Full Transcript for Stop Guessing And Start Running Your Business By The Numbers with Melissa Broughton

for myself, it's like, well, they don't see everything. 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:50.959 I only send them what I need to. 00:04:51.040 --> 00:04:52.480 So will you talk about the differences? 00:04:53.040 --> 00:04:55.199 So that's that's kind of the huge difference. 00:04:55.439 --> 00:05:08.399 You know, the CPA is kind of like walking into a final exam and getting the test put in front of you and then figuring out based upon the test what information they're looking for. 00:05:08.480 --> 00:05:11.040 So maybe it's like an open book test, right? 00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:20.319 And most CPAs, and and I I will say it's a little bit of a discredit to my industry, but most CPAs really are order takers. 00:05:20.480 --> 00:05:24.079 So they send you the information that they need. 00:05:24.480 --> 00:05:36.720 And it's up to you as the business owner, who, you know, you may be in an industry where you have some insight into finance, or you may be in an industry where you don't have any insight. 00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:44.240 And so you go off of these questions that the CPA is asking you, you provide that information to the best of your ability. 00:05:44.399 --> 00:05:50.800 They then take that, they prepare your taxes, and things are uh things are things are done. 00:05:51.120 --> 00:06:06.319 And the bookkeeper is really the one who's behind the scenes, who's doing the the homework or the prep work for you to make sure that when you turn that information over to your CPA or your tax preparer, that nothing is missed. 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:09.839 And that's that's kind of the two big differences. 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:21.360 You know, there are some bookkeepers out there that will um that will really push hard and talk to clients about, you know, what's tax deductible and what's not tax deductible. 00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:32.959 I try to stay away from that unless a client asks for additional insight, but I feel like there's a lot of information overload that small business owners get. 00:06:33.199 --> 00:06:37.120 And I really feel strongly about everybody staying in their correct boxes. 00:06:37.279 --> 00:06:39.439 So those are the two big differences. 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:45.759 Yeah, I would say for myself too, I'm like an oversharer and I'm always afraid I'm gonna get in trouble by the IRS and all the things, right? 00:06:45.839 --> 00:06:49.680 So when I had my CPA, like you said, like I I switched recently. 00:06:49.839 --> 00:06:52.720 So he's been much better for me for sure. 00:06:53.279 --> 00:06:58.560 But the first one I had was like, I didn't know what I was doing, just like you don't know what you don't know. 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:02.800 And I would overshare, like, well, here's I I had a business account separate. 00:07:02.879 --> 00:07:08.000 So I would just send him that whole like, here's my PDF of my American Express, you know, or whatever. 00:07:08.240 --> 00:07:12.000 And I thought that was doing a good job, of course, but I don't think he even cared. 00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:18.399 So like knowing what you're just saying is so important too, is they're not necessarily gonna look at that. 00:07:18.480 --> 00:07:24.800 They're looking at the questions you answer, whereas the bookkeeper is gonna deep dive, go into all the things, make sure you're on the right track. 00:07:25.040 --> 00:07:32.720 And then do you help businesses as well tweak things, or is yours just like get the information and move forward? 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:35.680 Uh, we definitely help businesses tweak things. 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:39.839 And I say that that becomes kind of like uh, oh my gosh, is that a red flag? 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:40.959 Are they breaking rules? 00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:42.319 Are they breaking laws? 00:07:42.560 --> 00:07:50.000 Well, what's interesting is there's certain um conversations that your tax preparer can and can't have with you. 00:07:50.240 --> 00:08:04.560 So if you tell your tax preparer certain things, and I'm certainly not telling anybody out there to hold things back, but if you tell your tax preparers certain things, there's a level of um ethics that they have to follow. 00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:15.920 So if you're um, you know, maybe doing something that's not quite legitimate with your business, there is a potential that they could, you know, that they could report you, I suppose. 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:25.759 I've I've not heard of situations where that's happened, but uh, you know, that it is in their ethics uh kind of training for for their license. 00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:32.399 On the bookkeeping side of things, I think it makes it easier to have somebody that you can have a conversation with. 00:08:32.720 --> 00:08:42.559 So you can, you know, um, one of the conversations that became huge a few years ago was when the meals and entertainment when entertainment went away, right? 00:08:43.200 --> 00:09:06.320 And so if you have a CPA that's looking at it and you have, and I'm generalizing here, but if you have a CPA that's looked at it, and what we heard and saw from clients was that, you know, they had an entertainment line on their books that they had always had, and their CPA uh disallowed it completely. 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:07.360 And why? 00:09:07.519 --> 00:09:09.840 You know, I mean, and in some cases it was huge. 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:18.879 I mean, we we have clients that we see that that um, you know, maybe they have season tickets to a team or they have box seats to a team. 00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:28.000 I mean, you're used to having this deduction that was maybe$40,000 a year, maybe more that you were always able to write off, and now all of a sudden you can't write that off. 00:09:28.159 --> 00:09:30.159 And there's no explanation as to why. 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:38.080 Well, on the bookkeeping side of things, what we can talk about is where that does make sense. 00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:40.159 So, can it make sense as a partnership?

00:09:40.320 --> 00:09:41.600 So that would be advertising. 00:09:41.759 --> 00:09:50.080 Can it make sense as a, you know, um, an office expense because it was team building and you were actually buying meals for the team? 00:09:50.240 --> 00:09:59.120 So there's there's knowledge that we have of the industries that we work with that allow us to be able to educate the client. 00:09:59.360 --> 00:10:07.360 Yeah, I think that's important too, because although there's people who are like, I just want to, you know, write off everything, like you said, everything under the sun. 00:10:07.519 --> 00:10:12.879 There are those who are like, I really did buy these things for my client, for my customer, for my team. 00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:20.480 Um, and to have that conversation and to know the line is so important, but they don't know, you know, if they're just handing in that information, like you said, to CPA. 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:26.399 Yeah, we find more clients are actually um more conservative. 00:10:26.480 --> 00:10:33.600 So clients who come to us on the bookkeeping side of things, clients who come to us that maybe have been doing their bookkeeping in-house. 00:10:33.679 --> 00:10:35.360 So it's a husband and wife team. 00:10:35.519 --> 00:10:39.360 The the wife owns the business, the husband does the books, or vice versa. 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:47.759 You know, I used to use the analogy of the husband owns the business and the wife does the books, but we actually are seeing more and more of a trend where it's kind of flipped. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:55.600 Um, so the wonderful husband's been going along, supporting his wife in her, you know, business of her dreams. 00:10:55.679 --> 00:11:00.639 He's taking care of the back-end administrative kind of stuff, which includes the bookkeeping. 00:11:00.879 --> 00:11:15.840 And then, you know, he realizes that maybe there's things that he doesn't know, or the business just picks up and there's another space for him to uh use his skills better than doing the bookkeeping, and they'll they'll approach us generally at that point. 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:28.480 So we're taking them on as a client, and there's there's so much of an opportunity for education because we see in those cases they're far more conservative than we would be. 00:11:28.639 --> 00:11:33.120 So they're going, if it's questionable, I'm not going to allow it. 00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:36.240 I'm not going to put it on there, and I'm not even going to count it. 00:11:36.399 --> 00:11:40.159 But, you know, there's a lot of things that that really aren't a place of question. 00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:47.519 You know, we see a lot of encouragement that we give to clients for, you know, writing off fuel expenses. 00:11:47.679 --> 00:11:52.480 I mean, we had a we have a lot of clients that are in the real estate space, right? 00:11:52.639 --> 00:12:02.799 And so whether it be property owners or agents themselves, well, if you're driving from property

to property, that's absolutely a legitimate deduction. 00:12:02.879 --> 00:12:06.080 You know, your fuel expenses become a legitimate deduction. 00:12:06.159 --> 00:12:14.240 And so if you're holding back on those because you weren't sure, I mean, that can that can add up incredibly quick. 00:12:14.720 --> 00:12:15.519 So quick, yes. 00:12:15.759 --> 00:12:16.320 So quick. 00:12:16.559 --> 00:12:19.440 Gas is ridiculously expensive. 00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:26.799 It's something that this is nothing to do, this is like a plug for something that I just learned I needed for a long time. 00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:30.320 Uh, I'm a full-time photographer and then my podcast, of course. 00:12:30.639 --> 00:12:37.200 And being a photographer, of course, I have an in-home studio, but I travel to clients within a few hours normally. 00:12:37.519 --> 00:12:41.279 And for a while, you know, you kind of guess like 30 miles. 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:51.919 And then finally I discovered, I know there's tons of different apps, but the one I found immediately like just starts recording as soon as I'm in the car because I would never remember to hit that. 00:12:52.080 --> 00:12:58.080 And so now it's like, oh, I can actually see which ones are business, which ones are personal, because you can, you know, tally them later. 00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:06.480 And that's been such a huge thing for my business too, where it's like, oh, I have data to show what miles and how many miles I was actually using for business. 00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:08.080 Um, yeah, it's crazy. 00:13:08.240 --> 00:13:10.399 I mean, I love those mileage trackers. 00:13:10.480 --> 00:13:12.320 There's quite a few that we recommend. 00:13:12.480 --> 00:13:12.799 Yes. 00:13:13.039 --> 00:13:23.840 And I I, you know, I can't say that one is better than the other, but anyone that you can have whereas you can just push the button and maybe enter some notes in so you have it for reference of where you went. 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:34.879 You know, I can imagine as a photographer, as a real estate agent, as anybody who's going multiple places in a day, it becomes incredibly difficult to just to remember. 00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:42.879 I mean, the the the the advice that we used to give was to tell people to uh you know keep a notebook in their car. 00:13:43.200 --> 00:13:48.480 And I but you know, it's a great idea, but again, right, it's not happening. 00:13:48.639 --> 00:13:51.759 Like you forget, and so you're missing out on those deductions. 00:13:51.840 --> 00:13:54.639 So, yeah, any of those mileage trackers out there are fantastic. 00:13:54.799 --> 00:13:55.600 Yes, I've loved it. 00:13:55.679 --> 00:13:58.080 I pay for the upgrade, so it automatically counts it. 00:13:58.159 --> 00:14:00.720 I can look, see the map, and be like, business, not business. 00:14:00.799 --> 00:14:01.600 Like it's wonderful. 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:03.679 So highly recommend to those listening for sure. 00:14:04.080 --> 00:14:05.360 Not a little easier. 00:14:05.679 --> 00:14:06.080 Yes. 00:14:06.399 --> 00:14:21.360 And just thinking about if you you've seen so many CEOs, founders, all the things, entrepreneurs, if you could force a startup to look at even one or two metrics every morning instead of social media stats that would help their business. 00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:24.799 Is there anything that you would suggest those entrepreneurs to look at? 00:14:25.120 --> 00:14:34.480 You know, the first thing that I would recommend, a lot of people, especially startups, take this kind of, they bury their head in the sands approach as far as their money goes. 00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:39.519 I think there's something so important about looking at your bank account every day. 00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:43.120 I I don't, I really don't care the size of your business. 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:50.240 I I think being in touch with being in touch with your numbers and doing that on a daily basis. 00:14:50.320 --> 00:14:55.360 I mean, that may sound like kind of a dumb piece of advice, but it's it's huge. 00:14:55.519 --> 00:15:00.240 You know, you can see, you know, kind of an idea of what expenses should have gone out. 00:15:00.320 --> 00:15:15.440 You'll be able to catch things that maybe shouldn't have gone out, or things where um you just were surprised by, you'll be able to catch those a little bit faster if you're if you're checking your your balances on a you know on a on a daily basis. 00:15:15.679 --> 00:15:23.279 The second piece is that I would recommend finding a bookkeeper who can provide you with some metrics for your business. 00:15:23.440 --> 00:15:27.600 And I say that because it's very different from business to business. 00:15:27.840 --> 00:15:38.159 So we've got, we, we had um, when we kind of first dipped our toes into specializing working with real estate agents, and I love working with real estate agents. 00:15:38.480 --> 00:15:48.879 One of the things that we noticed was that we had a few agents that were clients that were all in the, you know, earning multi-million dollars a year in commissions. 00:15:49.039 --> 00:15:50.799 And so what were they doing? 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:57.519 You know, it's kind of like what's the skinny cute girl doing to kind of jump and learn the tricks, right? 00:15:57.679 --> 00:16:01.840 So what were they doing that was allowing them to be successful? 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:05.519 And there was, you know, there was a formula that we were able to find. 00:16:05.679 --> 00:16:12.320 So there was a formula where they were spending probably 40% of their revenue on advertising. 00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:15.039 Well, if I and marketing, right? 00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:17.759 But that's what it takes to be at the top. 00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:23.919 And when they consistently invested that, they were seeing the results that they wanted to see. 00:16:24.159 --> 00:16:30.799 So obviously, a plumber is not going to be investing quite as much

in their advertising and marketing, right? 00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:39.840 So there's I I would recommend them finding a bookkeeper that can provide them with some metrics that they can use to check in with their business. 00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:48.639 Now, if you're using those kinds of metrics, that's more of something you're looking at on a monthly basis versus a daily basis. 00:16:48.799 --> 00:16:54.240 So on the daily basis, I say check your, you know, check your bank accounts regularly. 00:16:54.480 --> 00:17:00.000 On a monthly basis, though, is find those, find those metrics that that work for your business. 00:17:00.240 --> 00:17:06.000 And in in most cases, your bookkeeper is going to be the one that can help you to figure out what those metrics are. 00:17:06.240 --> 00:17:08.160 Yeah, there's a couple things that came up for me. 00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:13.680 And one of them was, you know, it might sound silly when there's not any money coming in or out of those business accounts. 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:17.039 But I actually did the same thing when I was first starting. 00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:20.559 I started talking to people in finance, like, oh, what can I do with my money? 00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:25.440 And she went through things with me and she's like, it's great that you're doing this, but you like have no money to work with right now. 00:17:25.519 --> 00:17:26.880 So please come back to me, you know. 00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:27.759 But it was so good. 00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:31.119 It was like, even before there was money, it's like, what do I want to do with that money? 00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:31.920 Where do I want it? 00:17:32.160 --> 00:17:34.400 Where do I want to see it go and grow? 00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:39.359 Um, and so that just kind of set me on the path of how to start building the money after it's coming in. 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:40.640 So I think it's so important. 00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:45.519 The other thing you said was that 40%, which that's incredible to be able to see those metrics. 00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:51.039 And especially for real real estate agents, just like photographers, you throw a rock, you can hit like 10 of them. 00:17:51.279 --> 00:18:01.039 And so to know that marketing um is so important in that line of business to be seen, to be known, and to be at the top is is great. 00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:03.680 I love that you are able to give that to them. 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:06.880 Yeah, and you can use, you know, chat GPT. 00:18:07.039 --> 00:18:14.559 I I AI is kind of a love-hate relationship for me, but there is a lot of information that can be found out there. 00:18:14.640 --> 00:18:22.240 And if you, you know, if you're a business owner um and you're curious, you can go to Chat GPT and you can type in. 00:18:22.319 --> 00:18:24.799 Watch, I'm gonna have Chat GPT popping up all day. 00:18:25.039 --> 00:18:27.200 Probably, yes, right, because I've mentioned it before. 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:28.640 Yes, if you need me. 00:18:28.799 --> 00:18:38.319 Um, but you can type into Chat GPT what are metrics that I should be paying attention to as a, you know, so for you it'd be as a photographer. 00:18:38.480 --> 00:18:42.880 And there will be some excellent advice and some excellent insight that comes up. 00:18:43.039 --> 00:18:54.799 Now it is AI, so take it with uh, I'll say take it with a grain of salt, but that can kind of provide you with some insight on things that you should be, you know, paying attention to. 00:18:54.960 --> 00:19:12.720 You know, of course, the big thing is what your costs are, what those those subscriptions are that you um that you signed up for for your business that you know was maybe$10 here,$20 there, you know, little bits, the everybody loves the$995 special, right? 00:19:12.960 --> 00:19:15.839 But those amounts start to add up. 00:19:16.160 --> 00:19:31.599 So, you know, a tactic that we'll use for clients is we'll take all of those recurring um expenses and we'll put those into dues and subscriptions throughout the year, and then we'll move them out into the category that they really fall into. 00:19:31.680 --> 00:19:36.640 So maybe it's you know office supplies and software, or maybe it's advertising and marketing. 00:19:36.799 --> 00:19:44.240 But if you can see on a monthly basis what you're spending on dues and subscriptions, it makes it two things. 00:19:44.400 --> 00:19:51.920 It makes it easy for you to see it just like one look, what is going out on a recurring basis every month. 00:19:52.079 --> 00:20:02.559 Uh, but it also gives you one bucket to look at to kind of, you know, on a quarterly basis, I say review it and say, hey, am I still getting value from this, you know,$9 item? 00:20:02.640 --> 00:20:06.000 Or am I still getting value from this$25 item? 00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:11.119 And those subscriptions, you know, you sometimes the prices creep up. 00:20:11.279 --> 00:20:16.480 So we have uh we have a software program that we use for all of our project management stuff. 00:20:16.720 --> 00:20:18.960 When we first started, it was free. 00:20:19.200 --> 00:20:22.319 But as you add users, of course, the cost goes up. 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:26.400 And the cost now is it costs us$600 a month. 00:20:26.559 --> 00:20:29.839 Now, as a firm, we couldn't live without this software. 00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:32.640 And I'm not going to do a shout-out for the software or anything like that. 00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:34.720 It runs our whole business, right? 00:20:35.119 --> 00:20:41.680 But I also think it's important to be aware that that costs us$600 a month. 00:20:41.759 --> 00:20:45.279 And do we still get a$600 a month value out of it? 00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:45.680 Yeah. 00:20:45.920 --> 00:20:50.079 I think that's important for even personal things because I think so many things are subscriptions. 00:20:50.160 --> 00:20:55.119 I remember so many of my programs used to be like buy$200 and you get it for X

amount of years. 00:20:55.200 --> 00:21:00.480 And now it's like, nope, everything's turned to subscription, which I understand there's positives to that. 00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:03.599 But soon, I and I wish I knew the stats on this. 00:21:03.680 --> 00:21:07.839 I think there's like you think you have nine of them and you really have like 22. 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:12.720 And so because they're those small amounts, you're not always checking them and seeing like, do I still need this? 00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:13.200 Use this. 00:21:13.279 --> 00:21:14.319 Is it is there value? 00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:16.480 So looking at those subscriptions can be huge. 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:18.160 Guys on that, it can be huge. 00:21:18.319 --> 00:21:33.119 You know, we we will have uh, I mean, there's so many different things that we do as bookkeepers for our clients, but we will have clients that reach out to us and they are um, they're just not making it like their business is no longer making sense. 00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:48.799 So it becomes a conversation of I either need to figure out a way to, not me, but them, they need to figure out a way to either uh reduce their expenses or bring, you know, bring more money and charge their clients more. 00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:53.519 And so we we will have the conversation about is it reasonable to charge your clients more? 00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:58.880 You know, based upon what you're spending every month, you'd have to increase your prices by X amount. 00:21:58.960 --> 00:21:59.759 It's a pretty easy approach. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:01.440 Equation to come up with. 00:22:01.599 --> 00:22:06.160 In most cases, so I had a client that I talked to yesterday. 00:22:06.559 --> 00:22:19.599 It was yesterday morning, so it feels like it was a million years ago, but I talked to yesterday, and he said, you know, he's a local landscaping company, and his costs have just gone through the roof. 00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:23.839 And he's looking at it and he's going, okay, I just need to bring more money in. 00:22:23.920 --> 00:22:24.720 I want to make more money. 00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:28.559 And he was really focused on the bring more money and make more money. 00:22:28.880 --> 00:22:40.400 And so we we looked at his numbers and no, it was about a 40% increase that he would have needed to make on his pricing if he kept his current clients. 00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:47.759 And what he was saying to me was that there's no, there's no space for them to add more clients. 00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:49.920 So that means, you know, raising prices. 00:22:50.160 --> 00:22:51.519 Well, that's not reasonable. 00:22:51.680 --> 00:22:54.480 Okay, so for most people it's not. 00:22:55.440 --> 00:22:56.240 That's fine. 00:22:56.319 --> 00:22:58.480 That's a there's no wrong answers in this space. 00:22:58.640 --> 00:23:09.920 So then we started to look at his expenses, and there were, you know, there were about$20,000 of expenses that we were able to find that were either redundant. 00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:18.160 So he had two or three things that accomplished the same thing for him, or really those dues and subscriptions that he had forgotten about. 00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:30.559 So one of the things that I love to recommend either uh to prospective clients that we offer or for the bookkeepers that I train, I recommend them offering this is a QuickBooks inspection. 00:23:31.039 --> 00:23:40.799 And what that means is you, as the bookkeeper, are going into somebody's QuickBooks file and you're running, you know, you're essentially running reports and comparing them to some metrics. 00:23:40.960 --> 00:24:01.920 And I'm not going to bore everybody with the details of that, but you're comparing them to some metrics and you're looking at it and you're saying, hey, here's, you know, here's some potential waste, or here's where um average businesses in your industry are are performing, or, you know, there's just insight that we're that we're able to get as far as that goes. 00:24:02.079 --> 00:24:17.519 But the biggest reason is to show those what we call profit leaks, where there's money that you're just, you know, you're just putting things out and you're not really getting anything as far as a return on on what you're spending money on. 00:24:19.839 --> 00:24:23.519 Are you ready to streamline your business and elevate your client experience? 00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:29.599 I have been using Honeybook for over two and a half years, and it transforms the way I work. 00:24:29.920 --> 00:24:34.559 With Honeybook, you can manage all your projects from start to finish, all in one place. 00:24:34.799 --> 00:24:39.519 In fact, this is how I scheduled these podcast episodes today. 00:24:39.759 --> 00:24:42.640 Say goodbye to scattered emails and unorganized files. 00:24:42.720 --> 00:24:51.599 With its user-friendly interface, Honeybook allows you to create professional proposals, contracts, and invoices that impress clients and make you stand out in your field. 00:24:51.839 --> 00:24:58.400 Automate your workflows and spend less time on tasks, freeing up time to focus on what you do best. 00:24:58.640 --> 00:25:07.440 Honeybook's client management tools help you keep communication clear and consistent, ensuring that every client feels valued, informed through the entire process. 00:25:07.599 --> 00:25:14.000 Plus, with the ability to accept online payments, you get paid faster and more securely. 00:25:14.319 --> 00:25:19.039 Right now you can get 30% off with my discount code. 00:25:19.200 --> 00:25:24.480 You simply just go to share.honeybook.com forward slash shaunastar. 00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:27.200 That's S H A N N A S T A R. 00:25:27.359 --> 00:25:29.039 It will also be in the notes for you. 00:25:29.279 --> 00:25:32.079 I love Honeybook and can't wait for you to use it too. 00:25:32.400 --> 00:25:36.319 Maybe what we can eliminate, and we've already talked about like the leaks and subscriptions.

00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:42.960 Are there any other things that you see where you're like, okay, these are some things that I see people waste money on, maybe is a better way to say that. 00:25:43.039 --> 00:25:47.839 I know that's so broad because every business is very different, but do you see some redundant ones as well? 00:25:48.079 --> 00:25:49.759 Well, it's broad and it's not. 00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:53.119 So duplicate subscriptions for the same company. 00:25:53.279 --> 00:26:00.240 So we did an assessment um last week and they had nine Zoom subscriptions that they were paying for every month. 00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:01.680 Oh my gosh. 00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:06.960 But when they were looking at it, what they were seeing was Zoom. 00:26:07.279 --> 00:26:09.119 Okay, yeah, we have a Zoom subscription. 00:26:09.200 --> 00:26:14.160 You know, she would she would look at her account every couple of weeks, she would see Zoom, it would pop up. 00:26:14.319 --> 00:26:16.000 You're busy as a business owner. 00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:20.319 And so it didn't, she didn't notice that she had that many. 00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:24.880 And of course, when you see duplicates on that, there's generally duplicates on on other things. 00:26:25.039 --> 00:26:31.119 So true duplicates where you're paying for subscriptions from the same company multiple times. 00:26:31.359 --> 00:26:33.759 Um that that's huge. 00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:40.240 And in the case when that happens, uh I'll say that usually you can reach out to that company. 00:26:40.400 --> 00:26:48.160 So she was able to reach out to Zoom and say, hey, you know, I and I always say, be nice, you're asking them to do something for you. 00:26:48.559 --> 00:26:52.720 But she was able to reach out to Zoom and say, hey, I don't know how I did this. 00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:58.720 I somehow signed up for nine subscriptions with you, and I just need one. 00:26:59.119 --> 00:27:05.519 And so they actually refunded her um uh quite a lot of money. 00:27:05.759 --> 00:27:08.400 Well, good, I'm surprised, but that's wonderful. 00:27:08.559 --> 00:27:14.960 That's you know, there's there's a lot of companies out there that I would say are are trying to do good. 00:27:15.039 --> 00:27:21.440 They don't want to, you know, they don't want to burn their customers, they they want to take care of their customers. 00:27:21.599 --> 00:27:26.559 So if you notice something like that where it's truly a duplicate, um, reach out and ask. 00:27:26.720 --> 00:27:28.960 You know, don't don't be afraid to reach out and ask. 00:27:29.039 --> 00:27:34.400 And certainly don't just let it go and and think, oh, I'll, you know, I'll deal with it later. 00:27:34.880 --> 00:27:35.119 Yeah. 00:27:35.599 --> 00:27:35.920 No. 00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:41.759 One I see duplicates for, even for personal people talking about it, is like anything Apple subscription. 00:27:41.920 --> 00:27:54.799 But the problem is, is we pay like, I don't know, maybe Apple

Music, and then you have storage and you so there are multiple, and those ones where you have multiple from a brand is difficult because you're like, oh, it's just another$3.99. 00:27:54.880 --> 00:28:03.359 And so, really, like you said, taking the time and digging into are these actually duplicates or are these different payment methods or different things that I added on to that subscription? 00:28:03.440 --> 00:28:06.799 Uh, I'm gonna go do that now and make sure I'm pretty good at it. 00:28:06.960 --> 00:28:09.039 Now I'm like, oh gosh, what if it's not been good enough? 00:28:09.119 --> 00:28:10.640 So now I'm gonna go check for sure. 00:28:10.880 --> 00:28:26.480 But if it prompts you to, you know, go into your phone, log into your Apple ID, see what it is that you're paying for, and look at, hey, am I really still getting value from these 10 different subscriptions? 00:28:26.799 --> 00:28:31.359 Uh, then I think you're you're making some good steps forward. 00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:31.920 Yes. 00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:32.319 Yeah. 00:28:32.400 --> 00:28:39.759 I, you know, every year when it comes to tax time, I re I actually like write out all my personal subscriptions and all my business ones. 00:28:39.839 --> 00:28:48.319 And I go through just because I'm like, how much money is going out every month that makes me have to make more money, which is always good to reevaluate anyway. 00:28:48.480 --> 00:28:49.759 So, but it's interesting. 00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:52.880 Well, that you know what, that that brings an interesting point. 00:28:53.039 --> 00:28:58.480 So, you know, I would say the first thing for them to look at as far as metrics would be their bank balance on a daily basis. 00:28:58.640 --> 00:28:59.680 And it doesn't take long. 00:28:59.759 --> 00:29:03.599 I mean, you we all have our phones, log in, look at your bank balance. 00:29:03.759 --> 00:29:04.799 Does that seem right? 00:29:04.960 --> 00:29:06.240 Okay, move forward. 00:29:06.480 --> 00:29:07.440 Does that seem wrong? 00:29:07.599 --> 00:29:09.440 Maybe investigate a little bit further. 00:29:09.680 --> 00:29:22.480 But the second thing besides those subscriptions, subscriptions I would say look at, but you know, the the second thing to look at would be um what their overall, we call it burn rate. 00:29:22.640 --> 00:29:25.519 So my background is corporate America, right? 00:29:25.680 --> 00:29:33.039 Corporate America is guided by budgets, corporate America is by guided by lots of meetings, maybe wasteful, maybe not wasteful. 00:29:33.440 --> 00:29:46.160 But but having those budgets allows you to have kind of a like a guide or a grid to compare what you're actually spending money on on a on a monthly basis. 00:29:46.240 --> 00:29:50.000 So having a budget in place is not a is not a bad thing. 00:29:50.160 --> 00:29:55.920 Uh, but I think it's important for business owners to understand what their burn rate is on a monthly basis. 00:29:56.079 --> 00:30:02.079 And by that, I mean how much money is it costing me to run my business on a monthly basis? 00:30:02.240 --> 00:30:07.920 How much money do I have to bring in to, you know, to support my business? 00:30:08.240 --> 00:30:20.559 And I think if that equation can be worked from the perspective of, as a business owner, I want to bring in in my pocket personally X amount. 00:30:20.799 --> 00:30:25.759 I know my business expenses are this much, and run it lean. 00:30:25.920 --> 00:30:27.920 There's there's pay yourself first. 00:30:28.000 --> 00:30:30.000 I'm a huge fan of pay yourself first. 00:30:30.160 --> 00:30:36.240 Your business should not feel like, you know, a hobby because it's not bringing in money for you. 00:30:36.400 --> 00:30:56.240 So figure figure out at the top what you want to bring in personally, then look at your expenses and determine what your burn rate is on a monthly basis so you can look at what actually does need to come in as a minimum for your business income-wise to give you the life that you're looking for from the business that you love so much. 00:30:56.480 --> 00:30:57.359 I think that's wonderful. 00:30:57.440 --> 00:30:59.519 You've given so many like tips and tricks already. 00:30:59.599 --> 00:31:00.559 I'm so excited about that. 00:31:00.640 --> 00:31:04.799 And I do want you to talk about your background a little bit because we keep kind of touching on it. 00:31:05.119 --> 00:31:17.440 But I know you said in a few other view interviews that I listened to that your business grew too fast when you weren't working like in the business, you were going out to network and meet people, and those are wonderful things to do, of course. 00:31:17.680 --> 00:31:24.160 And the first month you said you had 26 clients, but there was no processes to kind of go with that. 00:31:24.640 --> 00:31:30.000 And then if you were gonna do it more than once, you started to document it and set it up as an automation. 00:31:30.160 --> 00:31:32.480 Will you talk about all of that a little bit more? 00:31:32.880 --> 00:31:33.200 Sure. 00:31:33.440 --> 00:31:36.160 So I, you know, I left my job. 00:31:36.319 --> 00:31:42.000 I won't even go into because anybody who's listened to podcasts can kind of hear the the awful journey. 00:31:42.079 --> 00:31:46.480 That it's definitely my kids call it cringe, but um I cringe all the time. 00:31:46.559 --> 00:31:46.880 It's fine. 00:31:46.960 --> 00:31:51.839 Yeah, that's I left corporate America because I missed my kids. 00:31:52.160 --> 00:32:01.359 I then um fell and broke my jaw and was, you know, had this, I was running, it was this horrible accident. 00:32:01.519 --> 00:32:09.200 It gave me um it gave me time to really think about and kind of plan what I wanted as far as a business. 00:32:09.359 --> 00:32:25.599 And then when I finally was able to get out there, I was so like geared up and revved up with energy and so excited to finally start it that I really just took off and knew that like I wrote out a

daily plan for myself. 00:32:25.839 --> 00:32:30.880 So um I knew that I had to accomplish whatever it was on a monthly basis. 00:32:30.960 --> 00:32:37.119 And so I mapped it out on a calendar of what needed to happen on what days and went forth and did it. 00:32:37.599 --> 00:32:42.720 And what I knew was that I couldn't keep my bookkeeping business a secret, right? 00:32:42.799 --> 00:32:46.960 So networking events are a great way to get out there, give cards out there. 00:32:47.200 --> 00:32:55.599 My objective at the time, I think, was either to get 250 or 500 cards out on a weekly basis. 00:32:55.920 --> 00:32:58.240 So I went to everything. 00:32:58.400 --> 00:33:04.640 And what started to happen probably about two weeks in was that the momentum kind of started to catch up. 00:33:04.880 --> 00:33:05.519 That's incredible. 00:33:05.680 --> 00:33:10.799 I mean, it was it was it was overwhelming, but that's incredible speed to build a business. 00:33:10.880 --> 00:33:11.440 So yeah. 00:33:11.680 --> 00:33:12.000 Yeah. 00:33:12.079 --> 00:33:23.279 So, you know, there's there's a lot to be said for determination and having there be um the thought in my mind was that this is the failure, is not an option. 00:33:23.359 --> 00:33:28.400 So it wasn't an option to me to have kind of one foot in, one foot out. 00:33:28.640 --> 00:33:36.720 I knew that I had this moment where I, you know, I would be able to start a business. 00:33:36.880 --> 00:33:48.240 I knew that if I went out there and found a job with another company that it would delay my dreams of starting a business probably, probably indefinitely. 00:33:48.480 --> 00:33:56.000 And so it was really this is the opportunity, and it couldn't be something that was this long drawn out, you know, long drawn out thing. 00:33:56.079 --> 00:34:01.839 I mean, we on the personal side of things, we just sent our youngest son off to college. 00:34:02.559 --> 00:34:10.559 And it's it's it's a very exciting time, but we made jokes about it being the long goodbye. 00:34:10.639 --> 00:34:14.960 Like a month before he left, we did his farewell party. 00:34:15.039 --> 00:34:16.320 And so we had that goodbye. 00:34:16.400 --> 00:34:25.840 And then we had, you know, another um lunch with friends, and then we had a dinner with some of his friends, and it became this really long drawn-out goodbye. 00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:32.960 And by the time we left, I think we were so relieved to not have any more parties or things like that to go to. 00:34:33.199 --> 00:34:46.480 But I say that in comparison to bookkeepers who have been thinking about starting a bookkeeping business or have maybe one or two clients and they're thinking about growing their business. 00:34:46.719 --> 00:34:49.679 Don't spend too much time in that thinking spot. 00:34:49.920 --> 00:34:54.719 Do something every day that pushes your business forward. 00:34:54.880 --> 00:34:58.800 And there's, you know, there's tons of resources for ideas out there. 00:34:59.039 --> 00:35:02.480 We've got lots of resources for ideas in our school community. 00:35:02.719 --> 00:35:05.599 See, there's a little plug there for a free school community, right? 00:35:05.840 --> 00:35:19.119 Lots of resources out there for things that you can do, but commit, even on the weekends, commit to doing something every day to move your business forward and take a look at what it looks like. 00:35:19.199 --> 00:35:22.880 You know, commit to it to start with, commit to it for a week. 00:35:23.360 --> 00:35:24.639 Look at what has happened. 00:35:24.800 --> 00:35:25.840 Do you have any momentum? 00:35:26.000 --> 00:35:28.239 Is anything started to happen in a week? 00:35:28.480 --> 00:35:29.280 Probably not. 00:35:29.440 --> 00:35:32.559 But do it for two weeks, you'll start to see some momentum. 00:35:32.719 --> 00:35:34.559 Do it for three weeks, more momentum. 00:35:34.639 --> 00:35:50.639 And really, if you stay in that, we call it the build phase, if you stay in that build phase and are consistent in that build phase for a month, you'll have amazing results that you see as far as your business goes. 00:35:50.800 --> 00:35:59.280 Rather than just feeling like you're exhausted because you're always thinking about your business and you're not actually doing anything to, you know, make forward action. 00:35:59.599 --> 00:36:00.239 I agree. 00:36:00.400 --> 00:36:02.159 It's something that I've been talking about. 00:36:02.239 --> 00:36:05.920 A lot of episodes have been around networking in person. 00:36:06.320 --> 00:36:10.159 And depending on the business, maybe it will grow quickly like yours. 00:36:10.239 --> 00:36:21.199 And then there's some where like they don't need a photographer, they're not gonna purchase or buy from me for a while, but mine needs more of that like trust factor and stocking factor, usually for a little while, which is totally fine. 00:36:21.280 --> 00:36:31.360 But I just say that because every business that wants to grow, being at those in-person networks can like 10x it so much more quickly. 00:36:31.599 --> 00:36:36.000 I know we think of online and there's ways to advertise and market online, and they're wonderful. 00:36:36.320 --> 00:36:47.119 But I've met some of the most fabulous people at those in-person events where you can have an actual conversation that's candid and you move faster with them a little more quickly. 00:36:47.280 --> 00:36:49.679 Uh it's absolutely true. 00:36:49.840 --> 00:36:53.599 And I think it's truer now than it's ever been. 00:36:54.000 --> 00:36:57.360 I will tell you, I am not a fan of online networking. 00:36:57.519 --> 00:36:59.679 I'm not a fan of free networking events. 00:36:59.840 --> 00:37:08.480 I think there is a value in you get what you pay for as far as you have quality people that are showing up. 00:37:08.639 --> 00:37:12.639 Now, does that mean you need to go out there and spend a bazillion dollars on networking? 00:37:12.960 --> 00:37:23.199 No, but

I think, you know, I think the first thing as a new business owner that you should definitely look into is uh paid networking group. 00:37:23.440 --> 00:37:38.000 So whether that be uh your local chamber of commerce, because you're paying for your chamber membership uh and they have events, you know, look into that, but make sure then that you follow through and you make the most out of that membership. 00:37:38.159 --> 00:37:46.800 So you go to, you know, maybe the first month, you go to every single event that they offer and you figure out where your where your people are. 00:37:47.199 --> 00:37:52.800 You know, if you're if you end up at the uh what was what was one that one of my girls ended up at with? 00:37:52.960 --> 00:37:58.960 It was like building and uh permitting and planning. 00:37:59.679 --> 00:38:01.519 And she was it was really boring. 00:38:01.599 --> 00:38:03.679 And I went, yeah, your people are not there. 00:38:03.840 --> 00:38:04.239 They're not there. 00:38:05.280 --> 00:38:07.760 She goes, I learned a lot about sidewalks, though. 00:38:07.840 --> 00:38:09.440 I'm like, okay, well, there we go. 00:38:09.840 --> 00:38:16.320 You know, always opportunity, but find a networking group um that you can go to regularly. 00:38:16.559 --> 00:38:28.320 Uh, but you know, in-person networking events are huge when we have so many people that are kind of hiding behind their uh their computer screens that don't want to get out there. 00:38:28.559 --> 00:38:35.519 If you have the ability to get out there, even if you're kind of shy, push yourself and get out there. 00:38:35.840 --> 00:38:36.320 I agree. 00:38:36.480 --> 00:38:41.280 So something I was figuring out too is like I used to get hired to shoot at different networking events. 00:38:41.519 --> 00:38:45.119 Most of them weren't my kind of networking events, but they were still like free to me. 00:38:45.280 --> 00:38:46.239 In fact, I'm getting paid. 00:38:46.400 --> 00:38:58.800 So it was always good to just go to whatever you can kind of see, because then as I started going to them, then I knew what right rooms to get into and what right rooms look like for me because they're different for every person and business. 00:38:59.039 --> 00:39:09.039 And as I started to now go into ones where it does cost to go travel, be in, those are the ones where I'm making connections that are already lasting, that are following up. 00:39:09.199 --> 00:39:14.239 And if you don't know of that many, going to one that you pay for, you hear about all these other ones. 00:39:14.559 --> 00:39:20.960 So as soon as you go to one that you've maybe invested in, then all of a sudden they can tell you about more as well. 00:39:21.119 --> 00:39:30.239 And so just putting your foot in the water just a little bit is gonna be so helpful because I've already now connected with so many women just through those networking events. 00:39:30.800 --> 00:39:36.320 So, you know, here's uh as a bookkeeper, as a math nerd, I'll say this. 00:39:36.400 --> 00:39:44.400 And I I will tell you also, I'm horrible at math, but I'm really good at spreadsheets and I can use a compute uh calculator like the best of them, right? 00:39:44.639 --> 00:39:48.400 So there truly are calculations for everything. 00:39:48.559 --> 00:40:02.639 And as you're ramping up and starting your business, if you look at it from a perspective, and I hope this comes across and makes sense, if you look at it from the perspective of I know how many clients I want to bring in. 00:40:02.800 --> 00:40:05.679 So for a bookkeeper, we use the number of 25. 00:40:05.840 --> 00:40:15.599 25 is kind of that sweet spot where if you have 25 clients that you're working with on a monthly basis, that truly is a full-time six-figure a year income for you. 00:40:16.480 --> 00:40:20.800 And as you're building up to that 25, you've got two choices. 00:40:21.039 --> 00:40:34.400 You are either working on your business, so you're marketing and you're promoting yourself and you're advertising and you're doing all of those things, or you're working in your business and you're working on client files. 00:40:34.559 --> 00:40:41.920 Well, when you have no clients, then 100% of your time for your business is marketing. 00:40:42.239 --> 00:40:49.599 And if you divide 100, because 100 would be the full pie, if you divide it by your total number of clients. 00:40:49.760 --> 00:41:01.760 So in this case, for us it would be we'd be dividing it by 25, then you can slowly work away the percentage of your time that should be spent marketing and should be spent on client work, right? 00:41:02.000 --> 00:41:04.480 So it does that, is that making sense? 00:41:04.639 --> 00:41:05.280 Yeah, perfect. 00:41:06.159 --> 00:41:08.800 So it really, it just really works. 00:41:08.960 --> 00:41:12.079 It's it's it's wild how it works. 00:41:12.320 --> 00:41:27.760 But if you're slowly then backing off of your marketing efforts, your in-person marketing efforts, not I'm not talking about if you're doing paid ads or anything like that, but your in-person marketing efforts and you look at, okay, I have 20 hours a week to work in my business. 00:41:28.079 --> 00:41:30.960 I have, you know, one client. 00:41:31.199 --> 00:41:40.320 Well, then you know that your one client, you get to allocate whatever that percentage of 25 is towards working on the client. 00:41:40.559 --> 00:41:45.519 The rest of your time should be going out there and getting yourself out there. 00:41:45.679 --> 00:41:49.679 And that leaves a lot of time to go out there and get yourself out there. 00:41:49.840 --> 00:41:53.199 And it drops off as you start to bring more clients in. 00:41:53.360 --> 00:41:53.599 Right. 00:41:53.920 --> 00:42:04.800 So if we treat our businesses like businesses and not hobbies or not optional, the results are well, what a business should give us. 00:42:04.880 --> 00:42:07.199 They they bring in money, they support our families. 00:42:07.280 -->

00:42:15.760 But if we treat it like a hobby or like optional, then um then you know it it will stay a hobby and it will stay a wish and a thought. 00:42:16.239 --> 00:42:22.159 Yeah, I it's such a good reminder to think about your business that way, that it can be that simplistic. 00:42:22.320 --> 00:42:28.000 Because I know as a photographer, when you first start, you're just like, yay, it's creative, and you know, you don't want to do the business part. 00:42:28.079 --> 00:42:29.679 And then I've been in it 16 years. 00:42:29.760 --> 00:42:33.599 So after a few years, you're like, no, this is a business that needs to be run like a business, like you said. 00:42:33.840 --> 00:42:41.679 And so for me, I've calculated how many clients I need per month in order for me to pay my bills and still feel comfy, right? 00:42:41.760 --> 00:42:42.960 And of course, there's wiggle room. 00:42:43.039 --> 00:42:49.440 Sometimes clients pay more, they purchase more, whatever that is, but you have your X amount, and it really can be that simple. 00:42:49.519 --> 00:42:53.440 And then it's like, okay, this is a slower month because of whatever. 00:42:53.679 --> 00:42:56.880 And that means, like you said, I need to allocate more time. 00:42:57.039 --> 00:43:17.039 And I don't know if this is still true, but I have heard in the past from a lot of different people online that it's like if you look back your business right now as you've started, it's not like a new business, but as you're growing, you could look back three months ago and where your business is at now for advertising, like now it's showing what you've been doing three months ago. 00:43:17.679 --> 00:43:18.400 Oh, absolutely. 00:43:18.480 --> 00:43:22.639 I've never heard that, but I think that's absolutely, absolutely true. 00:43:23.119 --> 00:43:29.599 Um, it it's funny because I have a friend who uh he's a scientist, he's like super smart, right? 00:43:29.760 --> 00:43:30.639 Super smart. 00:43:30.880 --> 00:43:35.760 And although not super smart because he just turned 50 and he decided it would be fun to have a baby. 00:43:35.840 --> 00:43:49.920 So I'm like, maybe you're not as smart as I thought you were, but super smart in the way that um he does all of this stuff where he's studying on, you know, how bodies work and how we lose weight. 00:43:50.000 --> 00:43:53.599 And I'm going, okay, you know, I'll take some tips and tricks from you. 00:43:53.840 --> 00:43:58.400 He goes, Your body will reflect what you did 21 days ago. 00:43:58.559 --> 00:44:04.960 So if you go for a walk 20 21 days ago, you're not going to see any results until 21 days in the future, right? 00:44:05.039 --> 00:44:05.840 Until now. 00:44:06.159 --> 00:44:07.360 Same thing with your business. 00:44:07.519 --> 00:44:11.679 So we're saying I don't think it's as far back as three months. 00:44:11.840 --> 00:44:15.199 I think you could still look at that same 21 day cycle. 00:44:15.440 --> 00:44:23.119 So what you're doing right

now, it will take 21 days for you to see the results in your business. 00:44:23.280 --> 00:44:29.920 So if you go out and you hand out five cards today, you're probably not going to see any results for 21 days. 00:44:30.079 --> 00:44:37.679 But if you do that every day consistently, then 21 days from now, you're actually going to have a real business. 00:44:37.920 --> 00:44:45.760 I I love that outlook and I like how you say to continue that because some people are going to go, great, I will hand out five cards and in 21 days, here I go. 00:44:45.920 --> 00:44:46.480 No, no, no. 00:44:46.559 --> 00:44:49.119 It's the consistency of that action for sure. 00:44:50.079 --> 00:44:50.320 Yep. 00:44:50.480 --> 00:44:52.639 And so there's, you know, there's all kinds of tricks. 00:44:52.800 --> 00:45:03.920 Obviously, we're talking about super small businesses here, but the biggest thing, I mean, I just would always, because I I left corporate America to be able to be more present with my kids. 00:45:04.079 --> 00:45:11.440 I certainly didn't want to switch it to now I have a company where I'm even less present for my kids. 00:45:11.599 --> 00:45:20.880 So I would find ways to kind of incorporate what I needed to do to build my business into things that I was doing with my kids, right? 00:45:21.119 --> 00:45:25.920 So I I just always had, you know, I had my snack, I had my mom bag. 00:45:26.000 --> 00:45:27.199 That's what my husband used to call it. 00:45:27.280 --> 00:45:34.239 But, you know, the kids' snacks and all that stuff, the extra change of clothes in case, because you never, I had boys, you never know what's gonna happen. 00:45:34.400 --> 00:45:41.199 Um, but I would have a Ziploc bag in every single bag that I took that had five business cards in it. 00:45:41.679 --> 00:45:46.400 And I wouldn't come home until I had given out those five cards. 00:45:46.719 --> 00:45:47.599 That's incredible. 00:45:47.760 --> 00:45:48.400 I love that. 00:45:48.559 --> 00:45:49.360 I like that a lot. 00:45:49.519 --> 00:45:52.960 I need to put now more business cards in all the random purses I bring. 00:45:53.039 --> 00:45:53.360 So thank you. 00:45:53.440 --> 00:45:54.880 I'm gonna I'm gonna add that to my list. 00:45:55.280 --> 00:46:00.800 I mean, it drives me, it drives me crazy when I go somewhere and I don't have a card on me. 00:46:01.119 --> 00:46:02.000 I still do that too. 00:46:02.159 --> 00:46:04.000 I know people like I would be prepared. 00:46:04.320 --> 00:46:06.960 Yes, I still like my physical cards too. 00:46:07.039 --> 00:46:12.559 I have them lined up over here, my extra ones, because I find for me, those digital ones, they'll add them. 00:46:12.639 --> 00:46:16.800 I'm like, that's great, but if I don't remember your name, it's in my context and I will never see it again. 00:46:16.880 --> 00:46:18.480 Uh and I know they work for some people. 00:46:18.639 --> 00:46:20.000 If they do, wonderful. 00:46:20.159 --> 00:46:21.679 I like the physical card. 00:46:21.760 --> 00:46:26.639 And now I've added the QR code to it so they can jump to my Instagram or website, you know, or whatever's on there. 00:46:26.800 --> 00:46:28.880 Uh so there are ways to still digitize it. 00:46:28.960 --> 00:46:30.400 But for me, I need the physical. 00:46:30.480 --> 00:46:31.840 So I agree with you. 00:46:32.320 --> 00:46:37.760 I think there's something important that you said that is worth saying again. 00:46:37.920 --> 00:46:46.639 Of you, you talked earlier about the, you know, having to follow up and having to having to uh reach out to people over and over again. 00:46:46.800 --> 00:47:10.559 I think one of the things that I see that that I that I not only do bookkeepers do, but that I see that my clients do is they'll be in this phase of they, you know, they know they need to build, they know they want to get more clients, and they'll they'll have a prospect and they'll reach out once or twice and then decide that you know they should stay under the covers in bed because they've been rejected, they haven't heard back. 00:47:10.800 --> 00:47:23.039 It takes eight times, a minimum of eight times to really get the maximum um, I don't know, the maximum results out of those prospects. 00:47:23.280 --> 00:47:25.119 It's not a one or two hit. 00:47:25.440 --> 00:47:41.440 Now, there's, I would say that is the difference between networking and marketing yourself, which has truly no cost except for your time and maybe a minimal investment in going to networking events and things like that, versus paid advertising. 00:47:41.599 --> 00:47:50.000 If you have paid advertising, you generally have clients that are reaching out to you and you're a little bit more in control of the situation. 00:47:50.159 --> 00:47:53.280 I mean, they're reaching out to you, they're raising their hand, they're saying they're interested. 00:47:53.360 --> 00:47:56.000 The follow-up there is probably a little bit less. 00:47:56.320 --> 00:48:04.800 But even in those cases, set yourself up for knowing that your follow-up with a prospect is eight times minimum. 00:48:04.960 --> 00:48:05.679 Yeah, I agree. 00:48:05.840 --> 00:48:07.519 I think online it's at least eight. 00:48:07.920 --> 00:48:09.920 Well, it's 1% of your followers. 00:48:10.000 --> 00:48:14.320 And I know this is not in person, but I switched to online that 1% of your followers see what you post. 00:48:14.480 --> 00:48:20.239 So then when you're talking about it that way, it's like you feel like you're always talking about yourself and really no one's seeing it. 00:48:20.400 --> 00:48:25.920 So you just have to continue to, like you said, you can't hide under the covers and expect people to find your business. 00:48:26.000 --> 00:48:28.000 You have to talk about your business and get out there. 00:48:28.079 --> 00:48:35.039 And you're going to be more memorable when you're face to face, you have something to talk about, and then you have that connection as well.

00:48:35.360 --> 00:48:41.920 Well, and I think that that online has such a it's it's a huge value. 00:48:42.159 --> 00:48:47.760 So online is how you stay top of mind for that 1%, right? 00:48:48.239 --> 00:48:58.960 So you meet somebody, you follow up with them a few times, you then add them to your, you know, I'll say if you're using Facebook, you add them or invite them to follow you on Facebook. 00:48:59.039 --> 00:49:06.960 And then Facebook does the continue of reaching out to them and almost selling to them on your behalf when you're posting. 00:49:07.039 --> 00:49:09.360 But again, it becomes about consistency. 00:49:09.599 --> 00:49:20.000 So, you know, there's there's definitely a routine that I uh prescribe to new bookkeepers, and it's it's all about consistency. 00:49:20.239 --> 00:49:22.960 So it depends on, you know, a few things. 00:49:23.039 --> 00:49:29.840 It depends on where you want to get to, it depends on, you know, how long you're willing to take to get there. 00:49:30.000 --> 00:49:35.280 And then it's all about doing consistent things on a daily basis to get there. 00:49:35.519 --> 00:49:39.679 And I'm gonna go back to my five because five is we we laugh. 00:49:39.840 --> 00:49:42.159 13 and five are our favorite numbers in our house. 00:49:42.400 --> 00:49:46.880 13 because it's my birthday and you know, I'm the queen of my house, especially when it's all boys. 00:49:47.199 --> 00:49:48.960 All boys, you said, yep, yep. 00:49:49.360 --> 00:49:54.639 And five, five just became our magic number for a whole bunch of different things. 00:49:54.800 --> 00:50:02.000 But you know, handing out five cards on a daily basis or talking to five people on a daily basis is huge. 00:50:02.320 --> 00:50:10.239 But also don't make your list of things that you need to do on a daily basis for your business longer than five. 00:50:10.400 --> 00:50:12.559 That's what I do is five every day at least. 00:50:12.639 --> 00:50:12.880 Yep. 00:50:13.360 --> 00:50:24.079 You know, we can we can sit down and we can make lists and we can have lists that fill a whole notebook, it feels like, or there's posties all over and it's too much. 00:50:24.159 --> 00:50:24.320 Yeah. 00:50:24.480 --> 00:50:30.639 And our brain sees all of those things and we don't know where to start, and we kind of, it's analysis paralysis, right? 00:50:30.800 --> 00:50:38.239 But if we have five things that we want to accomplish on a daily basis and we accomplish those, we're moving that ball forward. 00:50:38.400 --> 00:50:42.480 Yeah, that's what I always say is there's gonna be days where I literally can only get those five things done. 00:50:42.559 --> 00:50:44.800 And there are days where it's like, oh, I got those five things. 00:50:44.880 --> 00:50:47.039 I still have time, I have another hour. 00:50:47.199 --> 00:50:50.000 Let me kill a few more things that are great to do. 00:50:50.159 --> 00:50:51.440 And those are great things too. 00:50:51.519 --> 00:50:53.920 But yeah, that mine's always the list of five. 00:50:54.079 --> 00:50:56.000 So I love you even more. 00:50:56.159 --> 00:50:56.880 That's perfect. 00:50:57.119 --> 00:50:57.760 There you go. 00:50:58.079 --> 00:51:00.079 So I would love to kind of wrap up too. 00:51:00.239 --> 00:51:03.760 I know we kind of touched on your business, but I want you to say the business again. 00:51:03.920 --> 00:51:06.639 I know you have a few freebies and an online course. 00:51:06.800 --> 00:51:13.039 And then after that, I also want to know like where we can find you, and then if there's anything else on your heart that you'd love to share. 00:51:13.360 --> 00:51:13.679 Sure. 00:51:13.760 --> 00:51:15.280 All the all the good stuff. 00:51:15.519 --> 00:51:19.360 So we started our core business, Busy Bee Advisors. 00:51:19.440 --> 00:51:21.760 I started it in 2016. 00:51:21.920 --> 00:51:34.320 We are a full service uh bookkeeping and tax firm, and people can find out more information on us as far as bookkeeping and taxes at BusyBeadvisors.com. 00:51:34.719 --> 00:51:54.960 Um, in 2023, I have this crazy idea to help um, you know, to help stay-at-home moms, dads, and military spouses how to start their own bookkeeping businesses from home because I really do feel like this is the most amazing business out there that you can truly start with uh low overhead. 00:51:55.119 --> 00:52:00.559 You you can work from honestly from anywhere with an internet connection and a laptop. 00:52:00.880 --> 00:52:07.840 And um, you can find more information about the one hour bookkeeper at onehourbookkeeper.com. 00:52:07.920 --> 00:52:09.519 So those are kind of the two big things. 00:52:09.679 --> 00:52:11.599 I do have a giveaway for your audience. 00:52:11.679 --> 00:52:16.559 It's a three-step guide to achieving work-life balance. 00:52:16.960 --> 00:52:20.719 And I think we all need a little bit more uh zen in our lives. 00:52:20.880 --> 00:52:22.800 We all need to find a little bit more balance. 00:52:22.960 --> 00:52:29.440 I mean, my my search is I I feel like the the balance is a daily, uh, a daily struggle. 00:52:29.599 --> 00:52:29.840 Yeah. 00:52:30.079 --> 00:52:34.880 But if we if we search for it, we we will be able to find some level of balance. 00:52:35.119 --> 00:52:38.880 Some days it gets a little off kilter, but it usually works pretty well. 00:52:39.119 --> 00:52:48.159 Um, so I invite all of your listeners to uh jump in, download the guide, and see if there's a little bit of insight that they're able to get from it. 00:52:48.400 --> 00:52:48.880 I love that. 00:52:49.039 --> 00:52:52.639 I will say to I always say my husband is the fun one out of us. 00:52:52.800 --> 00:52:54.559 Like, I'm like, nope, we got to stay home. 00:52:54.639 --> 00:52:55.440 We got to save money. 00:52:55.519 --> 00:52:56.320 We can't go have fun. 00:52:56.400 --> 00:52:57.360 We've got to do these things. 00:52:57.519 --> 00:53:03.840 And he has helped me with the balance part because

I prior to him or before him, I would always like just be working. 00:53:03.920 --> 00:53:04.880 I can work more, work more. 00:53:04.960 --> 00:53:08.480 And as I see, like, nope, I'm building a business so that I can have fun too. 00:53:08.639 --> 00:53:09.840 So I love that you said that. 00:53:10.000 --> 00:53:14.400 Um, and then is there anything else on your heart or mind that you would love to share? 00:53:14.559 --> 00:53:16.320 Anything that keeps coming up for you? 00:53:16.960 --> 00:53:27.760 You know, there's a there's a phrase that that I have up in my office, and it it's that the pressure is a privilege. 00:53:28.480 --> 00:53:39.599 And there are days as you're building your business or as you're running your business that you're really going to feel, and I keep it up, like we are, we are in the process of a cross-country move. 00:53:39.840 --> 00:53:42.320 Everything in our house is pretty much packed up. 00:53:42.480 --> 00:53:48.159 We're leaving uh California in about two weeks to move cross-country to Tennessee. 00:53:48.239 --> 00:53:50.480 So this is like big deal time for us, right? 00:53:50.800 --> 00:53:55.199 And that will be absolutely the last thing that comes down in my office. 00:53:55.360 --> 00:53:57.039 And there are there just are days. 00:53:57.199 --> 00:53:59.440 There are days where it is going to be tough. 00:53:59.679 --> 00:54:08.239 There are days where you're gonna feel like, you know, you kind of got kicked a few times, and just understand that that pressure is a privilege. 00:54:08.400 --> 00:54:09.199 It really is. 00:54:09.360 --> 00:54:14.559 It's it's a privilege to be able to serve your clients, whatever industry you're in. 00:54:14.960 --> 00:54:17.280 And it's uh it's a beautiful thing. 00:54:17.440 --> 00:54:24.079 So that's that's a good reminder for myself as well, because I sometimes will wake up and be like, oh my gosh, I have to get this done right now. 00:54:24.159 --> 00:54:26.559 And I'll be like, I I can get all of that done. 00:54:26.639 --> 00:54:30.800 Why am I pushing myself in a way that's like fine, you know? 00:54:30.960 --> 00:54:32.639 Uh, but I so appreciate you. 00:54:32.719 --> 00:54:37.519 All of those things will be in the notes too, so they can click and find you and work with you and follow you as well. 00:54:37.599 --> 00:54:39.519 And I just appreciate our conversation today. 00:54:40.159 --> 00:54:40.559 So thank you. 00:54:40.800 --> 00:54:42.800 Thank you so much for having me as a guest. 00:54:43.119 --> 00:54:46.880 Are you a photography business owner looking to elevate your business? 00:54:47.280 --> 00:54:50.159 I started using Pick Time and am absolutely in love. 00:54:50.320 --> 00:54:54.320 I have been looking for a different solution, and this has been it. 00:54:54.719 --> 00:54:59.039 It is the ultimate streamline for workflow and enhancing client experience. 00:54:59.199 --> 00:55:10.960 It has beautiful galleries, and it's easy for clients to navigate, download with all of images, or you can select how many images they download, which is incredible for my business. 00:55:11.199 --> 00:55:20.880 I also love the AI integration, which means if you have more than six people in the gallery, they can just simply click on their face and look for them and download those photos. 00:55:21.039 --> 00:55:21.599 I love it. 00:55:21.760 --> 00:55:31.519 It has a built-in e-commerce capabilities, making it simple to sell those digital downloads, prints, and merchandise all in one place. 00:55:31.760 --> 00:55:39.039 Now you can join the thousands of photographers who trust PickTime and me not to just store your work but grow your business. 00:55:39.199 --> 00:55:45.039 You can try it for free with my code and get also an extra free month when you upgrade to a paid plan. 00:55:45.199 --> 00:55:54.000 Link is going to be in the notes, or you can head to divista photography.pick dash time.com slash referral. 00:55:54.159 --> 00:56:00.079 You can head right to the notes and click on the link so you can start your beautiful galleries today.