# Stabilise the Founder and the Business

Source: https://ivankamenken.com/crisis-stabilisation-map · Last updated 31 October 2026

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.

## Every message looks like a decision

- You are making big decisions at midnight.
- Every message feels urgent and none of them are clear.
- You have not written down what is true this week.

**THE MOMENT:** 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.

### 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

## 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.

## 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.

## 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: Crisis Stabilisation Map

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.

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.

It replaces decisions made at midnight, a list of emergencies carried in your head, and the urge to fix everything in one week.

### What goes on the page

1. What is true: cash in the bank and revenue now, in figures
2. What is due: payroll, tax and the commitments this week
3. The next calls: each one with an owner and a day
4. What waits: the decisions that must not be made yet
5. The work test: which client work to accept while stabilising
6. Who to call: accountant, lawyer, GP or counsellor, written down

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.

## 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 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?

### THE FOUR-STEP LOOP

1. The one thing: The 60% gap, and the week in front of it.
2. The numbers: Cash in the bank, and what is due this week.
3. The story: Why every message felt like an emergency.
4. The commitment: Two calls made, the rest parked.

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.

## 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 programme is the container: 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions, a monthly scorecard, and reviews at month 3 and month 6.

## 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 fits, and who does not

### 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.

### Investment

**AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, 6 months.** 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.

Included:

- 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.

- [Join 1:1 Mentoring, AUD $1,500/mo, 6 months](/mentoring)
- [Book a 20-minute intro call](https://theartofservice.zohobookings.com.au/?utm_source=ivankamenken&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=crisis-stabilisation-map#/15606000001356030)
- [See the 1:1 Mentoring programme](https://ivankamenken.com/mentoring)

## Questions about Crisis Stabilisation Map

### 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.

- [Join 1:1 Mentoring, AUD $1,500/mo, 6 months](/mentoring)
- [Book a 20-minute intro call](https://theartofservice.zohobookings.com.au/?utm_source=ivankamenken&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=crisis-stabilisation-map#/15606000001356030)
- [See the 1:1 Mentoring programme](https://ivankamenken.com/mentoring)
- [Weeks of payroll, 13 weeks out](https://ivankamenken.com/13-week-cash-flow-for-founders)
- [Can this decision be undone?](https://ivankamenken.com/two-way-door-classifier)
- [One no-meeting day a month for one lever](https://ivankamenken.com/monthly-deep-work-day)
- [The Fortnight Loop](https://ivankamenken.com/mentoring#fortnight-loop)

- Every way to work with Ivanka: https://ivankamenken.com/work-with-ivanka