Finances with Founders: How Women Founders Build Purpose-Driven Businesses While Achieving Financial Success

Becoming a successful founder isn’t an overnight process, but the dedication to a vision for yourself and your community is the first step in the right direction. MAKERS hosted Finances with Founders, a live event on LinkedIn, to provide a space for women to share actionable steps that help women thrive as entrepreneurs - both professionally and personally. Meggie Palmer, founder of PepTalkHer, Jessica Murrey, founder of Wicked Saints Studios, and Sadie Lincoln, founder of Barre3, shared their respective insights and experiences on entrepreneurship, guiding attendees on how they can incorporate the panelists' strategies into their own journeys.

Meggie Palmer began the panel by emphasizing the importance of closing the gender pay gap–something she’s done with her company–noting how the economic empowerment of women leads to “great things.” Palmer, Murrey, and Lincoln are all founders working to emphasize the importance of returning to community impact as a part of their leadership. It’s part of their journey as founders and what they seek to integrate into their daily mission.

Balancing Community with Profit

The guiding principle for balancing profit and community impact is being driven by a community-focused purpose. Lincoln said she looks at how she’s “uniquely positioned to solve a problem” and then connects that to a business model that’s “aligned on purpose.” Murrey described how moving from a non-profit world of peacebuilding work to a for-profit organization was a shift for her. “I did not expect to be a founder,” she said. But, in developing a platform for mental health, she was driven to connect with “young people with mental health issues [who] could use these tools to better their lives.” Murrey also brought up a point of how success for her is removed from material things: “Success to me is impact.” That’s the foundation of her image of success but in moving into the for-profit world, she had to “think of stakeholders and how they define success.”

All three panelists touched on something important for new founders: balancing financial freedom with purpose. As a panel, the three women agreed that creating a model that is financially uplifting but still purpose-driven is a good balance. For Lincoln, a “purpose over profit” mindset keeps her connected to her business mission while ensuring her own financial stability. Palmer shared how in her journey learning to give herself a paycheck was a critical junction because she was so focused on building her company she hadn’t invested in herself. Financial stability can be uncertain at the start of a founding journey, but the panelists emphasized that building financial stability as a founder is essential for supporting overall well-being.

Reflecting on Self-Care and Success

Murrey emphasized the importance of a “safety net” in aiding her work-life balance. In her small town, she has a network of friends and family who can step in when she needs help. Engaging with community has become a crucial part of her well-being practice as a founder. For Lincoln, a “dedicated practice to mindfulness” helped her personally and then became a part of her business plan. Palmer started making boundaries around her time that created more stability in her daily planning, she commented, “Slow down to eventually go faster.” The panel continued to stress a balanced well-being is essential to growth as a founder.

Palmer, Murrey, and Lincoln ended by giving advice to those beginning a founder's journey. “I must feel passion to continue to grow and crush our goals together,” Lincoln said - for her to ensure this prioritizing cash flow is number one. “Cash is queen,” she emphasized. Murrey added “Don't fall in love with your product. Fall in love with people and your problem.” Overall, the three panelists emphasized that aligning passion with purpose is key to driving your idea and company forward.

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This article was written by Suzanne Bagia, a freelance writer for MAKERS.