not only addresses a strategic gap but reinforces the five mindset shifts. The Pricing Audit concretizes the value-aligned pricing shift; Profit-First Implementation embeds cash-buffering habits; the Tax Strategy Call reframes tax planning from fear to opportunity; and the Overhaul cements the discipline of treating your venture as a real business.

Beyond technical fixes, clients gain ongoing emotional support. Working alongside a consultant who speaks both accounting and emotional intelligence boosts accountability and accelerates results. It’s the equivalent of having a financial coach, therapist, and cheerleader all in one.

Why Strategy Alone doesn't work

Money may present itself as a cold ledger of figures, but for women entrepreneurs, it often carries a lifetime of stories, of scarcity,of missed opportunities, of missing self-worth, and survival. Ignoring those emotional currents keeps us stuck in patterns of undercharging, overworking, or avoiding our finances altogether. By recognizing money’s emotional charge, overcoming shame, and adopting five key mindset shifts, namely, regular check-ins, data-driven decisions, profit-aligned pricing, cash buffering, and treating our ventures as legitimate businesses; we can reclaim both confidence and clarity.

Expert guidance, from targeted pricing audits to comprehensive profit overhauls, bridges the gap between insight and action, ensuring that new habits stick and produce measurable impact.

If you’re ready to transform money from a trigger into a tool, consider scheduling a discovery call or exploring one of Joey Albertson’s consulting offerings.

Ready to rewrite your financial story?

Subscribe to The Profitability Podcast for more insights, or reach out to Joey’s team for a personalized Pricing Audit or Profit-First Implementation. Your mission deserves the freedom that comes from emotional mastery and strategic discipline.