Chrissy Kapralos' Journey: From Communications Consultant to Business Owner
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By Advisor Savvy Staff | Reading time: 4 minutes | 793 words | Date: 2023/08/01
Welcome to the third and final story from the series on entrepreneurship! In this article, we’ll cover Chrissy Kapralos’ story, the founder and primary operator of No Worries Writing Company. Chrissy’s agency provides writing services for a number of companies and purposes, including articles, web copy, news releases, email marketing and more.
Transitioning from Employment to Entrepreneurship
Prior to being a boutique business owner, Chrissy worked as a communications consultant for Ontario’s Ministry of Energy. This is where she developed a foundational understanding of writing and communications. She was freelancing on the side while working full time for the provincial government and decided to become a full time business owner in late 2021. Shortly after, Chrissy launched her agency, No Worries Writing Company. “I'm lucky in that my initial income hasn't been dramatically lower than what I made with my full-time communications role with the Ministry of Energy,” Chrissy explained. She truly is fortunate given that many entrepreneurs struggle with cash flow and maintaining certain income levels, especially after being used to a steady pay cheque.
Financial Struggles Faced by Entrepreneurs
Although, that’s not to say Chrissy didn’t experience financial struggle during this career transition. “The biggest financial hurdle for me as an entrepreneur was accessing loans,” the writing agency owner said. “I have a couple of real estate investments and financing was easy to access with the permanent government job. But when I went to apply for a new mortgage, I learned pretty quick that the bank didn't care that my monthly deposits were pretty similar to how they were before.” Many financial institutions, particularly the big five banks, prefer that their customers have stable employment, as opposed to small business or self-employment income. In the eyes of the bank, someone with a steady pay cheque from employment is far less risk, regardless of income levels and consistency. This is an unfortunate hurdle for many small business owners and self employed persons, as Chrissy is experiencing.
Operating and growing her business is important, but Chrissy also wants to become a homeowner someday. In addition, she wants to invest in real estate to build a passive income source, while building long-term wealth. For this reason, being unable to access mortgage products and other loans has provided some challenges to Chrissy’s personal finances. “I’m adapting,” Chrissy adds. “But it means being open to alternative financing sources, even if it costs more in interest.”
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Recommendations for Entrepreneurs Seeking Financing
Unfortunately, the reality is it can be more difficult to access financing products as a self employed individual or small business owner. The bank often perceives these situations as higher risk because income can be volatile. So what does Chrissy recommend? Work on your credit, stabilize your company’s revenue, and focus on your lifestyle goals. With good credit and stable revenue, it is possible to find reasonable financial solutions outside of the big banks. You may have to pay slightly higher interest and accept certain terms, but remember why you started your business and the value add it has on your life. Many self employed individuals and business owners enjoy better work life balance and are pursuing a passion. Just because you can’t access certain loans or financial products does not mean you should give up on what you’re doing!
Don't Give Up on Your Business Dreams
Despite the additional hurdle with financing solutions, Chrissy is happy with her lifestyle, career and progress. For those following a similar path, she advises, “Don't do too many things at once. Focus on what you're good at, and give it all your attention.” Money is of course important, but take the time to build your business and passion. By setting yourself up for success now, you’ll be able to build the financial future you want. “When you're just starting out, it's tempting to accept every job or gig that comes your way, even if it's unaligned with your interests and price point. But accepting too many varying jobs blurs your true vision and calling. I'd say take some time to figure out what makes you most excited in your business and give it everything you have. I believe hard work is rewarded in business, you just have to grind and let yourself get tunnel-visioned a bit.”
Investing in Yourself and Your Passions
At the end of the day, Chrissy enjoys her lifestyle and career. It provides flexibility to her life which allows her to travel and pursue a passion, which is writing in this case. The drawback is she has trouble accessing certain financial products because of the risk banks perceive in her lifestyle, but by focusing on growing your business and exploring alternative lenders, you can work around this hurdle. Remember, credit, loans and acceptance from banks isn’t everything. It’s important to invest in yourself and your passions too!