Meet Terry
Terry spent years as a middle school science teacher and then an assistant principal before walking away to build something of her own. That "something" turned into a bookkeeping side hustle, then a ramen ghost kitchen with her husband (which became a one-man ramen cart in Columbus, Ohio), then a full relocation to Seattle to rebuild all over again — this time with a toddler in tow.
Along the way, she wrote Pay Yourself — a practical budgeting framework born from years of watching business owners grow their revenue like champs while quietly forgetting to pay the one person who mattered most: themselves. Today Terry runs Bookkeeping Match Up (a bookkeeper-matching marketplace) and Pay Yourself Academy, licensing her budgeting method to bookkeepers nationwide.
She talks about money the way she wishes someone had talked to her about it: no jargon, no shame, no spreadsheets you'll abandon by March.
Signature Talk
"Pay Yourself: Stop Being Your Business's Last Priority"
Most business owners can rattle off their monthly revenue but go blank when asked, "so what do you actually get paid?" This talk breaks down the framework from Pay Yourself into something audiences can actually use — a real number for what they should be taking home, and a simple system to keep it that way.
Attendees leave knowing:
The actual number they should be paying themselves — their bare minimum, their comfort spot, or their full-on thriving zone. Not "whatever's left over."
A simple framework for handling taxes, business bills, personal bills, and debt without creating more of it.
Where to find simple tools and systems to put all of it on autopilot.
Available as a keynote, workshop, or panel — happy to adapt length and depth to your event. A great fit for podcasts and conferences.
