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April 11, 2025 17 mins

In this solo episode, Felicia - CEO at Clean Bee Consulting - dives into one of the most misunderstood business topics: payroll.

 

Whether you’re a solo entrepreneur, a race team owner, or a small business leader, this conversation will challenge how you think about paying others.

 

Felicia shares her personal journey with building a team, including what hiring her first employee taught her about leadership, clarity, and sustainable growth.

 

You’ll learn why payroll isn’t just a cost - it’s a powerful growth strategy that can unlock capacity, improve tax outcomes, and build lasting team loyalty.

 

💡 Topics Covered:

-Why payroll isn’t just for “big” businesses

-The true definition of payroll (and why agreements matter more than size)

-How payroll became a turning point for Clean Bee’s growth

-Tax strategies, worker classification tips, and real examples

-How motorsports teams can apply these insights to scale effectively

 

Whether you're on the throttle or in the pit lane of your business journey, this episode will help you rethink the way you build your team and invest in your people.

 

📲 Learn more or book a consult: www.cleanbeeconsulting.com/fullthrottlefinance #motorsport #consultant #strategy #growth

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:07):
Hello everyone and welcome back to FullThrottle Finance, a financial literacy
podcast that's geared towards takingcomplex financial topics and breaking
'em down into fun, relatable discussions.
My name is Felicia and I'm yourCEO at Clean Be Consulting, and
today I'm bringing you our veryfirst solo podcast episode because

(00:27):
Allison is out on vacation.
I do have a cute little poppy over here.
But we'll see how long she sticksaround because she doesn't like
to hear my voice talk sometimes.
So I figured with Allison out thisweek that this might be the perfect
opportunity for me to have a one-on-onediscussion with our small business

(00:49):
owner listeners out there, and it wouldbe the perfect time to tackle a topic
that often intimidates even the mostseasoned of business owners that I have
worked with in my time in this industry.
That's called.
Payroll.
So before you go into now and thinkthat this doesn't apply to you, or

(01:10):
maybe that you're not big enough tohave to worry about payroll, I want
to challenge you to try and shiftyour mindset for the next 15 minutes.
Because I'm gonna walk youthrough how thinking about payroll
differently can actually unlockgrowth and sustainability in your

(01:31):
own business or in your own program.
So let's start by breaking down whatpayroll really is and what it is not.
Payroll isn't just a consistent paycheckevery two weeks, and it certainly.
Isn't just for six figure earnersor high dollar salaries At its core.

(01:54):
Payroll is defined by theagreements that you create.
That's right.
It's all about clarity,really clear expectations,
documented roles and a mutual.
Understanding between the business and theindividual as to what's expected, whether
that's part-time, an hourly employeeor a full-time salaried team member.

(02:18):
It's about what's been agreed uponin writing and how that agreement
aligns with both the state andfederal labor laws that are in place.
And yes, you can start small.
In fact, I did when Ifirst considered hiring.
I had to ask myself a very hard question,do I even want to manage employees?

(02:42):
That's all I'd really known for myentire professional career, and it had
been really nice not having to worryabout it for a while, let's be honest.
But in reality, I was hitting a wall.
I plateaued and I was working waymore hours than I wanted to, and I

(03:06):
realized that it wasn't sustainable.
Something really did have to change,
The shift in mindset for me was that I hadto remind myself that I had the control.
This time around, I wasin charge of the training.
I was in charge of the supportfor the employee, and instead of
looking at it as a chore, managingothers is what I've always done.

(03:32):
I started to look at the situationas an opportunity for me to create.
My ideal workplace while strategizing myown personal income taxes simultaneously
because of how our consultingfirm is structured at its core.
I drew on a lot of parallelswith Formula One teams.

(03:56):
When you look at a Formula One team,they work together so cohesively as a
team with all of these intricate parts.
But that is only because eachteam is made up of all of these
amazingly talented individualsthat excel in very specific tasks.
Everyone has a job.

(04:16):
Everyone understands what the expectationsare of them to complete said job.
They have the tools and resourcesto complete that job, and it doesn't
need to be verbally communicatedto them regularly, right?
Everyone understands.
What needs to happen,when it needs to happen?
And you know, when I thought aboutit, that is really the kind of
employee that I wanted to manage.

(04:39):
And so if that is what I wanted, thenthose were the systems and those were
the processes that I needed to develop.
When I hired Allison, it wasto start at 10 hours a week.
It was meant to be light andmanageable for both of us, but
in reality, it wasn't enough.
Allison was working full-time stillwith another employer, and she was

(05:01):
trying to juggle this role on top, andit's not that she wasn't doing it well,
but I could see as a manager that thestrain was not fair to her and really
I wasn't able to hand off enough.
Of the tasks on my own platethat lightened my load either.
And so in reality, our business was,was still throttled at that point.

(05:24):
So that's when we pivoted and we madethe decision to bring her on full time
at a 32 hour per week roll, not 40.
And that was intentional,but it was a clear.
Hourly roll with a healthy rate.
In a past job, I have beenpromised a 32 hour salaried.

(05:46):
Role that never came to life, andit was always spun back on me, and
I felt that it was very manipulativeand I didn't want that for Allison.
You know, I wanted transparency.
I wanted clarity, I wantedcommitment, and I wanted.
Her to show up in those ways.
I wanted her to embody those core values,and I knew that if I wanted her to

(06:07):
embody them, then I needed to lead byexample and implement them and sh and
make that part of my culture here at theClean Bee Consulting Firm and through
the full Throttle Finance program.
So this agreement at 32 hours aweek at an hourly rate, it gave me
something that I could budget for andit gave me something that I could.
Design manageable workflows for us both.

(06:30):
And that right there is the powerof payroll when it's done correctly.
Now let's talk dollars.
There is no doubt that having payrollcomes with extra costs, especially
when you compare it to contractingwith an independent contractor, right?
An employee on payroll, you're gonnahave monthly payroll fee processing fees.

(06:53):
You're gonna have FICA taxes, whichare the Medicare and social security
taxes that you owe as an employer.
On employee earnings, you're gonnahave state unemployment insurance,
you're gonna have workers' compinsurance, and then depending on
your state, you might even have.
Some other employment programslike Paid Family Medical Leave that
you have to contribute to as well.
But here's the thing,these aren't extra costs.

(07:13):
They are the cost of doing business.
You have to spend money in order toearn money, and if you wanna build
a sustainable program that startswith the people that you have in the
roles, doing the work tied to yourorganization and making sure that
they are categorized correctly inthe proper worker classification.

(07:34):
You wouldn't take a race bike outon the track without investing in
the right tires for the machine.
Payroll is the same way.
It is foundational and when youcategorize your workers correctly,
employees versus independent contractors,you're protecting your business
and you're protecting your people.

(07:55):
and if you're not sure whereto start, here's my advice.
Start small.
Any amount of hours per weekcounts as payroll, as long as it
is defined, it is agreed upon, andit is in alignment with state and
federal labor laws build a reserve.
A good rule of thumb is to have threeto four payroll cycles of reserve

(08:17):
funds saved in advance so that youhave a backup plan on a rainy day.
And communicate clearly.
Outline your expectations in writingand make sure that both sides understand
what is expected of them in that role.
And remember, payroll isn't just acompliance item, it is a tax strategy.

(08:39):
Every dollar that you spendon legitimate payroll.
Is a deductible expense for yourbusiness organization and your race team
program, and adding benefits like techreimbursements and healthcare or PTO can
increase the morale and the retentionof your employees in your program.

(09:00):
And it can also potentially qualifyyou for additional tax credits,
which are different from businessdeductions on your tax return.
So, for example, you know, I give Allisona tech reimbursement every single payroll
cycle that we process at our firm.
And the reason why I do thatis because it is a non-taxable.

(09:24):
Income item for her, meaning she getsto keep 100% of that reimbursement
every single time it's paid out to her.
And simultaneously, I don't owe anyemployer taxes on it either because
of the type of benefit that it is.
But I get to, as a business owner, deducta hundred percent of that business expense

(09:45):
on my own tax return, which dwindles downto my personal income taxes that I owe at
the end of the year, so she gets to keep100% of those earnings instead of having
taxes taken care of, taken out of them.
I don't owe employer taxes onthem, but I get to reap the
reward of giving her that income.

(10:06):
And deduct it on my taxesat the individual level.
So it is a win-win for both of us andwith the right strategy, that's what
I'm talking about, like you can makepayroll fun, and you can make it an
enjoyable experience and something thatboosts morale within your own program.

(10:27):
So let me show you what actuallyhappened after we made the decision
to stop treating payroll like a scaryexpense and started treating it like a
growth strategy for our firm Instead.
after our first month ofhaving Allison full-time, our
firm's revenue jumped by 35%.

(10:50):
By month two, we jumped46% in our revenue.
That.
Is unbelievable still to me to thisday when I look back at those metrics.
So what we did was we unlockedcapacity at that point.
We freed up our time to do the workthat really mattered to us, and we
did it sustainably in the process.

(11:12):
See, before that shift, I was stuck.
I was wearing every singlehat, client work, admin,
operations, strategy, marking.
I was constantly jugglingall of the deadlines.
And even though.
I knew I needed help.
I kept holding back how to fear,fear of the expense and fear of the
unknown, but hiring the right personunder a clear agreement didn't just.

(11:38):
Take things off my plate, but itactually gave me the space to be the
leader that I've always wanted to beled by, and it allowed me to start
focusing on bigger business developmentgoals that I had for our firm.
We also started to systemize ourworkflows, and since Allison's

(12:01):
hours were capped at 32 each.
Hours each week.
We had to get intentionalabout what work she focused on.
That clarity forced us to streamlineand define what would make our
firm the most efficient overall.
I want you to really sit with thisnext statement that I'm going to make.

(12:25):
We didn't grow in spiteof the payroll expense.
We grew because of it.
Because let's be honest, there's no prizefor being the busiest person in the room.
You don't build a scalablebusiness by doing it all yourself.
You build it by buildingand creating capacity.

(12:45):
And payroll is oftentimes themissing piece that makes that
possible for business owners.
And so if you've ever said, I'll hirewhen I can afford it, I want you to stop.
Saying that, and I want youto ask yourself this question
instead, can I afford to keepstalling where I am right now?

(13:10):
Making that little mindset shift fromviewing payroll as an overhead line
item on a financial report to makingit a strategic growth lever changed
everything for us, and it very wellcould change everything for you and
your program One of the things that Isay to our clients often is this, if

(13:31):
you don't wanna pay it in taxes to thegovernment, then pay it to your people.
And that's not just a catchysaying It literally is a mindset.
Because when you are running a business,the money is going somewhere, right?
The question is though, whodo you want it to benefit?
The government or your people?

(13:52):
When you invest in your people intheir time in their tools in their
health and their stability, you'renot just being a generous person.
You're building a team that is loyal,that is empowered, that is equipped
to help you carry your vision forward.
When your team feelsvalued, they perform better.
They take ownership, they solveproblems, they stick around.

(14:14):
They represent your brand with pride,and that saves you thousands in
turnover, retraining, and reputation.
I think back often on the promisesthat former employers made to
me, the unlimited PTO, the.
Capped our work week, the worklife balance that was talked about,

(14:37):
but none of these things ever wereimplemented or came to fruition.
Those experiences directly shape how I'vebuilt my team at Clean Bee Consulting
and through full throttle finance.
If you're building something that youcan't walk away from something that
drains you or something that burnsthrough your people, it's not sustainable.

(14:58):
It's.
Just another job at that point, you're notreally running a company, in my opinion.
And at the end of the day, you know,payroll isn't just about checks and
deductions, it's about leadership.
It's about clarity, and it's aboutbuilding something that lasts.
And when you take care of your people,you take care of your business.

(15:21):
Payroll is a topic that our firmtakes very seriously at full throttle
finance, which is why we have dedicatedan entire section of our revving
up for financial success course.
Specifically designed to helpMotorsport professionals determine
whether they need to contract with anindependent contractor or hire a W2
payroll employee for their program.

(15:44):
We discussed the variousworker classifications.
What those best practices are and what thepotential risks and consequences are that
are involved with MISCATEGORIZING workers.
So to learn more about our moveat your own PACE interactive
course, please visit our websiteat www.cleanbeconsulting.com/full

(16:06):
throttle finance.
We'll put the link here, and that isreally going to do it for today's episode.
I hope that you have enjoyed thisone-on-one pep talk because I got
another one coming your way next week.
And.
You know, as always, if you foundtoday's insights valuable, please like,
share, post, comment, tag, all of thethings that you can on social media

(16:31):
your support means so much for to us.
And really we just wanna helpas many racers and as many race
programs as possible get on theright track for financial success.
And as always.
If insights that you heard todayresonated with you, but you definitely
think that you might want some proslike us in your corner, then please

(16:52):
utilize the consultations tab onour website to schedule a call so
we can talk about how we can getyou on the right track to success.
As always, thank you for tuningin, and we'll see you next week
as we continue to break downfinance with a Motorsport twist.
We'll see you next Friday.
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