Craft Your Commerce Connect | Financial Strategy in Crayon with Amanda Bell

Description

Financial Strategy unlike you’ve probably experienced before. Instead of teaching formulas, we’re going to look at how your business actually works – because financial strategy is already there, whether you’ve named it or not.

Most creative entrepreneurs think their financial challenges come from not knowing enough numbers. In reality, the numbers aren’t the problem – it’s what’s shaping them. We’re going to give the numbers color.  

Using a playful “financial strategy in crayon” approach, we’ll map your business with color, sketches, and simple patterns—no spreadsheets, no jargon, no shame (but still numbers!). You’ll look at your business as a set of flows: where money comes in, where it goes, and what supports or drains.

We’ll look at real business scenarios (“financial decisions in the wild”) to show how assumptions, patterns, flow and constraints—not math—drive financial strategy.

By the end, you’ll walk away with a visual map of your business you can actually understand, a clearer sense of what’s driving your current results, and a way to make financial decisions in the future. 

Instructor Bio: Amanda Bell is a business strategist, financial systems thinker, and co-founder of Thrive Strategy LAB. She blends data-driven financial diagnostics with human-centered coaching to help creative entrepreneurs understand their numbers, clarify their direction, and make decisions that feel sustainable. Amanda works across product, service, and retail-based businesses throughout Western North Carolina, building custom financial models, capacity plans, and operational strategies that support growth without burnout. Her approach centers clarity, practicality, and the belief that business decisions should make sense both on paper and in a person’s nervous system.

Date & Time

Fri, Apr 24, 2026 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Venue Details

Center for Craft

Mountain BizWorks