INSIDE 1:1 MENTORING
Stabilise the Founder and the Business
You open the banking app, see the runway is shorter than the plan, and every message in your inbox looks like a decision you cannot make today. Ivanka Menken uses the Crisis Stabilisation Map inside 1:1 Mentoring, a 6-month programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, to separate what is true, what is due this week and what must wait. You leave with one page, the next calls to make and who to call for help.
The Crisis Stabilisation Map is a tool inside the programme, not a separate product.
THIS WEEK, ON ONE PAGE
What is true. What is due. What waits.
- REVENUE LOSTone major client gone60%
- DUE THIS WEEKpayroll, tax, the work that cannot moveListed
- MUST WAITno permanent decision from a temporary lowParked
THE RULE
“Decide less this week, and stand behind what you decide.”
Your facts and dates will differ.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
Every message looks like a decision
- 01You are making big decisions at midnight.
- 02Every message feels urgent and none of them are clear.
- 03You have not written down what is true this week.
THE WEEK, AS IT STANDS
- Revenue: down 60% since the client left
- Cash runway: checked hourly, never written
- Due this week: in your head
- Decisions in flight: every lead and every cost, at once
- Who to call for help: not listed
A week run on panic instead of facts.
THE EXAMPLE CASE
A founder deciding everything at once
01
THE MOMENT
A client gone, and 60% with it
A major client has gone, and with it 60% of the revenue. It is midnight and you are answering messages, drafting content, chasing any lead that might fill the gap and wondering which costs to cut first. Every option feels urgent. None of them feels clear. You are about to make permanent decisions in the worst week of the year.
02
WHAT THEY HAD TRIED
Chase every lead, cut every cost
The obvious fix was to do everything at once. Chase every lead that appeared, say yes to any work, cut every cost that came to mind and launch new content to fill the gap. It felt like action. It meant permanent decisions made in a panic: commitments the business could not keep, costs cut that it would need again, and work accepted that pulled further away from the business it was.
03
WHAT IVANKA NOTICED
The test was missing, not the effort
Ivanka noticed the founder was already making video content and already had leads. Effort was not the problem. What was missing was a written test for which client work to accept while stabilising, and a page showing what was true, what was due and what could wait. Without it, every message was treated as an emergency and every decision as permanent.
THE DIAGNOSIS
A decision problem under pressure
The diagnosis was a decision problem under pressure, not a content problem or a sales problem. The founder needed a steady way to decide before the next pivot.
The reframe: a crisis does not call for a bigger plan. It calls for a smaller set of written decisions you can stand behind this week. Write what is true today, what is due this week, who owns the next call and what must not be decided yet. The rest waits until the facts are steadier.
A crisis calls for fewer decisions, written down, not a bigger plan.
THE COST OF STAYING STUCK
A permanent decision made from a temporary low can turn a 60% revenue loss into a permanent drop.
THE TOOL
The Crisis Stabilisation Map, for this week
The Crisis Stabilisation Map is one page in four columns: what is true today, what is due this week, who owns the next call, and what must not be decided yet. It slows the founder down enough to see the next decisions, and it names who to call for legal, financial or clinical help.
Tap a part. Your facts and calls will differ.
Crisis Stabilisation Map · a framework by Ivanka Menken
What it is
It is one page, rewritten each week while things are unsteady. Cash facts, not fears. The commitments that cannot move. The next calls, each with a name and a day. And a column for the decisions that wait, so they stop running at midnight.
What it replaces
It replaces decisions made at midnight, a list of emergencies carried in your head, and the urge to fix everything in one week.
It sits inside 1:1 Mentoring, next to the Fortnight Loop and the monthly scorecard. Ivanka is not a therapist, lawyer or financial adviser; the map helps you reach the right professional help. There is no separate checkout.
THE MAP, COLUMN BY COLUMN
- 01What is true: cash in the bank and revenue now, in figures
- 02What is due: payroll, tax and the commitments this week
- 03The next calls: each one with an owner and a day
- 04What waits: the decisions that must not be made yet
- 05The work test: which client work to accept while stabilising
- 06Who to call: accountant, lawyer, GP or counsellor, written down
HOW IVANKA WORKED WITH THEM
True, due, and what waits
In the first session, Ivanka slowed the founder down with four questions. What is true today? What is due this week? Who owns the next call? What must not be decided yet? The founder wrote the cash facts and commitments on one page, then the test for which client work to accept. They left with a one-page map, two calls to make that week, one of them to their accountant, and a list of decisions parked until the next session.
THE MAP, AS WRITTEN
- True today
- Revenue down 60%; cash and runway written in figures.
- Due this week
- Payroll, the tax payment and two client deliveries.
- Next calls
- The accountant and one existing client, each with a day.
- Must wait
- Cutting staff, another pivot and any long contract.
- Review
- Weekly, then fortnightly
Your facts and calls will differ.
THE FOUR-STEP LOOP
- 1The one thingThe 60% gap, and the week in front of it.
- 2The numbersCash in the bank, and what is due this week.
- 3The storyWhy every message felt like an emergency.
- 4The commitmentTwo calls made, the rest parked.
THE QUESTIONS
- What is true today?
- What is due this week?
- Who owns the next call?
- What must not be decided yet?
- Who do you need to call for professional help?
Before the next session, the founder made the two calls, kept the map current and took on new client work only when it passed the written test.
WHAT CHANGED
Steady, not dramatic
By month 6, the founder keeps a current map, commits to one written decision each fortnight and knows who to call for legal, financial or clinical help.
BEFORE
- Big decisions were made at midnight.
- Every message was treated as urgent.
- Cash facts lived in a banking app.
- Help was a search, not a list.
BY MONTH 6
- A current Crisis Stabilisation Map.
- One written decision each fortnight.
- Cash facts written in figures, weekly.
- A short list of who to call for professional help.
THE 12 FORTNIGHTS
- 1Call
- 2Call
- 3Call
- 4Call
- 5Call
- 6Month 3
- 7Call
- 8Call
- 9Call
- 10Call
- 11Call
- 12Month 6
The programme is the container: 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions, a monthly scorecard, and reviews at month 3 and month 6.
ILLUSTRATIVE RESULT
In this case, the founder wrote a one-page map of cash facts, commitments and the next calls, took on a video client as a deliberate test rather than a rescue, and kept the map current. Over the following months, video work and that client made up about 40% of the revenue that had been lost.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU
Write this week down before you decide it
Ivanka Menken built 1:1 Mentoring for founders of $500K to $3M businesses who keep carrying the same decisions. Every fortnight she helps you name one decision, write the commitment and check it two weeks later.
This fits if the business has taken a hard hit and you are deciding too much, too fast. It does not fit if you need clinical, medical, legal or financial help first; get that help, and the map can sit beside it. The decision in front of you is a small one. Write down what is true today before you make the next call.
“Helps founders lead with clarity and integrity by modelling vulnerability, emotional intelligence, and grounded decision-making. Creates an environment where leaders can openly explore challenges and grow without fear of judgement.”
R.W., founder
WHO IT IS FOR
It fits
- A major client, contract or revenue line has gone.
- You are making big decisions late at night.
- You want a steady way to decide, not a pep talk.
- You will write the map and keep it current.
It does not fit
- You need therapy, medical or clinical care.
- You want legal or financial advice.
- You want a done-for-you turnaround.
- You want clinical, medical, legal or financial help in place of those professionals.
THE INVESTMENT
AUD $1,500
per month ex GST
6 months · 12 fortnightly sessions
The Crisis Stabilisation Map is part of 1:1 Mentoring, a 6-month programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST. It is not sold separately.
- 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions
- A monthly one-page scorecard
- Reviews at month 3 and month 6
- The Crisis Stabilisation Map, kept current
Three founding places in total, shared across 1:1 Mentoring and its three focus programmes, are available at A$1,000 a month, in return for honest monthly feedback and a testimonial, which can be anonymous. Claim a founding place.
The Crisis Stabilisation Map is part of the programme. It is not sold separately.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
Questions about stabilising after a hard hit
What is a crisis stabilisation map?
It is one page in four parts: what is true today, what is due this week, who owns the next call, and what must not be decided yet. It slows a founder down so the next move is deliberate. Ivanka Menken uses it inside 1:1 Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, and you keep it current while things are unsteady.
Is this therapy?
No. Ivanka Menken is not a therapist, and this is business mentoring, not clinical care. The map helps you see the business decisions clearly and names who to call for other help, including a GP or counsellor. If you are in immediate danger, call 000, or Lifeline on 13 11 14. 1:1 Mentoring runs 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.
What if you need legal or financial help?
Then the map tells you who to call and what to ask. One column lists the professionals you need, your accountant, a lawyer or a financial adviser, each with a day to call. Ivanka Menken is none of those. Inside 1:1 Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, she helps you get to the right help sooner.
How does 1:1 Mentoring work in a crisis?
The first session builds the map. Each fortnightly session after it starts from the map and one written decision, so the work stays steady rather than dramatic. Reviews at month 3 and month 6 check the bigger picture. Ivanka Menken runs 1:1 Mentoring over 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, with a monthly scorecard alongside.
Decide less, and decide it on paper
If the business has taken a hard hit and every message feels urgent, start with 1:1 Mentoring. The Crisis Stabilisation Map is inside it, and the 20-minute intro call is where you can see whether the programme fits.
Not therapy, clinical care, legal or financial advice, or a done-for-you fix.