Starting a new year as a woman entrepreneur is not about hustle or vague intentions. It is about making clear, intentional financial decisions that support both your business growth and your long-term wealth.

In this episode of The Finance Cafe Podcast, co-hosts Shauna Frederick and Shannon Pestun kick off 2026 with a practical conversation about financial goal setting for women who are running revenue-generating businesses and are ready to scale with confidence. This episode focuses on building clarity, consistency, and momentum without financial jargon or intimidation.

Shauna and Shannon walk through five foundational goals to start the year strong: creating a simple 90-day cash flow plan, scheduling a monthly money date and actually putting it in your calendar, building a lending readiness folder so you are prepared before you need it, reviewing pricing and margins for 2026 to ensure you are not leaving money on the table, and paying yourself something consistent, even if it is small.

Beyond the tactics, this episode gives permission to build wealth intentionally and to develop personal and business strategies that support both financial security and a life you want to live. It is a reminder that scaling is complex, learning is ongoing, and women belong in every financial conversation.

This episode is for women entrepreneurs who want to start 2026 with clarity, confidence, and a financial foundation that supports sustainable growth.

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Welcome to our final episode of The Finance Cafe for 2025! In this special year-end wrap-up, co-founders Shauna Frederick and Shannon Pestun reflect on the lessons of the past year and share practical habits to bring into the year ahead.

In this episode, Shauna and Shannon dive into a topic every entrepreneur can relate to: you don’t have to go it alone. Entrepreneurship is often celebrated as independence, being your own boss, doing it all, but that can make it feel heavy when it comes to managing your finances. As they discuss, it’s completely normal to feel confused or overwhelmed, especially when many of us were never taught how to navigate business finances in the first place.

They also explore the importance of building a strong inner circle to support your business, including relationships with bankers, bookkeepers, accountants, and lawyers. Using the FLOW framework, they break down how to evaluate these relationships to ensure they are:

• F – Relationship Friendly
  

• L – Learning Centered
  

• O – Ongoing
  

• W – Without Judgment
  

Through relatable stories and real-life examples from their work with entrepreneurs, Shauna and Shannon encourage listeners to lean on trusted advisors and peers, ask questions, and embrace learning as an ongoing process.

Whether you’re reflecting on your 2025 wins or planning for a financially confident 2026, this episode is packed with insights to help you strengthen your support system and make your business thrive.

Tune in and finish the year strong!

In this episode of The Finance Cafe, Shauna Frederick sits down with Julie Dimitri, National Manager for TD Women in Enterprise, to explore how women entrepreneurs and women-led businesses can thrive with the right banking support.

Julie brings over 20 years of professional experience spanning business development, sales leadership, startup operations, and talent management. After moving from Montreal to Toronto to open the Ontario operations of a business she co-founded, Julie quickly became known for her passion for professional development and networking, founding a women’s group to connect like-minded professional women early in her career. For the past seven years at TD, she has been instrumental in empowering sales teams, coaching for performance, and now leads the Women in Enterprise segment in Business Banking.

During the conversation, Julie shares how TD Women in Enterprise supports women-led businesses of all sizes, from startups to corporations, and emphasizes the importance of building strong, trusting relationships between entrepreneurs and their bankers. She discusses how women founders can feel confident approaching their banker for guidance that goes beyond financial products, including support for scaling their business, a concern many women now prioritize even more than funding. Julie also highlights how TD takes a holistic approach to empowering women, providing opportunities outside of finance that contribute to professional growth and long-term success.

Tune in to learn how women entrepreneurs can leverage strong banking partnerships to elevate their business, and why cultivating that relationship can be a game-changer for growth and confidence.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliedimitri/

Website: https://www.td.com/ca/en/business-banking/small-business/women-in-business