Show notes
How does faith rewire your entire career? In this powerful episode of the What It Takes podcast, we sit down with Mrs. Esther Bergman, the CFO of Chai Lifeline, who oversees a massive $45 million budget dedicated to helping families with critically ill children.Esther takes us on her incredible journey from a Spanish-speaking immigrant taking a job as a store greeter to becoming the financial leader of one of the most impactful non-profits. She pulls back the curtain on her unique philosophy that you don't work for your bossāyou work for Godāand shares how this mindset opened doors no rĆ©sumĆ© ever could. She reveals how a prayer for fish in Costa Rica was directly answered, the time she saved a $100M organization from collapse, and why she schedules her ādepressionā for 5 AM.This is a raw, inspiring, and deeply spiritual conversation about the power of showing up, the true meaning of money, and how to lead with compassionāeven when you have to let someone go.š” In This Episode, We Discuss:ā¼ļø Estherās journey from Costa Rica to CFO without a finance degreeā¼ļø The Costa Rica āFish Market Miracleā and talking to God in everyday lifeā¼ļø Her grandmotherās powerful lesson: āMoney is like fireāā¼ļø The brutal cash flow crisis that threatened to shut down a $100M organizationā¼ļø How to transition from an individual contributor to a leader who builds other leadersā¼ļø The art of firing someone with kindness and a prayer for their futureā¼ļø Why being multi-talented can be a curse for your careerā¼ļø The $15 million secret behind Chai Lifelineās volunteer forceā¼ļø How to make a lateral career move that sets you up for long-term successā¼ļø Her advice for anyone wanting to build a meaningful career in finance or non-profitā±ļø Timestamps00:00 Meet Esther Bergman: The CFO Who Works for God1:04 The Costa Rica Fish Market Miracle7:50 Immigrant Story: First Job as a Store Greeter in Brooklyn10:53 The Kleinfeld Bridal Breakthrough22:56 Switching from Customer Service to Finance34:51 How to Fire Someone with Compassion38:25 The $45M Budget of Chai Lifeline & The $15M Secret43:02 The Crisis: A $100M Organization Frozen by Fraud44:37 The Brilliant Idea That Saved the Company50:50 Final Advice: How to Build a Career with Purposeš Connect with Esther BergmanLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/esther-bergman-87579117/š Connect with Tuli KrausX (Twitter): https://x.com/TuliKrausInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackbird.recruiting/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tuli-kraus/This episode is sponsored by Blackbird Recruiting. Tired of sifting through unqualified resumes? Let Blackbird Recruiting find you top talent so you can focus on building your business. Visit blackbirdrecruiting.com to learn more.