Behind the Books: A Talk with Shelbi Gehring

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Hello, everybody, welcome to another episode of Behind Her Business.
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We have a very dear friend of mine today that
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is our guest. Her name is Shelby Gearing. She is
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the owner of a national bookkeeping firm. Shelby, thank you
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so much for being here today.
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I'm so excited to be here. Thanks for asking me,
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of course.
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So to give you guys a little context on why
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I have Shelby here today. Number One, she's my bookkeeper
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for my business, kJ Marketing Group, Okay, and she's the
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best out there and I'm being serious. Second, she is
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my birthday twin, So we just actually celebrated a birthday together.
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Happy birthday, birthday.
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So I wanted to have Shelby on this podcast today
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because you are the youngest entrepreneur that I.
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Know, which is wild, but it is wild.
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I feel like we're the same age.
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It's yeah, No, I definitely don't feel the youngest, but
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that is crazy.
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But you started your business what twenty six?
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Yeah, So I started. I knew I wanted to open
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up my own business. It came from actually my husband,
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he had already had his business open for a while
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and he really gave me kind of that push to
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like just go on ahead and do it because I knew,
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like financially, he could, you know, help on that back end,
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and he was the main provider anyways. And then yeah,
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it just absolutely took off from there.
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It is absolutely crazy.
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It's insane, and I want to I want to go
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back a little bit. So before you started your bookkeeping business,
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we'll get into that, But before you started that, how
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long were you in corporate Right, you're relatively young, you're
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twenty six years old, probably still trying to figure things out. Yeah,
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were you always trying to go into bookkeeping and you
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know kind of what was your experience before you got
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into your own business.
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Yeah, So I was originally a receptionist a company. It
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was an IT company in the healthcare industry, and they
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were great.
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They definitely like I had just had.
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My son and I was twenty years old, and the
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office manager there, her name is Karen, absolutely took me
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under her wing and basically gave me a lot of
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tools that I needed that.
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Have helped me drive this business. For sure. She taught
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me a lot. She's in HR guru.
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In my eyes, but she handled like the payroll side
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of things and.
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A lot of the.
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A lot of like the inventory management side, and so
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she kind of gave me a little bit of taste
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of like some of the credit card and reconciliation portions
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of things entering credit cards, and I became like her
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little assistant for a while and helping her manage certain
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aspects of it.
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And then I realized I loved it.
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And I was already kind of having trouble finding what
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I really wanted to get into because I was in
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college whenever we had our sons. So once I got
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that taste of accounting, it just kind of flew from there.
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And then I became an accounting assistant and I got
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hired on at the really amazing plastic surgeon. He gave
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me an opportunity to really grow with him, and I
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learned so much. At the end of it, before I resigned,
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I was running a whole accounting like whole thing was
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running off of nine businesses and all different businesses from
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His wife was a dermatologist, and he was also like
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he wasn't only just a plastic surgeon. He is a
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probably one of the smartest businessmen I've ever known, even
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till this day, knowing who all I know, he was
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very intelligent and He taught me a lot.
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He definitely did.
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It's worth its weight in gold. When you are able
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to really somebody can take you under their wing, yeah
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and show you. And that's what it sounds like to me,
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Like we showed you. They gave you all of the
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I guess the equipment that you needed, yeah, to start
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your own business.
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Yeah.
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So, like I at first was hired on as like
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an accounting assistant under a manager, and then within like
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he put me on this big project that was with
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the State of Texas that we were basically do like
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a sales tax audit, and I had caught this huge
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discrepancy and that the previous manager hadn't caught.
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So and then there was.
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Some other backstories, but essentially I ended up taking over
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the position and he was absolutely crazy to give me
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that position.
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I was like a sponge, Yeah, I mean I really was.
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I was with him for like four years, I want
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to say four or five years at that point and
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before I resigned, and I soaked up every bit of
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knowledge that he had in business because he was more
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like business finance portion. And then with the CPA that
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I worked with, he was awesome as well, and that
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taught me a lot of the tax side of things,
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and then I got my bookkeeper certificate and then it
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just kind of rolled from there and next thing I know,
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it was a lot of work.
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I was working over sixty hours.
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A week starting your business, or before you started, I was.
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Working for him, and then once I started my business,
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that was when Now I work full time.
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So yeah, more than sixty.
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But I love what I do and I have a
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great team behind me that truly gives me the ability
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to keep doing what I love to do.
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So how long was it from the moment that you
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left corporate to starting your business? Was it a was
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it on a whim? Was it something you were thinking
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about for years? Like kind of what propelled you? How
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long did it take for you to actually take that
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first s up?
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Yeah, so I had already been asked whenever I was
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running the accounting manage, like whenever I was the accounting
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manager there, I had already been asked to kind of
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do some books like moonlighting, right, But in respect of
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my employer, I because they were the person that had
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asked me. They had partnership, was my employer, and they
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wanted me to do some of their other businesses as well.
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That they had out of respective.
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And my I asked him, you know how he would
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feel it, and he didn't really, I don't think he
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cared much. But at that point I was already just
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kind of hitting my limit as far as like working
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that many hours.
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I was exhausted.
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And you know, having an employer and working that home
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life balance can me a lot whenever you're trying.
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To also further your career.
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Yes, And so that kind of gave me the push
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to realize, like, oh wait, I can do this for
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other people and for multiple.
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People and have more flexibility and have.
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More flexibility for my family. And within six months of
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me opening up my business, I had made my full
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salary of what I was getting paid. That's insane under
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as an accounting manager, which was absolutely crazy.
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Where you were in the what's the black from the beginning? Right?
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Oh yeah, I say, am I using that term correctly?
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My book?
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Can I mean black?
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Like black?
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Kind of like like black is like like breaking even right?
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Green is profitability? Oh yeah, because I'm service based.
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I'm service based, right, there's very little overhead. I obviously
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like you're gonna learn tips and tricks and you're gonna
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go through things that you're gonna fumble, You're gonna fail,
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You're gonna be like, Okay, is this even what I
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want to do?
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Because it is exhausting.
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You better really want to do.
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It starts if you want to get I mean, it does.
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And you have to have some patients with yourself too,
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you know what I mean, understanding that like you're going
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to fail, You're gonna be stressed, You're gonna want to
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question this is even what you want to do. It's
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not easy. And also starting so young, with having such
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a young family I was, it was definitely hard, you know,
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but I had a really good support system behind me
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that was really helpful. But I started with I mean
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there was no money. I had no startup fees. Right
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once I got the service and I got the contracts,
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you know, there.
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Was creating my entity.
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There was fees like that to start something like that,
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but it wasn't directly related to the actual service that
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I was provided.
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See and I think people that are listening to this
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podcast and they're thinking what type of service like, because
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you have you can you know you can do if
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you can be a franchise e, you can have a
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service based business, you can have a product based business,
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you can do e commerce for me as well. Having
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the marketing company. Having consulting was part of my service
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in the beginning, at least for the first few years,
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I was mainly consulting. We weren't selling any digital product. Yeah,
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I was able to be in the green from day
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one being a service based company. So what is your
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thoughts on people who you know they want to be
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able to make because you know, usually if you're productor
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spending all this money on product and then you've got
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to make up for that product and you're looking usually
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not to make profit for a few years.
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Yeah, usually it's like a two to three year turnaround
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if you're not making a profit within And also I
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really want to emphasize that this is strictly like resell service,
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like resell right, not just like strictly service. If you
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have a product that you're wanting to put, you know,
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time and effort into to create, that's going to take
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extra time, you're gonna you're you're not going to see
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a profit for longer periods.
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And you have to be okay with you You have
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to be okay with that.
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But I also think as an entrepreneur, whenever you're starting
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up your business knowing what your profit margins are potentially
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going to be.
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Right that we project these figures.
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On the front end, you look at what the economic
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rates looking like for that product and the service, what
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the marketing is looking like for that Like, there's so
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many other factors when it comes to opening a business,
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specifically for product based service like base resell. And I
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also think taking into account and setting the price, really
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looking at that price, yes, because if you just go
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with a ballpark number and then you realize your overhead
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costs or changes in the economy changes, then you're the
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cost to actually produce that product increases and it eats
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your margins.
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What are you going to do?
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See, that's why I prefer service based, yeah, right away,
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but you know aparent you know obviously.
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Everyone wants but and for a long time when I
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first started this, I completely agreed with that until I
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started getting some of my product based clients as well.
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So as you know, like I specialize in the publishing world, right,
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they're so best selling authors.
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I have amazing clients.
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I have probably over seventy authors at this point, and
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also bookshops and they do book boxes and let me
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tell you.
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The margins on those book boxes are.
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Amazing, Yeah, because you get like you get to sneak
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behind the curtain. Yeah, that's a good industry to really
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put your money into.
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Yeah, starting a business.
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I mean it honestly, I think passion comes really really
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behind that, right, Like you can I can say, listen,
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do a digital Etsy, right, like, get a digital product,
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resell it on Etsy. There's not as many like your
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profit margins on those are astronomical other than the time
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it takes to create whatever digital product that like you
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want to produce. I have one client that does something
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similar and the perfit margins of those are beautiful.
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So it's something to think about. Guys, don't listen to me.
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I'm all about service. I'm going to provide you a
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service and cut us a check.
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I mean the way it still is service, right, It's
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just really it's it's also just really honing down on
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those figures, which I think comes into play with actually
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knowing what your numbers are as an entrepreneur and as
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a business owner. If you just want to do your
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taxes and you know, really push your tax strategy and
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on the front end and you know, not pay as little.
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I mean yeah, we can absolutely offer that.
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I work with a well as you know James with
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Cobo tax He's amazing.
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Oh yeah he is. He's my CPA.
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Yeah, he's great, and we have over fifty clients together.
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We work very closely together and we build our clients
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to where taxes aren't as stressful at.
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The end of the year.
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But if you're not wanting to hone in on your
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financials and actually be able to what's the report?
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I always oh.
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My god, okay, So to tell you guys, So, whenever
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I started the business and Shelby came on board, she said,
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my bare ass minimum. It was my BAM. I had
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no idea what a BAM was like, what is bam?
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She's like, what you need to spend to stay in business?
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So I was constantly asking her my bare ass minimum? Yeah,
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we want to know that if you're not a business
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owners and question business owners do they always know that?
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Absolutely?
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Not? Okay, So business owner, I think they may think
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that they have an idea, right, but truly like, if
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the to keep the doors open of your business, what
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is the minimum that like you have that's going to
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cost you? And then that's like kind of the foundation
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to creating those figures of how much you want to
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resell your products, right, because then once you know that,
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then you have at least a good foundation to start
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and make those decisions. If you don't have your BAM,
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if you don't know the market that you're in, if
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you don't even know your product, you know what I mean.
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I feel like having the conversations with other bookkeepers and
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other accounting firms and other you know, CPA firms, whatever's
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out there. Having those conversations and really feeling out the
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market is really important too well.
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And I think also knowing competitive competitively what's being priced. Yeah,
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because that's something that we've talked about. And it's so
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funny because I know that there's probably some people that
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have businesses that are listening to this that have a bookkeeper. Yeah,
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but all not all bookkeepers are the same. Iron to say,
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as Shelby was my third and my last. But I
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will tell you, she'll sit with me and talk about
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my BAM. She'll talk about what percentage of my revenue
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should be should go to payroll budgeting, We do budgeting.
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I mean, these are things that you know. And half
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the time I canceled the meetings guys, because I don't
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want to, you know, I read she does no more Amazon.
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But it's important to know this. And so if you're
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a business owner, like these are the things, I think
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it's important for us to talk about these things and
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be very open with them. What is the one thing
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that you see most businesses have. What's the biggest mistake
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that they make when it comes to their monthly budgeting?
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Okay, I'm going to say that well, and you know
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me because I'm I'm a very I will tell it
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to you straight right. Yes, there have been many times
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that we've had some really rough conversations that you probably
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did not like me very much.
305
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No, I don't.
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Yeah, absolutely, that's the job exactly like my job isn't
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to hold your hand. Obviously I will while I'm giving
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it to you straight, but ignorance I do. I think
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that like hiding from what is actually going.
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On in your business can really make or break you. Yes, I.
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Will also say that like growth is very scary. You
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can absolutely grow too big too soon, but also just
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really looking at those figures and also sitting down with
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someone who can explain it to you, because if you
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don't know the difference between a profit and loss. And
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if you can't even read your balance sheet, then there's
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a problem, right, Like you have to know what's going on.
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You have to know exactly like where you want to
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go to, right, Like, we can't get to an end
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zone and get to a play and complete it if
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we don't even have a goal in mind.
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So what are the telltale signs that a company needs
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somebody like you? Some people they just you know, do
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either do their quarterly taxes and they wait till the
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end of the year. When is it when you're like,
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you know what, you need somebody like me? You need
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a bookkeeper to come in have monthly meetings? Like what when?
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When does a business need that?
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I think it depends on the owner, right, there's like
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two facets to it, correct, Like, it depends on the
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owner and what they will actually put into it.
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A lot of this.
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I can give number numbers, I can give projections, I
334
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can give all this data and produce all this time
335
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and work for an owner. But if they're not willing
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to sit down and actually read it and actually make
337
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decisions off of that, then monthly will.
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Never work for them. Yep, that's true, right, it will never.
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You're going to get out what you put in.
340
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Yes, exactly.
341
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And I think also it's very fair for me to
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say like I am not, as you know, I'm not
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the cheapest bookkeeper out there.
344
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There are absolutely bookkeepers out there that will do.
345
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Data entry, reconciliation for you know, different pricing. We're all different,
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we're at different level. I am a little bit more
347
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on the higher end of bookkeeping because I dabble with
348
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accounting and finance and stuff like that and tax projections.
349
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But we can do all this work.
350
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But if you don't want to sit down actually look
351
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at it, then monthly is never gonna work.
352
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There's no point.
353
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And I will also say on the flip side of that, right,
354
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even if you don't want to put in the time
355
00:17:23.319 --> 00:17:25.640
and effort to read these financials and actually talk about
356
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them and go through them tax wise, even if just
357
00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:30.960
just you want us to have someone to stay on
358
00:17:30.960 --> 00:17:34.680
top of your taxes and if you have a lot
359
00:17:34.720 --> 00:17:39.200
of movement coming in and out, I definitely recommend getting someone.
360
00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:42.160
Because it gets a second pair of eyes.
361
00:17:42.359 --> 00:17:45.000
Right, how many times have I come to you, hey, listen,
362
00:17:46.440 --> 00:17:48.839
this payment was wrong. Someone in your internal ran this
363
00:17:48.920 --> 00:17:53.640
payment incorrectly. This payment was never received you know, and
364
00:17:54.200 --> 00:17:57.039
you have someone that's a professional that's.
365
00:17:56.839 --> 00:18:00.720
Finding these that's your job. That's what you did from.
366
00:18:00.599 --> 00:18:00.960
What I do.
367
00:18:01.480 --> 00:18:08.359
Yeah, and having someone to support that is I think crucial.
368
00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:12.119
You said something that really stood out to me was
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you're not the cheapest.
370
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I'm not.
371
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I think that as entrepreneurs, if you are providing a service,
372
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and you're providing a stellar service or even like a
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stellar product, I think we all as entrepreneurs, especially in
374
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the beginning of our journeys, maybe you did, I know
375
00:18:26.519 --> 00:18:29.480
I did. I did lowering your serve to get the client.
376
00:18:29.559 --> 00:18:31.200
Absolutely, So I'm going to I'm.
377
00:18:31.039 --> 00:18:32.799
Going to give you a break because I really want
378
00:18:32.839 --> 00:18:34.000
to get the client. We want to you know, we
379
00:18:34.039 --> 00:18:36.880
want to build our portfolio. But once you're in business
380
00:18:36.960 --> 00:18:38.319
for a while and you know what you bring to
381
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the table. I hate to say it, it's so cliche,
382
00:18:41.319 --> 00:18:43.799
but you really do get what you pay for. You
383
00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:46.720
have to be able to say, Okay, this is where
384
00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:49.519
I'm going to be because this is the value. And
385
00:18:49.599 --> 00:18:51.680
I love that you said that. Yeah, because did that
386
00:18:51.799 --> 00:18:53.920
change for you in the beginning when you started to
387
00:18:54.039 --> 00:18:57.200
Now now that you have this experience, you know your worth? Yeah,
388
00:18:57.279 --> 00:18:58.160
did that change for you.
389
00:18:58.359 --> 00:18:59.359
I definitely think it did.
390
00:18:59.519 --> 00:19:01.519
And I will also say, like that's probably one of
391
00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:04.119
the things that whenever I first opened, I probably didn't
392
00:19:04.160 --> 00:19:08.599
do enough research on the book keeping in that industry
393
00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:10.640
of what the pricing was, right, Like a lot of
394
00:19:10.680 --> 00:19:13.359
times pricing is people don't like to talk a prep
395
00:19:13.359 --> 00:19:16.240
about price and they want to keep it, you know,
396
00:19:16.400 --> 00:19:19.160
just sliding under and kind of hush hush. And so
397
00:19:20.319 --> 00:19:23.160
I started out, I want to say, like my first
398
00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:26.079
monthly was maybe like three hundred bucks, three hundred and
399
00:19:26.079 --> 00:19:27.759
fifty bucks something like that, and.
400
00:19:27.720 --> 00:19:30.920
You were probably doing hours and hours way past that
401
00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:31.799
three hundred dollars.
402
00:19:31.880 --> 00:19:34.559
Yeah, I mean it was definitely if I truly took
403
00:19:34.599 --> 00:19:39.119
like my hourly rate at that time, I was probably
404
00:19:39.160 --> 00:19:40.279
like thirty bucks an hour.
405
00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:46.680
That's not it now, yes, obviously, but it took time,
406
00:19:46.720 --> 00:19:48.480
and it starts that way. Everyone starts that way, like
407
00:19:48.519 --> 00:19:50.519
we all do. But I will also say that.
408
00:19:50.480 --> 00:19:53.319
I think as a business owner, like like you had
409
00:19:53.359 --> 00:19:56.279
just mentioned, knowing your worth and knowing your value and
410
00:19:56.319 --> 00:19:59.960
being willing to say no, I'm okay, like I am
411
00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:02.400
understand you may not see the value in this, but
412
00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:04.480
I know the value of this, and I know what
413
00:20:04.519 --> 00:20:07.680
I can do for you. But also on that flip side,
414
00:20:07.880 --> 00:20:11.799
comes value comes expectations. I guess we're just talking about this, right,
415
00:20:11.880 --> 00:20:19.400
Like the stress of expectations from your clients is just daunting.
416
00:20:19.559 --> 00:20:22.039
Well, we're talking about that actually on the phone this morning,
417
00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:25.440
because we're talking about that. Getting the client is easy,
418
00:20:25.519 --> 00:20:28.240
I mean, pitching the client, getting the business is easy.
419
00:20:28.680 --> 00:20:32.039
But it's after that, it's putting in the work for it.
420
00:20:32.079 --> 00:20:35.279
That's when the real work happens. And that's where most
421
00:20:35.319 --> 00:20:37.480
of the energy. Especially if you're a business owner and
422
00:20:37.519 --> 00:20:40.079
you're catering most of the clients, they're going to buy you.
423
00:20:40.279 --> 00:20:41.920
I mean you have the expertise, but a lot of
424
00:20:41.920 --> 00:20:44.720
times they're buying you, you have to make sure you
425
00:20:44.759 --> 00:20:47.160
have to ultra serve your clients. So I mean that's
426
00:20:47.160 --> 00:20:49.440
what they're paying for. They're paying for that one on
427
00:20:49.440 --> 00:20:51.519
one service and if they don't get it, they're going
428
00:20:51.559 --> 00:20:53.240
to find somebody else who will give that to them.
429
00:20:53.279 --> 00:20:56.720
There's also a level of like value of not only
430
00:20:56.759 --> 00:20:59.119
like wanting to retain your client, but also like truly
431
00:20:59.200 --> 00:21:02.599
just wanting to help them, And there's different there is
432
00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:06.240
there's a difference, right, Like there's I I really value
433
00:21:06.960 --> 00:21:09.319
every single one of my clients, no matter if you
434
00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:14.119
Because I have clients as you know, like in New York, Colorado, Washington, Wyoming,
435
00:21:15.079 --> 00:21:16.519
I am, I'm Florida.
436
00:21:16.119 --> 00:21:18.640
I'm international too, I I do, I do have.
437
00:21:18.599 --> 00:21:19.720
A Hong Kong client. Yeah.
438
00:21:20.039 --> 00:21:25.279
But regardless with that, I build relationships with these people.
439
00:21:25.559 --> 00:21:26.880
I mean, I truly do.
440
00:21:27.279 --> 00:21:29.519
That's I think that's something that I've always started from
441
00:21:29.559 --> 00:21:32.319
the beginning, was that I never wanted to get like
442
00:21:32.359 --> 00:21:35.799
too big for my bridges, right, my quality it is,
443
00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:40.160
I my quality of clients, Like I never wanted to
444
00:21:40.200 --> 00:21:44.079
lose quality over quantity. And I think that's also another
445
00:21:44.200 --> 00:21:46.880
big part where like you have to kind of take
446
00:21:46.880 --> 00:21:49.599
a step back and realize, Okay, do I want to
447
00:21:49.599 --> 00:21:50.519
take the next level.
448
00:21:50.640 --> 00:21:52.640
Because I'm completely referral.
449
00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:56.279
Based, I do not do any advertising, I know, crazy
450
00:21:56.359 --> 00:21:57.640
right advertising, and I.
451
00:21:57.640 --> 00:22:01.559
Have honestly, I know you don't need it. And that's
452
00:22:01.599 --> 00:22:03.960
part of being a really good advertising firm, right, knowing
453
00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:04.839
when you don't need it.
454
00:22:05.039 --> 00:22:07.960
Yeah, I guess so right, And for me, I just
455
00:22:08.039 --> 00:22:12.880
I really I put a lot of effort into those relationships,
456
00:22:12.920 --> 00:22:16.519
and I think those relationships for themselves absolutely, And because
457
00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:19.960
I'm only referral based, I I don't take.
458
00:22:19.799 --> 00:22:21.000
People off the street.
459
00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:23.480
And it's not that I'm not willing, it's just the
460
00:22:23.519 --> 00:22:29.119
fact that there's a level of knowledge I think that
461
00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:32.839
comes when saying, hey, listen, Christina, I have this great person,
462
00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:36.240
they do great business. I think that that, like you
463
00:22:36.240 --> 00:22:38.400
know you, they would be great for your business or
464
00:22:38.440 --> 00:22:41.319
whatever that. I think there's a level that comes with that,
465
00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:44.880
and the expectations are set there too, So you know,
466
00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:48.720
it's it's nice, but it can definitely the expectations can
467
00:22:48.759 --> 00:22:50.079
definitely be drowning at point.
468
00:22:50.519 --> 00:22:52.640
So let's pivot for a second because I want to
469
00:22:52.640 --> 00:22:59.519
get into the mother and you, Oh goodness, gracious, you're amazing.
470
00:22:59.559 --> 00:23:02.559
I mean, you have two kids. Do you have one son?
471
00:23:02.640 --> 00:23:03.480
What is he twelve?
472
00:23:04.119 --> 00:23:05.279
He's about to turn eleven?
473
00:23:05.359 --> 00:23:09.079
Okay, and yeah, he's around yeah Braxton, Braxton, he's turning
474
00:23:09.119 --> 00:23:10.759
eleven on the twenty seventh.
475
00:23:10.920 --> 00:23:12.920
Yes, and so and then your daughter. You have a
476
00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:15.720
story we do for your daughter, So tell us about
477
00:23:15.720 --> 00:23:16.720
how that came into place.
478
00:23:16.920 --> 00:23:20.759
So we're in the middle of adopting our daughter. We've
479
00:23:20.839 --> 00:23:22.599
had her since she was four days old.
480
00:23:22.680 --> 00:23:23.519
It's so wonderful.
481
00:23:24.119 --> 00:23:27.839
She is the sassiest little thing you have ever met
482
00:23:27.880 --> 00:23:33.319
in your life. But yeah, no, motherhood's hard, especially owning
483
00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:37.119
a business and combining that because you know, motherhood's a
484
00:23:37.160 --> 00:23:38.079
full time job.
485
00:23:37.920 --> 00:23:40.079
And full time self and it's our real job.
486
00:23:40.279 --> 00:23:42.920
It's honest, right, it's the core job for us.
487
00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:46.400
At the end of the day, our businesses can absolutely
488
00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:51.279
tank and go in the hole and we're still a mother,
489
00:23:51.720 --> 00:23:55.599
We're still We're still taking care of those little ones,
490
00:23:55.799 --> 00:23:57.680
and that's hard.
491
00:23:57.759 --> 00:23:58.359
Sometimes.
492
00:23:58.440 --> 00:24:01.400
How do you find I try to be more mindful
493
00:24:01.480 --> 00:24:05.119
because at first, you know, I'm working late. My daughters
494
00:24:05.240 --> 00:24:07.000
she's ten, she's old enough to say, mom, are you
495
00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:09.599
done with work? Here you're saying. My two year old
496
00:24:09.680 --> 00:24:11.279
son actually came to me the other day and said,
497
00:24:11.279 --> 00:24:14.680
get off my phone. So how do you balance that?
498
00:24:14.720 --> 00:24:16.440
Because I know it's tax season right now.
499
00:24:16.599 --> 00:24:18.119
Oh you're insane, it is.
500
00:24:18.400 --> 00:24:20.559
But how do you balance that? And do you balance it?
501
00:24:20.599 --> 00:24:21.720
I mean, let's be honest.
502
00:24:21.480 --> 00:24:24.119
Here, not hard. No, I don't balance.
503
00:24:24.920 --> 00:24:27.000
I think Shonda Rhimes was the one who said that
504
00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:30.480
either I'm a great business woman, but I'm failing as
505
00:24:30.519 --> 00:24:33.240
a mother, or like, I'm a great mother, but my
506
00:24:33.400 --> 00:24:37.680
business is failing, And there's so much truth in that statement.
507
00:24:37.839 --> 00:24:41.440
Like I don't find I truly don't don't believe.
508
00:24:41.160 --> 00:24:44.119
That there's ever a true balance that you can truly
509
00:24:44.200 --> 00:24:46.880
like do both right. And I'm not saying that there's
510
00:24:46.920 --> 00:24:49.599
probably women out there, way better women than me that.
511
00:24:49.680 --> 00:24:54.720
Can, but I have not found that balance. I try. Yeah,
512
00:24:54.880 --> 00:24:55.599
we all try.
513
00:24:55.720 --> 00:24:58.559
We all try to be there for our kids and
514
00:24:58.599 --> 00:25:02.000
make them like great here beings and growing up in
515
00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:04.400
this crazy world that we have going on.
516
00:25:04.640 --> 00:25:05.880
Like it's hard.
517
00:25:06.079 --> 00:25:08.000
Yeah, it really is hard, and I still haven't found
518
00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:10.920
the balance either. I mean, I actually spent some very
519
00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:14.400
mindful time playing trucks and cars with my kids last night,
520
00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:17.119
and it was just so nice just to sit there.
521
00:25:17.240 --> 00:25:18.880
I mean the ten minutes felt like an hour.
522
00:25:19.400 --> 00:25:22.559
But literally know, I don't know why it's very hard.
523
00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:26.079
Why is plenty of time so hard? To second?
524
00:25:26.160 --> 00:25:28.720
Guys, I answer this question, why is playtime so hard?
525
00:25:29.079 --> 00:25:32.680
Like I don't know if I'm just like a bad mom, but.
526
00:25:32.599 --> 00:25:34.599
Like I think we're all so hard.
527
00:25:34.720 --> 00:25:36.799
Just I can color, I can color.
528
00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:37.400
I love color.
529
00:25:37.480 --> 00:25:38.799
I will absolutely color.
530
00:25:39.559 --> 00:25:40.839
I'll play Connect for all day.
531
00:25:41.119 --> 00:25:44.079
Oh yeah, I'll play games. I'll play games, I'll color.
532
00:25:44.240 --> 00:25:48.119
I'll even my daughter loves doing like the fake makeup because.
533
00:25:47.839 --> 00:25:49.440
She loves watching. She'll sit with me while I do
534
00:25:49.480 --> 00:25:49.880
my makeup.
535
00:25:50.119 --> 00:25:55.400
We'll do makeup, right, but playing actually play after play.
536
00:25:55.640 --> 00:25:57.160
My son is very creative.
537
00:25:57.279 --> 00:25:59.519
I mean when I tell you, this boy will just
538
00:25:59.559 --> 00:26:01.599
play with himself for a full hour with his toy.
539
00:26:02.240 --> 00:26:05.720
And it's amazing to see. Right, But whenever he like
540
00:26:05.920 --> 00:26:08.359
wants me to like act or like go with a.
541
00:26:11.599 --> 00:26:16.039
It does like, Okay, that's exactly.
542
00:26:15.799 --> 00:26:16.319
Let's put out.
543
00:26:16.400 --> 00:26:19.279
Let's let's try to do this. It is. It's hard.
544
00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:23.640
But I will also say that I think there is
545
00:26:23.960 --> 00:26:31.400
a importance in our kids seeing strong women. Absolutely absolutely right, Like,
546
00:26:32.240 --> 00:26:36.039
my husband is an amazing father husband, but he also
547
00:26:36.359 --> 00:26:39.680
owns his own business, and you know, we both talked
548
00:26:39.680 --> 00:26:42.839
about having trouble balancing that. You know there's and I
549
00:26:42.880 --> 00:26:46.519
think also like because we're both running our own businesses,
550
00:26:46.720 --> 00:26:51.200
we are very separate in our businesses. He makes his decisions,
551
00:26:51.240 --> 00:26:53.400
I make my decisions. Now we do, like have a
552
00:26:53.480 --> 00:26:57.000
really good foundation and we can come together and talk
553
00:26:57.000 --> 00:26:59.400
about the woes and the hard days, and you know,
554
00:26:59.480 --> 00:27:02.039
we'll ask for sometimes will give advice when the other
555
00:27:02.079 --> 00:27:04.799
really doesn't want to right or like.
556
00:27:04.880 --> 00:27:07.519
Or like whenever he just I'm like, are you sure,
557
00:27:07.680 --> 00:27:09.319
that's the way you want to do this.
558
00:27:09.359 --> 00:27:09.599
You know.
559
00:27:09.640 --> 00:27:12.759
And then he's been telling me for probably like the
560
00:27:12.799 --> 00:27:15.960
past five months that I needed to hire another bookkeeper.
561
00:27:16.519 --> 00:27:19.000
And and it's very hard for me because it's not
562
00:27:19.119 --> 00:27:21.359
about the fact that I don't think I can find someone.
563
00:27:21.559 --> 00:27:23.440
It's the fact that is someone going to care about
564
00:27:23.440 --> 00:27:24.559
my clients as much as I do.
565
00:27:24.720 --> 00:27:27.519
That's always the issue, especially when you're a small business. Yeah,
566
00:27:27.680 --> 00:27:28.519
you know, and you hire.
567
00:27:28.720 --> 00:27:31.119
And I'm also dealing with small businesses, right because there's
568
00:27:31.160 --> 00:27:32.880
a lot of questions that come up with this.
569
00:27:33.039 --> 00:27:35.200
There's a lot of there's not a lot.
570
00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:39.079
Of you know, direct feedback saying hey, whenever you open
571
00:27:39.119 --> 00:27:41.440
your business, you're going to first start this way.
572
00:27:41.599 --> 00:27:43.720
Depending on your business, you're going to do X, y Z,
573
00:27:45.839 --> 00:27:46.119
do this.
574
00:27:46.279 --> 00:27:47.880
It's going to be a show at least for the
575
00:27:47.880 --> 00:27:49.680
first few years, and you have to be okay with that.
576
00:27:49.799 --> 00:27:53.799
But I also think like finding the people and getting
577
00:27:53.799 --> 00:27:56.359
connected with people that actually know what's going on is
578
00:27:56.440 --> 00:27:59.279
very important too, right, Like, you may be able to
579
00:27:59.319 --> 00:28:01.640
do a great service and a great product. I would
580
00:28:01.640 --> 00:28:03.160
never sit here and be like, oh, let me just
581
00:28:03.200 --> 00:28:05.039
do my own marketing and advertising.
582
00:28:05.079 --> 00:28:07.279
I don't know, crap about marketing.
583
00:28:07.359 --> 00:28:08.240
You go to the expert.
584
00:28:08.319 --> 00:28:09.680
I go to an expert. Yeah.
585
00:28:10.039 --> 00:28:13.440
So, and I think that's, you know, a really important
586
00:28:13.480 --> 00:28:16.759
thing too in starting your business, knowing where your limitations lie.
587
00:28:16.839 --> 00:28:20.920
Well, and I think there's still that age old saying higher, slow,
588
00:28:20.960 --> 00:28:24.799
fire fast. You know. I do think that you will
589
00:28:24.920 --> 00:28:27.519
find that person. There are people out there that will
590
00:28:27.559 --> 00:28:30.759
be so passionate about your business. And I'm very lucky
591
00:28:31.200 --> 00:28:33.440
in my business a kJ marketing group is that I've
592
00:28:33.480 --> 00:28:37.240
found people that actually love this business as much as
593
00:28:37.240 --> 00:28:38.839
I do. And I think that is like worth its
594
00:28:38.839 --> 00:28:42.440
weight in gold completely, you know. And I think with you,
595
00:28:42.440 --> 00:28:44.839
you've kind of gone, you know, it's just part of
596
00:28:44.880 --> 00:28:47.519
being a business owner. You're going to hire people. But
597
00:28:47.599 --> 00:28:50.839
I think maybe just making sure that that person is
598
00:28:50.880 --> 00:28:53.519
the right person for the job. I think we kind
599
00:28:53.559 --> 00:28:55.960
of get our emotional our emotions in play with this
600
00:28:56.279 --> 00:28:59.759
and we hold onto people too long and we realized
601
00:28:59.799 --> 00:29:01.319
later on maybe that wasn't the best pace.
602
00:29:01.400 --> 00:29:03.599
Yeah, yeah, I can't agree with that.
603
00:29:03.799 --> 00:29:06.359
Yeah, And it's really hard because I will tell you
604
00:29:06.440 --> 00:29:09.119
I would not be where I'm at in my business
605
00:29:09.119 --> 00:29:12.119
without my husband and my two employees that I have
606
00:29:12.200 --> 00:29:15.680
right now. Yes, I mean they truly are like when
607
00:29:15.680 --> 00:29:18.720
I say, like the backbone, I have the knowledge and
608
00:29:18.880 --> 00:29:22.240
I have the relationships and stuff like that, but the
609
00:29:22.279 --> 00:29:24.960
admin side, they help me keep up with the bookkeeping.
610
00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:27.200
Like they're both books so all of my like my
611
00:29:27.240 --> 00:29:30.039
two employees are bookkeepers, like they're certified.
612
00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:33.960
But it's it's hard.
613
00:29:34.200 --> 00:29:36.319
It's hard letting go, and it's hard adding to a
614
00:29:36.319 --> 00:29:39.119
team that's already structured. I mean, I've had one employee
615
00:29:39.119 --> 00:29:42.519
for the full three years and then my other one
616
00:29:42.599 --> 00:29:44.680
she just hit two years.
617
00:29:44.920 --> 00:29:49.599
Very timber, so you know my retention, I hold on
618
00:29:49.640 --> 00:29:51.799
to them tight. I do. I don't.
619
00:29:52.079 --> 00:29:54.240
I don't let them go unless like they want to go,
620
00:29:54.799 --> 00:29:56.799
or unless like it just does not make sense.
621
00:29:57.160 --> 00:29:59.000
So tell me, have you ever fired a client?
622
00:29:59.200 --> 00:30:03.119
I have, I have, and it's really hard whenever like
623
00:30:03.200 --> 00:30:05.000
you want to help someone more than they want to
624
00:30:05.039 --> 00:30:12.200
help themselves. I had to fire a physician once, and
625
00:30:12.720 --> 00:30:15.680
it was more in the sense because you know, obviously
626
00:30:15.680 --> 00:30:17.799
I was in the medical industry for a while, so
627
00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:20.519
I have a lot of knowledge in that. She was
628
00:30:20.519 --> 00:30:23.359
probably like one of the first twenty clients I had
629
00:30:23.400 --> 00:30:26.559
probably gotten at that point, and she is a super
630
00:30:26.559 --> 00:30:28.519
sweet woman. I would still talk to her if I
631
00:30:28.559 --> 00:30:32.359
saw on the street till this day, but just the
632
00:30:32.400 --> 00:30:34.960
practices that she was running as far as like the
633
00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:38.960
business side of things, they just weren't.
634
00:30:38.759 --> 00:30:41.240
In line with what should be happening.
635
00:30:42.880 --> 00:30:46.440
And she wasn't giving me the data I needed, right, Like,
636
00:30:46.519 --> 00:30:48.720
I can only work with so much that I receive.
637
00:30:49.799 --> 00:30:52.640
And I also, as you know, I'm very upfront.
638
00:30:52.799 --> 00:30:55.079
What you do is a two way type communication. So
639
00:30:55.119 --> 00:30:57.920
if you're only getting one way, it's just you know,
640
00:30:57.960 --> 00:31:00.000
it's just not a good fit basically.
641
00:30:59.720 --> 00:31:02.079
Right, And that happens, And sometimes I'm not a good fit.
642
00:31:02.319 --> 00:31:05.319
Right. I can be very upfront about certain things, and
643
00:31:05.440 --> 00:31:08.240
some people can get very offended by that. But I
644
00:31:08.279 --> 00:31:12.680
also set the standard of that relationship and that communication
645
00:31:13.319 --> 00:31:16.559
in my consults. I mean, we do an hour consult
646
00:31:16.599 --> 00:31:19.039
for a reason, and it's not only and I do
647
00:31:19.119 --> 00:31:22.279
them like through zoom. I want to see my client's face.
648
00:31:22.319 --> 00:31:24.079
I want them to see my face because if you
649
00:31:24.160 --> 00:31:27.920
get any type of vibe, or if you don't care
650
00:31:27.960 --> 00:31:28.640
for something I.
651
00:31:28.559 --> 00:31:30.559
Say, or if you want to be able to see
652
00:31:30.599 --> 00:31:32.240
facial expressions.
653
00:31:31.720 --> 00:31:32.039
I do.
654
00:31:32.400 --> 00:31:35.880
You know, I read people. I will absolutely read a
655
00:31:35.920 --> 00:31:41.319
situation very quickly. But it's just that really really big
656
00:31:41.319 --> 00:31:44.680
communication factor. And I don't totally believe in vibes, so
657
00:31:45.160 --> 00:31:47.839
if we're just not catching it, then that is what
658
00:31:47.880 --> 00:31:50.519
it is. I think I have one client she wasn't
659
00:31:50.519 --> 00:31:52.839
even actually a full client. It was during a consult.
660
00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:56.079
It was the only time I did not like the
661
00:31:56.200 --> 00:32:00.359
vibe of a consult and she didn't like my vibe either,
662
00:32:00.559 --> 00:32:03.960
and I and I literally spectfully, so respectfully, so we
663
00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:06.440
got thirty minutes into it and it was just a
664
00:32:06.559 --> 00:32:10.920
very abrasive conversation because she just didn't see what I
665
00:32:10.960 --> 00:32:14.559
could give for her, and which fair if you don't
666
00:32:14.599 --> 00:32:17.440
see the value, girl, Like, it's okay, you know what
667
00:32:17.480 --> 00:32:19.319
I mean, that's perfectly fine. But I was like, hey,
668
00:32:19.359 --> 00:32:22.079
I just don't see us working well together, Like, you know,
669
00:32:22.079 --> 00:32:24.359
how do you feel about that? Like I'm not feeling that,
670
00:32:24.440 --> 00:32:26.480
Like you know, you see the value in my service,
671
00:32:26.559 --> 00:32:28.440
and if you don't, that's fine, but like you know,
672
00:32:28.640 --> 00:32:29.480
I want your feedback.
673
00:32:29.519 --> 00:32:31.720
She was like, yeah, I actually completely agree.
674
00:32:31.920 --> 00:32:34.039
Yeah, And I think it's okay business owners to know
675
00:32:34.119 --> 00:32:36.880
that and to have those conversations, have them early, because
676
00:32:37.240 --> 00:32:38.759
nine times out of ten, it probably would be a
677
00:32:38.759 --> 00:32:41.720
problem client. Absolutely if you feel that in the beginning,
678
00:32:42.519 --> 00:32:44.400
you know, make that decision not to go forward.
679
00:32:44.720 --> 00:32:45.920
I even gave her a refund.
680
00:32:46.160 --> 00:32:49.160
Absolutely, I did, because my consults are one twenty five
681
00:32:49.319 --> 00:32:51.119
and for that consult and I did.
682
00:32:51.160 --> 00:32:52.839
I gave her a full refund.
683
00:32:52.880 --> 00:32:55.839
I was like, it just you didn't get any information,
684
00:32:55.920 --> 00:32:58.680
because that's a big thing too, is like maybe I'm
685
00:32:59.119 --> 00:33:03.599
I maybe out of your budget. And that's okay. There
686
00:33:03.640 --> 00:33:07.240
are excellent book keepers out there absolutely that can absolutely
687
00:33:07.279 --> 00:33:14.599
give you information. There's just difference in quality quantity communication.
688
00:33:16.079 --> 00:33:20.720
But regardless, I mean, you know, it's okay. It's okay
689
00:33:20.720 --> 00:33:22.000
to have those tough conversations.
690
00:33:22.359 --> 00:33:25.079
So before we wrap this up, I have two questions
691
00:33:25.119 --> 00:33:28.599
for you. Okay, I like to surprise everybody with this question.
692
00:33:28.680 --> 00:33:30.880
Number one, what is your superpower?
693
00:33:31.480 --> 00:33:32.400
My superpower?
694
00:33:32.440 --> 00:33:35.240
We all have one, entrepreneurs, women, men, like, we all
695
00:33:35.240 --> 00:33:37.119
have a superpower? What's yours? You know what?
696
00:33:37.599 --> 00:33:41.200
I'm going to tell you this because it's related to
697
00:33:41.240 --> 00:33:43.839
my business, but also because I keep track of it
698
00:33:46.039 --> 00:33:50.160
from tax strategizings, like tax strategizing like with my clients
699
00:33:50.200 --> 00:33:54.759
and stuff like that. Even up to yesterday, I am
700
00:33:54.880 --> 00:33:57.480
at in just a year's time for like twenty twenty
701
00:33:57.480 --> 00:34:01.119
four taxes I'm up to four point two three million
702
00:34:01.160 --> 00:34:03.160
dollars in tax savings that I've saved my clients.
703
00:34:03.640 --> 00:34:07.079
So you're the tax saver. I don't know about that
704
00:34:07.799 --> 00:34:10.599
tax saver. Like that's your superpower.
705
00:34:10.719 --> 00:34:13.079
I would definitely say like and and and also let
706
00:34:13.159 --> 00:34:15.559
me also say that does not mean that every client
707
00:34:16.280 --> 00:34:19.320
will be able to have massive tax like tax strategizing
708
00:34:19.360 --> 00:34:22.639
there there does get to a point where we can't
709
00:34:22.679 --> 00:34:26.559
do anything else. We just can't that one of my clients,
710
00:34:26.599 --> 00:34:31.079
we have maxed out all of the strategizings that we
711
00:34:31.119 --> 00:34:34.920
could possibly come up with. But yeah, last night with
712
00:34:35.119 --> 00:34:37.920
my Hong Kong client, we saved her a good amount
713
00:34:37.920 --> 00:34:39.840
of money as well, and I was able to add
714
00:34:39.920 --> 00:34:40.639
that on to it.
715
00:34:40.800 --> 00:34:43.239
So I love super fun, super exciting.
716
00:34:43.280 --> 00:34:45.559
I would say probably like for business, that would be
717
00:34:45.559 --> 00:34:47.039
my superpower, and then for.
718
00:34:47.119 --> 00:34:50.079
Like personal life, because you know, there's a difference.
719
00:34:50.159 --> 00:34:55.519
The absolutely sorry, there's a difference in like business shelby
720
00:34:55.639 --> 00:34:58.960
is completely different than personal shelby. You've seen both sides.
721
00:34:59.000 --> 00:35:01.920
Because in business, I'm very straightforward, I'm very like, this
722
00:35:02.000 --> 00:35:03.559
is just a matter of fact, this is how we
723
00:35:03.639 --> 00:35:04.159
do things.
724
00:35:04.519 --> 00:35:07.440
But on the personal side, I am very roll with
725
00:35:07.519 --> 00:35:07.920
the flow.
726
00:35:09.000 --> 00:35:11.320
I don't like, if you want to go do something,
727
00:35:11.360 --> 00:35:13.559
I'm like, okay, well let's go do it. Not not
728
00:35:13.679 --> 00:35:16.280
much like bothers me. So I guess on the personal side,
729
00:35:16.320 --> 00:35:19.679
it would be like the emotional intelligence, Like I feel
730
00:35:19.719 --> 00:35:24.000
that I have a very good understanding and the emotional
731
00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:25.039
intellect that comes with.
732
00:35:25.119 --> 00:35:27.400
It's very true. Shelby always knows what I'm about to cry.
733
00:35:27.559 --> 00:35:30.880
She can tell or whenever, or whenever you try to
734
00:35:30.920 --> 00:35:33.199
like not talk to me for two months and I'm like, yeah,
735
00:35:33.199 --> 00:35:34.000
that's not gonna happen.
736
00:35:34.440 --> 00:35:37.239
Okay. Second, how do people get in touch with you
737
00:35:37.440 --> 00:35:40.920
if they want to, you know, talk to you, if
738
00:35:40.960 --> 00:35:44.159
they may be needing some help with their business? How
739
00:35:44.199 --> 00:35:45.159
do they get in touch with you?
740
00:35:46.159 --> 00:35:46.840
I do have.
741
00:35:48.440 --> 00:35:53.719
I have a website obviously it's everything like hyphen bookkeeping
742
00:35:53.840 --> 00:35:57.800
dot com that also has a link to like a
743
00:35:57.840 --> 00:36:01.679
Google form that they can fill out. The best way, though,
744
00:36:01.719 --> 00:36:03.920
I would say, I would probably just emailing my assistant,
745
00:36:04.599 --> 00:36:06.559
which is Amber at Amber.
746
00:36:06.920 --> 00:36:08.320
She's great, We'll put that on the screen.
747
00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:13.320
Amber will essentially get the consols set up.
748
00:36:13.960 --> 00:36:15.679
My consults last an hour.
749
00:36:15.920 --> 00:36:18.679
But I also book out probably like at least I'm
750
00:36:18.760 --> 00:36:21.000
usually booked about a month and a half, two months
751
00:36:21.000 --> 00:36:21.559
in advance.
752
00:36:21.599 --> 00:36:23.079
I mean, look how long it took us to get
753
00:36:23.079 --> 00:36:23.440
this book.
754
00:36:23.480 --> 00:36:24.480
Yes, yes, exactly.
755
00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:28.599
So if you need to like November October, yes, so.
756
00:36:28.559 --> 00:36:30.840
If you need help, every anybody who has a business,
757
00:36:30.880 --> 00:36:33.119
you need help with bookkeeping, you need some advice, you
758
00:36:33.159 --> 00:36:36.280
need a consult Shelby is your girl, so just need
759
00:36:36.320 --> 00:36:38.719
to know that. But now I really want to thank
760
00:36:38.760 --> 00:36:40.760
you for being on today. It was a pleasure and
761
00:36:40.800 --> 00:36:43.599
I hope that everybody's listen that's listening. You know, learned
762
00:36:43.639 --> 00:36:45.880
a little bit about Shelby. If you're looking at starting
763
00:36:45.880 --> 00:36:47.840
a business, don't be afraid to do it. We have
764
00:36:47.880 --> 00:36:50.239
a young entrepreneur here and you know.
765
00:36:50.360 --> 00:36:52.000
If it's scary, but don't be too afraid.
766
00:36:52.079 --> 00:36:54.199
Absolutely, and any questions on business, we hope that we
767
00:36:54.199 --> 00:36:55.800
were able to answer that too when it came to
768
00:36:56.320 --> 00:37:00.119
the bookkeeping side. So I appreciate that. Thank you, Thank
769
00:37:00.159 --> 00:37:03.480
you so much, and thank you everybody for joining. If
770
00:37:03.519 --> 00:37:06.320
you want to see this on YouTube, check out our
771
00:37:06.360 --> 00:37:08.599
YouTube channel and we'll be in touch.