I’m Samantha Nitiutomo of SLN Consulting -

an ex-finance industry girl turned small business systems hacker.

And this is my story… 

Why am I so passionate about helping entrepreneurs automate their businesses as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible?

Because I know how empowering self-employment can be.

Because I know how owning a small business that brings in extra money can make all the difference.

Because I believe in the power of our community, social capital, and self-ownership. 

And we can all do it, even if we’re not all wealthy and/or privileged.

In the Beginning

Growing up, I did all the things I was “supposed” to do: took the right tests, went to the right school, got the right internships, and landed the right job after college. 

I spent the better part of a decade trying to climb the corporate ladder in the prestigious and hyper-competitive hedge fund industry, and my identity became molded around my performance and my career.

But I wasn’t happy, and I wasn’t fulfilled.

Worst of all, I wasn’t myself.

I had money but no passion, and I was afraid of risking my lifestyle for something more in line with who I am.

I was desperately trying to fit in somewhere I just didn’t. This life wasn’t sustainable...and I was about to learn that the hard way. 

I also learned about all the systems and tools corporations use to make their businesses run like well-oiled machines, and became acutely aware of the injustices which meant my own community was often denied access to those same tools...but we’ll get to that part later. 

Downward Spiral

The emotional and mental exhaustion compounded and I burned out, recklessly managing my long, stressful work-weeks on black coffee and cigarettes.

Working so much for so many years and continually pushing through the burn-out meant that I had to depend on other things in order to manage my work-life mentally and emotionally.

Even though I was making money, I was never really secure. I always needed to work a little harder, do a little more, and never be anything less than perfect. There was no room for error, no room for rest, because my performance was what determined whether I received my next paycheck or not, and because I knew that despite performance I was always expendable.

Rock Bottom

I felt empty, exhausted, like I was a shell of a human, running on fumes every day. Eventually, the coffee and cigarettes stopped working. When you’re pouring all of your energy into this labor and nothing is filling you up in return, it catches up with you.

My performance started to fall for the first time in my life. To make matters worse, the hedge fund industry, which had continued struggling after years of recessions and bad press, was in no way becoming a less hostile environment particularly for queer women of color. 

I eventually lost my job. This crushed me in a major way, and my identity which I had spent so long meticulously curating shattered along with me.

I considered applying for more jobs in finance, but couldn’t go through the same story again.

There was no way I could continue on that path and be healthy at the same time.

I knew that something needed to change.

Break Through

I needed to find a job because I needed to pay my bills. I had no idea what I wanted to do next, so I tried freelancing temporarily because it gave me flexibility and income while I figured out where to take my career.

When I started freelancing and working for myself, it meant that I got to set my own boundaries for the first time. 

It afforded me the opportunity to think clearly and fully about what I wanted to do, and to choose the opportunities from which I got the most joy and fulfillment. 

Eventually, noticing these patterns is what gave me my direction.

I created a safe environment where I began producing my best work. 

My environment was in my control. I was empowering myself.

I was able to expand my expertise, reach out to other people, and figure out how I can help them, too.

My first clients gave me insight and experience working with different types of people and businesses. 

I found myself gravitating toward smaller clients like my friends and other small businesses that are run by my community; women, queer folks, people of color... grass-roots companies. 

These were the clients I was most excited to help, clients who didn't know that there are thousands of different softwares to run your business.

In a corporate environment, these tools were known and broadly implemented. They had a high price tag, but they existed. 

I recognized where my expertise was needed most- empowering small businesses.

I started getting creative building these systems. I knew what systems my clients needed and I figured out how to build them affordably. 

And loving what I do this much feels incredible.

Since I started, I’ve helped many businesses across a multitude of different industries restructure their growing businesses and build the foundations for their entrepreneurial dreams. Optimizing your operations and automating as much as you can afford to can increase your revenue (I’ve had clients who increased their revenue by over 150% in a year!), save you time (taking your business from mostly manual sales on Instagram —> to a website & automating your marketing + sales will free up a huge chunk of your time while still making you money), and help you manage your growing business within your budget. If my clients and I can do it, so can you.

TODAY

At the end of the day, I really do believe that we can all be our own bosses. 

It's not easy. You need to put in the work, and it’s going to take a lot of time, energy, flexibility, determination, research, ingenuity, and creative problem solving to succeed. But it’s possible. 

I want to use the lessons I’ve learned from my years in the corporate world and what I am continuing to learn as a small business owner myself, and make business ownership accessible to the people for whom it always seemed just out of reach: 

FOR US.