Knowing Your Value, Setting Boundaries, and Starting Again - Melissa Armstrong

WEBVTT
00:00:04.839 --> 00:00:07.440
Today on Protea Conversations, I'm joined by
00:00:07.440 --> 00:00:10.480
Melissa Armstrong, CPA, the founder of Steady
00:00:10.480 --> 00:00:12.759
Hand Accounting and Advisory. Melissa's story
00:00:12.759 --> 00:00:14.900
starts in Puerto Rico, where she grew up surrounded
00:00:14.900 --> 00:00:17.320
by accountants and was absolutely convinced she
00:00:17.320 --> 00:00:19.460
would never become one herself. Fortunately,
00:00:19.800 --> 00:00:21.899
that plan didn't quite work out. Her career has
00:00:21.899 --> 00:00:24.079
taken her through big four accounting, corporate
00:00:24.079 --> 00:00:27.219
finance, a move to Spain, another to Colorado,
00:00:27.519 --> 00:00:29.780
and ultimately into entrepreneurship. And that's
00:00:29.780 --> 00:00:32.039
where today's conversation gets especially interesting.
00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:34.320
Melissa has just completed her second year of
00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:36.719
firm ownership, a year she describes as both
00:00:36.719 --> 00:00:39.020
the hardest and perhaps the most important. Rapid
00:00:39.020 --> 00:00:41.659
growth brought capacity challenges, hiring mistakes,
00:00:41.939 --> 00:00:44.020
oversized client relationships, and eventually
00:00:44.020 --> 00:00:46.159
the realization that she needed to tear parts
00:00:46.159 --> 00:00:48.280
of the business down and rebuild them. But this
00:00:48.280 --> 00:00:50.119
conversation goes much deeper than running an
00:00:50.119 --> 00:00:52.390
accounting firm. We talk about building relationships,
00:00:52.770 --> 00:00:55.250
knowing your value, creating boundaries, the
00:00:55.250 --> 00:00:57.570
pursuit of financial independence, learning to
00:00:57.570 --> 00:01:00.070
listen to yourself, and figuring out what success
00:01:00.070 --> 00:01:02.250
should actually look like in your life. Melissa
00:01:02.250 --> 00:01:04.769
was incredibly open and vulnerable in conversation,
00:01:05.150 --> 00:01:06.930
and I'm grateful she was willing to share the
00:01:06.930 --> 00:01:09.829
lessons from a difficult but transformative period.
00:01:10.150 --> 00:01:11.930
I really enjoyed this one, and I know you will
00:01:11.930 --> 00:01:14.230
too. Melissa, welcome to Proteo Conversations.
00:01:14.450 --> 00:01:17.629
Hi, Sain. Thank you for having me. Yeah, I'm
00:01:17.629 --> 00:01:20.450
excited for this. For a lot of reasons, especially
00:01:20.450 --> 00:01:22.849
for what you've shared with me in preparation
00:01:22.849 --> 00:01:25.349
for this. And I'm looking forward to getting
00:01:25.349 --> 00:01:27.849
to that part of the journey. But I did want to
00:01:27.849 --> 00:01:30.849
start today in the beginning because you're my
00:01:30.849 --> 00:01:33.269
first guest from Puerto Rico. I know you're not
00:01:33.269 --> 00:01:35.010
there right now, but that's where you grew up.
00:01:35.030 --> 00:01:37.230
And I'd love to learn more about where it all
00:01:37.230 --> 00:01:40.459
started. Puerto Rico in the house yes born and
00:01:40.459 --> 00:01:44.180
raised in Puerto Rico I lived there till I was
00:01:44.180 --> 00:01:48.340
30 I think and what can I say I was born into
00:01:48.340 --> 00:01:52.640
a family of accountants on my dad's side yeah
00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:55.379
so grew up saying that I would never be an accountant
00:01:55.379 --> 00:01:58.159
because I did not want to be as stressed out
00:01:58.159 --> 00:02:01.500
in life as my father was, but then I fell in
00:02:01.500 --> 00:02:04.019
love with it. Debates and credits when I was
00:02:04.019 --> 00:02:07.459
in college. So I think it was meant to be. Recently
00:02:07.459 --> 00:02:10.599
I was talking to my brother or we were together
00:02:10.599 --> 00:02:13.680
in a networking event and he's the eldest and
00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:16.599
he was saying that the family plan was that he
00:02:16.599 --> 00:02:20.460
would take over the family business of my grandfather's
00:02:20.460 --> 00:02:22.620
accounting firm and they had this whole life
00:02:22.620 --> 00:02:25.840
planned out for him. And he's not an accountant.
00:02:26.319 --> 00:02:30.000
He is a realtor, a very successful one, but talking
00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:32.979
about how he would have been absolutely miserable
00:02:32.979 --> 00:02:35.479
in it. And then me thinking that I would have
00:02:35.479 --> 00:02:38.909
hated it. I love it now. So yeah, Puerto Rico,
00:02:39.150 --> 00:02:43.330
very, very formal back in the day, very much
00:02:43.330 --> 00:02:46.949
of an East Coast culture when it comes to business.
00:02:47.090 --> 00:02:49.770
Very similar to working in the U .S. in that
00:02:49.770 --> 00:02:53.330
I worked for a big four accounting firm. So working
00:02:53.330 --> 00:02:57.210
all day in an English only environment, at least
00:02:57.210 --> 00:03:01.389
over email, even with local clients, very structured.
00:03:01.889 --> 00:03:06.129
It's the same CPA exam. It's a uniform CPA exam,
00:03:06.370 --> 00:03:08.969
right? Very similar requirements in all of that.
00:03:09.409 --> 00:03:12.069
So, but I got to do it in an environment where
00:03:12.069 --> 00:03:15.110
the beach was always 30 minutes away. So that
00:03:15.110 --> 00:03:17.310
was fun. That sounds amazing. I grew up in a
00:03:17.310 --> 00:03:19.349
coastal town, so I also loved the idea that I
00:03:19.349 --> 00:03:21.169
could clock of work and go straight down to the
00:03:21.169 --> 00:03:23.210
beach and my life was so much better. Now I live
00:03:23.210 --> 00:03:24.949
in California and you'd think that would be the
00:03:24.949 --> 00:03:27.990
case, but it is not. Especially not in Northern
00:03:27.990 --> 00:03:31.060
California, beaches are cold and rocky. Yes.
00:03:31.280 --> 00:03:34.219
But it is such a different upbringing. Like I
00:03:34.219 --> 00:03:35.680
can't put my head around. I've never been to
00:03:35.680 --> 00:03:37.759
Puerto Rico. I only know what I've read about
00:03:37.759 --> 00:03:40.219
it. But is there anything like from your childhood
00:03:40.219 --> 00:03:43.180
that was just like so memorable that you miss
00:03:43.180 --> 00:03:45.900
a lot in your new life? I mean, I think it's
00:03:45.900 --> 00:03:47.939
that thing of being at the beach, coming here
00:03:47.939 --> 00:03:51.099
to the States. There's a lot of people that were
00:03:51.099 --> 00:03:54.360
born and raised in land, right? In a landlocked
00:03:54.360 --> 00:03:56.780
state and to hear somebody say for the first
00:03:56.780 --> 00:03:59.580
time that they've never seen the ocean. To me,
00:03:59.719 --> 00:04:01.680
it's like, there's actually people like that
00:04:01.680 --> 00:04:07.560
in the world. For me, growing up in the island,
00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:11.020
I did not learn to ride a bike until I was 37
00:04:11.020 --> 00:04:14.020
years old. Because all of my weekends were spent
00:04:14.020 --> 00:04:16.379
at the beach, in the water. So that's, that's
00:04:16.379 --> 00:04:19.139
what's different about it. But I, I mean, I loved
00:04:19.139 --> 00:04:21.699
it. We don't, back home, we don't have seasons,
00:04:21.699 --> 00:04:24.060
which is something that I have come to appreciate
00:04:24.060 --> 00:04:26.819
as I grow up. I do like to see the turning of
00:04:26.819 --> 00:04:30.540
the leaves, my body now. will tell me we're done
00:04:30.540 --> 00:04:33.500
with summer, we need cooler temperatures, or
00:04:33.500 --> 00:04:37.420
we'll say F winter, let's get to the warm weather.
00:04:37.939 --> 00:04:42.040
But before I didn't feel like those changes or
00:04:42.040 --> 00:04:45.759
anything because it was just different levels
00:04:45.759 --> 00:04:49.339
of hot. So how did an island girl pick? Colorado,
00:04:49.379 --> 00:04:52.740
it just seems so far apart. And just the thought
00:04:52.740 --> 00:04:55.779
of snow makes me feel sad. You know, I'm okay
00:04:55.779 --> 00:04:57.540
for a couple of days, but living in that just
00:04:57.540 --> 00:05:00.939
seems too much. Well, my brother, my eldest brother
00:05:00.939 --> 00:05:04.680
has lived here since the late nineties and in
00:05:04.680 --> 00:05:08.220
2000. I came to visit him for the first time,
00:05:08.540 --> 00:05:12.759
maybe that winter, so 2007. I came to visit him
00:05:12.759 --> 00:05:16.220
for the first time and I immediately could see
00:05:16.220 --> 00:05:19.160
myself living here, just in Colorado. It looked
00:05:19.160 --> 00:05:21.699
completely different from what it is today. A
00:05:21.699 --> 00:05:24.439
lot smaller. The city has grown, but it was the
00:05:24.439 --> 00:05:27.000
first time where I... could see myself living
00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:29.360
somewhere else. And I remember trying at the
00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:31.620
time, obviously the economy wasn't having it
00:05:31.620 --> 00:05:34.120
and I couldn't afford to move without a job first.
00:05:34.319 --> 00:05:37.360
So I kind of like let that go for a minute and
00:05:37.360 --> 00:05:39.600
then move to Spain and whatnot. And when I came
00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:42.160
back, I knew that I didn't want to go back to
00:05:42.160 --> 00:05:44.560
Puerto Rico. I wanted to move stateside. And
00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:47.199
so I picked Denver because he was already here
00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:49.819
and I needed to borrow his couch and have a continental
00:05:49.819 --> 00:05:53.259
number so that I could apply for jobs. And it
00:05:53.310 --> 00:05:56.170
worked out that I stayed, which I love. I do
00:05:56.170 --> 00:05:58.769
miss the ocean, especially in the summer. It's
00:05:58.769 --> 00:06:02.189
very, it's been challenging this year because
00:06:02.189 --> 00:06:07.250
I have asthma and the air quality here is bad.
00:06:07.430 --> 00:06:10.829
It's bad normally because we have refineries
00:06:10.829 --> 00:06:15.149
in town and with the heat, like the ozone levels
00:06:15.149 --> 00:06:19.189
get super high and then add on top of that the
00:06:19.189 --> 00:06:23.779
fire. smoke, but when I can, when the conditions
00:06:23.779 --> 00:06:26.519
allow for it, I have a paddleboard, I go to the
00:06:26.519 --> 00:06:29.720
lake, lakes in the city, I do my thing. And so
00:06:29.720 --> 00:06:32.800
you try to make it work. You find the time to
00:06:32.800 --> 00:06:35.519
do those ocean activities wherever you can. Right.
00:06:35.839 --> 00:06:37.879
Yeah. A little harder when the snow's down, but
00:06:37.879 --> 00:06:41.139
I guess there is some, some niceness in that,
00:06:41.240 --> 00:06:43.540
I guess, like white Christmas hills that come
00:06:43.540 --> 00:06:46.180
with it. Yeah. And then last winter we didn't
00:06:46.180 --> 00:06:49.560
have any snow at all. That is very, very true.
00:06:49.819 --> 00:06:52.560
Yeah. I still couldn't get my brain around living
00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:54.660
in the snow. I'm very happy where I am. It does
00:06:54.660 --> 00:06:58.600
get cold, but it doesn't feel like a lot. But
00:06:58.600 --> 00:07:01.379
that is a big move. I mean, Puerto Rico to mainland
00:07:01.379 --> 00:07:03.839
and then to Denver. I like the idea that she
00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:05.620
moved where there was a support structure that
00:07:05.620 --> 00:07:07.759
always makes a big difference. And it sounds
00:07:07.759 --> 00:07:10.060
like your older brother has definitely had an
00:07:10.060 --> 00:07:12.160
influence on who you are as a person in your
00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:14.600
life. A hundred percent. Yes. And it's great.
00:07:14.819 --> 00:07:17.199
We are 11 years apart, so he's older than me.
00:07:17.860 --> 00:07:21.279
But he's married, they have a kid and we are
00:07:21.279 --> 00:07:23.879
very close. So it's great to have them here.
00:07:24.139 --> 00:07:26.839
Her family has also been incredible to me. So
00:07:26.839 --> 00:07:29.319
I feel like there are an extension of my own
00:07:29.319 --> 00:07:32.160
family. Definitely does make a difference. Yeah.
00:07:32.699 --> 00:07:34.939
Well, a good support structure goes a long way.
00:07:35.100 --> 00:07:38.040
Be that family, friends, colleagues. I mean,
00:07:38.300 --> 00:07:40.939
it's important. And especially when you're starting
00:07:40.939 --> 00:07:43.439
out a firm like you have been. A lot of that
00:07:43.439 --> 00:07:45.620
is solo time. Having a good support structure
00:07:45.620 --> 00:07:48.779
makes a big difference. Yes. He planted the scene
00:07:48.779 --> 00:07:52.079
in sort of a way. He just, just, I, it was let
00:07:52.079 --> 00:07:54.379
go for my corporate job and he was like, take
00:07:54.379 --> 00:07:56.180
a minute, take a beat and think about what you
00:07:56.180 --> 00:07:59.199
really want before you take the next step. But
00:07:59.199 --> 00:08:02.579
he's been a business owner. As a realtor, he
00:08:02.579 --> 00:08:04.939
has his own team. He runs his own office. So
00:08:04.939 --> 00:08:08.100
he has that entrepreneurial spirit. And with
00:08:08.100 --> 00:08:10.540
him and other members of his extended family,
00:08:10.600 --> 00:08:12.500
it's like, oh, these people are business. owners
00:08:12.500 --> 00:08:15.480
and they're fine, they're more than fine. I can
00:08:15.480 --> 00:08:18.839
do that myself. So definitely an influence. That's
00:08:18.839 --> 00:08:20.339
definitely an interesting comment. It's sometimes
00:08:20.339 --> 00:08:21.939
when you think of entrepreneurship, it seems
00:08:21.939 --> 00:08:23.819
like this big scary world that will never be
00:08:23.819 --> 00:08:26.180
for me until you actually see somebody that you
00:08:26.180 --> 00:08:28.060
care about or you're close to and they're doing
00:08:28.060 --> 00:08:30.259
it. And you're like, if they can do it, I think
00:08:30.259 --> 00:08:32.220
I can do it. Right. I mean, sometimes it's like,
00:08:32.299 --> 00:08:34.100
if they can do it, I can definitely not do it
00:08:34.100 --> 00:08:35.820
because I'm the total opposite of them. But it
00:08:35.820 --> 00:08:38.480
obviously helps sometimes when, when you can
00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:41.080
see the example and you. You've had some upbringing
00:08:41.080 --> 00:08:43.960
to have the same values. If he can do it, maybe
00:08:43.960 --> 00:08:47.220
I should take a chance on myself. Yeah. So I
00:08:47.220 --> 00:08:50.240
had a moment of like, Oh, I have been an entrepreneur
00:08:50.240 --> 00:08:52.460
more for longer than I thought about it because
00:08:52.460 --> 00:08:54.759
I mentioned I moved to Spain and when I went
00:08:54.759 --> 00:08:57.940
to Spain, I only had a student visa. I taught
00:08:57.940 --> 00:09:01.259
English, I like, it was kind of my sabbatical
00:09:01.259 --> 00:09:05.139
thing, but I still had to go out there and build
00:09:05.139 --> 00:09:08.600
a community for myself, find clients in a whole
00:09:08.600 --> 00:09:11.679
new country. I speak Spanish so that I had that
00:09:11.679 --> 00:09:14.539
advantage, but still completely different country.
00:09:14.899 --> 00:09:17.440
And I was able to do it. And I was able to do
00:09:17.440 --> 00:09:21.370
it for three years successfully. So. was more
00:09:21.370 --> 00:09:24.909
of you. Sometimes you often have things in your
00:09:24.909 --> 00:09:27.870
life that resemble being a business owner or
00:09:27.870 --> 00:09:31.009
you have to have entrepreneurial skills that
00:09:31.009 --> 00:09:33.309
you develop and put in place, even though you
00:09:33.309 --> 00:09:36.350
don't have a formal business, but you don't realize
00:09:36.350 --> 00:09:39.210
it. And once I did it, it was like, oh, I have
00:09:39.210 --> 00:09:42.350
done this before in some sort of way or a different
00:09:42.350 --> 00:09:46.309
version. I can definitely tap into those skills
00:09:46.309 --> 00:09:48.710
and do it again. Yeah. I love the point on building
00:09:48.710 --> 00:09:51.450
a network because that is so important in life
00:09:51.450 --> 00:09:53.490
in general, but definitely in business, right?
00:09:53.629 --> 00:09:56.570
And from your story, you've relocated twice.
00:09:56.789 --> 00:09:59.509
So most of us, we have a network because we grew
00:09:59.509 --> 00:10:01.490
up around it, all the school we went to. And
00:10:01.490 --> 00:10:04.389
when you move to a new country, moving stateside
00:10:04.389 --> 00:10:06.529
like you did, you have to start again and you
00:10:06.529 --> 00:10:08.289
have to rebuild that. You might have a piece
00:10:08.289 --> 00:10:11.029
or two that you can lean into to get started.
00:10:11.240 --> 00:10:14.179
that it requires you to do something. And that
00:10:14.179 --> 00:10:16.820
is difficult. Do you have any advice for people
00:10:16.820 --> 00:10:19.299
listening about like how to go about building
00:10:19.299 --> 00:10:21.519
a network? And most importantly, how do you do
00:10:21.519 --> 00:10:23.279
it successfully? Because you've clearly done
00:10:23.279 --> 00:10:28.379
that. The way that I approach this is with candor
00:10:28.379 --> 00:10:32.450
and authenticity. I am the same person online,
00:10:33.009 --> 00:10:36.049
that I am in person, that I am over the phone.
00:10:36.269 --> 00:10:38.490
It's just that consistency because that's going
00:10:38.490 --> 00:10:42.850
to create trust. And also to approach it from
00:10:42.850 --> 00:10:45.899
a position of like, what can I do for you? How
00:10:45.899 --> 00:10:49.259
can I help you? How can I show up for you? Because
00:10:49.259 --> 00:10:51.980
then it will come around in different ways. And
00:10:51.980 --> 00:10:54.820
it might not be, it might not turn into a client
00:10:54.820 --> 00:10:58.320
that pays you or a referral for a client that
00:10:58.320 --> 00:11:02.740
will pay you, but it will be a podcast opportunity.
00:11:02.919 --> 00:11:06.179
Or if you're moving somewhere new, they'll introduce
00:11:06.179 --> 00:11:09.960
you to your favorite coffee shop. or your favorite
00:11:09.960 --> 00:11:12.659
restaurant. And now you have a place where they
00:11:12.659 --> 00:11:15.200
know you and also where you know when you can
00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:18.159
bring your family and friends when they come
00:11:18.159 --> 00:11:21.820
and visit you. It's a place of belonging. Also,
00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:24.279
if you're doing authentically, you can connect
00:11:24.279 --> 00:11:26.899
with these people through other things. Like
00:11:26.899 --> 00:11:30.460
now with LinkedIn, I give this advice, or sorry,
00:11:30.700 --> 00:11:33.519
I talk about this, how it's not just about business,
00:11:33.779 --> 00:11:37.620
it has to be also about who you are as a whole
00:11:37.620 --> 00:11:40.879
person. So I have posted several times about
00:11:40.879 --> 00:11:43.779
my cats, a photo here and there. And now I've
00:11:43.779 --> 00:11:45.659
gotten on phone calls with people for the first
00:11:45.659 --> 00:11:48.830
time who will say, you have cats tell me about
00:11:48.830 --> 00:11:50.809
this and this will be the first time I talk to
00:11:50.809 --> 00:11:53.230
the person and maybe they never commented on
00:11:53.230 --> 00:11:55.590
something and then they'll tell me I have a cat
00:11:55.590 --> 00:11:58.610
myself and they are seven years old and this
00:11:58.610 --> 00:12:00.950
is their name and this is what I love about them
00:12:00.950 --> 00:12:03.809
and so I will never forget this person right
00:12:03.809 --> 00:12:06.169
because now they shared something personal about
00:12:06.169 --> 00:12:08.409
them and they're not going to forget about me
00:12:08.409 --> 00:12:10.629
either so I think it's just about that and when
00:12:10.629 --> 00:12:12.389
you share about yourself you're going to attract
00:12:12.389 --> 00:12:15.139
people that have something, you have something
00:12:15.139 --> 00:12:17.159
in common with. There's a lot in there that I
00:12:17.159 --> 00:12:20.139
really like. First, I'm a big cat person. We
00:12:20.139 --> 00:12:24.340
have five cats. Yay! So, cats are amazing. So,
00:12:24.759 --> 00:12:26.799
winning there, I'm definitely a cat over a dog
00:12:26.799 --> 00:12:28.879
person. Mostly because I'm lazy and cats sort
00:12:28.879 --> 00:12:30.779
of look after themselves and dogs need a lot
00:12:30.779 --> 00:12:34.559
of work. Yes. But cats are fun. We have way too
00:12:34.559 --> 00:12:36.600
many. If you're allergic to cats, do not come
00:12:36.600 --> 00:12:39.080
to my house. You will be in trouble. There's
00:12:39.080 --> 00:12:45.120
a pill for that. So that's great. But I think
00:12:45.120 --> 00:12:47.960
that authentic self is so important, right? And
00:12:47.960 --> 00:12:49.960
I try to tell my children this all the time,
00:12:50.200 --> 00:12:53.120
like be you. Be the best version of yourself
00:12:53.120 --> 00:12:55.600
on a daily basis. And I think that advice that
00:12:55.600 --> 00:12:58.299
you've given is fantastic for anybody wanting
00:12:58.299 --> 00:13:00.720
to build a network out there and be a little
00:13:00.720 --> 00:13:03.059
bit successful. Just go be the best version of
00:13:03.059 --> 00:13:04.759
yourself. There's no point of trying to be a
00:13:04.759 --> 00:13:07.820
B version of somebody else. Yeah. It's also,
00:13:08.100 --> 00:13:10.649
it's hard. It's such a hard. It's hard work.
00:13:10.669 --> 00:13:12.690
It requires so much energy to be somebody that
00:13:12.690 --> 00:13:15.549
you're not, but also it's boring. You don't want
00:13:15.549 --> 00:13:18.350
to be a copy of somebody else, right? You want
00:13:18.350 --> 00:13:20.669
to be unique. Yeah. I mean, for me that might
00:13:20.669 --> 00:13:22.850
not always be the best thing because I am a little
00:13:22.850 --> 00:13:25.529
rough on the edges and a bit grouchy, but I tried
00:13:25.529 --> 00:13:28.629
my best. Well, you don't seem grouchy and then
00:13:28.629 --> 00:13:31.610
you also shared about your cats. So if cats like
00:13:31.610 --> 00:13:35.070
you, you're a great human being. between my wife,
00:13:35.210 --> 00:13:36.929
kids and cats, you talk about those three topics
00:13:36.929 --> 00:13:39.190
and you're going to pull me in pretty quickly.
00:13:39.590 --> 00:13:41.730
So always a great place. But I mean, it's a good
00:13:41.730 --> 00:13:44.309
point on just taking these conversations, having
00:13:44.309 --> 00:13:46.549
these calls, taking a risk of talking to people.
00:13:46.730 --> 00:13:48.870
I sometimes think people get so stuck in, I have
00:13:48.870 --> 00:13:50.190
to talk to these people because they're going
00:13:50.190 --> 00:13:52.950
to be my ideal connection. And you never know,
00:13:53.070 --> 00:13:54.970
right? I'm part of this national networking group
00:13:54.970 --> 00:13:57.330
called Provisors and the motto there is no like
00:13:57.330 --> 00:13:59.870
trust refer and I'll take random calls because
00:14:00.039 --> 00:14:02.000
Who knows where it's going to lead to, especially
00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:04.279
when we focus on wine. You never know who has
00:14:04.279 --> 00:14:06.960
a friend that owns a winery. Like have a conversation.
00:14:07.179 --> 00:14:09.019
Like 30 minutes of my life is not going to make
00:14:09.019 --> 00:14:11.779
a big difference, but it could make a big difference.
00:14:12.340 --> 00:14:14.320
Right? And that's the big thing. So you sometimes
00:14:14.320 --> 00:14:16.379
have to put yourself out there and take some
00:14:16.379 --> 00:14:20.980
risks. Yeah. And you, yeah. I mean, I've, I've
00:14:20.980 --> 00:14:24.259
gotten to experience the most beautiful relationships
00:14:24.259 --> 00:14:27.259
just from giving somebody 20, 30 minutes of my
00:14:27.259 --> 00:14:31.360
time on a phone call. So I agree with you. Yeah.
00:14:31.360 --> 00:14:33.200
And you could get the opportunity to talk about
00:14:33.200 --> 00:14:35.480
cats, which is even great as well. Exactly. So
00:14:35.480 --> 00:14:37.240
you said earlier, and I want to get back to this
00:14:37.240 --> 00:14:40.059
topic, because I am always fascinated in terms
00:14:40.059 --> 00:14:42.620
of how people decide on accounting. And you had
00:14:42.620 --> 00:14:44.539
a family of accountants, didn't want to be an
00:14:44.539 --> 00:14:47.179
accountant. And then you said you fell in love
00:14:47.179 --> 00:14:50.440
with it in college. And that seems wild, right?
00:14:50.460 --> 00:14:52.419
It's like, I think anybody who's a non -accountant
00:14:52.419 --> 00:14:53.820
is listening to this going, you fell in love
00:14:53.820 --> 00:14:57.360
with accounting? Are you okay? Like, do we need
00:14:57.360 --> 00:15:00.299
a checkup? Like, how did you find love for accounting?
00:15:00.559 --> 00:15:03.580
Talk me through that process. I always go back
00:15:03.580 --> 00:15:07.039
to languages. I have a passion for words and
00:15:07.039 --> 00:15:11.120
for languages and for reading and writing and
00:15:11.120 --> 00:15:14.299
trying to find the meaning behind the words.
00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:19.980
And what I can say is that to me, numbers are
00:15:19.980 --> 00:15:23.299
their own language, right? But more beautiful
00:15:23.299 --> 00:15:26.179
and nerdy than that is that they are a language
00:15:26.179 --> 00:15:28.460
of truth. There's just no way that you can lie
00:15:28.460 --> 00:15:31.340
with numbers. The truth is always going to come
00:15:31.340 --> 00:15:34.419
out. And I think I was fascinated by that. And
00:15:34.419 --> 00:15:38.759
I was also, I'm a Libra. I follow astrology here
00:15:38.759 --> 00:15:42.820
and there. And if you are aware about the general
00:15:42.820 --> 00:15:45.600
characteristics of the sign, Libra is always
00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:49.019
looking for a balance. And what better example
00:15:49.019 --> 00:15:52.500
of balance than a journal entry. It's too sighted.
00:15:52.519 --> 00:15:55.200
It has to tie out perfectly, otherwise you can't
00:15:55.200 --> 00:15:58.179
move forward with it. And so I think... That
00:15:58.179 --> 00:16:01.419
was the initial thing. It made sense in my brain.
00:16:01.559 --> 00:16:04.179
It made sense. I can, I have this thing where
00:16:04.179 --> 00:16:09.100
I can see numbers pop up for me when I am looking
00:16:09.100 --> 00:16:11.460
at a financial statement or a spreadsheet or
00:16:11.460 --> 00:16:15.019
something. They come alive and that's what happened.
00:16:15.320 --> 00:16:17.399
So interesting. I quickly pulled up a little
00:16:17.399 --> 00:16:19.460
co -pilot search, what, tell me about a Libra.
00:16:19.899 --> 00:16:21.700
You have clearly got a birthday coming up soon,
00:16:21.899 --> 00:16:24.279
so happy birthday for when that comes around.
00:16:24.740 --> 00:16:27.399
Libras are known for charm. Diplomacy and sense
00:16:27.399 --> 00:16:29.740
of justice, they value balancing all aspects
00:16:29.740 --> 00:16:32.679
of life and are often skilled at mediating conflicts
00:16:32.679 --> 00:16:35.539
and finding compromises. Sound like great traits
00:16:35.539 --> 00:16:38.899
for a good accountant. Yeah, I agree. I have
00:16:38.899 --> 00:16:41.039
no idea. I think I'm a Sagittarius, December.
00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:43.320
Don't know what that means. I'd probably break
00:16:43.320 --> 00:16:45.860
all the rules anyway. Well, that means that we
00:16:45.860 --> 00:16:48.440
would be good friends. I have very, very good
00:16:48.440 --> 00:16:52.100
friends of mine that are Sagittarius. So definitely
00:16:52.100 --> 00:16:54.759
there's an affinity for friendship there. between
00:16:54.759 --> 00:16:57.320
our signs. It's awesome. You're a good person.
00:16:57.860 --> 00:17:00.840
I hope that that's the goal in life. We'll see
00:17:00.840 --> 00:17:02.980
how it works. Okay. So balance is what brought
00:17:02.980 --> 00:17:05.019
you to accounting. Then you started your career.
00:17:05.359 --> 00:17:07.240
I'm always intrigued when people are at big four.
00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:09.619
Like I started my career at a big four as well.
00:17:09.640 --> 00:17:12.160
And I know it gets a lot of hate on the LinkedIn.
00:17:12.680 --> 00:17:14.759
Was that just because in Puerto Rico, that was
00:17:14.759 --> 00:17:17.660
the option or is it was a decision that you made?
00:17:17.779 --> 00:17:20.700
I mean, it was the option, but also it was the
00:17:20.700 --> 00:17:24.960
holy grail. back then. And it was what my father
00:17:24.960 --> 00:17:27.180
instilled in me the moment I declared that I
00:17:27.180 --> 00:17:29.160
wanted to be an accounting major. This is what
00:17:29.160 --> 00:17:32.700
you need to do. You have to study for your CPA
00:17:32.700 --> 00:17:36.380
right out of college, because if you wait too
00:17:36.380 --> 00:17:39.519
long, then it's going to be hard. And then make
00:17:39.519 --> 00:17:42.559
sure you get a job at a big four, do an internship,
00:17:42.559 --> 00:17:45.720
and then work for them for a few years. And what
00:17:45.720 --> 00:17:48.559
you want to do is you want to be supporting corporate
00:17:48.559 --> 00:17:51.579
clients, not individuals, because with Corporate
00:17:51.579 --> 00:17:54.619
is where the money lives and hopefully you get
00:17:54.619 --> 00:17:58.099
into the construction industry because then you'll
00:17:58.099 --> 00:18:00.980
never go hungry. And after a few years in public
00:18:00.980 --> 00:18:04.900
accounting, you will get a job as a corporate
00:18:04.900 --> 00:18:07.819
controller in the construction industry. And
00:18:07.819 --> 00:18:10.140
then you'll be set for life because you get,
00:18:10.319 --> 00:18:11.700
you're going to get the money, you're going to
00:18:11.700 --> 00:18:13.799
get the benefits and all of that. Yeah. And I
00:18:13.799 --> 00:18:16.140
sort of did all of that. I love how you've all
00:18:16.140 --> 00:18:19.480
had this exact plan. Step one, step two, step
00:18:19.480 --> 00:18:21.529
three. I don't want to hear anything. This is
00:18:21.529 --> 00:18:26.049
what we're doing. Yeah. And I deviated in some
00:18:26.049 --> 00:18:29.970
ways, right? Like the job, the controller job
00:18:29.970 --> 00:18:34.849
at a construction adjacent company didn't come
00:18:34.849 --> 00:18:38.750
until 2022, right? So many years later, I went
00:18:38.750 --> 00:18:41.210
to Spain and I'm sure that gave my parents a
00:18:41.210 --> 00:18:44.089
heart attack and all of that. And the years that
00:18:44.089 --> 00:18:46.430
I taught English and wasn't doing anything with
00:18:46.430 --> 00:18:49.410
accounting, I was like, what is she doing? Why?
00:18:49.549 --> 00:18:52.710
But yeah, that's what you did back home. So it
00:18:52.710 --> 00:18:57.349
made sense because there was definitely a disparity
00:18:57.349 --> 00:19:02.269
or a huge gap between what a big four could pay
00:19:02.269 --> 00:19:05.890
an entry level accountant versus what a local
00:19:05.890 --> 00:19:09.670
firm could pay enough that it made sense. And
00:19:09.670 --> 00:19:12.769
also part of the spiel back then was that like,
00:19:12.950 --> 00:19:17.160
and I think it's somehow... holds true to this
00:19:17.160 --> 00:19:19.980
day that some companies in some roles will not
00:19:19.980 --> 00:19:22.720
look at you if you don't have that big four experience,
00:19:22.940 --> 00:19:25.240
right? So, and they won't look at you if you're
00:19:25.240 --> 00:19:28.359
not a CPA. So you want to get these things done
00:19:28.359 --> 00:19:31.740
right off the bat so that at least you have the
00:19:31.740 --> 00:19:34.740
freedom to decide what you want to do later.
00:19:35.059 --> 00:19:38.799
And so I am grateful that I follow that advice.
00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:42.339
I left the big four. It was Deloitte. I left
00:19:42.339 --> 00:19:46.339
after two years, but that was the bedrock of
00:19:46.339 --> 00:19:49.720
my career. It was so foundational, the skills
00:19:49.720 --> 00:19:53.059
and the discipline and understanding the importance
00:19:53.059 --> 00:19:55.299
of like being efficient, being good, but being
00:19:55.299 --> 00:19:58.640
efficient with your time also that I think is
00:19:58.640 --> 00:20:03.240
what puts us at an advantage or gives us a leg
00:20:03.240 --> 00:20:06.460
up. And then other people that haven't had that
00:20:06.460 --> 00:20:09.160
public experience might take a little bit longer
00:20:09.160 --> 00:20:12.680
to catch up because That's what we, that was
00:20:12.680 --> 00:20:16.420
our commodity time, right? Yeah. It might be
00:20:16.420 --> 00:20:18.740
changing a little bit right now. My brain always
00:20:18.740 --> 00:20:20.859
goes, because of the way the structure is in
00:20:20.859 --> 00:20:23.799
the US, well, if you can go do two years at maybe
00:20:23.799 --> 00:20:26.799
even a big tan firm, then go and find a local,
00:20:27.079 --> 00:20:28.700
regional, small one where you can get really
00:20:28.700 --> 00:20:31.240
deep and do a lot of different things. If you
00:20:31.240 --> 00:20:33.200
have the energy to put in those four years, I
00:20:33.200 --> 00:20:35.759
think two and two of that. could set you up for
00:20:35.759 --> 00:20:37.640
so much success. I learned a ton. I spent four
00:20:37.640 --> 00:20:39.839
years at KPMG, but in South Africa, we had to
00:20:39.839 --> 00:20:42.299
start with three years. So I was baked in. I
00:20:42.299 --> 00:20:45.039
did an extra year. And even now people will,
00:20:45.039 --> 00:20:47.599
I've got clients because like, oh yeah, I was
00:20:47.599 --> 00:20:50.740
ex KPMG. Great. Let's sign up. There is, there
00:20:50.740 --> 00:20:53.440
is this like weird, like your brotherhood for
00:20:53.440 --> 00:20:55.660
a lack of a better word where they'll like see
00:20:55.660 --> 00:20:57.420
that credential and be like, of course we trust
00:20:57.420 --> 00:21:00.900
you. Let's go. Yeah. Yes. And then I went and
00:21:00.900 --> 00:21:03.420
worked for Plant Moran and not Big Four, but
00:21:03.420 --> 00:21:06.380
still big enough, established enough, great firm.
00:21:06.759 --> 00:21:09.680
Definitely, it was like a second round at bootcamp
00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:13.319
and brought on so many other perspectives and
00:21:13.319 --> 00:21:15.900
skill sets that I didn't have before, or I had
00:21:15.900 --> 00:21:19.000
to like, resurrect, but then the network, right?
00:21:19.099 --> 00:21:22.019
It's like, oh, I know Melissa and she's solo,
00:21:22.019 --> 00:21:24.359
but she worked at Plant Moran. So that means
00:21:24.359 --> 00:21:27.319
she was good. They don't know, but they think
00:21:27.319 --> 00:21:30.700
that's what it means, right? So at least from
00:21:30.700 --> 00:21:32.960
the perspective that there is a high bar to get
00:21:32.960 --> 00:21:35.240
in there. Right. So like at least got over one
00:21:35.240 --> 00:21:38.220
hurdle. Yes. I mean, it is a bunch of rubbish,
00:21:38.339 --> 00:21:39.859
right? Like it doesn't mean anything because
00:21:39.859 --> 00:21:41.819
there's definitely people that aren't good that
00:21:41.819 --> 00:21:43.940
slip in through the cracks, but it does help.
00:21:44.200 --> 00:21:45.619
I feel like there, there, there are definitely
00:21:45.619 --> 00:21:48.279
some benefits and I'm sure people listening that
00:21:48.279 --> 00:21:50.099
never went that way and be like to say, and you're
00:21:50.099 --> 00:21:52.960
being a bit of an ass. It's my experience and
00:21:52.960 --> 00:21:55.180
obviously it's his experience as well. And I
00:21:55.180 --> 00:21:57.160
think we're in agreement. Like it definitely
00:21:57.160 --> 00:21:59.380
makes a difference. Yeah. Yeah. And it's not
00:21:59.380 --> 00:22:01.599
to say that other people that haven't had the
00:22:01.599 --> 00:22:03.819
same experience can not get as far as we have.
00:22:03.980 --> 00:22:08.440
They absolutely can. It's just, it's just a perception.
00:22:08.619 --> 00:22:10.940
It's just a reality of what we have seen of having
00:22:10.940 --> 00:22:13.160
that extra edge. And there's, there's probably
00:22:13.160 --> 00:22:15.460
a little bit of it just sort of where we both
00:22:15.460 --> 00:22:18.319
started, right? You're, they're just smaller
00:22:18.319 --> 00:22:21.420
places. Like my options, like. They want regional
00:22:21.420 --> 00:22:24.119
firms, like those didn't really exist, right?
00:22:24.160 --> 00:22:29.380
So it was big four or big 20. It wasn't really,
00:22:29.599 --> 00:22:32.140
they were small local offices, but those were
00:22:32.140 --> 00:22:34.720
not great. Like I was going to be doing like
00:22:34.720 --> 00:22:36.460
paperwork basically. I wasn't going to learn
00:22:36.460 --> 00:22:38.380
a ton. So I think that also makes a difference
00:22:38.380 --> 00:22:40.279
because when you're in a smaller environment,
00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:41.859
the city I grew up in South Africa was a small
00:22:41.859 --> 00:22:43.700
city. It's like you're either going big four,
00:22:43.720 --> 00:22:45.539
there's a couple of other good options as well,
00:22:45.539 --> 00:22:47.900
or you're going really micro. And if you go really
00:22:47.900 --> 00:22:51.240
micro, you're in trouble. working for an independent
00:22:51.240 --> 00:22:54.059
practitioner back then. It wasn't what it is
00:22:54.059 --> 00:22:56.779
now, right? That's the point as well, right?
00:22:56.960 --> 00:22:58.559
Both of us have a little bit of experience on
00:22:58.559 --> 00:23:01.599
us. And back in the day, it wasn't as easy as
00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:03.819
to create. There's so many great firms out there
00:23:03.819 --> 00:23:06.380
because there's so many people taking the opportunity
00:23:06.380 --> 00:23:08.920
to start their own practice and do it differently
00:23:08.920 --> 00:23:11.599
to the way the traditional way was done. Melissa,
00:23:11.640 --> 00:23:14.200
you are one of those people. And like you mentioned,
00:23:14.500 --> 00:23:16.680
it came from a place of maybe not the greatest
00:23:16.680 --> 00:23:19.420
circumstances, getting let go of a job. But just
00:23:19.420 --> 00:23:22.359
over two years ago, you decided, let's go. So
00:23:22.359 --> 00:23:24.039
tell me, you told me about the thought process.
00:23:24.140 --> 00:23:26.319
Your brother let you do that, but you still had
00:23:26.319 --> 00:23:29.539
to have that like, okay, let's go. Let's start
00:23:29.539 --> 00:23:33.099
it. Tell me about that moment. Yeah. So it took
00:23:33.099 --> 00:23:35.900
about a month where I was at home waiting to
00:23:35.900 --> 00:23:37.839
feel sad about the fact that I was let go of
00:23:37.839 --> 00:23:43.480
my job. And I had never before, nor again, slept
00:23:43.480 --> 00:23:47.140
as well. as I did that month. So that was an
00:23:47.140 --> 00:23:49.640
indicator for me that like, that was the best
00:23:49.640 --> 00:23:52.799
thing that could have happened. And then I also
00:23:52.799 --> 00:23:55.359
sat with what do I want to do? Do I want to apply
00:23:55.359 --> 00:23:57.660
for a job and what kind of job? Not thinking
00:23:57.660 --> 00:24:00.279
yet about going solo, it was more about like,
00:24:00.339 --> 00:24:03.079
where do I go next? And just the thought of going
00:24:03.079 --> 00:24:05.299
through an interview process and reporting to
00:24:05.299 --> 00:24:08.460
somebody else, you know, I'm going to be 47 years
00:24:08.460 --> 00:24:11.539
old now. So I don't know everything that there
00:24:11.539 --> 00:24:13.869
is to know about the world. but I have some tools
00:24:13.869 --> 00:24:16.269
under my belt. I didn't want somebody to tell
00:24:16.269 --> 00:24:18.750
me how I needed to do things or how I needed
00:24:18.750 --> 00:24:21.430
to show up. And then a friend's husband planted
00:24:21.430 --> 00:24:23.950
the seed and said, there are so many people out
00:24:23.950 --> 00:24:28.349
there who are doing accounting and are not at
00:24:28.349 --> 00:24:31.480
the level of what businesses like his need. And
00:24:31.480 --> 00:24:33.559
it's very hard to find good accountants when
00:24:33.559 --> 00:24:35.519
you are a good accountant. Like, why don't you
00:24:35.519 --> 00:24:38.539
go solo? And I couldn't give a good no. And then
00:24:38.539 --> 00:24:42.579
I went back and asked myself, okay, what do you
00:24:42.579 --> 00:24:46.339
want to do? What do you enjoy? And I enjoy this.
00:24:46.880 --> 00:24:49.079
And I get to do some sort of version of this
00:24:49.079 --> 00:24:52.980
with my clients where I have... relationship
00:24:52.980 --> 00:24:55.279
with them and we talk about my cats but we talk
00:24:55.279 --> 00:24:56.880
about their businesses and we talk about their
00:24:56.880 --> 00:25:00.299
personal lives and I am here to take off this
00:25:00.299 --> 00:25:03.039
dress of them not knowing how to put together
00:25:03.039 --> 00:25:05.819
financials or how to read them so I wanted to
00:25:05.819 --> 00:25:08.359
get back to that that is lost a little bit when
00:25:08.359 --> 00:25:12.200
you are working as an in -house controller because
00:25:12.200 --> 00:25:14.799
now you're not an advisor now you're an employee
00:25:14.799 --> 00:25:17.420
so I wanted to get back to that and I said so
00:25:17.420 --> 00:25:20.230
many people are doing it I can do it too. And
00:25:20.230 --> 00:25:22.769
I jumped. I love that, that you basically jumped
00:25:22.769 --> 00:25:25.029
based on, I don't have a reason to say no, so
00:25:25.029 --> 00:25:28.490
I guess I'm saying yes mentality. And it's funny,
00:25:28.529 --> 00:25:31.109
I was watching a sitcom with my kids and there
00:25:31.109 --> 00:25:32.930
was an episode and that was basically things
00:25:32.930 --> 00:25:34.829
were happening in the episode because of that
00:25:34.829 --> 00:25:36.690
same thing. I have no good reason to say no,
00:25:36.809 --> 00:25:38.529
so we're going to say yes. And that lately it's
00:25:38.529 --> 00:25:41.089
obviously a bunch of different things and it
00:25:41.089 --> 00:25:43.390
generally leads to good places, right? Like sometimes,
00:25:43.750 --> 00:25:45.670
especially accountants, I think we're a little...
00:25:45.759 --> 00:25:48.720
risk adverse. And now you can see sometimes taking
00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:51.319
a risk, it turns into a good thing. Not necessarily
00:25:51.319 --> 00:25:53.880
an easy thing, right? No. And that's part that
00:25:53.880 --> 00:25:56.049
you shared with me that This has been quite the
00:25:56.049 --> 00:25:58.109
journey for you, especially for the first two
00:25:58.109 --> 00:26:00.730
years. And you went from excitement, let's get
00:26:00.730 --> 00:26:04.410
going, to let's rebuild. Yes. You think that
00:26:04.410 --> 00:26:06.789
as an accountant, you said, because we're risk
00:26:06.789 --> 00:26:10.069
averse and we work behind a desk, that the challenging
00:26:10.069 --> 00:26:12.490
part is going to be business development. That
00:26:12.490 --> 00:26:14.630
that's going to be your barrier to entry. And
00:26:14.630 --> 00:26:17.349
it is, and it is for some people, a lot of people
00:26:17.349 --> 00:26:20.109
out there need more help with that. But for me,
00:26:20.269 --> 00:26:24.230
that wasn't the case. I experienced. rapid growth
00:26:24.230 --> 00:26:26.950
and that felt really, really good. And then I
00:26:26.950 --> 00:26:30.349
get to a point where I needed help and I thought
00:26:30.349 --> 00:26:34.109
that I was being smart and staying ahead of it
00:26:34.109 --> 00:26:37.069
because I started doing this or looking for this
00:26:37.069 --> 00:26:41.599
person. In August of last year, so one year,
00:26:41.720 --> 00:26:43.619
I'm back here again. I started looking for that
00:26:43.619 --> 00:26:47.039
person then. I was beyond capacity at the time.
00:26:47.319 --> 00:26:50.079
So now it was like time sensitive for me to find
00:26:50.079 --> 00:26:54.039
this person. And I had one client that represented
00:26:54.039 --> 00:26:57.980
50 % of my revenue, right? So it also meant that
00:26:57.980 --> 00:27:01.000
50 % or more of my time was consumed by this
00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:04.319
client. It was a stretch assignment. because
00:27:04.319 --> 00:27:08.460
it was more finance based than accounting. So
00:27:08.460 --> 00:27:10.880
it required more of my time. It was harder to
00:27:10.880 --> 00:27:13.400
delegate. So my strategy at the time was, okay,
00:27:13.400 --> 00:27:17.279
I'm going to find somebody that is a solid accountant.
00:27:17.700 --> 00:27:20.359
Maybe this is her first time manager position
00:27:20.359 --> 00:27:23.960
or maybe they are already a manager, but somebody
00:27:23.960 --> 00:27:27.740
who's a solid accountant that I can give direction
00:27:27.740 --> 00:27:31.119
to, high level direction to, and can help me
00:27:31.119 --> 00:27:33.809
build together. Because I knew from having worked
00:27:33.809 --> 00:27:36.009
in public accounting, doing this exact same work,
00:27:36.150 --> 00:27:38.769
what it should look like, right? I needed somebody
00:27:38.769 --> 00:27:41.750
to help me execute. But I would take ownership
00:27:41.750 --> 00:27:43.809
first that I approached the recruiting process
00:27:43.809 --> 00:27:46.650
the wrong way. Also, the agency that I was going
00:27:46.650 --> 00:27:49.529
through did not listen at all to what I was saying
00:27:49.529 --> 00:27:52.589
that I needed and the profile that I was fainting
00:27:52.589 --> 00:27:55.650
for them. I trusted them to know as the experts
00:27:55.650 --> 00:27:58.690
and clearly they did not. And so the people that
00:27:58.690 --> 00:28:03.450
they provided were not good. So now it's Thanksgiving
00:28:03.450 --> 00:28:06.049
weekend. I've already gone through two people.
00:28:06.150 --> 00:28:09.200
I I'm not being able to sleep or enjoy Thanksgiving
00:28:09.200 --> 00:28:12.420
because now I have I wanted to build and I wanted
00:28:12.420 --> 00:28:16.039
to start doing my due diligence for 1099 season
00:28:16.039 --> 00:28:18.500
to be better positioned and I haven't been able
00:28:18.500 --> 00:28:20.839
to do any of that. I have three clients that
00:28:20.839 --> 00:28:23.759
the onboarding is still pending and the person
00:28:23.759 --> 00:28:26.119
that is helping me is not helping me is causing
00:28:26.119 --> 00:28:30.480
more problems. So at that point I fired the agency.
00:28:31.619 --> 00:28:35.200
I decided to hire two contractors, very part
00:28:35.200 --> 00:28:37.279
-time, one to help me with the data entry piece
00:28:37.279 --> 00:28:39.640
of the onboarding for these three clients and
00:28:39.640 --> 00:28:42.140
the other one to help me with 1099. The person
00:28:42.140 --> 00:28:44.640
that was helping me with the onboarding, she
00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:47.380
was good at getting the data entry in and so
00:28:47.380 --> 00:28:49.960
was able to get through that hump. Unfortunately,
00:28:50.059 --> 00:28:52.279
the other person over -committed and thought
00:28:52.279 --> 00:28:54.980
that she had time to help me and ended up not
00:28:54.980 --> 00:28:57.660
being able to help me much. So I ended up having
00:28:57.660 --> 00:29:01.829
to work all of my weekends. in January to be
00:29:01.829 --> 00:29:04.009
able to get my clients across the finish line
00:29:04.009 --> 00:29:07.890
and then was never able to get the bookkeeper
00:29:07.890 --> 00:29:12.009
that helped me with ADA entry to graduate to
00:29:12.009 --> 00:29:16.230
other tasks. Because an unfortunate thing that
00:29:16.230 --> 00:29:19.470
we see nowadays is that people go and get certified
00:29:19.470 --> 00:29:22.690
as QuickBooks Pro advisors and they think that
00:29:22.690 --> 00:29:27.160
this means that they are a bookkeeper, that they
00:29:27.160 --> 00:29:30.220
are certified as a bookkeeper and don't understand
00:29:30.220 --> 00:29:32.880
that they're only certified to use the software.
00:29:33.220 --> 00:29:36.400
And that was the case here. And so I realized
00:29:36.400 --> 00:29:39.720
then, you know, it's January 31st, I have these
00:29:39.720 --> 00:29:43.059
plans that I need to get caught up, get through
00:29:43.059 --> 00:29:46.759
tax season. If I continue with this big whale
00:29:46.759 --> 00:29:49.359
of a client. I'm going to lose everybody else
00:29:49.359 --> 00:29:51.980
and it's going to damage my reputation and all
00:29:51.980 --> 00:29:54.579
of that. So yeah, at that point I let go of the
00:29:54.579 --> 00:29:58.920
client that was paying me. Yeah. Let go of my
00:29:58.920 --> 00:30:02.339
bookkeeper, let go of my VA and stepped down,
00:30:02.380 --> 00:30:05.539
got all my clients through tax season or got
00:30:05.539 --> 00:30:07.859
them ready to go to their tax person. I don't
00:30:07.859 --> 00:30:11.019
do taxes. And as I was doing all of this, I was
00:30:11.019 --> 00:30:14.579
implementing double. I was building systems and
00:30:14.579 --> 00:30:18.400
processes. I do have one friend. who's an excellent
00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:21.099
accountant and she's great. She worked with me
00:30:21.099 --> 00:30:24.119
at Plant Moran. So she was helping me with SOPs
00:30:24.119 --> 00:30:27.140
and background stuff and whatnot. So where now
00:30:27.140 --> 00:30:29.599
I feel like, okay, I have processes that I can
00:30:29.599 --> 00:30:32.940
delegate to somebody that might be good and can
00:30:32.940 --> 00:30:35.500
grow into the role, but maybe doesn't, hasn't
00:30:35.500 --> 00:30:37.900
had the same opportunities that I have had, but
00:30:37.900 --> 00:30:40.420
there is an environment where they can thrive
00:30:40.420 --> 00:30:43.839
with direction in my practice. Lots to unpack
00:30:43.839 --> 00:30:47.720
there, but I can sort of feel the pain. in your
00:30:47.720 --> 00:30:50.960
words, like that was clearly a very difficult
00:30:50.960 --> 00:30:53.700
time. And I know that decision letting go of
00:30:53.700 --> 00:30:55.880
your client is never easy, but how are you doing
00:30:55.880 --> 00:30:58.940
right now? Like you, if you emotionally got past,
00:30:59.220 --> 00:31:01.220
like what was clearly a very difficult time or
00:31:01.220 --> 00:31:03.339
are you still, you're still licking your wounds
00:31:03.339 --> 00:31:06.440
and repairing yourself as you head into the future.
00:31:09.220 --> 00:31:13.089
So now I hired another agency. to help me staff
00:31:13.089 --> 00:31:15.869
for this role, right? And I found the person
00:31:15.869 --> 00:31:18.130
and hopefully they're able to start on August
00:31:18.130 --> 00:31:22.289
31st. I think that now that I am on the other
00:31:22.289 --> 00:31:26.309
side of it, where I shared recently how I like
00:31:26.309 --> 00:31:28.470
for the first seven months of this year had not
00:31:28.470 --> 00:31:30.490
looked at my accounting because I thought it
00:31:30.490 --> 00:31:33.529
was going to be abysmal. I am in the black. My
00:31:33.529 --> 00:31:37.269
revenue is trending slightly, but still higher
00:31:37.269 --> 00:31:40.230
than it did the first year, even though I have
00:31:40.230 --> 00:31:43.849
had some attrition and all of that. So now I
00:31:43.849 --> 00:31:46.210
know that like, okay, I'm standing on solid ground,
00:31:46.390 --> 00:31:48.609
right? Like I have made some good decisions.
00:31:49.089 --> 00:31:51.670
During this time, I am working with some two
00:31:51.670 --> 00:31:54.609
advisors. They are partners that have helped
00:31:54.609 --> 00:31:57.559
me weather the storm and just be my... thought
00:31:57.559 --> 00:32:00.460
partners in this process. So I have done a lot
00:32:00.460 --> 00:32:03.200
of good things. I think that now that I know
00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:06.240
that it's yielded results, it's where my body
00:32:06.240 --> 00:32:10.680
and my soul is allowing itself to feel it. So
00:32:10.680 --> 00:32:14.160
I am carrying a lot of grief that I need to purge
00:32:14.160 --> 00:32:18.119
and let go of. I think the hardest part is done
00:32:18.119 --> 00:32:21.059
now. Now I have to like onboard this person.
00:32:21.420 --> 00:32:24.299
I am confident that she is the right hire for
00:32:24.299 --> 00:32:27.440
me. Yeah. And sort of maybe find a way to take
00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:30.000
a beat from doing the day -to -day work for my
00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:33.140
clients, to do more of the stuff that fills my
00:32:33.140 --> 00:32:35.980
cup, which is the networking, the marketing,
00:32:36.500 --> 00:32:39.359
and, but also take time off because I need that.
00:32:40.200 --> 00:32:42.119
My thought running through my head as you were
00:32:42.119 --> 00:32:43.779
talking is like, you needed to find a beach.
00:32:44.119 --> 00:32:47.119
Yes, I do. Just a couple of days, go to your
00:32:47.119 --> 00:32:50.019
happy place, relax. But there is, there's a lesson
00:32:50.019 --> 00:32:51.640
in there. And I think a lot of people starting
00:32:51.640 --> 00:32:54.140
their own firms run into this trap as well. Right.
00:32:54.240 --> 00:32:56.799
And that's over committing ourselves, taking
00:32:56.799 --> 00:32:59.420
too much on board. You started hiring when you
00:32:59.420 --> 00:33:02.779
already had too much. Yes. Hiring is a job on
00:33:02.779 --> 00:33:05.720
its own. So we went from like, I am overdone
00:33:05.720 --> 00:33:07.819
and I'm going to add even more to it. And we
00:33:07.819 --> 00:33:10.099
think that it's going to go well. Like the reality
00:33:10.099 --> 00:33:13.579
is that is just recipe for disaster. Not sure
00:33:13.579 --> 00:33:16.180
you could strike like gold and hit a good person.
00:33:16.329 --> 00:33:18.930
But I think your story is more, the more likely
00:33:18.930 --> 00:33:20.730
outcome where it's, it's, there's just going
00:33:20.730 --> 00:33:23.710
to be a bunch of really bad situations that add
00:33:23.710 --> 00:33:26.609
even more stress to it. And I know a lot of accounts
00:33:26.609 --> 00:33:28.190
will be like, well, you see, I couldn't hire,
00:33:28.230 --> 00:33:29.670
like I hired somebody, they were terrible. I
00:33:29.670 --> 00:33:31.250
got to rely on myself and they'll even put more
00:33:31.250 --> 00:33:33.890
pressure. Right. It feels a very mature decision
00:33:33.890 --> 00:33:36.329
to take a step back, make a hard decision to
00:33:36.329 --> 00:33:38.430
let go of a client that was clearly taking a
00:33:38.430 --> 00:33:41.250
period of time. And I'm not sure. I'm pretty
00:33:41.250 --> 00:33:43.190
sure I wouldn't be able to do that. Like I would
00:33:43.190 --> 00:33:46.829
work harder, right? Like, so. I'm very envious
00:33:46.829 --> 00:33:49.549
and very proud of you for that decision because
00:33:49.549 --> 00:33:51.250
I don't think a lot of people would do that.
00:33:51.490 --> 00:33:53.529
And it would run like roll themselves into the
00:33:53.529 --> 00:33:55.549
bottom, right? Like burnout could come out, loss
00:33:55.549 --> 00:33:57.549
of reputation could occur, but it feels like
00:33:57.549 --> 00:33:59.490
you've managed this in a way that you're able
00:33:59.490 --> 00:34:01.470
to continue to move forward. And like you said,
00:34:01.869 --> 00:34:03.769
there's still upward trend, which is fantastic.
00:34:04.190 --> 00:34:06.349
But how do we get, what advice would you give
00:34:06.349 --> 00:34:09.010
to people that one, they don't make the mistake
00:34:09.010 --> 00:34:11.469
you made, but two, to make the right decision?
00:34:11.750 --> 00:34:13.980
We're going to get into the personal stuff. right
00:34:13.980 --> 00:34:18.599
into it. So think about two things. Being 46
00:34:18.599 --> 00:34:21.159
now, this has been coming on for a couple of
00:34:21.159 --> 00:34:24.539
years now, I am right in perimenopause. And that
00:34:24.539 --> 00:34:28.619
means that my body is not the same body that
00:34:28.619 --> 00:34:33.239
was that six years ago, 10 years ago. So I don't
00:34:33.239 --> 00:34:36.340
have the physical energy or the mental capacity
00:34:36.340 --> 00:34:41.039
to do more than what I am doing right now. It's
00:34:41.039 --> 00:34:44.449
just, it's just doesn't. I can't. And it's also
00:34:44.449 --> 00:34:47.170
part of the reason that I decided not to go work
00:34:47.170 --> 00:34:49.590
for somebody else and build something of my own
00:34:49.590 --> 00:34:55.110
because I can't do 10, 12 hours a day at a desk
00:34:55.110 --> 00:34:58.510
pushing through for like goals and deadlines
00:34:58.510 --> 00:35:01.369
and all of that. So in a way I was forced, I
00:35:01.369 --> 00:35:04.750
have been forced to listen to my body and realize
00:35:04.750 --> 00:35:07.389
this is not sustainable. You can have a business,
00:35:07.650 --> 00:35:09.670
you can be a great professional, you can serve
00:35:09.670 --> 00:35:12.389
your clients and you don't have to be a slave.
00:35:12.590 --> 00:35:16.409
to it, to none of it. So that is one part. The
00:35:16.409 --> 00:35:19.269
second part, it's a little bit more profound
00:35:19.269 --> 00:35:22.110
than that and has also been coming from a few
00:35:22.110 --> 00:35:25.809
years. Growing up in Puerto Rico as a Latina,
00:35:26.210 --> 00:35:28.190
a lot of my friends were getting this advice
00:35:28.190 --> 00:35:31.849
like, you have to wait to have sex until you
00:35:31.849 --> 00:35:35.030
get married and you get married and you have
00:35:35.030 --> 00:35:37.829
your children and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,
00:35:37.849 --> 00:35:40.349
blah. Very traditional. They do not come from
00:35:40.349 --> 00:35:43.849
a traditional. family in the sense that my mom
00:35:43.849 --> 00:35:46.710
married when she was 27 years old. She married
00:35:46.710 --> 00:35:50.329
a man who was twice divorced and had two kids
00:35:50.329 --> 00:35:53.150
of his own. She got married at 27, but she lived
00:35:53.150 --> 00:35:56.900
her life. She worked. She helped her mother financially
00:35:56.900 --> 00:36:00.659
support their big family. My mother traveled.
00:36:00.820 --> 00:36:05.960
She had a career. So I was raised to always think
00:36:05.960 --> 00:36:09.159
about you have to be independent, physically,
00:36:09.760 --> 00:36:13.599
emotionally, financially, before you tie your
00:36:13.599 --> 00:36:17.179
life to somebody else's. And I have been on that
00:36:17.179 --> 00:36:22.000
hamster wheel my entire adult life. And so today,
00:36:23.069 --> 00:36:25.449
I am single. I don't have a husband. I've never
00:36:25.449 --> 00:36:28.489
been married. I also don't have a relationship.
00:36:28.550 --> 00:36:31.309
I've had relationships in the past like I'm not
00:36:31.309 --> 00:36:32.969
celibate but you know what I mean like I don't
00:36:32.969 --> 00:36:35.940
have that I don't have that relationship. I don't
00:36:35.940 --> 00:36:38.920
have children, but that is my choice and a choice
00:36:38.920 --> 00:36:41.380
that I think I would have made anyway if I had
00:36:41.380 --> 00:36:44.880
been married, right? But yeah, that part is missing
00:36:44.880 --> 00:36:49.260
from my life and it's because I have let my career
00:36:49.260 --> 00:36:53.159
and that pursuit of financial independence and
00:36:53.159 --> 00:36:56.400
being sufficient and being enough dictate my
00:36:56.400 --> 00:36:59.599
adult decisions. So I'm also done with that.
00:36:59.719 --> 00:37:01.679
Because when does it ever end? It doesn't freaking,
00:37:01.760 --> 00:37:06.320
it doesn't end. So I am trying to build a life
00:37:06.320 --> 00:37:09.280
where I choose love for the work that I do, but
00:37:09.280 --> 00:37:11.739
also a lot of self -love, listening to what my
00:37:11.739 --> 00:37:14.539
body, to what my soul, to what my brain needs.
00:37:14.860 --> 00:37:17.820
But it's easier said than done because I have
00:37:17.820 --> 00:37:21.300
a mortgage to pay and two cats to feed that do
00:37:21.300 --> 00:37:24.920
not earn their keep. And all the things that
00:37:24.920 --> 00:37:28.909
you know, that. It's such an important part of
00:37:28.909 --> 00:37:31.190
it this whole, right? It's no matter what we're
00:37:31.190 --> 00:37:34.190
doing, like we have to remember that titles,
00:37:34.570 --> 00:37:36.809
money, all that type of stuff, it really doesn't
00:37:36.809 --> 00:37:38.710
matter. Like at the end of the day, it's just
00:37:38.710 --> 00:37:40.809
about happiness. And all of our happiness is
00:37:40.809 --> 00:37:42.530
going to look a little bit different depending
00:37:42.530 --> 00:37:45.489
on who we are. But if we get hyper fixated on
00:37:45.489 --> 00:37:48.269
one portion of our life, it's unlikely we will
00:37:48.269 --> 00:37:50.869
be happy because we can't live in this world
00:37:50.869 --> 00:37:54.369
where we're just our title. We are the combination
00:37:54.369 --> 00:37:57.010
of many titles. And if you bring all of those
00:37:57.010 --> 00:37:59.409
together, when you talk about balance and being
00:37:59.409 --> 00:38:01.010
a Libra, like that's the balance right there,
00:38:01.010 --> 00:38:02.550
right? Like it's not the picture that you see
00:38:02.550 --> 00:38:05.550
of two scales. There's actually hundreds of scales
00:38:05.550 --> 00:38:07.969
and they all have to balance and they don't always,
00:38:08.150 --> 00:38:10.489
right? But you're making sure that it doesn't
00:38:10.489 --> 00:38:13.130
topple. And you need to be able to make time
00:38:13.130 --> 00:38:15.809
for those other things in life. And being an
00:38:15.809 --> 00:38:17.409
entrepreneur, it can give you that time. Like
00:38:17.409 --> 00:38:18.550
there's hard times where you're going to have
00:38:18.550 --> 00:38:21.389
to put in long hours for sure. But it gives you.
00:38:22.130 --> 00:38:24.750
flexibility and a little bit of freedom to be
00:38:24.750 --> 00:38:26.510
able to enjoy those other parts of your life.
00:38:27.010 --> 00:38:30.710
100%. That's what I'm working towards. And that's
00:38:30.710 --> 00:38:33.349
how those decisions, they didn't come in easy,
00:38:33.389 --> 00:38:37.110
but became clearer for me. So tell me, what does
00:38:37.110 --> 00:38:39.909
Steady Hand 2 .0 look like? Like, what are we
00:38:39.909 --> 00:38:42.010
doing differently to make sure we're successful
00:38:42.010 --> 00:38:44.369
and we don't go through the tear down once again?
00:38:44.650 --> 00:38:48.710
I have let go of the cool girl in me. She is
00:38:48.710 --> 00:38:53.869
dead. No more. So I have raised my fees, my minimums.
00:38:54.349 --> 00:38:57.769
I have also created a boundary that any client
00:38:57.769 --> 00:38:59.650
that wants to work with me has to go through
00:38:59.650 --> 00:39:02.960
a financial assessment. I need to see all of
00:39:02.960 --> 00:39:05.400
your dirty little secrets before I take you on
00:39:05.400 --> 00:39:09.300
as a client so that I can then create an engagement
00:39:09.300 --> 00:39:12.619
that is fair to both of us and mutually beneficial.
00:39:14.219 --> 00:39:17.619
Implemented double in how I want my engagements
00:39:17.619 --> 00:39:22.280
to run, my task lists, what to me means a finalized
00:39:22.280 --> 00:39:25.679
month and close, a finalized deliverable. All
00:39:25.679 --> 00:39:31.929
of this is documented. I also. have very clearly
00:39:31.929 --> 00:39:35.389
defined what I need in this person. I put it
00:39:35.389 --> 00:39:38.369
in writing for staffing. And now I'm testing
00:39:38.369 --> 00:39:40.730
for the skills. I didn't know this before, but
00:39:40.730 --> 00:39:43.449
through my network, I found out about this magical
00:39:43.449 --> 00:39:46.650
thing called account tests, where you can actually
00:39:46.650 --> 00:39:50.230
test the accounting skills of people. And I stopped
00:39:50.230 --> 00:39:54.860
treating this like... I stopped treating... potential
00:39:54.860 --> 00:39:58.780
candidates or potential clients like they are
00:39:58.780 --> 00:40:01.599
doing me a favor. This is going to sound horrible,
00:40:01.900 --> 00:40:06.059
but it's like I am the price. My firm is the
00:40:06.059 --> 00:40:08.780
price, right? You have to show me that there's
00:40:08.780 --> 00:40:11.619
going to be mutual benefit here in holding firm.
00:40:12.039 --> 00:40:15.420
And not because I like you or we vibe, that's
00:40:15.420 --> 00:40:18.260
not enough. Let's be friends if that is all we
00:40:18.260 --> 00:40:21.079
have in common. But business is business and
00:40:21.079 --> 00:40:23.940
these are my standards. And if you can't or don't
00:40:23.940 --> 00:40:27.139
want to meet them, that is okay. Keep going.
00:40:27.260 --> 00:40:29.619
I'm going to keep looking for my person. Yeah.
00:40:29.619 --> 00:40:31.179
No, I think that's, that's an important point
00:40:31.179 --> 00:40:33.780
for anybody who's running their own firm or trying
00:40:33.780 --> 00:40:36.079
to get into the consulting world. Know your value.
00:40:36.619 --> 00:40:39.780
Yeah. Know what your price is. Stick to it. Don't
00:40:39.780 --> 00:40:42.360
discount. I was watching a Jason Stouts video
00:40:42.360 --> 00:40:43.719
the other day and he's like, sometimes aim a
00:40:43.719 --> 00:40:46.119
little higher. See what happens. Yeah. If they
00:40:46.119 --> 00:40:47.940
say yes, then hey, maybe all the other ones on
00:40:47.940 --> 00:40:50.739
the wrong price. And a lot of them say yes. That's
00:40:50.739 --> 00:40:53.099
your new bottom, right? Yeah. And a lot of them
00:40:53.099 --> 00:40:56.739
say yes, so. They do. Yeah. You've got to put
00:40:56.739 --> 00:40:59.719
yourself out there and take some risks. And clearly
00:40:59.719 --> 00:41:01.659
you need to be a little bit vulnerable with yourself
00:41:01.659 --> 00:41:04.900
and understand what you want out of life. Yep.
00:41:05.219 --> 00:41:08.440
Exactly. Liz, I've really enjoyed this conversation
00:41:08.440 --> 00:41:10.800
today and I'm so grateful of how much you've
00:41:10.800 --> 00:41:12.699
shared. But I would like to end with one more
00:41:12.699 --> 00:41:15.639
question before we go into some rapid fire. And
00:41:15.639 --> 00:41:18.559
that is from your experience in life. As you
00:41:18.559 --> 00:41:21.000
said, you've been around a little bit right now,
00:41:21.119 --> 00:41:23.719
right? What's one piece of advice that you'd
00:41:23.719 --> 00:41:25.980
give somebody new to the accounting industry
00:41:25.980 --> 00:41:28.260
that would make a big difference in their career?
00:41:28.619 --> 00:41:32.079
Learn as much as you can from your peers and
00:41:32.079 --> 00:41:37.119
your superiors. hungry curiosity and yeah, learn
00:41:37.119 --> 00:41:39.920
from the tough moments, learn from the opportunities
00:41:39.920 --> 00:41:41.980
and even the things that you think that you're
00:41:41.980 --> 00:41:43.940
not going to like or that you don't want to do.
00:41:43.980 --> 00:41:45.960
You're never going to know until you try them.
00:41:46.000 --> 00:41:48.820
That is going to be your foundation and what
00:41:48.820 --> 00:41:51.260
is going to go with you everywhere you go. Yeah,
00:41:51.260 --> 00:41:53.320
I love that. And I'm going to pull a thread right
00:41:53.320 --> 00:41:55.000
through that we've been speaking about today.
00:41:55.000 --> 00:41:57.739
And that is find your network, find time to connect
00:41:57.739 --> 00:42:00.920
with people, look to rely on it. You relied on
00:42:00.920 --> 00:42:03.619
your brother when you moved to Colorado. We've
00:42:03.619 --> 00:42:05.619
relied on some colleagues and friends through
00:42:05.619 --> 00:42:08.059
this difficult time in the situation. Always
00:42:08.059 --> 00:42:10.219
believe in ourselves, but build that network
00:42:10.219 --> 00:42:12.079
to be able to help us take the steps forward.
00:42:12.519 --> 00:42:15.579
Absolutely. And lean in both to ask for help,
00:42:15.579 --> 00:42:18.340
but also to offer it. Because you never know
00:42:18.340 --> 00:42:20.139
when you're going to need it tomorrow, right?
00:42:20.260 --> 00:42:23.320
So you're planting those seeds today. Fantastic.
00:42:23.659 --> 00:42:26.800
I have five questions for you to finish it off.
00:42:27.000 --> 00:42:28.880
Top of mind, you give me your answer. We'll see
00:42:28.880 --> 00:42:32.409
where it goes. Okay. We'll start with... Well,
00:42:32.409 --> 00:42:34.429
it might be a harder one than it normally is,
00:42:34.650 --> 00:42:37.829
but mountains or ocean? Ocean. Oh, it lives in
00:42:37.829 --> 00:42:40.829
the mountains, vacations at the ocean. Yes. What
00:42:40.829 --> 00:42:43.170
is the one quality that you're looking for in
00:42:43.170 --> 00:42:46.070
a friend? Authenticity. Love it. What is one
00:42:46.070 --> 00:42:48.530
piece of technology in your life today that makes
00:42:48.530 --> 00:42:51.190
everything easier? I want to say Claude, however
00:42:51.190 --> 00:42:53.789
lame that sounds. Claude and double. I love double.
00:42:54.829 --> 00:42:56.150
Those are my two favorites. Claude and double?
00:42:56.150 --> 00:42:58.940
Yep. Awesome. I love it. Do you have a... book
00:42:58.940 --> 00:43:01.599
recommendation for people that you think they
00:43:01.599 --> 00:43:03.159
have to read. It doesn't have to be a business
00:43:03.159 --> 00:43:07.179
book. It can be anything you like. Well, the
00:43:07.179 --> 00:43:10.780
most, yes. I'm going to say Patricia Briggs.
00:43:11.300 --> 00:43:15.480
This is urban fantasy fiction and she has, it's
00:43:15.480 --> 00:43:20.019
the Mercy Thompson series. I will look that up.
00:43:20.260 --> 00:43:22.639
To feed your imagination there and help you think
00:43:22.639 --> 00:43:25.489
outside the box. Love it. Last question. Growing
00:43:25.489 --> 00:43:28.409
up in Puerto Rico, what was that food that you,
00:43:28.449 --> 00:43:31.530
even now, as you think about it, you miss it
00:43:31.530 --> 00:43:34.610
from home? Arroz con gandules. It's just rice
00:43:34.610 --> 00:43:38.170
with pigeon peas or ganduli rice, I hear the
00:43:38.170 --> 00:43:40.550
Puerto Rican community in Hawaii calls it. It
00:43:40.550 --> 00:43:42.769
doesn't get more Puerto Rican than that. Love
00:43:42.769 --> 00:43:44.949
it. Melissa, thank you so much for being a guest
00:43:44.949 --> 00:43:46.769
on Proteo Conversations. I really appreciate
00:43:46.769 --> 00:43:48.750
your time. Thank you, Zane, and thank you for
00:43:48.750 --> 00:43:51.449
letting me get vulnerable here. Who's not expecting
00:43:51.449 --> 00:43:54.159
this? And with that, we ended another part of
00:43:54.159 --> 00:43:56.599
Conversations. Thank you for joining us in this
00:43:56.599 --> 00:43:59.420
journey of learning and inspiration. Today we've
00:43:59.420 --> 00:44:01.659
gained insight from our guests and taken another
00:44:01.659 --> 00:44:03.820
step towards understanding the diverse tapestry
00:44:03.820 --> 00:44:06.309
of leadership in business and accounting. Remember
00:44:06.309 --> 00:44:08.489
each conversation is a step towards a positive
00:44:08.489 --> 00:44:11.030
transformation of business leaders. We hope our
00:44:11.030 --> 00:44:12.949
discussion has given you valuable takeaways to
00:44:12.949 --> 00:44:15.349
apply in your own career and life. Don't forget
00:44:15.349 --> 00:44:17.510
to subscribe to Prairie Conversations on YouTube
00:44:17.510 --> 00:44:20.409
and Spotify so you never miss an episode. We'd
00:44:20.409 --> 00:44:22.429
also love to hear your thoughts and experiences
00:44:22.429 --> 00:44:24.510
so connect with me on social media channels.
00:44:25.010 --> 00:44:26.510
I'm most active on LinkedIn and we'd love you
00:44:26.510 --> 00:44:29.090
to join the conversation. Join us next time for
00:44:29.090 --> 00:44:31.769
more engaging stories, advice and conversations
00:44:31.769 --> 00:44:34.920
that matter. Until then, keep striving for excellence
00:44:34.920 --> 00:44:37.219
and gracing growth. Thank you for listening.
00:44:37.599 --> 00:44:39.920
Be kind and goodbye from Party Conversations.