# Mentoring for founders who are growing but cash-tight Source: https://ivankamenken.com/mentoring ยท Last updated 20 October 2026 Ivanka Menken offers six months of 1:1 mentoring for founders of $500K to $3M businesses who are growing but cash-tight. The program holds you to the money and letting-go decisions your firefighting keeps pushing back, and turns those decisions into results you can measure. It runs as 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions with a one-page monthly scorecard, at A$1,500 a month ex GST. ## The problem What founders tell Ivanka: - "We're growing but cashflow is very tight." - "Anxious, need to meet payroll." - "I don't want to be known as the low price partner anymore." - "I want higher margin clients but don't know how to get in front of them." - "I lost my mojo." - "The industry is slowing down." It sounds like several problems. It is usually one. You compete on price, so margins are thin. Growth on thin margins eats cash, so payroll becomes a monthly fear. That fear drains your confidence, and a slowing market makes all of it louder. The program breaks the chain where it starts, with what you charge for your value, and measures the effect where it ends: your cash and your confidence. > "I've lain awake over payroll in a growing business, lost my edge for a while and found it again. I know what cash pressure does to a founder's judgement, and how to get it back." (Ivanka Menken) ## How a session works Twelve sessions of 60 minutes, once a fortnight, over six months. Every session follows the same four steps: 1. The one thing that matters this fortnight. 2. The numbers behind it. 3. The story you're telling yourself about it. 4. One commitment, written down. Between sessions: short messages when a decision can't wait, answered within two working days. Every month: a one-page scorecard of five numbers, filled in by you. Month 3 and month 6: a review of the scorecard covering what moved, what didn't, and what's next. ## The scorecard 1. Weeks of payroll covered by cash in the bank 2. Gross margin, as a percentage 3. Price of your newest piece of work against the same work a year ago 4. Commitments kept since the last session 5. Confidence in the business, scored 1 to 10 ## Investment A$1,500 a month ex GST, with a six-month commitment (A$9,000 in total). Three founding places are available at A$1,000 a month, in return for honest monthly feedback and a testimonial, which can be anonymous. ## Who it is for - Founders of $500K to $3M businesses - Businesses that are growing, while cash stays tight - Founders who know the money and letting-go decisions they keep putting off, and want someone to hold them to those decisions ## What it is not - Accounting. Your accountant does the accounts. - Financial advice. - A done-for-you fix. Ivanka reads the numbers with you and asks the questions. The decisions and the work stay yours. ## Questions founders ask ### We're growing, but cashflow is very tight. Is this for me? It is written for exactly that. The program is for founders of $500K to $3M businesses who are growing but cash-tight, and who know which money and letting-go decisions they keep putting off. Each fortnight we work on one of those decisions and you track what it does to your cash, margin and confidence. ### I'm flat out firefighting. How would I find the time? Sessions are 60 minutes, once a fortnight, and they are protected time away from the fire. Between sessions there is a one-page scorecard once a month and short messages when a decision can't wait, which Ivanka answers within two working days. ### I don't want to be the low-price partner anymore. Will this help me charge more? Pricing is usually where the problem starts: low prices make margins thin, and growth on thin margins eats cash. We look at the price of your newest work against the same work a year ago and at your gross margin, and Ivanka challenges the story behind your prices. The decisions stay yours. She holds you to them. ### Will you do my accounts or give me financial advice? No. This is not accounting, financial advice or a done-for-you fix. Ivanka reads the numbers with you and asks the questions. Your accountant does the accounts. ### What does it cost, and how long do I commit for? A$1,500 a month ex GST, with a six-month commitment (A$9,000 in total). Three founding places are available at A$1,000 a month, in return for honest monthly feedback and a testimonial, which can be anonymous. ## Start Book a 20-minute conversation: https://theartofservice.zohobookings.com.au/#/15606000001356030 No pitch. Tell Ivanka what is taking up most of your headspace in the business, and you will both know whether this program fits.