In today’s Money Matters feature, we sit down with Katie Sturino, founder of The 12ish Style, a plus-size fashion blog, and Megababe, a cult favorite anti-chafing stick. Below, Katie shares how she manages finances for two rapidly-growing brands—and what she wishes she’d known when she started it all.

Where do you think is the most important area for a business owner to focus their financial energy?

I think it is very important for business owners to invest their financial energy into making a high-quality, high-performance product. But the second place to place financial energy is PR. It doesn’t matter how much time or money you spend on a product if no one sees it.

What was your first big expense as a business owner?

Placing our first order for bottles for Megababe Thigh Rescue.

How did you decide what to pay yourself?

I don’t pay myself; everything we make goes back into the business.

What are your top three largest expenses every month?

Our top expenses per month are our PR department and our product. Currently, we only have hourly employees.

How much are you saving? When did you start being able to save some of your income?

My income comes from my 12ish business—anything larger than a certain amount I put right into my savings account.

What apps or software are you using for finances? How did you decide when to hire a financial advisor (if you have one)?

We use Quickbooks for our finances.

Do you wish you’d done anything differently in your financial journey as a business owner?

I wish I would have stopped listening to other people sooner.

Why should women talk about money?

If we don’t talk about money, then financial conversations are always left up to someone else, usually a man in our life. Money is power and freedom. Sadly, I see so many women at the mercy of their partner financially, which means that a lot of the choices they make are not their own.

MORE ON THE BLOG