October 30, 2024 • 57 mins
In this episode of Protea Conversations, Zane speaks with Jamie Skinner, a fractional controller and CFO, about her journey into accounting, the challenges of entrepreneurship, and the importance of process improvement in financial operations.
Jamie shares her experiences transitioning from a corporate role to consulting, her passion for helping small businesses, and her insights on work-life balance as a solopreneur. The conversation also touches on the significance of networking, learning from mistakes, and the personal joys of life outside of work.
Takeaways
- Jamie Skinner emphasizes the importance of following your passion in your career.
- The transition from a corporate job to consulting can be challenging but rewarding.
- Process improvement is a key focus for Jamie in her consulting work.
- Networking is crucial for success in entrepreneurship.
- Mistakes are a part of the journey; learning from them is essential.
- Being transparent with clients about mistakes fosters trust.
- Work-life balance is achievable with the right strategies.
- Small business owners often need guidance in financial management.
- Utilizing technology can enhance efficiency in business operations.
- Having a supportive partner can help manage family and work responsibilities.
Sound Bites
"This is what I want to do."
"I love being in the mountains."
"If you don't ask, the answer is always no."
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Prodig Conversations
01:18 Journey into Accounting: Jamie Skinner's Story
06:36 Career Decisions: From Teaching to Accounting
12:28 Transforming Financial Processes in Healthcare
18:55 The Leap to Consulting: Challenges and Opportunities
26:27 The Role of a Consultant: More Than Just Numbers
30:41 Process Improvement: A Consultant's Passion
35:07 Balancing Work and Family Life
43:24 Future Goals: The Fiscal Guardian Club
48:42 Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
56:55 Personal Insights: Beyond the Professional
01:02:11 Rapid Fire Questions: Fun Facts About Jamie
Connect with Jamie: LinkedIn personal - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamieskinnerreno/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to Product Conversations, the podcast where leadership in business and accounting
(00:10):
isn't just discussed, it's explored.
I'm your host, Zane Stevens, and thank you for joining me as we delve into the minds of
some of the most influential leaders in the industry.
Our journey is one of discovery, from unraveling their unique stories that shaped our guest's
careers to invaluable advice that fueled their success.
We're here to provide you with simple, actionable advice to accelerate your career and personal
growth.
(00:30):
Whether you're a budding professional or a seasoned executive, these conversations are
designed to offer insights and perspectives that resonate with everyone.
So tune in, engage, and be inspired as we build better leaders together.
Welcome to Product Conversations.
On today's episode, we're welcome Jamie Skinner, a fractional controller in CFO, renowned for
her strategic expertise into transforming accounting systems for high-growth companies.
(00:54):
At Reno Accounting Solutions, Jamie partners with founders of seven- to eight-figure businesses,
revamping their financial operations to foster intentional investment in people, processes,
and products.
Their approach combines first principles thinking with relentless improvement mindset, ensuring
her clients achieve optimized financial operations and sustainable growth.
Join us as Jamie shares however deep dive into the details and strategic vision helps
(01:17):
businesses harness their financial health for success.
Jamie, welcome to Product Conversations.
Jamie, thanks for having me, Zane.
Yeah.
For all I guess this has been an episode that has been rescheduled multiple times.
We've both had things in life pop up and it's just been easier to reschedule and push it
down.
So for me, this is one of the most anticipated episodes because I've prepared for it multiple
(01:40):
times and life has just gotten the way and that's okay.
You know, that's what busy business owners have.
We have things happen and we sort of adjust and move on.
Yeah, absolutely.
The life of an entrepreneur for sure.
Yeah.
And I always find that such a weird one when people are like, oh, the life of the entrepreneur.
I'm like, oh, geez, I guess I am one of those.
(02:00):
Like that is sort of part of the title, right?
Yeah.
I assume you sort of see yourself as that as well.
Yes.
Yeah.
I'm just a solopreneur.
So I'm being it all by my lonesome and just living that roller coaster of the entrepreneur
life for sure.
Great.
So let's start where I like to start with all these conversations.
(02:23):
What was the decision to get into accounting?
How did that come about?
Yeah, it's kind of interesting how it happened for me.
I kind of fell into it.
I'll kind of start back with where I actually wanted to go growing up and my entire life
growing up, I was completely obsessed with school.
I loved learning.
(02:44):
I was a huge bookworm.
And I actually really enjoyed being able to go back into the classroom during summer
breaks and different opportunities to help my teachers and kind of be like a teacher's
assistant.
And I just absolutely loved being around little kids and just being in that school environment.
So my whole life growing up, I knew I was going to be a first grade teacher.
(03:08):
That was always, always what I was going to be.
So when I got into my first semester of college, I started taking the initial courses for it.
And for some reason, it just didn't resonate the same for me.
And I made the decision, maybe this isn't the right path for me.
(03:28):
I just wasn't sure because it just didn't feel like it was sticking for me.
So at that point, I really had no idea what I wanted to do.
Growing up, I never had a lot of exposure, like a lot of high school students do these
days to different career paths, different mentors, just different industries and such.
(03:48):
So I felt really lost.
I had no idea what else might interest me.
And while I was trying to make that decision of what to do next, I started working at a
car dealership in Northern California.
Huge, huge car dealership.
Very busy all the time.
I really loved the fast pace of it.
And I came in as a service receptionist and then I moved into their office and an office
(04:13):
clerk.
So I was busy all day running files, doing errands, just kind of really helping out wherever
I could.
And on the days when I would finish and I was bored, basically, I would go to my manager
and I said, what can you teach me?
There's got to be something else I can learn how to do to help you guys.
So she started showing me very foundational data entry, working on submitting service
(04:38):
contracts and things like that.
And it was the first time I had ever heard of Debit's and Freddix.
And I was astounded by it.
I was like the concept of always having the balance and it was number based and I loved
math growing up.
It just seemed like, hey, this might be something that would interest me.
So I went back and took my first intro to accounting course and it just hit me.
(05:04):
I was like, this is it.
This is what I want to do.
So I started pursuing that and as I'm getting through college, it is just really hitting
home to me.
This is something I'm really passionate about.
It's really fun for me.
It was like a big puzzle, essentially.
And I love any kind of puzzle, a board game puzzle, mysteries to get through and stuff.
(05:25):
I love puzzles.
So it really resonated with me and even had this one crazy semester where, because I took
so long to figure out what I was doing, I was kind of behind pace on graduating.
And I was like, you know, I want to kick a couple of semesters off.
While I was working part time, just a entry level accountant, I decided to do this crazy
(05:47):
thing one semester and I took 24 upper division accounting courses at once.
One semester.
So I could knock two semesters off.
And I know I could never, ever do that again.
But it really showed me what kind of written determination I could do if there was something
I was really passionate about.
(06:07):
And it just kind of really showed me, you know, what I'm capable of.
So I got through that.
I graduated, started interviewing for my first full time roles.
And I had to start deciding between a couple of different routes.
Everybody knows there's public accounting.
I wasn't interested in that.
I interviewed with a couple of different like state agencies where I would come in like
(06:33):
the audit route.
And then I also was interviewing for a corporate office for a health care system in California.
And as I was kind of weighing the pros and cons of them, there was a lot of differences
between them I found.
And this is something that's probably going to play a lot of newcomers coming into the
(06:54):
accounting of spaces like which route do you go.
One thing that really deterred me from the state agency is that they said, no matter
how good you are, how smart you are, guaranteed it will take you at least two years to promote.
There's just really no getting around that.
And that did not sit with me because I'm a really big go getter.
(07:17):
I really love learning and progressing and that just really turned me off.
So because of that, I decided to go the health care route.
And that was a phenomenal experience for me.
I'm so glad that I went that way.
And it really kind of set off the trajectory for the rest of my career.
I had so many different opportunities going that way.
(07:40):
Let's go back to that decision in college.
I wanted to be a teacher back in the day as well before I went to college.
And my guidance counselor at the time and my parents were like, go study accounting,
you're good at accounting, we had a high school subject.
You can do it, you can come back and be a teacher.
Which is great.
(08:01):
I use that passion for wanting to teach people now on my daily basis by trying to give people
education as far as possible.
But I sort of feel the same way that whole like, I think I wanted to be a teacher, but
when I actually look at what a teacher does now with the eyes of an adult, I can see how
that can, like I would struggle to resonate with as well.
(08:21):
Because I think I'm trying to change people's lives and really I'm not just trying to push
them through and make sure they're successful.
What sort of put you off the teaching route at that point?
Why did it not resonate with you?
I try to remember back all the time why I had that feeling and nothing really stands out
in my memory of it.
I just, I don't know, like I just, something just wasn't, it just wasn't there once I started
(08:45):
taking the classes.
And I knew that I wanted to be passion driven and whatever I did.
And because that feeling wasn't there, I just, I wasn't going to just keep doing it because
that's what I had thought my whole life.
I knew that I needed to have that passion there and it wasn't.
So I had to go out and seek it.
Yeah, it's really interesting.
(09:05):
I mean, it's funny because you talk about passion and there's not a lot of people that
say, Hey, I opened an accounting textbook and that was the most exciting thing I've ever
done, right?
Even the best accountant aren't necessarily excited by accounting.
So talk me through, what was that feeling like starting to learn accounting?
Like, like, was it just that it was a great opportunity the way you came into it?
Sort of, you know, rose colored glasses on you're just like, Oh, my word, I'm learning
(09:28):
something new and you think that excited you or is there something more deeper to it?
That could be part of it.
I don't think that's like really the blanket answer there because there's definitely aspects,
you know, specific subject matter in my undergrad and graduate courses that I.
Loved did not like I hated tech.
That's why another reason why I didn't go the public route because I want nothing to
(09:51):
do with tax, nothing to do with audit.
I really loved corporate accounting and I don't know why, but I just it just looked for me
so easily.
And, you know, considering the fact that I had never been exposed to it until I was
19 years old and then I went into it and I just picked it up flawlessly.
Just, just like I said, it really resonated with me and I, I found the challenge of it
(10:15):
really exciting because I know that when you get into those more difficult courses, it
gets really complex.
But to me, like I said, it was just a big puzzle and just figuring things out.
And the whole aspect of reconciling was really appealing to me.
Again, it was just like the puzzle aspect of it was really fun and challenging and I
(10:39):
thrive on challenge.
So it just was a really good fit for me because of that.
There's a lot of good information that, you know, a lot of people always think accounting
is boring.
You're doing the same thing over and over.
But realistically, it's just a puzzle that you have to solve on a daily basis because
something pops up.
Life's not perfect.
People don't always follow procedure and you're just trying to put the pieces together to
figure out what happened historically and how that's going to affect the future.
(11:02):
It's a good way, you know, to put that piece just in front of other young people who are
thinking maybe accountings are rough for them.
Well, yeah, it is.
It's more than just boring, you know, dibs and credits.
It's the problem solving of it, which makes it exciting on a day-to-day basis.
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah.
And so another piece that really started to excite me for doing accounting.
(11:25):
So when I was working in the healthcare corporate office, not only did I have the opportunity
to promote pretty quickly within that company, I had a lot of opportunity to do a lot of
process changes and creations.
So this was back in like 2009 to 2013 I was there.
(11:49):
And it was just at the beginning of when they were trying to make the transformation from
being a paperless accounting office.
And I got to be at the forefront of that.
So I was one of the youngest people in the office and I was very excited at the idea
of creating these new processes to make things more efficient and to make them digital.
(12:12):
And I was all on board for that.
And there were a lot of people in the office that were not.
They liked their paper and their highlighters and all that kind of stuff.
So when I initially got the opportunity to start working on these processes, the first
one being working on a completely paperless bank reconciliation, which for a hospital is
(12:33):
a complete animal.
It is intense.
It would take like four to five business days of hours for a senior accountant to do one.
And after I did this digital transformation on it of doing data dumps into it and everything
and using formulas, I got it down to like a one to two day process.
(12:55):
And just that in itself just excited me so much and seeing the difference it made in
my coworkers day to day tasks and how much less they dreaded doing the work, how much
faster it was done, really just lit a fire under me and I was like, wow, this is really
cool.
I want to keep doing this kind of stuff.
So I just kept getting all these opportunities to do those types of things.
(13:19):
And it was something I really thrived on and enjoyed.
So it wasn't just doing the pencil pushing data entry accounting.
I was really looking at the processes surrounding it and just kind of going with that in a different
direction.
It was really fun for me.
Yeah.
And it's looking at your resume.
You had great opportunities there and you clearly took them with two promotions in four
(13:40):
years, which is always super impressive, especially at a big company.
You had to put your hand up, right?
You can't just be sort of sitting in the middle and I mean, that somebody will see you.
Yeah.
So it's been an early introduction to automation and technology, which is nice as well because
that is, especially nowadays, that is one of the fun places in accounting is trying to
bring in that automation, bringing that technology, try and improve processes, make things easier,
(14:03):
smoother.
So business owners can get better decisions.
So an early, early picture of the way Jamie planned to take her career.
But let's keep working through it.
You spent four years at Dignity Health.
So that was a nice big opportunity.
Tell us about your next couple of steps.
Yeah.
So the next promotion opportunity there was to be a supervisor.
(14:28):
And I was informed when I tried to apply for the open role, they said, well, company policy
is you cannot be a supervisor without having prior supervisory experience.
We can't get around that policy.
You need to leave and come back.
So I said, okay, peace out.
I'm leaving.
And I was like, I may or may not come back.
Who knows?
So that was a turning point for me.
(14:48):
I got my first assistant controller job at a property development company.
And that is actually what stemmed my first thought into going to the consultant route,
being an entrepreneur.
As I was pursuing my CPA, being a CPA is supposedly very ethically driven.
(15:10):
I was very ethically driven personally as well.
And I started working at this company and came to find out that they were doing unethical
things.
And I would not stand for that.
So this kind of started my job hopping free for a while where I would start working for
(15:30):
these companies and I would figure out, you know, something just wasn't right and there
would be a lot of pushback on that type of thing.
And I just decide, whatever I come across the situations, I'm just going to remove myself
from them.
And I do, I do, I do, I do count for a few of the reasons why I left a couple of places.
But because of that feeling of, oh my gosh, you know, trying to find a job where I'm
(15:53):
going to sit in with the company culture or the people are going to be ethical.
I was like, maybe, maybe I need to remove myself from that completely and be my own
boss because I know that I can just make sure things are handled the way that I feel are
appropriate.
So back in 2014, I made that realization.
And one day I just quit my job and said, I'm going to be a consultant. I'm going to go find clients that I can do keeping board.
(16:19):
I'm sure there's so many people out there that are going to relate to this and what it feels like to go through that transition and feel like you really have no support, no foundation to really kind of get your business going.
And that's exactly what I experienced that first time.
I had no network.
I just went out there, you know, face to face trying to meet people to get clients. I got a handful of small, but keeping clients, but it wasn't anything to really get my business going.
(16:48):
And I wrapped up a ton of credit card debt in the meantime, because I had no other income and seven months later or so, I was at a breaking point and I said, I can't keep doing this.
And I got another job.
So I had to come back to the corporate world.
Found a great place to work for for about a year. Then I made the decision to move. I just needed a change of pace needed to be somewhere different. So I moved from California to Nevada.
(17:18):
And I got a job at our local baseball stadium doing accounting there.
Within a few months, I got things so completely turned around and working well.
But I didn't have enough work to work full time.
So the CFO that was there at the time had seen my LinkedIn about consulting and stuff.
And he's like, is that something you're trying to do right now? And the first time I'm like, Oh, no, he thinks I'm trying to leave. That's not good.
(17:44):
And I said, Oh, no, no, that was back when I lived in California. And he said, Oh, well, if you're interested, like, maybe because you don't have enough work, maybe you could do that again and we could be a client of yours.
But save us money and help you do that. And I was like, man, that that would be so awesome to have a second chance at doing that.
So taking them on as a client really afforded me the foundation financially.
(18:10):
Give it a second shot. And it was amazing. They kept me afloat while I started to network in Reno where I'm at right now.
The community here is just amazing for businesses. Everybody's super supportive, great networking and everything.
And everything I was getting was word of mouth. It's just such a close-knit community. And I was able to successfully build my business.
(18:37):
And it's, I just haven't looked back. It's been amazing. I started my business in 2016.
And another reason for the push for me to do that is because I knew I was going to be starting a family and I really wanted to have that flexibility and just be accountable to myself.
That was what was really important to me. So that was the start of my consulting.
(19:00):
That is pretty incredible that there was somebody thought thinking enough to look at you and go, Hey, if that's something you want to do, we could work together on that.
We could definitely support you.
Is this something you guys would think about? Like you brought it up and it just kind of got me thinking about it again.
Let me put something together to show you how it could save you money. It would help me out. I think it would be a really good way for us to work together.
(19:24):
It's interesting that the conversation happened. They're open to it.
It's not everybody that's just going to be like, cool, go ahead. You're going to tell me you do it all, but you're going to be splitting your time.
So, you know, that trust factor is not something that you see all the time.
It talks a lot to that person and their ability to trust the person in front of them, but also it shows a lot into your hard work, your dedication and clearly what you specialize in, which is making things better by improving processes.
(19:55):
And how I got that job with the ballpark originally, they were not hiring for that role at all. I was looking for a job and I was starting to get kind of desperate because I had moved and I needed to work.
It was November, December, so nobody's hiring at that point. And I just started emailing CFOs of companies in Reno and I had emailed him and I said, Hey, here's my skill set.
(20:20):
Does this sound like something that you guys could use? And he wrote me back and I, he said, actually, I think we do need somebody like that here. Let's go have lunch.
We had lunch and he hired me to come in and I took that as an opportunity to do all their reconciliation. They had, I think, 11 inter company accounts between all their different.
(20:44):
They had a restaurant merchandise store events, ballpark, all sorts of different things. And they have 7 years of balance sheets that had never been reconciled.
So that was my project for like 3 months. And that was another indication to me that I thought consulting would be really fun because I love that.
First phase of coming into a new job where I get to really just put my head down and focus on cleanup work.
(21:14):
Improvement and all that kind of stuff. So I was like, why can't I take that and transfer it.
To being a consulting job where I can just do that over and over for clients.
So that really kind of spearheaded it also for me.
That's a lot of cleanup. I mean, I thought it was fun.
It is, but you know, there is always risk with any of those types of large cleanup, right? Because it can go very right, but it can also go very wrong.
(21:38):
And when I mean very wrong, normally when you find really big issues and people don't like their answers, right?
It's not necessarily you've done anything wrong. They just that number. That's not how much profit we made.
Like actually it is while you're wrong. So you're out the door, you know, those situations happen all the time because people don't like the bad news.
Especially in those situations of the balance sheet cleanups where one of the biggest issues you'll see is double counting of revenue.
(22:03):
We raised the AR invoice and then we took the payment directly to income.
That's happened all the time and means everything is understated.
So good on you to sort of put yourself out there. You know, that's a great lesson for people.
Like you just sometimes have to put yourself out there and see what opportunities come your way.
I'm sure there was some people that never responded or said no, thank you along the way.
(22:27):
It wasn't like you said one email and it was magic success, right?
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah. So I mean, that's a good point right there. We shouldn't be scared of rejection. Rejection is normal, right?
Like it's going to happen. Is there any sort of like skill set or advice that you have for people for dealing with those rejections when it does come up?
Yeah. I mean, one piece of advice I always give out to people, you know, professionally, personally, because I feel like it's so very true.
(22:56):
Someone once told me that if you don't ask, the answer is always no.
So that really has been something that stuck with me my whole adult life and I really take it to heart.
And that has really helped me to say, hey, this is something I really want or I'd like to have or I want to do differently.
(23:18):
The only way that could ever happen is to take that first step and approach the subject, whether it's asking for something or, you know, getting approval on something.
You just have to ask. And yes, you might get a no, but what if they say yes?
Like you would never know if you don't ask. So I'm a huge proponent of that quote and I live my life by it and I feel it's done me.
(23:45):
It's served me so well to have that mindset and I try to pass that off onto as many people as I can as well because it's just so such a good mindset to have to help us move forward.
No, I agree. This is sportsperson and me. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take, right?
Yeah, look for those opportunities, take those opportunities. And like you said, the worst thing I can say is no, I mean, that's not really going to do you any damage.
(24:09):
So no to concern. You say you call yourself a consultant. What does that mean to you?
Yeah, so as a consultant, I think of myself as more trying to be a partner with my clients than, you know, oh, that's just my accountant or something like that.
I'm always thinking outside the scope of like my stated work, you know, because I'm partnering with them. I want to ensure their success as much as I can contribute to.
(24:39):
So if I see something and I feel it's important to be brought up to them, I'm going to tell them I'm not going to beat around the bush. I'm not going to say, oh, that's a sensitive subject or that's not my area.
I don't refrain from just trying to, you know, help with transparency on things and just educating my clients as much as possible.
(25:02):
You know, they may take it and say, oh, I don't care. You know, it doesn't matter to me, but I feel better knowing that I at least informed them about something and given the opportunity to make a decision on it.
Rather than them being in the dark about something. So, you know, as a consultant, I'm always trying to be that partner.
And if I, you know, there's an opportunity to support them in a different way than that we originally intended, I'm here to do that for them, you know, whenever I can.
(25:29):
So that can look like project work. It can look like increasing scope.
It just, I'm here to, you know, support people however I can.
So what are the services that you're currently offering your clients?
Yeah, so my main focus right now is fractional controller work. And that's going to be for companies that they need a higher level accounting than just a basic bookkeeper or, you know, an entry level accountant.
(25:57):
They need somebody who's going to be working on more complex tasks. If it's a pool based counting oversight of compliance, things of that nature.
And that kind of tip toes a little bit into that space where I'm not really doing a full scope CFO work. I don't have experience doing that like fundraising and things like that.
(26:18):
But if they need that sounding board to help them think through decisions, how their decisions will impact their financials doing analysis forecasting.
You know, collaborating with their different department heads to make sure that all of that stuff is incorporated. I'm trying to take it up to that next level for them and to keep costs down by being a fractional resource to them when they don't need somebody full time yet.
(26:44):
Yeah.
You spoke a lot about process improvement. Where does that sort of fit into that consulting world where you're working right now? Because, you know, a lot of that was sort of day to day stuff that you mentioned, but clearly the passion lives in less improved processes, less make things better, less make things streamlined, less automate.
So how does that fall into a day to day activities?
(27:05):
Yeah, I mean, where does it not fall into my day to day activities? It's just something that's always at the forefront of my work.
It's something, you know, when I'm talking with prospects that I am very transparent about, I say, if I'm in here and I'm looking at things and I see something can be done better.
I'm going to tell you, you know, this is the tech stack. I recommend this is the process that you should implement, you know, and these are the positive effects of doing that.
(27:32):
You know, yes, there may be a little bit of upfront cost or a little upfront time that needs to go into making these changes, but in the long run, it's going to make a huge difference on staying compliant, being accurate, being efficient with your staff's workload.
So that's something that I'm just always constantly looking at and always making recommendations on, even if that's not the focus of the project. Because I do take on projects sometimes where I'm really just hired to come in and kind of help clean up all those processes.
(28:05):
So in accounting department, but if I'm your controller, I'm going to be doing that anyway. So just something I'm always doing.
Well, you know, that's under the job, like scope for a controller, right? Make sure there's good process in place that it can be followed on a regular basis to protect the financial information on that business.
So yeah, makes a lot of sense, but clearly the passion, right? That's, that's, it's, you know, everything you've spoken about today, you've kept, keeps coming back there, keeps coming back process improvement, less improve, less improve.
(28:34):
Probably the good reason why you are a consultant, because it sounds like once you've cleaned things up, you're a little bit bored because, you know, that's what you want to be doing. You want to be fixing rather than doing, which is, which is great.
There's not enough people out there willing to make those changes, have those hard conversations, which you've sort of mentioned a few times here as well.
And what I've liked so far, every time you've spoken about process improvements, you've led with, I explained to them the benefits of doing this.
(29:01):
And that is something that I don't think is done enough. Can you sort of talk us through why you think that is so important?
Yeah, I mean, it kind of, you know, my best example to explain that is when I was back in the healthcare accounting office, and we had the people that were really resistant to the change of going digitally.
(29:22):
And the thing that really tips me off to how I need to be able to show people how it impacts them positively was when I implemented that new paperless bank reconciliation.
And then I showed it to people, the people who were resistant, and they did it, and they experienced like how wonderful the change was for them. It just made their tasks less stressful.
(29:48):
It took half the time. It was more automated. It was more accurate. So they just had less hangups and headaches from it.
That was my driving point. I'm like, oh my gosh, I have to show people what headache I'm taking away or what bottleneck I'm taking away.
And then it's an epiphany moment for them. They're like, oh my gosh, this is amazing. Okay, I understand it's going to take a little effort up front.
(30:12):
But like you say, in the long haul, it's going to be so much easier, so much more enjoyable. And that's always my goal is to make it less of a headache and to remove those bottlenecks.
It's always, always the goal. So once they see that, you know, that's why I now try to lead with that information instead of trailing with it.
It's a really good strategy, especially in an industry where selling accounting services is selling a grudge purchase because most people have it because they have to have it or their tax person says their books need to be better or someone still wants some reports.
(30:46):
So have you found that that sort of same process works really well in your sales pitch?
Yeah, I mean, like you say, it is definitely a struggle trying to sell these services a lot of times. And what I find helps me the most is when I'm talking with people, one, they see that I'm really passionate about what I do.
Like you say, it's kind of rare to find somebody that feels really passionate about accounting and they see me talking like this about it. And they're like, why do you like this so much? It's such a strange thing. And I'm like, I don't know, I just love accounting and I'd love to do this stuff for you guys.
(31:21):
And so leading with the passion and then just leading with what the transformation looks like, helping them see that end result is I think what is most helpful because, you know, being a business owner, the accounting part is what always gets put on the back burner.
It's a headache. Nobody wants to deal with it. Like you say, they do it because they have to. So that creates a lot of friction in the scope of services in general.
(31:50):
They don't want to deal with it. They don't want to deal with it. They don't want to deal with it. They don't want to deal with it. They don't want to deal with it. They don't want to deal with it.
So, you know, people just can make it difficult. They don't want to get you what you need. And those sorts of things. So it's a real challenge to work through all of that. But just staying positive and, you know, forward focused on what the end result is going to look like is what will really get people excited about, oh, this could be a really good change.
(32:17):
So that's what I try to focus on is that transformation aspect.
Yeah, it makes a lot of sense. Jamie, as a solopreneur, what does your day to day look like?
Never the same. You know, I have multiple different projects and clients that I'm always working on. I have two young kids that are four and five. So if I have a really busy week, sometimes I have to get up before the kids wake up and I'm trying to work before they wake.
(32:43):
And I have to go do full drop off and I come home and I'm just trying to stay focused and not bounce around too much. But, you know, there's a lot of different priorities to juggle when you're handling a lot of different clients and a lot of different projects.
So, for me, it's important just to stay organized and have a priority of what I need to get done for the day. You know, staying moving around is really important. So I have under the desk treadmill that I try to walk on on days that I really can't leave my desk too much.
(33:14):
And that helps tremendously.
And then, you know, I'm out there just like everybody else trying to work on their business. And so I utilize LinkedIn quite a bit actually. And some weeks and months I'm really consistent and others I'm not. It just kind of depends on my workload and what it allows and everything.
So, you know, I had a few months ago that I was super heavy in business development and I felt like all I was doing was LinkedIn and having calls and all that kind of stuff. And then I got a flood of work in. And so that tapered down and then the work went up.
(33:47):
So, as a consultant, you know, how they say it's least and famine, that is absolutely true, especially if I'm doing a lot of project based work. It is always going to be different. I never know, you know, each month, like how workload heavy I'm going to be versus business development.
So it's just finding a balance of not getting burnout with either of them and just having that mental capacity to try to stay consistent and just do the best work that I can and just still trying to build relationships professionally within my network.
(34:25):
You know, it's just really important to be putting yourself out there without expecting anything in return.
And just, yeah, getting out there doing it.
Do you have any advice on the strategy for people that have a lot going on in their life to stay organized and stay on plan so they make sure they're hitting all their priorities?
Yeah. You know, one thing I've been doing lately is I've been tapping into a lot more, I guess you could say, AI resources.
(34:53):
One thing that I've done recently, I started using this app that records all my meetings and it gives me a transcription. It gives me a summary. It gives me action items. And that's been amazing.
It helps me make sure I don't forget any important details and let's follow up with my clients on certain things.
So, trying to utilize tools to build efficiencies within my own business is really important because I pretty much just work by myself.
(35:23):
I have a friend that does help me with keeping occasionally, but that's the extent of my business. I'm not here trying to build a business where I'm going to be hiring a bunch of people.
So, I have to be really self-reliant and accountable and just make sure that I'm setting myself up to be successful to make sure that I'm putting out good work for my clients and that I'm not getting too overloaded with anything.
(35:46):
So, yeah, that makes sense.
What is the app that you're using to record your meetings?
Fireflies.
Firefly?
Yeah, I've really enjoyed it so far. It's been great.
Good. I didn't like it that much, but that's probably more me problem than a software problem. I haven't actually found any meeting app that I've liked. So, that's, again, it's probably a me problem.
(36:07):
Well, there's a lot of them out there. Wish you haven't tried them all.
Yeah, I've made that my team's problem to find one that works and then just tell me please use it.
Another thing that you pointed out, obviously, you've got two young kids. I have young kids as well and I know how that can crazy.
Granted, my wife handles most of the heavy lifting. Doesn't mean I don't have responsibilities with drop off some picks up pickups and I coach sports and kids get sick at the wrong time.
(36:33):
So, how do you build that into your life? How do you manage the busyness of having young kids while trying to run your own business?
Yeah, well, one thing that I did that I feel is really help is when I started with my consulting and I had the intention of having this be flexible for my family life.
I always intended to never work full time. So, I have been trying to strategize my business so that I'm not working full time.
(37:00):
Granted, I do have sometimes I pick up projects where it'll increase my workload for a few weeks or a month, but tend to work 20 to 25 hours a week.
So, I work within the window when my kids are at school and daycare. Granted, my husband, he works very, very early in the morning.
So, he gets off, you know, he's home before lunchtime. So, when we have school closures because of snow delays and yeah, fires.
(37:28):
We had a fire a couple of weeks ago that school was closed 2 days last week. You know, so whether the fires just kids getting sick, anything. I do have that support and my husband being able to help with that stuff as well.
But there's really not usually anything so critical in my work day that I can't say, hey, I'm sorry. I need to delay it a day or a week or something like that.
(37:53):
And most people are really understanding. You know, we all try to give each other grace in those situations because things come up.
And if it's not super urgent, you know, they'll make a big deal out of it basically. So, let's just extend grace to each other and help each other out as much as we can with that.
And just, yeah, it's just it's nice having that flexibility to handle that stuff.
(38:14):
Jamie, can you share with us what your goals for your business are in the short term?
I think that you asked that because I feel like something as an entrepreneur. A lot of us are constantly doing is thinking of new ideas of different things that we can do.
You know, that's part of the entrepreneurial spirit is that we love doing new things and helping people in new ways.
(38:36):
And I'm constantly trying to think of other ideas to create different kinds of revenue streams or to be able to use my skill set to help more people.
And one thing that I know that there's a huge seems to be a huge need for is for very small business owners where it's like a mom and pop shop or it's just a small operation that are trying to grow.
(39:02):
They really don't have the resources to utilize their finances in a way that can help them scale their business and improve their operations.
And I feel like there's a gap in where they'd like to have some kind of resource.
A second set of eyes to kind of help oversee things, point things out to them, just kind of help them along with the things that a lot of business owners just aren't aware of that they should be.
(39:31):
So I've been mulling over this idea and I know I put it out there and I haven't started it yet. I need to get working on it so I can launch it.
It's this club that I was thinking of is called the fiscal guardian club. And it basically would be a small monthly retainer fee where these business owners come in and they can have somebody me come in and look over their financials, look over their compliance and just be kind of that.
(39:57):
That set of eyes to be able to say, hey, you need to look at this, you need to change this. Are you aware that this could have this repercussion? Things like that. So just the areas that they're not aware that they need to be thinking about that I can kind of put that spark in their mind about we need to be considering this or we need to be looking into this.
Those types of things. So just kind of helping more business owners have peace of mind that they're not going to get themselves in trouble with compliance or that they're going to be ready at tax time and things like that.
(40:30):
So I feel like there's a lot of people that would really benefit from having some kind of resource to help them out with that without it being a huge financial burden to get that expertise.
So that's something I'm all over all the time.
Yeah, that's a great idea. I mean, that micro business space is definitely underserved and you know, there's some of the big guys like ensure that are trying to take advantage of that market rather than help them market.
(40:57):
Yeah.
But I think where they really need help is real actionable advice, not just the day to day compliance and that's what most people are selling like, oh, we can do your bookkeeping for super cheap.
Oh, that's not what we're looking for. Like we can come to this wall enough we can put the debit and credits in its cash accounting, no problem, but we do need somebody to look at it and go, hey, yes, a red flag.
(41:18):
Look at this, like there's a problem.
So I think that is that is great opportunity and everybody should be able to take advantage of it once you get that out there. So no pressure. It's just got to go working on it now.
Yeah, and then I mean, another short term goal I have, I recently was participating in this big project where I assisted a really large e commerce based company in Canada migrate from net suite to cookbooks online.
(41:49):
So they were actually kind of moving backwards when you think about the progression into an ERP system, but they were told, you know, hey, you don't need that suite. You can have something like Katana for your inventory and then move back to cookbooks to simplify things.
And, you know, that's one thing that I really advocate for is not moving to a big ERP system too soon, because it takes a lot of resources to manage that and to, you know, utilize it correctly.
(42:17):
And so I would love to be able to help more companies that have made the switch and then kind of regretted it. They said, oh man, maybe we didn't need this. We're not ready for it.
How do we move back and then also fill in that gap that we were trying to find and using next week. So I would love to start offering that as a service to companies that needs somebody who's really acclimated to accounting systems and making sure everything ties correctly and getting those processes working for them seamlessly.
(42:47):
So that's another short term goal. I'd love to start here pretty soon.
Well, let me know when you're ready for that because I will refer all that work to you because I'm ready.
I do not like that. That is not great work is hard to get out of an ERP system. It is painful to get out of an ERP system and I prefer not to touch the type of project.
(43:08):
Again, it's a big puzzle and I like it.
It's a puzzle for sure. It might be, you know, in the wine industry, it's really complicated with the complexity of the inventory. So it's probably put me off more and know there's some places where it can be at least a little bit easier.
But gosh, it is a tough space.
Yeah.
What's the best piece of advice you've received to help you along with your success?
(43:31):
So I used that answer earlier.
I want you to give me another one.
Right there. Right. Pull another one out of your head.
What piece of advice you ever received?
No, I don't know if I would say it was advice. More so maybe just kind of mirroring my dad.
(43:53):
My dad has been such an influence on my personality and the way that I work.
Very, very hard working person never says no to anything. Huge people pleaser. And, you know, he just always showed me that if you just work hard for what you want, like anything's possible.
So that's something that I try to instill in myself and then like whatever I'm trying to help someone else through something, you know, sometimes we have to make hard decisions to get where we want to be.
(44:27):
But if you put in the effort, like, you're the only person that's going to make something happen. So you can't rely on other people to do that.
There's something you want. You got to make it happen. You got to put in the effort. And I think that's so, so important, especially in this day and age.
There's a lot of people that just kind of feel like they can sit back and let things happen to them.
That's not how it works. You got to make it happen. So that's, that's something that I feel serves me really, really well.
(44:54):
Yeah, I mean, both of those sort of fall into the same same area of, right, everybody thinks sometimes opportunities is going to fall into their lap.
And they do for people, but generally that comes because people have asked questions, not being scared of the outcome being no.
And they're putting the hard work somewhere else, you know, sort of go back to that first opportunity you had that your first full time job at Dignity Health.
(45:17):
You worked hard for those two promotions. It didn't just magically happen. It's not like you just rolled out a bed one day and they said, congratulations, you're promoted.
You know, you were asking questions, you were getting involved, you're willing to make changes, put in the hard work and it sort of led to success.
And I think both of those are great pieces of advice and no better advice than actually seeing somebody else implement that advice, rather than just telling you this is what you're going to do.
(45:41):
They're actually living it themselves. So that's great that you had that role model and your dad to be able to show you the right way.
Yeah, and absolutely. And it ties in again with the whole thing about following your passion. That makes it so much easier to make those things happen.
If you're passionate about it, follow it and good things will follow you.
(46:02):
I want to circle back and sort of ask you for some tips and advice to some people. You started a consulting career. It didn't work out. You know, your own words, it sort of failed and you had to jump back into a full time job.
And then you took up the opportunity again. You said, well, I'm going to give this a second go. And most people would just give up on their first time, right?
Like, this is not for me. I can't do this. Let me just stick to this nine to five and hope for the best, even if it wasn't making them the happiest in the world.
(46:33):
What advice do you have for people to sort of give it that second chance? If that's what it really feels like you want to do, that's the way you feel happiest.
How do you convince yourself that like, I know you had the sort of protection of an automatic client. So, you know, there's that, which is again, you had to ask the question. Thoughts that could have been no, you took the opportunity, you worked hard to get there.
(46:56):
But what advice do you have people to make sure that they don't give up on their dreams?
Well, first off, it has to be something that you're willing to make sacrifices for. It is never easy starting a business or going off on your own. No matter what kind of support system you have, you're going to face challenges.
You're going to have really hard days where you don't want to do it anymore. I mean, I go through that up and down of, oh man, should I still be doing this? Should I go back to work all the time still?
(47:24):
But I know in my heart that this is what I'm meant to do and I'm going to make sure I find a way to make it work.
So, from my first stint at trying to do consulting, I learned a very expensive lesson.
Don't just quit your job and not have any kind of network. That was my mistake. That may not be everybody's mistake. Some people may be able to make that transition and be very successful.
(47:48):
But that was a mistake for me because my business was very word of mouth driven and I didn't have a network. I had no way to bring in work.
So, I learned that lesson and I knew I'm not going to make that mistake again. So that's why when I had the opportunity to take on my job and have that foundation, that gave me the confidence, okay, I'm going to mitigate this mistake that I made the first time.
(48:15):
That's not going to be an issue. I'm doing things differently this time. So, I mean, that would be my thing is that you're always going to be making mistakes as a business owner.
It's just going to happen. Nobody's perfect. Nobody knows what they're doing. We may all seem like we do, but we don't. And all you can do is be flexible and hit it and just know that this is your passion and you can make it happen if you try hard enough.
(48:43):
And when life throws you a purple, make a change, do something different, approach it differently, talk to different people. Just have a network of resources out there or people who you can reach out to when you need help on something, when you need an answer to something.
Everybody out there is struggling and you'd be surprised how many people are just willing to lend an ear or to assist you with something because we've all been there. So don't be afraid to reach out to people and ask a question.
(49:16):
You know, the more that you're putting yourself out there, the easier it'll be for people to say yes when you ask for something, but everybody's been there and we're all here to help each other. So just keep that in mind.
Yeah, power of the network, right? Having people around you with similar thoughts, processes, share ideas, bounce ideas.
But I do like what you brought up there that as a business owner, you're going to make mistakes. As a leader, you're going to make mistakes. As a person, you're going to make mistakes. It happened. I make mistakes every single day and I try to tell my kids this all the time.
(49:48):
Honestly, probably make 10, 20, 30 mistakes a day and it's okay because it's how you react to that mistake. You know, it's not just like telling my 7 year old, don't just throw yourself on the ground and be totally upset about it, which, you know, that's what we do when we sort of give up, right?
We're having that little mini tantrum ourselves, but rather using that mistake as a learning opportunity, assessing what went wrong, where did we go wrong, how could we do it better in the future and using that to be better at whatever we're doing tomorrow.
(50:19):
I think that that is such great advice. So many people just let that one mistake get them down and they sort of, they focus in. I made that one mistake. Can you believe it? Like, no, but you probably made, you know, 100 good decisions that day anyway. So, you know, in the balance of things, you're still good.
So don't stress about it too much. As long as you're learning from it, it'll be okay.
(50:41):
Yeah. And just before coming with it, you know, if there's something you did for a client, tell them right away. So, hey, I made this mistake. Here's what I'm going to do to remedy it or make sure it doesn't happen again.
If people appreciate transparency and open communication, so just be open about it and people will extend more grace to that.
Sure. Open honest communication with a solution. And that's the big point that people forget. Come with a solution that makes a big difference. It definitely, you know, buffers the blow a little bit. People like, okay, you screwed up.
(51:14):
Okay, but you know how to fix it. Great. Okay, great. Let's move forward. You might still get fired, but that's okay. That's how we learn that. That's the lessons on rejection right there.
Jamie, this has been a great conversation. Clearly are very passionate about accounting. Love improving processes.
You're a mom of two, but I'd like to learn something more about you on the personal side so we can get a bit of insight into who you are as a person outside of the business world.
(51:44):
Yeah, sure. I mean, I think something that would probably show you a little bit more about me personally is probably what I would be doing if I wasn't doing accounting right now, not when I was a child thinking, oh, I'm going to be a teacher.
But like, what would I do right now if I just put my job and did whatever I felt passionate about.
And you know, living in Reno, I'm in the mountains. I'm in the nature a lot. I grew up in the foothills of Northern California. So I was in the forest and everything there too.
(52:14):
And I really learned that the mountains are always calling me. I love being in the mountains, scape and around the trees and everything.
Don't get me wrong. I love a good visit to the ocean and everything too, but I love the mountains.
And we have the most amazing sunsets and sunrises and lightning storms here. And it's something that I could just get just stuck just watching them.
(52:38):
I absolutely love them. So I would love to one day pick up a camera, put my job and just travel the world and take pictures of lightning storms and sunsets and nature and animals.
And I just think that would be so much fun. It's just really where I feel at peace and calm. And I just absolutely love that kind of stuff.
(53:00):
So that would be kind of decent day.
So Jamie, the accountant, Jamie, the mom and Jamie, the photographer.
Yeah, that would be fun.
Jamie, this has been really great. At pretty conversations, we love to end with some rapid fire questions.
If you're ready, I have five questions for you.
Yeah, shoot.
Number one, what's your dream vacation?
(53:22):
Man, dream vacation. I would probably say just somewhere out of the country. I've never left the United States and I've actually been to a handful of states in the US, including Hawaii, which is fun.
But I would love to really just travel anywhere, just see different cultures.
Maybe go to Germany. That's where my heritage is from. Maybe go to Spain. That'd be fun. So yeah, just get out and see the other countries.
(53:48):
Number two, do you prefer audiobooks or paper books?
Paper books. Oh my gosh. I download audiobooks all the time and I never, never get to them because I just can't focus on them when I'm doing other things.
And I love paper books. Yes, anybody. I've always got a book with me anywhere I go because if I get stuck somewhere and I'm bored, I really want to just whip out my book and be able to start reading it.
(54:12):
And I could just get lost in them. So definitely paper.
Great. What are you reading at the moment?
Oh gosh, it's a Colin Huber book. That's what I've been on lately and I know, you know, a lot of controversy. There's haters and lovers of her, but I think her stories are pretty enthralling and fun to get lost in.
Cool. So your pastimes, as long as you enjoy it, that's all that matters, right?
(54:35):
Yeah. Yeah.
Question number three, if you only had 20 minutes to exercise, what would that exercise be?
I would be lifting weights. My favorites are to do deadlifts. It just feels really good to get out there and throw heavy heavy to me weights around. If you do it fast enough, you get cardio too. So that's good.
Great. I'll ask question number four. What is your favorite piece of technology that you're currently using to make your life better?
(55:00):
Oh my gosh, that's an easy one. So this is probably going to seem really silly, but I have a coffee mug that stays hot.
So, yeah, it's an electronic coffee mug and after I started having kids, I hated how every morning my coffee would get cold.
I'd be running around chasing the kids. I'd never got hot coffee. And then I discovered this coffee mug that stayed hot and it could stay hot for an hour, hour and a half.
(55:29):
So I could sip on it all morning and it stays perfect temperature. But I wanted that. It's amazing.
So funny when you mentioned that. The first thing I went ahead is that it's such a mom-onser, a coffee mug that keeps my coffee warm.
It's amazing. I love it.
Great.
Last question. What is your favorite childhood meal?
Childhood meal. Oh gosh, well, I actually have one of my books from when I was in school. I think I was in second or third grade where it was my month to be the star and everybody had a bright about me.
(56:02):
And if you look back in that, everybody wrote, Jamie's favorite food is broccoli and cheese.
So my favorite food growing up was broccoli with that cheese sauce on it.
Yeah.
And it wasn't really a big meat eater when I was a kid. So probably just broccoli and cheese and dinner roll and maybe some mac and cheese or something to go with it.
(56:24):
That's incredible.
Jamie, thank you so much for your time. And with that, we end another party of conversations. Thank you for joining us in this journey of learning and inspiration.
Today, we've gained insights from our guests and taken another step towards understanding that there is tapestry of leadership in business and accounting.
Remember, each conversation is stepped towards the positive transformation of business leaders. We hope our discussion has given you valuable takeaways to applying your own career in life.
(56:50):
Don't forget to subscribe to Protea Conversations on YouTube and Spotify, so you never miss an episode.
We'd also love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so connect with me on social media channels.
I'm most active on LinkedIn and would love you to join the conversation.
Join us next time for more engaging stories, advice and conversations that matter.
Until then, striving for excellence and embracing growth. Thank you for listening, be kind and goodbye from Protea Conversations.
Welcome to Product Conversations, the podcast where leadership in business and accounting
(00:10):
isn't just discussed, it's explored.
I'm your host, Zane Stevens, and thank you for joining me as we delve into the minds of
some of the most influential leaders in the industry.
Our journey is one of discovery, from unraveling their unique stories that shaped our guest's
careers to invaluable advice that fueled their success.
We're here to provide you with simple, actionable advice to accelerate your career and personal
growth.
(00:30):
Whether you're a budding professional or a seasoned executive, these conversations are
designed to offer insights and perspectives that resonate with everyone.
So tune in, engage, and be inspired as we build better leaders together.
Welcome to Product Conversations.
On today's episode, we're welcome Jamie Skinner, a fractional controller in CFO, renowned for
her strategic expertise into transforming accounting systems for high-growth companies.
(00:54):
At Reno Accounting Solutions, Jamie partners with founders of seven- to eight-figure businesses,
revamping their financial operations to foster intentional investment in people, processes,
and products.
Their approach combines first principles thinking with relentless improvement mindset, ensuring
her clients achieve optimized financial operations and sustainable growth.
Join us as Jamie shares however deep dive into the details and strategic vision helps
(01:17):
businesses harness their financial health for success.
Jamie, welcome to Product Conversations.
Jamie, thanks for having me, Zane.
Yeah.
For all I guess this has been an episode that has been rescheduled multiple times.
We've both had things in life pop up and it's just been easier to reschedule and push it
down.
So for me, this is one of the most anticipated episodes because I've prepared for it multiple
(01:40):
times and life has just gotten the way and that's okay.
You know, that's what busy business owners have.
We have things happen and we sort of adjust and move on.
Yeah, absolutely.
The life of an entrepreneur for sure.
Yeah.
And I always find that such a weird one when people are like, oh, the life of the entrepreneur.
I'm like, oh, geez, I guess I am one of those.
(02:00):
Like that is sort of part of the title, right?
Yeah.
I assume you sort of see yourself as that as well.
Yes.
Yeah.
I'm just a solopreneur.
So I'm being it all by my lonesome and just living that roller coaster of the entrepreneur
life for sure.
Great.
So let's start where I like to start with all these conversations.
(02:23):
What was the decision to get into accounting?
How did that come about?
Yeah, it's kind of interesting how it happened for me.
I kind of fell into it.
I'll kind of start back with where I actually wanted to go growing up and my entire life
growing up, I was completely obsessed with school.
I loved learning.
(02:44):
I was a huge bookworm.
And I actually really enjoyed being able to go back into the classroom during summer
breaks and different opportunities to help my teachers and kind of be like a teacher's
assistant.
And I just absolutely loved being around little kids and just being in that school environment.
So my whole life growing up, I knew I was going to be a first grade teacher.
(03:08):
That was always, always what I was going to be.
So when I got into my first semester of college, I started taking the initial courses for it.
And for some reason, it just didn't resonate the same for me.
And I made the decision, maybe this isn't the right path for me.
(03:28):
I just wasn't sure because it just didn't feel like it was sticking for me.
So at that point, I really had no idea what I wanted to do.
Growing up, I never had a lot of exposure, like a lot of high school students do these
days to different career paths, different mentors, just different industries and such.
(03:48):
So I felt really lost.
I had no idea what else might interest me.
And while I was trying to make that decision of what to do next, I started working at a
car dealership in Northern California.
Huge, huge car dealership.
Very busy all the time.
I really loved the fast pace of it.
And I came in as a service receptionist and then I moved into their office and an office
(04:13):
clerk.
So I was busy all day running files, doing errands, just kind of really helping out wherever
I could.
And on the days when I would finish and I was bored, basically, I would go to my manager
and I said, what can you teach me?
There's got to be something else I can learn how to do to help you guys.
So she started showing me very foundational data entry, working on submitting service
(04:38):
contracts and things like that.
And it was the first time I had ever heard of Debit's and Freddix.
And I was astounded by it.
I was like the concept of always having the balance and it was number based and I loved
math growing up.
It just seemed like, hey, this might be something that would interest me.
So I went back and took my first intro to accounting course and it just hit me.
(05:04):
I was like, this is it.
This is what I want to do.
So I started pursuing that and as I'm getting through college, it is just really hitting
home to me.
This is something I'm really passionate about.
It's really fun for me.
It was like a big puzzle, essentially.
And I love any kind of puzzle, a board game puzzle, mysteries to get through and stuff.
(05:25):
I love puzzles.
So it really resonated with me and even had this one crazy semester where, because I took
so long to figure out what I was doing, I was kind of behind pace on graduating.
And I was like, you know, I want to kick a couple of semesters off.
While I was working part time, just a entry level accountant, I decided to do this crazy
(05:47):
thing one semester and I took 24 upper division accounting courses at once.
One semester.
So I could knock two semesters off.
And I know I could never, ever do that again.
But it really showed me what kind of written determination I could do if there was something
I was really passionate about.
(06:07):
And it just kind of really showed me, you know, what I'm capable of.
So I got through that.
I graduated, started interviewing for my first full time roles.
And I had to start deciding between a couple of different routes.
Everybody knows there's public accounting.
I wasn't interested in that.
I interviewed with a couple of different like state agencies where I would come in like
(06:33):
the audit route.
And then I also was interviewing for a corporate office for a health care system in California.
And as I was kind of weighing the pros and cons of them, there was a lot of differences
between them I found.
And this is something that's probably going to play a lot of newcomers coming into the
(06:54):
accounting of spaces like which route do you go.
One thing that really deterred me from the state agency is that they said, no matter
how good you are, how smart you are, guaranteed it will take you at least two years to promote.
There's just really no getting around that.
And that did not sit with me because I'm a really big go getter.
(07:17):
I really love learning and progressing and that just really turned me off.
So because of that, I decided to go the health care route.
And that was a phenomenal experience for me.
I'm so glad that I went that way.
And it really kind of set off the trajectory for the rest of my career.
I had so many different opportunities going that way.
(07:40):
Let's go back to that decision in college.
I wanted to be a teacher back in the day as well before I went to college.
And my guidance counselor at the time and my parents were like, go study accounting,
you're good at accounting, we had a high school subject.
You can do it, you can come back and be a teacher.
Which is great.
(08:01):
I use that passion for wanting to teach people now on my daily basis by trying to give people
education as far as possible.
But I sort of feel the same way that whole like, I think I wanted to be a teacher, but
when I actually look at what a teacher does now with the eyes of an adult, I can see how
that can, like I would struggle to resonate with as well.
(08:21):
Because I think I'm trying to change people's lives and really I'm not just trying to push
them through and make sure they're successful.
What sort of put you off the teaching route at that point?
Why did it not resonate with you?
I try to remember back all the time why I had that feeling and nothing really stands out
in my memory of it.
I just, I don't know, like I just, something just wasn't, it just wasn't there once I started
(08:45):
taking the classes.
And I knew that I wanted to be passion driven and whatever I did.
And because that feeling wasn't there, I just, I wasn't going to just keep doing it because
that's what I had thought my whole life.
I knew that I needed to have that passion there and it wasn't.
So I had to go out and seek it.
Yeah, it's really interesting.
(09:05):
I mean, it's funny because you talk about passion and there's not a lot of people that
say, Hey, I opened an accounting textbook and that was the most exciting thing I've ever
done, right?
Even the best accountant aren't necessarily excited by accounting.
So talk me through, what was that feeling like starting to learn accounting?
Like, like, was it just that it was a great opportunity the way you came into it?
Sort of, you know, rose colored glasses on you're just like, Oh, my word, I'm learning
(09:28):
something new and you think that excited you or is there something more deeper to it?
That could be part of it.
I don't think that's like really the blanket answer there because there's definitely aspects,
you know, specific subject matter in my undergrad and graduate courses that I.
Loved did not like I hated tech.
That's why another reason why I didn't go the public route because I want nothing to
(09:51):
do with tax, nothing to do with audit.
I really loved corporate accounting and I don't know why, but I just it just looked for me
so easily.
And, you know, considering the fact that I had never been exposed to it until I was
19 years old and then I went into it and I just picked it up flawlessly.
Just, just like I said, it really resonated with me and I, I found the challenge of it
(10:15):
really exciting because I know that when you get into those more difficult courses, it
gets really complex.
But to me, like I said, it was just a big puzzle and just figuring things out.
And the whole aspect of reconciling was really appealing to me.
Again, it was just like the puzzle aspect of it was really fun and challenging and I
(10:39):
thrive on challenge.
So it just was a really good fit for me because of that.
There's a lot of good information that, you know, a lot of people always think accounting
is boring.
You're doing the same thing over and over.
But realistically, it's just a puzzle that you have to solve on a daily basis because
something pops up.
Life's not perfect.
People don't always follow procedure and you're just trying to put the pieces together to
figure out what happened historically and how that's going to affect the future.
(11:02):
It's a good way, you know, to put that piece just in front of other young people who are
thinking maybe accountings are rough for them.
Well, yeah, it is.
It's more than just boring, you know, dibs and credits.
It's the problem solving of it, which makes it exciting on a day-to-day basis.
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah.
And so another piece that really started to excite me for doing accounting.
(11:25):
So when I was working in the healthcare corporate office, not only did I have the opportunity
to promote pretty quickly within that company, I had a lot of opportunity to do a lot of
process changes and creations.
So this was back in like 2009 to 2013 I was there.
(11:49):
And it was just at the beginning of when they were trying to make the transformation from
being a paperless accounting office.
And I got to be at the forefront of that.
So I was one of the youngest people in the office and I was very excited at the idea
of creating these new processes to make things more efficient and to make them digital.
(12:12):
And I was all on board for that.
And there were a lot of people in the office that were not.
They liked their paper and their highlighters and all that kind of stuff.
So when I initially got the opportunity to start working on these processes, the first
one being working on a completely paperless bank reconciliation, which for a hospital is
(12:33):
a complete animal.
It is intense.
It would take like four to five business days of hours for a senior accountant to do one.
And after I did this digital transformation on it of doing data dumps into it and everything
and using formulas, I got it down to like a one to two day process.
(12:55):
And just that in itself just excited me so much and seeing the difference it made in
my coworkers day to day tasks and how much less they dreaded doing the work, how much
faster it was done, really just lit a fire under me and I was like, wow, this is really
cool.
I want to keep doing this kind of stuff.
So I just kept getting all these opportunities to do those types of things.
(13:19):
And it was something I really thrived on and enjoyed.
So it wasn't just doing the pencil pushing data entry accounting.
I was really looking at the processes surrounding it and just kind of going with that in a different
direction.
It was really fun for me.
Yeah.
And it's looking at your resume.
You had great opportunities there and you clearly took them with two promotions in four
(13:40):
years, which is always super impressive, especially at a big company.
You had to put your hand up, right?
You can't just be sort of sitting in the middle and I mean, that somebody will see you.
Yeah.
So it's been an early introduction to automation and technology, which is nice as well because
that is, especially nowadays, that is one of the fun places in accounting is trying to
bring in that automation, bringing that technology, try and improve processes, make things easier,
(14:03):
smoother.
So business owners can get better decisions.
So an early, early picture of the way Jamie planned to take her career.
But let's keep working through it.
You spent four years at Dignity Health.
So that was a nice big opportunity.
Tell us about your next couple of steps.
Yeah.
So the next promotion opportunity there was to be a supervisor.
(14:28):
And I was informed when I tried to apply for the open role, they said, well, company policy
is you cannot be a supervisor without having prior supervisory experience.
We can't get around that policy.
You need to leave and come back.
So I said, okay, peace out.
I'm leaving.
And I was like, I may or may not come back.
Who knows?
So that was a turning point for me.
(14:48):
I got my first assistant controller job at a property development company.
And that is actually what stemmed my first thought into going to the consultant route,
being an entrepreneur.
As I was pursuing my CPA, being a CPA is supposedly very ethically driven.
(15:10):
I was very ethically driven personally as well.
And I started working at this company and came to find out that they were doing unethical
things.
And I would not stand for that.
So this kind of started my job hopping free for a while where I would start working for
(15:30):
these companies and I would figure out, you know, something just wasn't right and there
would be a lot of pushback on that type of thing.
And I just decide, whatever I come across the situations, I'm just going to remove myself
from them.
And I do, I do, I do, I do count for a few of the reasons why I left a couple of places.
But because of that feeling of, oh my gosh, you know, trying to find a job where I'm
(15:53):
going to sit in with the company culture or the people are going to be ethical.
I was like, maybe, maybe I need to remove myself from that completely and be my own
boss because I know that I can just make sure things are handled the way that I feel are
appropriate.
So back in 2014, I made that realization.
And one day I just quit my job and said, I'm going to be a consultant. I'm going to go find clients that I can do keeping board.
(16:19):
I'm sure there's so many people out there that are going to relate to this and what it feels like to go through that transition and feel like you really have no support, no foundation to really kind of get your business going.
And that's exactly what I experienced that first time.
I had no network.
I just went out there, you know, face to face trying to meet people to get clients. I got a handful of small, but keeping clients, but it wasn't anything to really get my business going.
(16:48):
And I wrapped up a ton of credit card debt in the meantime, because I had no other income and seven months later or so, I was at a breaking point and I said, I can't keep doing this.
And I got another job.
So I had to come back to the corporate world.
Found a great place to work for for about a year. Then I made the decision to move. I just needed a change of pace needed to be somewhere different. So I moved from California to Nevada.
(17:18):
And I got a job at our local baseball stadium doing accounting there.
Within a few months, I got things so completely turned around and working well.
But I didn't have enough work to work full time.
So the CFO that was there at the time had seen my LinkedIn about consulting and stuff.
And he's like, is that something you're trying to do right now? And the first time I'm like, Oh, no, he thinks I'm trying to leave. That's not good.
(17:44):
And I said, Oh, no, no, that was back when I lived in California. And he said, Oh, well, if you're interested, like, maybe because you don't have enough work, maybe you could do that again and we could be a client of yours.
But save us money and help you do that. And I was like, man, that that would be so awesome to have a second chance at doing that.
So taking them on as a client really afforded me the foundation financially.
(18:10):
Give it a second shot. And it was amazing. They kept me afloat while I started to network in Reno where I'm at right now.
The community here is just amazing for businesses. Everybody's super supportive, great networking and everything.
And everything I was getting was word of mouth. It's just such a close-knit community. And I was able to successfully build my business.
(18:37):
And it's, I just haven't looked back. It's been amazing. I started my business in 2016.
And another reason for the push for me to do that is because I knew I was going to be starting a family and I really wanted to have that flexibility and just be accountable to myself.
That was what was really important to me. So that was the start of my consulting.
(19:00):
That is pretty incredible that there was somebody thought thinking enough to look at you and go, Hey, if that's something you want to do, we could work together on that.
We could definitely support you.
Is this something you guys would think about? Like you brought it up and it just kind of got me thinking about it again.
Let me put something together to show you how it could save you money. It would help me out. I think it would be a really good way for us to work together.
(19:24):
It's interesting that the conversation happened. They're open to it.
It's not everybody that's just going to be like, cool, go ahead. You're going to tell me you do it all, but you're going to be splitting your time.
So, you know, that trust factor is not something that you see all the time.
It talks a lot to that person and their ability to trust the person in front of them, but also it shows a lot into your hard work, your dedication and clearly what you specialize in, which is making things better by improving processes.
(19:55):
And how I got that job with the ballpark originally, they were not hiring for that role at all. I was looking for a job and I was starting to get kind of desperate because I had moved and I needed to work.
It was November, December, so nobody's hiring at that point. And I just started emailing CFOs of companies in Reno and I had emailed him and I said, Hey, here's my skill set.
(20:20):
Does this sound like something that you guys could use? And he wrote me back and I, he said, actually, I think we do need somebody like that here. Let's go have lunch.
We had lunch and he hired me to come in and I took that as an opportunity to do all their reconciliation. They had, I think, 11 inter company accounts between all their different.
(20:44):
They had a restaurant merchandise store events, ballpark, all sorts of different things. And they have 7 years of balance sheets that had never been reconciled.
So that was my project for like 3 months. And that was another indication to me that I thought consulting would be really fun because I love that.
First phase of coming into a new job where I get to really just put my head down and focus on cleanup work.
(21:14):
Improvement and all that kind of stuff. So I was like, why can't I take that and transfer it.
To being a consulting job where I can just do that over and over for clients.
So that really kind of spearheaded it also for me.
That's a lot of cleanup. I mean, I thought it was fun.
It is, but you know, there is always risk with any of those types of large cleanup, right? Because it can go very right, but it can also go very wrong.
(21:38):
And when I mean very wrong, normally when you find really big issues and people don't like their answers, right?
It's not necessarily you've done anything wrong. They just that number. That's not how much profit we made.
Like actually it is while you're wrong. So you're out the door, you know, those situations happen all the time because people don't like the bad news.
Especially in those situations of the balance sheet cleanups where one of the biggest issues you'll see is double counting of revenue.
(22:03):
We raised the AR invoice and then we took the payment directly to income.
That's happened all the time and means everything is understated.
So good on you to sort of put yourself out there. You know, that's a great lesson for people.
Like you just sometimes have to put yourself out there and see what opportunities come your way.
I'm sure there was some people that never responded or said no, thank you along the way.
(22:27):
It wasn't like you said one email and it was magic success, right?
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah. So I mean, that's a good point right there. We shouldn't be scared of rejection. Rejection is normal, right?
Like it's going to happen. Is there any sort of like skill set or advice that you have for people for dealing with those rejections when it does come up?
Yeah. I mean, one piece of advice I always give out to people, you know, professionally, personally, because I feel like it's so very true.
(22:56):
Someone once told me that if you don't ask, the answer is always no.
So that really has been something that stuck with me my whole adult life and I really take it to heart.
And that has really helped me to say, hey, this is something I really want or I'd like to have or I want to do differently.
(23:18):
The only way that could ever happen is to take that first step and approach the subject, whether it's asking for something or, you know, getting approval on something.
You just have to ask. And yes, you might get a no, but what if they say yes?
Like you would never know if you don't ask. So I'm a huge proponent of that quote and I live my life by it and I feel it's done me.
(23:45):
It's served me so well to have that mindset and I try to pass that off onto as many people as I can as well because it's just so such a good mindset to have to help us move forward.
No, I agree. This is sportsperson and me. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take, right?
Yeah, look for those opportunities, take those opportunities. And like you said, the worst thing I can say is no, I mean, that's not really going to do you any damage.
(24:09):
So no to concern. You say you call yourself a consultant. What does that mean to you?
Yeah, so as a consultant, I think of myself as more trying to be a partner with my clients than, you know, oh, that's just my accountant or something like that.
I'm always thinking outside the scope of like my stated work, you know, because I'm partnering with them. I want to ensure their success as much as I can contribute to.
(24:39):
So if I see something and I feel it's important to be brought up to them, I'm going to tell them I'm not going to beat around the bush. I'm not going to say, oh, that's a sensitive subject or that's not my area.
I don't refrain from just trying to, you know, help with transparency on things and just educating my clients as much as possible.
(25:02):
You know, they may take it and say, oh, I don't care. You know, it doesn't matter to me, but I feel better knowing that I at least informed them about something and given the opportunity to make a decision on it.
Rather than them being in the dark about something. So, you know, as a consultant, I'm always trying to be that partner.
And if I, you know, there's an opportunity to support them in a different way than that we originally intended, I'm here to do that for them, you know, whenever I can.
(25:29):
So that can look like project work. It can look like increasing scope.
It just, I'm here to, you know, support people however I can.
So what are the services that you're currently offering your clients?
Yeah, so my main focus right now is fractional controller work. And that's going to be for companies that they need a higher level accounting than just a basic bookkeeper or, you know, an entry level accountant.
(25:57):
They need somebody who's going to be working on more complex tasks. If it's a pool based counting oversight of compliance, things of that nature.
And that kind of tip toes a little bit into that space where I'm not really doing a full scope CFO work. I don't have experience doing that like fundraising and things like that.
(26:18):
But if they need that sounding board to help them think through decisions, how their decisions will impact their financials doing analysis forecasting.
You know, collaborating with their different department heads to make sure that all of that stuff is incorporated. I'm trying to take it up to that next level for them and to keep costs down by being a fractional resource to them when they don't need somebody full time yet.
(26:44):
Yeah.
You spoke a lot about process improvement. Where does that sort of fit into that consulting world where you're working right now? Because, you know, a lot of that was sort of day to day stuff that you mentioned, but clearly the passion lives in less improved processes, less make things better, less make things streamlined, less automate.
So how does that fall into a day to day activities?
(27:05):
Yeah, I mean, where does it not fall into my day to day activities? It's just something that's always at the forefront of my work.
It's something, you know, when I'm talking with prospects that I am very transparent about, I say, if I'm in here and I'm looking at things and I see something can be done better.
I'm going to tell you, you know, this is the tech stack. I recommend this is the process that you should implement, you know, and these are the positive effects of doing that.
(27:32):
You know, yes, there may be a little bit of upfront cost or a little upfront time that needs to go into making these changes, but in the long run, it's going to make a huge difference on staying compliant, being accurate, being efficient with your staff's workload.
So that's something that I'm just always constantly looking at and always making recommendations on, even if that's not the focus of the project. Because I do take on projects sometimes where I'm really just hired to come in and kind of help clean up all those processes.
(28:05):
So in accounting department, but if I'm your controller, I'm going to be doing that anyway. So just something I'm always doing.
Well, you know, that's under the job, like scope for a controller, right? Make sure there's good process in place that it can be followed on a regular basis to protect the financial information on that business.
So yeah, makes a lot of sense, but clearly the passion, right? That's, that's, it's, you know, everything you've spoken about today, you've kept, keeps coming back there, keeps coming back process improvement, less improve, less improve.
(28:34):
Probably the good reason why you are a consultant, because it sounds like once you've cleaned things up, you're a little bit bored because, you know, that's what you want to be doing. You want to be fixing rather than doing, which is, which is great.
There's not enough people out there willing to make those changes, have those hard conversations, which you've sort of mentioned a few times here as well.
And what I've liked so far, every time you've spoken about process improvements, you've led with, I explained to them the benefits of doing this.
(29:01):
And that is something that I don't think is done enough. Can you sort of talk us through why you think that is so important?
Yeah, I mean, it kind of, you know, my best example to explain that is when I was back in the healthcare accounting office, and we had the people that were really resistant to the change of going digitally.
(29:22):
And the thing that really tips me off to how I need to be able to show people how it impacts them positively was when I implemented that new paperless bank reconciliation.
And then I showed it to people, the people who were resistant, and they did it, and they experienced like how wonderful the change was for them. It just made their tasks less stressful.
(29:48):
It took half the time. It was more automated. It was more accurate. So they just had less hangups and headaches from it.
That was my driving point. I'm like, oh my gosh, I have to show people what headache I'm taking away or what bottleneck I'm taking away.
And then it's an epiphany moment for them. They're like, oh my gosh, this is amazing. Okay, I understand it's going to take a little effort up front.
(30:12):
But like you say, in the long haul, it's going to be so much easier, so much more enjoyable. And that's always my goal is to make it less of a headache and to remove those bottlenecks.
It's always, always the goal. So once they see that, you know, that's why I now try to lead with that information instead of trailing with it.
It's a really good strategy, especially in an industry where selling accounting services is selling a grudge purchase because most people have it because they have to have it or their tax person says their books need to be better or someone still wants some reports.
(30:46):
So have you found that that sort of same process works really well in your sales pitch?
Yeah, I mean, like you say, it is definitely a struggle trying to sell these services a lot of times. And what I find helps me the most is when I'm talking with people, one, they see that I'm really passionate about what I do.
Like you say, it's kind of rare to find somebody that feels really passionate about accounting and they see me talking like this about it. And they're like, why do you like this so much? It's such a strange thing. And I'm like, I don't know, I just love accounting and I'd love to do this stuff for you guys.
(31:21):
And so leading with the passion and then just leading with what the transformation looks like, helping them see that end result is I think what is most helpful because, you know, being a business owner, the accounting part is what always gets put on the back burner.
It's a headache. Nobody wants to deal with it. Like you say, they do it because they have to. So that creates a lot of friction in the scope of services in general.
(31:50):
They don't want to deal with it. They don't want to deal with it. They don't want to deal with it. They don't want to deal with it. They don't want to deal with it. They don't want to deal with it.
So, you know, people just can make it difficult. They don't want to get you what you need. And those sorts of things. So it's a real challenge to work through all of that. But just staying positive and, you know, forward focused on what the end result is going to look like is what will really get people excited about, oh, this could be a really good change.
(32:17):
So that's what I try to focus on is that transformation aspect.
Yeah, it makes a lot of sense. Jamie, as a solopreneur, what does your day to day look like?
Never the same. You know, I have multiple different projects and clients that I'm always working on. I have two young kids that are four and five. So if I have a really busy week, sometimes I have to get up before the kids wake up and I'm trying to work before they wake.
(32:43):
And I have to go do full drop off and I come home and I'm just trying to stay focused and not bounce around too much. But, you know, there's a lot of different priorities to juggle when you're handling a lot of different clients and a lot of different projects.
So, for me, it's important just to stay organized and have a priority of what I need to get done for the day. You know, staying moving around is really important. So I have under the desk treadmill that I try to walk on on days that I really can't leave my desk too much.
(33:14):
And that helps tremendously.
And then, you know, I'm out there just like everybody else trying to work on their business. And so I utilize LinkedIn quite a bit actually. And some weeks and months I'm really consistent and others I'm not. It just kind of depends on my workload and what it allows and everything.
So, you know, I had a few months ago that I was super heavy in business development and I felt like all I was doing was LinkedIn and having calls and all that kind of stuff. And then I got a flood of work in. And so that tapered down and then the work went up.
(33:47):
So, as a consultant, you know, how they say it's least and famine, that is absolutely true, especially if I'm doing a lot of project based work. It is always going to be different. I never know, you know, each month, like how workload heavy I'm going to be versus business development.
So it's just finding a balance of not getting burnout with either of them and just having that mental capacity to try to stay consistent and just do the best work that I can and just still trying to build relationships professionally within my network.
(34:25):
You know, it's just really important to be putting yourself out there without expecting anything in return.
And just, yeah, getting out there doing it.
Do you have any advice on the strategy for people that have a lot going on in their life to stay organized and stay on plan so they make sure they're hitting all their priorities?
Yeah. You know, one thing I've been doing lately is I've been tapping into a lot more, I guess you could say, AI resources.
(34:53):
One thing that I've done recently, I started using this app that records all my meetings and it gives me a transcription. It gives me a summary. It gives me action items. And that's been amazing.
It helps me make sure I don't forget any important details and let's follow up with my clients on certain things.
So, trying to utilize tools to build efficiencies within my own business is really important because I pretty much just work by myself.
(35:23):
I have a friend that does help me with keeping occasionally, but that's the extent of my business. I'm not here trying to build a business where I'm going to be hiring a bunch of people.
So, I have to be really self-reliant and accountable and just make sure that I'm setting myself up to be successful to make sure that I'm putting out good work for my clients and that I'm not getting too overloaded with anything.
(35:46):
So, yeah, that makes sense.
What is the app that you're using to record your meetings?
Fireflies.
Firefly?
Yeah, I've really enjoyed it so far. It's been great.
Good. I didn't like it that much, but that's probably more me problem than a software problem. I haven't actually found any meeting app that I've liked. So, that's, again, it's probably a me problem.
(36:07):
Well, there's a lot of them out there. Wish you haven't tried them all.
Yeah, I've made that my team's problem to find one that works and then just tell me please use it.
Another thing that you pointed out, obviously, you've got two young kids. I have young kids as well and I know how that can crazy.
Granted, my wife handles most of the heavy lifting. Doesn't mean I don't have responsibilities with drop off some picks up pickups and I coach sports and kids get sick at the wrong time.
(36:33):
So, how do you build that into your life? How do you manage the busyness of having young kids while trying to run your own business?
Yeah, well, one thing that I did that I feel is really help is when I started with my consulting and I had the intention of having this be flexible for my family life.
I always intended to never work full time. So, I have been trying to strategize my business so that I'm not working full time.
(37:00):
Granted, I do have sometimes I pick up projects where it'll increase my workload for a few weeks or a month, but tend to work 20 to 25 hours a week.
So, I work within the window when my kids are at school and daycare. Granted, my husband, he works very, very early in the morning.
So, he gets off, you know, he's home before lunchtime. So, when we have school closures because of snow delays and yeah, fires.
(37:28):
We had a fire a couple of weeks ago that school was closed 2 days last week. You know, so whether the fires just kids getting sick, anything. I do have that support and my husband being able to help with that stuff as well.
But there's really not usually anything so critical in my work day that I can't say, hey, I'm sorry. I need to delay it a day or a week or something like that.
(37:53):
And most people are really understanding. You know, we all try to give each other grace in those situations because things come up.
And if it's not super urgent, you know, they'll make a big deal out of it basically. So, let's just extend grace to each other and help each other out as much as we can with that.
And just, yeah, it's just it's nice having that flexibility to handle that stuff.
(38:14):
Jamie, can you share with us what your goals for your business are in the short term?
I think that you asked that because I feel like something as an entrepreneur. A lot of us are constantly doing is thinking of new ideas of different things that we can do.
You know, that's part of the entrepreneurial spirit is that we love doing new things and helping people in new ways.
(38:36):
And I'm constantly trying to think of other ideas to create different kinds of revenue streams or to be able to use my skill set to help more people.
And one thing that I know that there's a huge seems to be a huge need for is for very small business owners where it's like a mom and pop shop or it's just a small operation that are trying to grow.
(39:02):
They really don't have the resources to utilize their finances in a way that can help them scale their business and improve their operations.
And I feel like there's a gap in where they'd like to have some kind of resource.
A second set of eyes to kind of help oversee things, point things out to them, just kind of help them along with the things that a lot of business owners just aren't aware of that they should be.
(39:31):
So I've been mulling over this idea and I know I put it out there and I haven't started it yet. I need to get working on it so I can launch it.
It's this club that I was thinking of is called the fiscal guardian club. And it basically would be a small monthly retainer fee where these business owners come in and they can have somebody me come in and look over their financials, look over their compliance and just be kind of that.
(39:57):
That set of eyes to be able to say, hey, you need to look at this, you need to change this. Are you aware that this could have this repercussion? Things like that. So just the areas that they're not aware that they need to be thinking about that I can kind of put that spark in their mind about we need to be considering this or we need to be looking into this.
Those types of things. So just kind of helping more business owners have peace of mind that they're not going to get themselves in trouble with compliance or that they're going to be ready at tax time and things like that.
(40:30):
So I feel like there's a lot of people that would really benefit from having some kind of resource to help them out with that without it being a huge financial burden to get that expertise.
So that's something I'm all over all the time.
Yeah, that's a great idea. I mean, that micro business space is definitely underserved and you know, there's some of the big guys like ensure that are trying to take advantage of that market rather than help them market.
(40:57):
Yeah.
But I think where they really need help is real actionable advice, not just the day to day compliance and that's what most people are selling like, oh, we can do your bookkeeping for super cheap.
Oh, that's not what we're looking for. Like we can come to this wall enough we can put the debit and credits in its cash accounting, no problem, but we do need somebody to look at it and go, hey, yes, a red flag.
(41:18):
Look at this, like there's a problem.
So I think that is that is great opportunity and everybody should be able to take advantage of it once you get that out there. So no pressure. It's just got to go working on it now.
Yeah, and then I mean, another short term goal I have, I recently was participating in this big project where I assisted a really large e commerce based company in Canada migrate from net suite to cookbooks online.
(41:49):
So they were actually kind of moving backwards when you think about the progression into an ERP system, but they were told, you know, hey, you don't need that suite. You can have something like Katana for your inventory and then move back to cookbooks to simplify things.
And, you know, that's one thing that I really advocate for is not moving to a big ERP system too soon, because it takes a lot of resources to manage that and to, you know, utilize it correctly.
(42:17):
And so I would love to be able to help more companies that have made the switch and then kind of regretted it. They said, oh man, maybe we didn't need this. We're not ready for it.
How do we move back and then also fill in that gap that we were trying to find and using next week. So I would love to start offering that as a service to companies that needs somebody who's really acclimated to accounting systems and making sure everything ties correctly and getting those processes working for them seamlessly.
(42:47):
So that's another short term goal. I'd love to start here pretty soon.
Well, let me know when you're ready for that because I will refer all that work to you because I'm ready.
I do not like that. That is not great work is hard to get out of an ERP system. It is painful to get out of an ERP system and I prefer not to touch the type of project.
(43:08):
Again, it's a big puzzle and I like it.
It's a puzzle for sure. It might be, you know, in the wine industry, it's really complicated with the complexity of the inventory. So it's probably put me off more and know there's some places where it can be at least a little bit easier.
But gosh, it is a tough space.
Yeah.
What's the best piece of advice you've received to help you along with your success?
(43:31):
So I used that answer earlier.
I want you to give me another one.
Right there. Right. Pull another one out of your head.
What piece of advice you ever received?
No, I don't know if I would say it was advice. More so maybe just kind of mirroring my dad.
(43:53):
My dad has been such an influence on my personality and the way that I work.
Very, very hard working person never says no to anything. Huge people pleaser. And, you know, he just always showed me that if you just work hard for what you want, like anything's possible.
So that's something that I try to instill in myself and then like whatever I'm trying to help someone else through something, you know, sometimes we have to make hard decisions to get where we want to be.
(44:27):
But if you put in the effort, like, you're the only person that's going to make something happen. So you can't rely on other people to do that.
There's something you want. You got to make it happen. You got to put in the effort. And I think that's so, so important, especially in this day and age.
There's a lot of people that just kind of feel like they can sit back and let things happen to them.
That's not how it works. You got to make it happen. So that's, that's something that I feel serves me really, really well.
(44:54):
Yeah, I mean, both of those sort of fall into the same same area of, right, everybody thinks sometimes opportunities is going to fall into their lap.
And they do for people, but generally that comes because people have asked questions, not being scared of the outcome being no.
And they're putting the hard work somewhere else, you know, sort of go back to that first opportunity you had that your first full time job at Dignity Health.
(45:17):
You worked hard for those two promotions. It didn't just magically happen. It's not like you just rolled out a bed one day and they said, congratulations, you're promoted.
You know, you were asking questions, you were getting involved, you're willing to make changes, put in the hard work and it sort of led to success.
And I think both of those are great pieces of advice and no better advice than actually seeing somebody else implement that advice, rather than just telling you this is what you're going to do.
(45:41):
They're actually living it themselves. So that's great that you had that role model and your dad to be able to show you the right way.
Yeah, and absolutely. And it ties in again with the whole thing about following your passion. That makes it so much easier to make those things happen.
If you're passionate about it, follow it and good things will follow you.
(46:02):
I want to circle back and sort of ask you for some tips and advice to some people. You started a consulting career. It didn't work out. You know, your own words, it sort of failed and you had to jump back into a full time job.
And then you took up the opportunity again. You said, well, I'm going to give this a second go. And most people would just give up on their first time, right?
Like, this is not for me. I can't do this. Let me just stick to this nine to five and hope for the best, even if it wasn't making them the happiest in the world.
(46:33):
What advice do you have for people to sort of give it that second chance? If that's what it really feels like you want to do, that's the way you feel happiest.
How do you convince yourself that like, I know you had the sort of protection of an automatic client. So, you know, there's that, which is again, you had to ask the question. Thoughts that could have been no, you took the opportunity, you worked hard to get there.
(46:56):
But what advice do you have people to make sure that they don't give up on their dreams?
Well, first off, it has to be something that you're willing to make sacrifices for. It is never easy starting a business or going off on your own. No matter what kind of support system you have, you're going to face challenges.
You're going to have really hard days where you don't want to do it anymore. I mean, I go through that up and down of, oh man, should I still be doing this? Should I go back to work all the time still?
(47:24):
But I know in my heart that this is what I'm meant to do and I'm going to make sure I find a way to make it work.
So, from my first stint at trying to do consulting, I learned a very expensive lesson.
Don't just quit your job and not have any kind of network. That was my mistake. That may not be everybody's mistake. Some people may be able to make that transition and be very successful.
(47:48):
But that was a mistake for me because my business was very word of mouth driven and I didn't have a network. I had no way to bring in work.
So, I learned that lesson and I knew I'm not going to make that mistake again. So that's why when I had the opportunity to take on my job and have that foundation, that gave me the confidence, okay, I'm going to mitigate this mistake that I made the first time.
(48:15):
That's not going to be an issue. I'm doing things differently this time. So, I mean, that would be my thing is that you're always going to be making mistakes as a business owner.
It's just going to happen. Nobody's perfect. Nobody knows what they're doing. We may all seem like we do, but we don't. And all you can do is be flexible and hit it and just know that this is your passion and you can make it happen if you try hard enough.
(48:43):
And when life throws you a purple, make a change, do something different, approach it differently, talk to different people. Just have a network of resources out there or people who you can reach out to when you need help on something, when you need an answer to something.
Everybody out there is struggling and you'd be surprised how many people are just willing to lend an ear or to assist you with something because we've all been there. So don't be afraid to reach out to people and ask a question.
(49:16):
You know, the more that you're putting yourself out there, the easier it'll be for people to say yes when you ask for something, but everybody's been there and we're all here to help each other. So just keep that in mind.
Yeah, power of the network, right? Having people around you with similar thoughts, processes, share ideas, bounce ideas.
But I do like what you brought up there that as a business owner, you're going to make mistakes. As a leader, you're going to make mistakes. As a person, you're going to make mistakes. It happened. I make mistakes every single day and I try to tell my kids this all the time.
(49:48):
Honestly, probably make 10, 20, 30 mistakes a day and it's okay because it's how you react to that mistake. You know, it's not just like telling my 7 year old, don't just throw yourself on the ground and be totally upset about it, which, you know, that's what we do when we sort of give up, right?
We're having that little mini tantrum ourselves, but rather using that mistake as a learning opportunity, assessing what went wrong, where did we go wrong, how could we do it better in the future and using that to be better at whatever we're doing tomorrow.
(50:19):
I think that that is such great advice. So many people just let that one mistake get them down and they sort of, they focus in. I made that one mistake. Can you believe it? Like, no, but you probably made, you know, 100 good decisions that day anyway. So, you know, in the balance of things, you're still good.
So don't stress about it too much. As long as you're learning from it, it'll be okay.
(50:41):
Yeah. And just before coming with it, you know, if there's something you did for a client, tell them right away. So, hey, I made this mistake. Here's what I'm going to do to remedy it or make sure it doesn't happen again.
If people appreciate transparency and open communication, so just be open about it and people will extend more grace to that.
Sure. Open honest communication with a solution. And that's the big point that people forget. Come with a solution that makes a big difference. It definitely, you know, buffers the blow a little bit. People like, okay, you screwed up.
(51:14):
Okay, but you know how to fix it. Great. Okay, great. Let's move forward. You might still get fired, but that's okay. That's how we learn that. That's the lessons on rejection right there.
Jamie, this has been a great conversation. Clearly are very passionate about accounting. Love improving processes.
You're a mom of two, but I'd like to learn something more about you on the personal side so we can get a bit of insight into who you are as a person outside of the business world.
(51:44):
Yeah, sure. I mean, I think something that would probably show you a little bit more about me personally is probably what I would be doing if I wasn't doing accounting right now, not when I was a child thinking, oh, I'm going to be a teacher.
But like, what would I do right now if I just put my job and did whatever I felt passionate about.
And you know, living in Reno, I'm in the mountains. I'm in the nature a lot. I grew up in the foothills of Northern California. So I was in the forest and everything there too.
(52:14):
And I really learned that the mountains are always calling me. I love being in the mountains, scape and around the trees and everything.
Don't get me wrong. I love a good visit to the ocean and everything too, but I love the mountains.
And we have the most amazing sunsets and sunrises and lightning storms here. And it's something that I could just get just stuck just watching them.
(52:38):
I absolutely love them. So I would love to one day pick up a camera, put my job and just travel the world and take pictures of lightning storms and sunsets and nature and animals.
And I just think that would be so much fun. It's just really where I feel at peace and calm. And I just absolutely love that kind of stuff.
(53:00):
So that would be kind of decent day.
So Jamie, the accountant, Jamie, the mom and Jamie, the photographer.
Yeah, that would be fun.
Jamie, this has been really great. At pretty conversations, we love to end with some rapid fire questions.
If you're ready, I have five questions for you.
Yeah, shoot.
Number one, what's your dream vacation?
(53:22):
Man, dream vacation. I would probably say just somewhere out of the country. I've never left the United States and I've actually been to a handful of states in the US, including Hawaii, which is fun.
But I would love to really just travel anywhere, just see different cultures.
Maybe go to Germany. That's where my heritage is from. Maybe go to Spain. That'd be fun. So yeah, just get out and see the other countries.
(53:48):
Number two, do you prefer audiobooks or paper books?
Paper books. Oh my gosh. I download audiobooks all the time and I never, never get to them because I just can't focus on them when I'm doing other things.
And I love paper books. Yes, anybody. I've always got a book with me anywhere I go because if I get stuck somewhere and I'm bored, I really want to just whip out my book and be able to start reading it.
(54:12):
And I could just get lost in them. So definitely paper.
Great. What are you reading at the moment?
Oh gosh, it's a Colin Huber book. That's what I've been on lately and I know, you know, a lot of controversy. There's haters and lovers of her, but I think her stories are pretty enthralling and fun to get lost in.
Cool. So your pastimes, as long as you enjoy it, that's all that matters, right?
(54:35):
Yeah. Yeah.
Question number three, if you only had 20 minutes to exercise, what would that exercise be?
I would be lifting weights. My favorites are to do deadlifts. It just feels really good to get out there and throw heavy heavy to me weights around. If you do it fast enough, you get cardio too. So that's good.
Great. I'll ask question number four. What is your favorite piece of technology that you're currently using to make your life better?
(55:00):
Oh my gosh, that's an easy one. So this is probably going to seem really silly, but I have a coffee mug that stays hot.
So, yeah, it's an electronic coffee mug and after I started having kids, I hated how every morning my coffee would get cold.
I'd be running around chasing the kids. I'd never got hot coffee. And then I discovered this coffee mug that stayed hot and it could stay hot for an hour, hour and a half.
(55:29):
So I could sip on it all morning and it stays perfect temperature. But I wanted that. It's amazing.
So funny when you mentioned that. The first thing I went ahead is that it's such a mom-onser, a coffee mug that keeps my coffee warm.
It's amazing. I love it.
Great.
Last question. What is your favorite childhood meal?
Childhood meal. Oh gosh, well, I actually have one of my books from when I was in school. I think I was in second or third grade where it was my month to be the star and everybody had a bright about me.
(56:02):
And if you look back in that, everybody wrote, Jamie's favorite food is broccoli and cheese.
So my favorite food growing up was broccoli with that cheese sauce on it.
Yeah.
And it wasn't really a big meat eater when I was a kid. So probably just broccoli and cheese and dinner roll and maybe some mac and cheese or something to go with it.
(56:24):
That's incredible.
Jamie, thank you so much for your time. And with that, we end another party of conversations. Thank you for joining us in this journey of learning and inspiration.
Today, we've gained insights from our guests and taken another step towards understanding that there is tapestry of leadership in business and accounting.
Remember, each conversation is stepped towards the positive transformation of business leaders. We hope our discussion has given you valuable takeaways to applying your own career in life.
(56:50):
Don't forget to subscribe to Protea Conversations on YouTube and Spotify, so you never miss an episode.
We'd also love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so connect with me on social media channels.
I'm most active on LinkedIn and would love you to join the conversation.
Join us next time for more engaging stories, advice and conversations that matter.
Until then, striving for excellence and embracing growth. Thank you for listening, be kind and goodbye from Protea Conversations.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!