Forget quick fixes—building generational wealth requires a deep dive into your personal “why.” Powerhouse CPA and Wealth Strategist Catrina M. Craft joins the show to share her personal journey from corporate constraints to financial freedom, stressing that true wealth creation begins with this deep-seated purpose. She then reveals her practical blueprint for transforming tax burdens into proactive strategy, building multiple income streams, and creating cash flow systems that actually work. Tune in to learn the critical distinction between reactive accounting and proactive wealth strategy, why real estate investing (including syndication and crowdfunding) is a key component of capital building, and her invaluable advice for new entrepreneurs on finding a mentor and adopting a “nimble and fast” approach.
The information provided in this content is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered specific tax advice. Before acting on any information presented, consult with a qualified tax professional or CPA to discuss your individual situation and ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
Music courtesy of Dealer’s Choice Sound Recordings, Inc.
Music artist: djezi
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How To Build Generational Wealth: Find Your Why With Catrina M. Craft
Wealth Takes Strategy
The Blueprint For Generational Wealth: Meet Catrina M. Craft
Welcome back to the show. I am Dr. Angela Walker. I am here with my amazing co-host, Dr. Sylvia Morris. We would love for you to meet Catrina M. Craft, a powerhouse CPA turned wealth strategist who does not just manage numbers. She transforms them into tools for generational freedom.
I have admired her since our college days, when her self-determination, effortless style, and unapologetic sense of self made her the most grounded nonconformist in the room in the best possible way. With more than two decades of expertise, she helps agencies, celebrities, and service-based entrepreneurs turn tax burdens into strategy, build multiple income streams, and create cashflow systems that actually work.
She is here to share her story, her brilliance, and her blueprint for wealth. Before we get into it, she ended the conversation emphasizing the need to determine your why, particularly for entrepreneurs and those who are venturing into new territory, to really drill down on your why. We thought we would maybe talk about our why for doing the show.
This will be our 57th episode of the show. If you have not liked, listened, subscribed, or followed, please go to YouTube in particular and go ahead and follow us. When we started Boss Leap, I thought, “I cannot imagine getting to 50 episodes.” Now we are embarking on our next 100 episodes. The reason why I know I do it and why we have partnered together is to impart information and knowledge that we know people can use, in particular, women.
Also, it was always about making certain that we shine the light on women who do extraordinary things. There are so many people in our community, like our conversation with Catrina Craft, who are doing things that not only create wealth, but also create community and help the next generation of people to be successful. I am so proud of the work that we are doing here on the show. I look forward to many more episodes and adventures with my favorite show co-hosts.
I feel the same way. My why comes from the women who raised me and the daughters I am raising, because I believe wellness, leadership, and purpose are part of the legacy that we pass down. I am hoping that everything I do is about helping women design lives that they do not need a vacation from. Fully showing up for their families, their communities, and themselves.
The why translated into the podcast is helping to elevate these stories because we have heard people from all walks of life, all around the country, all with different careers and passions. There are these similar streams of thought of, “If not me, who? I can do this,” walking in fear. We need those stories to continue to be told to encourage our girls and our peers, and some of our elders, that you can continue to search for what brings you joy in life. There is never a time to stop.
It is not too late.
Certainly, Sylvia gave us a lot to think about. There’s so much information packed in this one episode. We know that you will be taking lots of notes. Without further ado, we bring you Catrina Craft.
Catrina Craft, welcome to the show.
Thank you, Sylvia. I am so happy to be here and to talk with you, lovely ladies.
From Texas To CPA: How Catrina Fell In Love With Numbers
We have been excited about having you. As I already mentioned, you are a lifelong friend, roommate, line sister, all the good things. I know some of these answers, but sometimes when we are interviewing people that we know well, we still learn so much about them. I am excited to share you with our listeners and everything that you have to offer. We will just start from the very beginning. I would love for you to tell us what growing up was like for you. What did you dream of becoming?
Growing up was really nice for me. I grew up with a brother and my mother, and my father. It was full of love, full of encouragement.
You are a Texan, right?
I am a Texan. You do not hear the drawl.
No, not at all.
You grew up in Texas. I tried to get away at one point, could not, so I am still here. I did not really have an idea of what I wanted to be. I just wanted freedom. I go outside of what my parents thought. They thought I was a little crazy, and they still do, because I just do things in my own beat. I did not know until I went to high school and took a bookkeeping class.
I fell in love with numbers. I was always good at numbers. Elementary, junior high, I loved numbers, but I did not know what this thing called accounting was until I took a class in college and then I fell in love. At that point, I knew it was going to be something with numbers and accounting. I just did not know what it was. I majored in accounting. I also got my master’s in accounting and tax. I just fell in love with that. Growing up, I did not know.
Catrina, let us just be clear. Tell us where you went to college.
We have to go back.
We have got to go back where we started.
Where did you go to high school and your class?
I met Angela at Skyline High School.
Class of ‘86.
We are not going to tell our age now.
We look good. We celebrate all the wins.
We do celebrate. We’re very blessed. High school, graduate class of ‘86. That is where I took my first bookkeeping and accounting class. Texas A&M College Station, Angela and I.
All the Aggies, I know they are cheering and all the things.
Are we still undefeated? I am just putting it out there.
I do not know. You were winning. Yeah, the SEC was being quite kind to you all. I should say the college boards.
Angela and I both attended Texas A&M University and College Station. We ended up being roommates for two years.
Yes, we were grown then. We were in our 3rd and 4th years. We moved off campus to our little apartment.
Angela had this little sports car, go around in.
My mom’s 280Z.
That was really fun. We pledged together. We were online together. She was the tail. I was her link. We have been connected in all kinds of good ways.
Lots of really great history here. My goodness, that is for a different podcast. We are going to talk about wealth on this show.
I am just going to add your first statement.
I just wanted freedom or do things my own way.
That was the first thing I knew about Catrina. It has lasted. Made for such a great example of feeling good in your own skin, not caring about what others say or do, and just being yourself. That freedom part, you always exhibited that. I truly admire. Anyway, we will get into the wealthy part, the finance part, because I think that translates into how you have operated in life and in your business.
Catrina, as we get into that, what is one thing that you want our audience to know when they complete listening to our show?
I want them to know that wealth is not a dream. It could be a reality. It just takes strategy.
The strategy. That is what we need.
Reactive Accounting Vs. Proactive Tax Strategy For Generational Wealth
Please tell us what exactly a wealth strategist is.
I did not know what a wealth strategist was, myself, or a tax strategist, because I majored in accounting. I knew numbers. Accounting is making sure that what has already happened is recorded properly. It is all about compliance. It is all about playing really after the fact, being reactive. Strategy and wealth strategy, and tax strategy are all about being proactive. You are looking at how I can use the tax code to my benefit?
People may say the IRS is not fair. My rebuttal to that is to use it to your advantage. That is what the wealthiest one percent do. When I started to learn that, I was like, “I need to share this because this has been gatekept.” We have not learned that generally in my home. I know I did not learn that. I think that we are not learning and talking enough about this to others and to our families, and to our communities. That is why we are not building real wealth.
There is so much stigma around talking about money. It is like, “You do not share your money history with people. You do not lend people money.” There are negative tropes associated with money. How do we, as a community, get rid of that? It is a fear-based mind process. How do we work on that?
It definitely is fear-based. That is generational, probably coming down. Maybe feeling that if we share, then other people will try to take, but we need to realize that if we share, other people can give because they have their own experiences. My husband and I have invested in twelve rental properties. If we had not shared that, three of our properties would have come from other people who knew other people who knew other people.
Accounting is making sure that what has already happened is recorded properly. Share on XWe got excellent deals. If you do not share what you are doing, you never have the opportunity to receive. My husband is just out of the goodness of his heart. He loves stocks and investing. He does classes for free for people because he is like, “I know this. I am making money. I want other people to do this.” We have to get out of that fear. Why not share? As a community, pulling together is better than being alone.
At this point, if you had one smart money move that wealthy people make that others often overlook, what would it be?
Definitely strategy and research. Get books. We are so fortunate. YouTube, podcast. Start listening and start learning about these things about wealth building. Real estate is a good option. Tax strategy. There are ways to use the tax strategy. The tax strategy and the code benefits investors and business owners because the IRS knows and the government knows that those are the people who are investing back into the community, into the government, and into hiring people.
I am in theory, but I am going to go with you.
We are. Just think, if I buy a service, now I am investing back into the community as a business owner. As a business owner, I am hiring people. They then hire people. What’s happening is that as small business owners, we make up almost 50% of the economy. Whether you know it or not, people see big business, but we are making up 50% of the people who are hired. It is important that we, as small business owners, do not just think of the big businesses.
I am thinking that small, medium-sized businesses can make an impact as well. We can use that tax code to benefit us. Unfortunately, as a W-2 worker, you do not get many benefits. As a W-2 worker, I am always stressed, starting a business, even if it is consulting, speaker business, or investing in real estate, investing in money, so stocks, because that money could be taxed differently. That is what the wealthy know how to do.
We need to realize, if we share, other people can give because they have their own experiences. If you don't share what you're doing, you never have the opportunity to receive. Share on XInspired By Freedom: Why I Left Corporate To Start My Business
That is great information. Tell us what inspired your own boss’s lead into business.
It was the freedom. Me not a corporate girl. I do not play well in the corporation.
You do not play well in the sandbox.
I do not play well because I saw people getting ahead. They should not have. I just felt like it was unfair. You have to work with people that you do not necessarily want to work with. As a business owner, I have a choice. I have the freedom. I can work when I want to work. As an entrepreneur, do not think you are not going to work. You are going to work harder.
That is another thing I want to, if we touch on that, I will touch on just entrepreneurship and starting a business, because we will go into that. I knew that I wanted to do something where it was my own drive, my own decisions, my own people, my own way of doing things that inspired me and motivated me.
When I thought about starting a business, I started with wanting to work with athletes and entertainers who were losing money. Making a lot of money and then losing it because they did not have the training and the knowledge. I have worked with professional athletes. I work with Grammy award winners now, New York Times best sellers. I work with those types of people who are making a lot of money, but maybe do not have the education.
How did you get your foothold in that industry? Certainly, that is a very closed circle. Obviously, they are trusting people with their hard-earned money and their name. Your first client, how did that happen?
The first client, let us see, on the entertainment side, this is so important. First of all, I went through a class called Purity with Purpose. I prayed and asked God, “What is my purpose?” One of was that I would be working with individuals who were celebrities and who had influence. I was like, “God, how is this going to happen?” It is not up to me to ask him how. It is just to move in that direction. I had a friend who invited me to a luncheon. It was just okay. I do not feel like going. I went to the luncheon. I met a lawyer who worked with an attorney. The attorney said that he was looking for a black CPA to be on his syndicated radio show. It was Michael Bayston.
As small business owners, we make up almost 50% of the economy. Share on XThat is me. I remember that.
I got on his show. I became his CPA. I have been his CPA for like fifteen years or more. From there, you have this name that you go out with. You meet other people because it is a very close niche.
It is a relationship, though.
It is all a relationship. Several of my relationships have come from other professionals. Attorneys or agents, because they have already developed the relationship.
At the end of the day, it is the hard work that you put in. The work that you actually do that you bring to your client. That is so important these days for especially for the younger audience, to know it is still all of the hard work that you did beforehand to make you that great CPA wealth strategist, so that when you had that one opportunity, you were ready. Oftentimes, it is the connections, the word of mouth, because people then know who to trust.
If I would have gotten on that radio show and I did not know my stuff, it is like, “It would have been over. Millions of people hear that show.”
One and done. Thank you for sharing that with our audience. That is such valuable advice. I always like to say, you do not have to get ready if you stay ready. You certainly walked into that opportunity fully prepared. You were able to capitalize on it.
A hundred percent.
Let me just talk about that. It was not without fear. That was my first time on a syndicated radio show. Sometimes you have to act in spite of fear, but still have confidence. Fear means you are stretching. If you do not have that fear, you are not stretching. You are staying at something you are comfortable with. I am always stretching myself in spite of it. I always have fear going into something new. I am testing things, but I still move. That is another nugget. I highly suggest that people say, “I feel this.” It is fear, but that means, “Something exciting is about to happen. I am stretching.”
I like that.
Overcoming $150K In Debt And Pivoting: A Story Of Entrepreneurial Resilience
On the other hand, was there ever a point that you thought, “I give up,” or that you needed to pivot? If so, what helped you push through to get to where you are now?
Yesterday.
What happened?
No, but as an entrepreneur, it is lonely, actually. A lot of times, unless you find a community of other people that are like-minded, that are doing this thing, it is lonely. You do not have people to talk to who are going through some of the same things. One pivotal point was when I was working with the client. Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, had a tax strategist.
A lot of times, unless you find a community of like-minded people doing this thing, entrepreneurship can be lonely. Share on XI was the person who worked with her doing high-end tax strategy. That is really how I learned under Robert Kiyosaki’s tax strategy. That is how I learned. She decided that after three years of working together, I was a contractor, but she provided 80% of my clients. She decided one day she no longer wanted to do that. I had just bought a house. I was single. It left me with over $150,000 worth of debt because I still had the bills.
I was still trying to do my business. I still had bills to pay in my business. I thought, “Should I give up? Why did this happen?” I leaned into it. It is like, “I know I want to do this.” My learning from this is not to put all your eggs in one basket. I will not take on a client that is more than twenty percent of my revenue. I had another form of revenue. That is when I started investing in rental properties. At the time, luckily, you could do zero down.
I could get houses without putting anything down. I leaned into, instead of saying, “I am going to give up.” I leaned into, “What do I need to do differently? What did I learn from it?” That is where some of that wealth building came in, because I had trained under her, and I saw a lot of people having real estate. Having money when things go down in your business, because you are going to have ebbs and flows in your business.
I had other wealth opportunities and other income sources. That is another thing I see the wealthy do. They have more than one income source. Every day I am thinking, “What am I doing?” Especially holidays. I get a call. I am working. At night, when I am in my bed with my computer, I am like, “If I just had an 8:00 to 5:00, I can just go in and be through.”
You talked about it being lonely, being an entrepreneur. What is something else that no one told you about entrepreneurship?
We think of financial freedom. We are going to have all this time. I mentioned, it is hard work. You are the janitor, the marketer, the salesperson, the IT person. You are everything. Starting off, it is hard because you have to learn all of those skills. You do not think that you think, “I went to college. I trained in this specific thing. I am good.”
You have to learn, “What is marketing? How do I start doing that?” You have to learn various skills. Anyone who is an entrepreneur, I say, “You are going to develop a lot of different skills, which are great.” Especially with me, because I do work with other entrepreneurs. It is really helpful because I can see the whole picture for them.
When I am helping them with CFO work, I am strategizing about not just their sales. I am looking at, “What is your margins for hiring people? What is your marketing? What are you doing for IT?” I am the entrepreneur, so I can really look at them differently. It is not just theory. It is actually practical knowledge.
Attracting Your Tribe: Navigating Finance As A Woman And System Marketing
That is interesting. That is a great perspective to have. For you, as a woman in finance, how have you navigated these spaces when you were working with others and now completely on your own? How have you navigated where you have been, maybe underestimated or outnumbered by the majority of people out there, either men or non-African-American?
I have not thought about that because if you are authentic and you are in your own space, you are going to attract your tribe. If they are not attracted to me, they are not my tribe anyway. I attract those who need to be attracted to me. That is your personality. A lot of times, it is your background because people can relate to you. It is how you educate, because I do educate.
How I present and how I am open because I am open about it, I have struggled with this. I am open about, “This is what I feel.” I think you just have to be yourself. You do not worry about, “They are men,” or they call it bro marketing, which is typically young white Anglo-Saxon men. They call it bro marketing. I do not do bro marketing. I do sister marketing.
We have money too. We are developing wealth ourselves. I like that.
I do not just market to sisters, but that may be who attracts me. I also have young White guys. They are attracted to that as well. It is just your knowledge and also your experience, and how you communicate what you do. They just may like your vibe.
I like that. You have a great vibe.
Thank you.
For that member of our audience who is with us, tell us or help them move into the space of being an entrepreneur. They have some ideas, they have an inkling, maybe they have an LLC, but they just do not know where to start, or they are feeling fearful.
It can be overwhelming. If you are starting first, I say, “Do not just quit your job.” I had a full-time job. At lunch and after work, that is how I started. I just had clients. I would do what I needed to do. It is going to take some overtime and some energy to start. Research. Fine. I had a tax strategist who was my mentor, and I presented how I could work for her. I saw her at a conference.
I went up to her after the conference. I said, “I want to learn everything that you know.” She said, “Send me your resume.” The next day, I sent her my resume. I was so surprised. She said, “Most people do not follow up.” I was like, “What? You have this opportunity where someone has given you their email. They are the top tax strategist, and they do not follow up.”
Follow up, find a mentor. Even if that mentor is not one-on-one, there are a lot of mentors online, like on podcasts and books that you can just study and learn from. I definitely say do that. There are some free resources. SCORE is a business resource. It is called SCORE. It is made up of people who have retired from corporations or businesses. They give you free advice about starting businesses.
Go to SCORE because you want a plan before you start. The SBA, Small Business Administration, also has free resources. Go to your Chamber of Commerce. Start networking. Really start developing and learning from people and networking before you just jump straight in. Why do something that is already been done? Do not recreate the reel, just put your own funk on your reel. Do not recreate the whole thing.
Start developing and learning from people and network before you just jump straight in. Share on XThat is going to be the name of your episode.
Put your own funk on it. You have so much salient advice. I want to go back to something that I actually have an interest in. I just feel so strongly about it because you have said it several times now in terms of investing, and I know you have more to say about entrepreneurship, but this is just stuck in my brain. Investing in real estate.
Real Estate Deep Dive: The 7 Income Streams For Generational Wealth
I just truly believe there is only so much real estate out there. If we are not investing in that, then we are really just losing territory that others are taking advantage of. For someone whom you would advise who has not purchased a rental property. What are some of those first steps that you would say and recommendations?
There are seven different income streams from real estate that I would like to talk about. A lot of people think owning a rental property is great, but it does not work unless you have three or more. I am going to let you know that, because what happens is, while it is empty, you are paying the mortgage, you are paying the utilities, you are paying to fix it up. It is draining your pocket. If you plan to get a real estate property, I would say at least get three.
While one is empty, you still have money coming in. That is holding real estate for rental. Airbnb or short-term rentals, that is great as well. It provides ordinary income. I probably have to do a whole section on that because that is talking about tax. I will not go deep into that. You have syndication, where you can invest just a portion of your money. It is a pool of people. You get a piece. It is like you are getting a fractional share of this real estate portfolio, but you get all the deductions. That is great.
How do you trust that? This is a whole other episode.
I was on a podcast with a guy who does syndication. Syndication has gotten really big in the last ten years because it offers new ways you can deduct your real estate. You just have to vet them. If you look for real estate syndications, there are people out there who do that. I have a couple of clients who do real estate syndications. Angela, you know of one, so I will tell you. She can tell you her experience.
This is the part about the show that I love because I think this is just information that is out there, but we do not know about it. If you just told me to go look up syndications, if I Google it, there is going to be a hundred. As you said, vetting, but I do not even know how to vet them. Valuable information. I appreciate it.
That is where, if you do work with a wealth strategist, a tax strategist who is familiar with real estate is very important because you do not want to just jump in. If you do not know how to look at financial statements, you do not know how to look at rent rolls, and you do not know how to look at return on investments. Do not do it alone. Have someone with you. They have real estate like meetups. There are real estate organizations all over the US. Go to those. Start talking to people and learning.
Work with a wealth strategist, a tax strategist that's familiar with real estate—that's very important because you don't want to just jump in. Share on XCatrina, you tell this, there were seven things about real estate. The first one was rental income. The second one was a short-term rental. Now we talked about the real estate syndication. I guess maybe we are on four. Where are we now?
There are platforms that you can invest as little as $5,000. My husband and I did one of those. We got like an 8% return. Usually, you get like a 5% or 8% return. A realtor mogul. They are called crowdfunding. Just like how people have crowdfunding to start their business, they are crowdfunding real estate platforms. Those are great as well.
You can see the investments. They will tell you what the return on investment will be. You get paid interest every month on loaning the money. That is one. You can go straight to REIT or through your stock and your financial advisor. You can do land. Most land, if you hold it, is not a tax deduction. What if you put a trailer on it or a sign, a billboard sign, then it becomes a tax deduction?
That is all you need is a sign?
Yes. If you put a sign, then it is now a deduction because you are advertising your marketing. You can have a sign there. You can have a trailer. That was five. Six would be land. This is something that came to me. I did not even know that I would qualify. I have land in the country. It is high. A cellular company came to me, and they wanted to put a cell tower on it. Cell towers are solar. We have land in East Texas. We have solar panels. They are generating solar energy on that land. It is so many different ways.
We are going to make this a whole second episode.
We can do a whole separate episode. I would love to do this because, like I said, it is different things. If you own a building in the city, you can have AT&T. They lease that space as well. It is so many different opportunities. Oil and gas. I have clients who invest in oil and gas drilling. That is another thing. Just so many ways to build wealth that we need to talk about.
Do you do any classes, or do you have an education platform?
I want to do some research on real estate. I have some on just wealth intelligence. I want to dive deep, so I can only touch surface level on opportunities, but then master classes I want to do. That is what I am working on, actually.
When you do, please come back. You can talk with us here on the show about that. We would love to amplify that.
Thank you. Yeah, I appreciate that.
Nimble And Fast: Essential Entrepreneurial Advice For The Next Generation
I probably interrupted your conversation about entrepreneurship that Sylvia was asking about, just because I could not let go of the real estate piece. Anything else that you would like to add about entrepreneurship in terms of someone starting, and maybe giving some good advice, too?
I want to tag on to my brilliant co-hosts. What do you say to young people? Oftentimes, I think this generation, and I hate to make such broad sweeping statements, they seem to be a lot more entrepreneurial-minded than certainly I was at my age coming out of high school. What do you say to new budding entrepreneurs?
I am seeing that too. In fact, in college, my goddaughter is majoring in entrepreneurship.
I have seen that as a major.
I am like, “How do they learn that?” I am thinking, “Are the teachers entrepreneurs?” That part is because in accounting, I learned the basics, but it was not the real world. If you are majoring in that, first of all, find a mentor who is actually an entrepreneur and study under them. Try to get internships in that.
If you are already finished and you have started or you want to start a business, and you have not gone to college necessarily for that, again, start studying. It is not what you see on social media that you just post, you go viral, and you get a million dollars. Do not believe that. It takes hard work. If you are lucky enough to say, do something that is like your post, you make a million, can you keep that million?
Sustain it and make the next million.
It is not just about doing it once. It is a repeatable system. That is where the strategy comes in. You have got to have your systems. You have to have your technology. All of that is important. Do not just jump. Do some research, but don’t go too slow. If you are too slow, things are changing. Just think of AI. Everything is changing so fast.
You cannot be corporate when you have this whole five-year plan because that plan will change in two months. You have to be nimble and you have to be fast. If you get an idea, you need to really research it fast, get feedback fast, ask peers, ask your avatar. When you are looking at entrepreneurship, I like to say, “Start with the end in mind. Why do you want to be an entrepreneur?” Dig deeper. “I want to make money.”
Why? “It’s because I want to support my family.” Why? “It’s because I want to be the first to have generational wealth.” Why? You have got to dig deep into your why. You say, “This is my who.” Who are you going to focus on and target? You cannot target everybody. You have to niche down. I target agencies and people who are in the creative industry. That is my niche because I have to learn what drives their business. You need to know what your people need. Really dig down in your avatar. I say that is very important.
You can't target everybody. You have to niche down, really dig down in your avatar. Share on XI find that to be the hardest part in terms of like what I am doing, health, and wellness. I have been accustomed to treating all patients, adolescents through menopause, and our elders. It is all interesting. It is all valuable information to all of them. You have to find a niche. Apparently, the more targeted you are, the more successful you will be. Also, it is not successful in terms of being monetarily successful, but in terms of getting your message out. That is hard. Do you have any advice on that? I know it has taken you time to figure out exactly where you want to target. Is it just a matter of trial and error?
It has changed for me because it was entertainers, athletes. That was so time-consuming. I cannot take on too many because I was getting calls at two in the morning. If they travel, my husband is like, “You are going to have to make a change because this is waking me up.” It changes. I went to the dentist and the doctors. I still have some dentists that I work with. I was not as excited about that anymore.
I like the fast-paced world of agencies and events, and production agencies. That is driving me at this part of my life, probably because I am a part of that world. I am very interested in that. For people who are trying to figure it out, it has taken me time. It is different parts of my life. For you, Angela, if you drill down to menopausal women, that is a different message than a woman who just had a baby. You have to know who you want to target because your message is going to be.
It is very personal because I am there.
That is great because you can speak to the story. Even if you did target women who just had babies, I mean, you deliver babies, you mother, great mother, so you can guide them into your story. It is very important. As for me, the story is important. I am now in an agency where I am creative. I am doing podcasts. I have got to know my production. I have to know all of that.
I can tell that story. I can help my client. You can dig into many stories with your mother, elderly, you just have to figure out what you want. The other thing is, how big is your audience? Any of those audiences is really large. Most of the time, I hear you want an audience that you can attract, that is at least a hundred thousand. Your audience, all of those, you could do any of those. It is just really what your passion is right now.
I am figuring all that out because I am so passionate about so many things. I appreciate you. Just being transparent about it, because it is sometimes like today could be different than tomorrow and next year. The part about just moving is not sitting still once you have the idea of moving. That is the key piece, particularly for entrepreneurs right now.
Self-Care For Entrepreneurs: A Wealth Strategist’s Guide To Balance And Mental Health
Nimble and fast. I love that. Catrina, you wear so many hats. Please tell us how you practice self-care. What does that look like for you?
I do not wake up too early. I am a night person. I do not know, Angela, if you remember that.
Yes, I do, because I was not. I get really silly after about 11:00 PM. Do you remember that?
I go to sleep about 2:00 or 3:00. I wake up probably like 8:00. I am near White Rock Lake in Dallas, Texas. I walk around the lake, or I walk like a flagpole heel. I like walking the heels. I do that for about an hour, for 30 minutes of the walk. I am listening to gospel music. I am just getting in touch with God, mental and spiritual. The other 30 minutes, I am listening to podcasts. That is where I am learning. I am listening to podcasts.
I am sorry, you said you were listening to the Boss Leap podcast at least once a week?
I am listening to Boss Leap.
New episodes on Wednesday.
You are feeding your mind, your spirit, your body. You are getting the sun. That vitamin D is just awesome. I drink more water when I am walking. I drink water. I just started doing this. I have been having a massage envy since 2019. I have 50 that I have not used because during the pandemic, I did not go for three years. Now 50 built up. Now, what I am doing is I am doing a facial once a week of the month. I did a massage the other week because I have so many. I am enjoying that. Just getting pampered and relaxing.
Dig deep on your why, because don't let what somebody else is saying influence you and what you’re saying. Share on XI know I am going to have to tag this on. I know that you eat well. Catrina’s mom was a nutrition specialist, and I am probably butchering her title, but it was not hard to eat well around Catrina. We had similar interests there in terms of good nutrition.
I have digressed because now I am just so focused on the business.
Marjorie is not happy about that.
I need to get a chef for one of those meal prep services that delivers.
There are so many now. It is interesting. I would like somebody to vet those and tell me which one is good because everywhere you look, there is something healthy.
I have tried three of them. It is one that I like right now that I can tell you about. I am not getting paid, so I am not going to advertise right now.
I understand that completely. Catrina, is there something you would like to leave our audience with? You have given us so many pearls during our conversation. What is one more thing?
Dig Deep On Your Why: The Final, Non-Negotiable Key To Generational Wealth
One more thing is to just take the leap. Be a boss, take the leap, and think about why you want to do something. Really dig deep into why. Sometimes you are like, “I want to be a millionaire.” Why? What are you going to do when you get there? What do you want? Is it college for your children? Is it just so you can retire somewhere and have financial freedom? Really think deeply about your why. When you think you know the answer, think again. Like, “Why do I want this freedom?” I have to ask myself, “Why am I like that?”
I would really say dig deep on your why, because do not let what somebody else is saying influence you on your why, or this is what I should be doing. “Entrepreneurship looks cool, so I am going to try it.” Is that really what you want to do? Do you want to stay up long hours? Do you want to have to learn all of these different systems? Really think about your why or what you are doing, and know you have to put in the work to do it, and find a mentor. That is so important.
Sage advice. Find your why. Find a mentor. Love those. Catrina, thank you so much. I knew you would have a lot of pearls to drop here, and you have. We would love to have you back for any of your sessions that you want to educate the audience on. I know I am always listening because I think we just do not get enough information in terms of building generational wealth, but just wealth strategies in general. I know where your heart is on this and where your heart is in general. I know that you have your heart in the right place and give great advice. We thank you. Thank you.
Thank you.
Until we meet again, may you be well.
—
Key Takeaways On Freedom, Nimble Business, And Follow-Up
Angela, what an inspiring conversation with Catrina Craft. Catrina’s journey shows us that wealth is not just about the numbers. It is about clarity, confidence, and the courage to build a life on your own terms. Catrina’s pivot, her resilience, and the way she turns strategy into freedom are exactly what taking the leap is all about. What pearls did you get from Catrina’s conversation?
So much. As I said in the beginning, I know her. I have known her almost all my life, from high school, but you learn so much about a person. I have always admired her own sense of style. Just feeling good in her own skin, never trying to please anybody else, just being completely authentically Catrina.
I think that we cannot see enough models for us when we are moving through life. In terms of the pearls, her sense of just trying to achieve freedom. Financial freedom is obviously one of those things that a lot of us are seeking so that we can do the things that are meaningful, but not necessarily be beholden to what we are doing in our careers to basically complete our lives. There are other things that we can do.
Achieving that freedom. We have the freedom right now to do this podcast. It has been amazing to do it our way and create what works for us and what gives us meaning. Hopefully, those who are listening. I like the phrase nimble and fast. Be nimble and fast, but also consistent. That is the key for me, and just being consistent. You will attract your tribe.
You do not need to try to be anybody else or model anybody else unless it is in alignment with who you are, because there will always be a tribe that is attracted to you and that you are attracted to. The last one, which made me think of you right away, is the follow-up. You are so good about that follow-up. We meet somebody.
Before I know, I am like, “What? You already sent them an email.” It is the follow-up. I have the intention. I have got the notes and my calendar, but it is not as fast as yours is. There is real value in the follow-up with people because what is top of mind stays top of mind if you keep it there. How about you?
Follow-up is important. I will say one of your mentees was really good at following up. He is an undergrad in DC and is doing amazing things. He has been connected to one of our co-authors. The tribe just continues to expand. You two follow up, I know you. I wrote down lots of wisdom that she dropped.
Certainly, you mentioned being nimble and fast, which I also love. Acting in spite of fear. One of my favorites was to dig deep into your why. She talked about starting with the end in mind. I am just going to leave us with “Be a boss and take the leap.” We are going to have to trademark that. We may have to give her a little something on that one, but be a boss and take a leap.
I love it. We know that there is definitely somebody in your tribe who would get something out of this episode. We hope that you will like, subscribe, and follow. We can be found on all streaming platforms. Our website is BossLeapPodcast.com. Please send us a message or any ideas that you have for further episodes. Definitely, you can reach us on YouTube. If you would subscribe there, we would love that. Leave comments or suggestions there as well. We are loving our listeners. The feedback that you have given us thus far gives us life. We hope that until we meet again, you will be well.
May you be well.
Important Links
- Catrina Craft on LinkedIn
- Catrina Craft on YouTube
- Rich Dad, Poor Dad
- Unlock Hidden Wealth Inside Your Business
- Boss Leap Podcast
- Boss Leap Podcast on YouTube
About Catrina M. Craft
Meet Catrina M. Craft, a powerhouse CPA-turned-wealth strategist who doesn’t just manage numbers—she reshapes them. With more than two decades of experience, she’s helped agencies, celebrities, and service-based business owners turn tax burdens into strategic power moves, build multiple income streams, and create cash-flow systems that actually work.
Catrina knows that even success brings new challenges. After losing a major client that made up 80% of her firm’s revenue, she had to make a bold pivot to rebuild her business and her wealth. Instead of retreating, she studied the wealth strategies of the rich—using what she learned to recover stronger, scale her business smarter, and invest in 12 income-producing properties.
Today, she helps seven-figure plus entrepreneurs do the same—using advanced tax strategy and profitability advisory to scale without burnout and create the freedom-filled life they’ve earned. Through her signature Craft Money Map™ system, she shows business owners how to keep more of what they earn, boost profits by 20% or more, and build lasting wealth that supports both their business and their lifestyle.