Caleb Hammers <\/p>\n
Mackenzie, 26, from Melbourne, FL, works \u201cfour or five\u201d jobs and side hustles. She considers herself an entrepreneur, but she\u2019s drained her retirement savings and emergency fund \u2014 wracking up thousands of dollars in debt \u2014 in the process.<\/p>\n
She told Caleb Hammer on a recent episode of Financial Audit<\/a> that she used to work as a project manager at Walmart, making around US$50,000 (CDN$70,000) a year before she quit. She took money out of her 401(k) \u2014 the American equivalent of a RRSP \u2014 to buy a car, drained US$14,000 in savings and racked up debt to start a nail salon business, all of which she blames on \u201cgirl math.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGirl math\u201d is a term that emerged from TikTok as a way to describe the \u201cseemingly intricate and often ridiculous ways women justify an extravagant or unnecessary expense,\u201d according to a social media glossary from Later<\/a>.<\/p>\n Hammer was opposed to her using the phrase, saying, \u201cYou\u2019re going to make everyone hate women \u2026 Why bring to your entire gender this negative connotation that you\u2019re unable to manage money?\u201d<\/p>\n Mackenzie makes about US$500 a month as a nail technician, a business she just started, splitting US$742 a month in rent with another technician. That works out to US$6.25 an hour for 20 hours every week. She also spent a few thousand dollars on startup costs because the \u201cold salon stuff\u201d had \u201cbad energy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I girl-mathed the hell out of it and it made sense to me at the moment,\u201d she told Hammer.<\/p>\n Mackenzie also has a part-time job at a burrito restaurant, working an average of about 20 hours a week at US$15 an hour plus tips.<\/p>\n \u201cSo to be clear, you make three times what you make [doing] nails \u2026 and you work just as many hours doing that,\u201d said Hammer.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s why her \u201cgirl math\u201d doesn\u2019t add up.<\/p>\n There are approximately 1.22 million small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in Canada as of 2023<\/a>. SMEs are defined as companies having less than 500 employees, with over half of them identified as micro-enterprises, meaning they have fewer than five employees. As of June of last year, an estimated 1.33 million businesses in Canada were without employees<\/a>.<\/p>\n Many Canadian entrepreneurs say they were driven to launch a business from the passion of doing something they enjoy, or out of the desire to be their own boss. However, they also report serious financial barriers: In a recent Ownr survey<\/a>, an estimated 46% of entrepreneurs cited cash-flow issues as their top challenge. Beyond that, over 50% of aspiring business owners claimed access to funding was another significant hurdle.<\/p>\n Here are some common mistakes when starting a business \u2014 and what to learn from Mackenzie\u2019s peculiar situation.<\/p>\n \u201cWinging it\u201d is not a business plan. \u201cI\u2019m flying by the seat of my pants. I don\u2019t have an actual plan,\u201d Mackenzie told Hammer.<\/p>\n Use \u201cgirl math\u201d as an excuse all you want, but it\u2019s not a great idea to start a new business without understanding how a business actually works. That might mean taking a few courses, such as accounting and marketing, so you can make the math work. Or it might mean working for someone else for a few years to gain the skillset you need to succeed.<\/p>\n In Canada, the Business Development Bank of Canada<\/a> (BDC) recommends designing a solid business plan, including a clear description of your company, an analysis of your industry and target market, plus details about your business and management structure. Your plan should also outline your financial projections and explain your strategy for marketing and growth.<\/p>\n If you assume you can write off all your expenses \u2014 and you\u2019re making purchases with that mentality \u2014 you will be in for a rude awakening come tax time.<\/p>\n There are items and services that you can claim as a business deduction, which will reduce your overall taxable income and therefore your overall tax bill. But deductions are complex: In some cases, you have to break it down by the portion used for business versus personal use. There are also limits on tax deductions.<\/p>\n The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has a list of business credits and deductions, and how to claim those on your tax return.<\/p>\n Read more: What is the best credit card in Canada? It might be the RBC\u00ae British Airways Visa Infinite, with a $1,176 first-year value<\/a>. Compare it with over 140 more in 5 seconds<\/p>\n Starting a business comes with numerous expenses, such as rent, utilities, supplies, inventory and startup costs. So if you make that investment and just expect customers to start showing up, you could be setting yourself up for failure.<\/p>\n This is where a solid business plan with market research can help. Are you offering a product or service that people need or want? In this case, how many nail salons are in Mackenzie\u2019s neighborhood? Is the market already saturated? Is she offering something unique?<\/p>\n Before leaving a job, you may want to build up a solid client base and reputation of of your own before going out independently and draining your savings. You\u2019ll also need a marketing plan to help drive new customers: Advertising isn\u2019t the same as marketing.<\/p>\n While being an entrepreneur can be rewarding, it takes an incredible amount of hard work to be successful. It\u2019s also worth considering your future stability, such as the employee plans and retirement matching that can come with a stable, full-time job.<\/p>\n Finding success may also come down to timing. If you don\u2019t have a business plan, funding or a customer base, you may want to postpone launching your endeavour until those are in place.<\/p>\n As Hammer tells Mackenzie: \u201cI\u2019m not saying you can\u2019t be a nail tech. I said you need to put in the work with other people and build up clients, not immediately go into your own business and spend $7,500 to make $500 a month.\u201d<\/p>\n 1. YouTube: <\/a>Girl Math Final Boss | Financial Audit (Aug 15, 2025)<\/p>\n 2. Later: <\/a>Girl Math<\/p>\n 3. Fraser Institute: <\/a>Small business in Canada\u2014a reality check, by Jock Finlayson (Jul 30, 2025)<\/p>\n 4. Statistics Canada: <\/a>Canadian Business Counts, without employees, June 2024 (Aug 15, 2024)<\/p>\n