I submitted my second Kiva application this morning, and I did it in half the time it took me last round. If you have not heard of Kiva, here is what makes it special. They offer 0% interest business loans, crowdfunded by everyday people who lend as little as 25 dollars at a time. No interest. No predatory terms. Just community supporting community. They say it takes money to make money, and that is true. But the kind of money matters. Debt at 20% interest can sink a small business before it ever has a chance to scale. A 0% interest loan, fully funded by people who believe in you, is a completely different kind of fuel. My first Kiva loan funded fully thanks to incredible matchers and lenders, and it helped me bring my men's mental health journals to life. This second one will help me scale what is now working. A few things I have learned along the way: -There are good ways to fund a business that do not involve giving away equity or drowning in interest. -Community-backed funding is real, and it works. Since 2005, Kiva has lent over 1.7 billion dollars to 4.3 million borrowers in 94 countries, with repayment rates around 96 percent. -The story you tell matters as much as the numbers. People lend to people. I worked through this application with Claude as my thinking partner, which cut my time in half. I used AI to help me find my voice, organize my thoughts, and draw out the details that make my story land. I highly recommend Claude if you are doing any kind of writing-heavy work. Have you ever lent on Kiva, or used 0% interest funding to grow something? Drop your story in the comments. And if you are curious how it works, ask me anything below.

Step one is not a spreadsheet or tracking. It is separation of business money from personal money. Your business money should live in its own space. Its own bank account. Its own credit card. Its own inflow and outflow. When everything is mixed together, tracking and understanding the numbers feels heavy. When it is separate, you can open one or two accounts and see and track the truth. That is where clarity starts. This is also what lenders look for. When you apply for a loan through Kiva, they want to see that your business is real and organized. Separate accounts show that. It also opens the door to something bigger. You begin building a business credit profile alongside your personal credit profile. That means more options later. More flexibility. More confidence in your numbers. From here, tracking becomes more simple. 1. Pull your statements. 2. Look at what came in. 3. Look at what went out. 4. Understand your business your business numbers! If this feels like a lot, pause here.This one step is enough for now. ⬇️ Where are you right now with this? And if something feels stuck or confusing, tell me. We can make this simpler together.

What’s everyone up to this weekend? I’m playing catch up and spending time with the fam!

I had water bills showing up for the previous owner for a different address.They sat on my desk for weeks. Today I called and it took less than two minutes to let them know they have the wrong address. And now they are in the recycling bucket instead of on my desk! Nothing about that task was hard.I just didn’t start it and finally I did! So many things we carry are completely unnecessary to carry! Completing small thing build momentum fast. And momentum feels a lot better than mental clutter. What’s one thing you can take off your plate right now? Do it, then come back and tell us what you cleared ⬇️

I feel wise. I feel human. I feel grounded. My dad and I share this love for nature and building things. At 82, he’s selling electric bike lock keys on Etsy and eBay, hearing those little “ka ching” notifications on his phone all day. He packages, keeps track of everything, ships orders, and genuinely enjoys it. And it brings in an extra $ 500 to $1,000 a month. It makes me smile just thinking about it. We spent time in two beautiful places, a state park and a quiet little lake. We walked slowly. The days were simple and full. And something clicked for me. The life I’ve been building actually worked. I was able to show up for my business while being there. Yes, I sat in his partner’s family room to get enough wifi for my Claude Amazon PPC call. And yes, I worked from my hotel room across the hall from my dad the next couple of days. And it was fine. More than fine. It felt right. I helped my dad with some tech things, and he said something that really stayed with me. He wants to start a monthly video call where he shows us parts of his home as he cleans it up. That’s huge. I made a Streeter family Zoom link and sent it to him and my sister. It felt like a small step, but also a really meaningful one. Now I’m back home. And I can feel that dip after a really good trip. But instead of rushing to force myself back into intensity, I keep coming back to this: Slowing down worked. Being present worked. Building a life where I can work and still live fully on my terms. So maybe the goal isn’t to “snap back.” Maybe it’s to carry that pace forward, even just a little. I feel grateful. I feel grounded. I feel connected. And I want to build from here. PS - Join me this afternoon to reconcile our April Finances together! https://www.skool.com/multiple-streams-of-income-4358/calendar?eid=dafdf14843b04549a63465be49dfcbfe