In this episode, Victoria Bennion welcomes Ciara Stockeland, speaker, author, Ironman athlete, and fractional CFO for inventory-based businesses. Ciara shares the story of how she launched her first business at 13, built and sold a subscription box company in under two years, and now empowers entrepreneurs to make sense of their numbers and reclaim financial freedom. She breaks down the most common mistakes inventory-based business owners make, how to prepare your business for exit, and why understanding your finances is the real path to freedom.

About Ciara

Ciara Stockeland, is a speaker, author, 4x Ironman and Fractional CFO for inventory based businesses.

Ciara has owned and operated a business since her early teens. As a serial entrepreneur, her business mindset and tenacity led her to opening her first store in 2006 which she then franchised. Her vast experience in both retail and wholesale industries led her to launch the first to market wholesale subscription box for boutique retailers, which she built and sold within 18 months. Most recently Ciara has launched the Inventory Genius, a consulting program for inventory-based business owners.

She has twice had the opportunity to testify before two U.S. Senate Committees regarding the “joint employer” standard for businesses and its effect on small businesses and franchises. Additionally, in 2015 she represented small businesses at a White House Summit on Worker Voice and again in 2018 for a Summit on Economics.

Ciara has been recognized as a Small Business Champion through SCORE, has held a seat on the United States Chamber of Commerce Small Business Council and is a Profit First Certified Coach. Through her consulting program, Ciara gives business owners the confidence and tools to build profitability and peace of mind in their inventory-based businesses.

In her free time Ciara enjoys training for endurance races and most recently completed her fourth Ironman at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, 2023.

She currently resides in Tennessee with her husband Jim and her Great Pyrenees Bentley.

Key Takeaways

Profit is the Priority

Building a big business doesn’t mean you’re building a profitable one. Entrepreneurs should focus on margins and cash flow not just top-line sales.

Know Your Five Numbers

Success hinges on understanding five core areas: sales, cost of goods sold, gross margin, expenses, and net profit. Mastering these leads to control and confidence.

Adaptability is Strength

Listening to your customers and pivoting from your original business idea can open unexpected doors to scalable success.

Plan to Exit Before You Want Out

The time to prepare your business for sale is not when you're ready to leave but well before, while you still have the clarity and control to make it valuable to someone else.

Tell Your Story Loudly

Whether testifying before Congress or launching a business, Ciara emphasizes the power of sharing your personal experience to drive change and connect with others.

Quote

“It's not super attractive to fill out your spreadsheet and to look at your financials. It's very attractive when you have financial freedom, you write yourself a paycheck… That is what we can all get up in the morning for.” — Ciara Stockeland

Mentioned in This Episode

Inventory Genius Book

Ciara Stockeland's Inventory Genius Method has helped hundreds of inventory based business owners create more profit and keep more cash. Get your free copy here

Connect with Ciara

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Transcript

Victoria Bennion:

Hello and welcome. I'm your host, Victoria Bennion, and the founder of the best

podcast guest booking agency. And you're listening to the best guest, the

podcast for business owners, creatives, and entrepreneurs who want to harness

the power of podcasts to grow their platforms and increase their visibility.

Today, we welcome to the podcast Ciara Stockeland who is a

speaker, author, full-time Iron Man and fractional CFO for inventory based

businesses. Sierra has owned and operated a business since her early teens as a

serial entrepreneur. Her business mindset and tenacity led her to opening her

first store in 2006, which she then franchised.

Her vast experience in both retail and wholesale industries led

her to launch the first to market wholesale subscription box for boutique

retailers, which he built and [00:01:00] sold

within 18 months.

Most recently, Ciara's launched the Inventory Genius, a

consulting program for inventory based business owners.

Welcome to the podcast, Ciara. It's really great to have the

chance to chat with you today.

You started your first business as a teenager? I believe. I.

And you opened your first store in 2006, which you then franchised. Could you

talk about what attracted you to working in this space and, the lessons you

learned,

Ciara Stockeland:

Yeah, so I started my first. Formal business, if you will, when I was 13, I

hadn't set out to start a business with it, but I was from a small business

family, so it was very common in our family to find value in things or solve

problems create solutions through business. And so I. Built a theater company

for homeschool students.

I was homeschooled at the time just for fun at first, but then

started having other people come and ask if their children could be involved.

And so I built that and grew it into a formal theater [00:02:00]

acting company. We put on full length productions all through my time of.

Elementary, junior high school, college, and even into being married.

So I did that for over a decade. It was great. Learning

experience, how to balance a checkbook and how to market things and how to

provide a service. And then after I decided I was done with that business I got

married, had a couple kids, and was ready to move on. I decided that I would

like to start a retail store, so I had never worked any retail in my life but I

thought it would be a great idea to open a store, and I wanted to build a

brand.

I knew from the beginning that my idea was not to build myself

a hobby or to create a job for myself, but I really wanted to build a brand.

And so my first concept was a high-end maternity baby boutique. It was when it

was getting very popular to dress really cute when you're pregnant. The

celebrities were all buying beautiful things and so we had nothing available in

North Dakota, which is where I was from for that.

And so I opened this boutique and then, as typically happens to

small [00:03:00] business and entrepreneurs,

you start one way, but then you find your journey really weaving and winding.

And that's what happened with me as well. I opened that store six months later,

had the opportunity to open a second concept to help someone that I knew sell a

bunch of off, overpriced and off price product.

And that concept took off. Everybody loved getting a deal, and

it appealed to the masses where I was finding my maternity store, something I

hadn't thought of. That customer was a very short term customer. Because once

they had their baby, they were gone. They move on. And so I decided to merge

the two ideas and bring the outlet store into a boutique environment.

And then that's the concept that I franchised. The first lesson

I always love to share with entrepreneurs is to really listen to your customers

and don't get so set on. What you dreamed this concept or this business would

look like. 'cause often what we think is going to work is not what resonates

with the customer.

And if we stay very stubborn in like wanting it to be exactly

how we had planned, we can miss out on a lot of opportunity. [00:04:00] I.

Victoria Bennion:

That's good advic...