October 29, 2023 • 45 mins
Are you prepared to conquer the business landscape? If you're a CEO, you can't afford to miss our latest True CEO Podcast, where we unmask the mysterious world of accounting. We've got LaVonne Shields, our accounting strategist, sharing her insights on vital financial concepts - from mastering financial statements to tax planning. Imagine yourself transforming every financial transaction into a stepping stone for sustainable business success; we'll show you how!
Ready to decipher the language of business? Let's discuss the distinction between deductions and expenses, and disbursements and dividends. Imagine the feeling of confidence as you navigate business conversations, understanding every word that's thrown your way. We'll also chat about reverse engineering your staff's paychecks, ensuring you're not underpaying or overpaying anyone.
In the final segment of our podcast, we dive into the nitty-gritty of business banking and the role of technology in business. As a bonus, we'll also address the realities of predatory lending, the risks of financing a big asset on a credit card, and how to find the right loan for your needs. It's time to revolutionize your understanding of accounting and leadership! Tune in and become the master of your financial destiny.
Thanks for listening! Please follow, rate and review.
Produced and Recorded by Randall Hayes.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sonya Songer (00:02):
Thousands of Patrons, ements of Patrons,
birch trees Rocks.
(00:25):
Welcome to the True CEO Podcast, where we equip CEOs with the
financial prowess they need toconquer the business landscape.
I'm your host, sonia Songer,and I extend a warm welcome to
all the visionary minds joiningus today.
In this episode, we dive intothe world of accounting and
(00:47):
unveil the crucial to-dos thatevery CEO must master.
Get ready to unlock the secretsof financial acumen as we
explore the essential accountingpractices that will elevate
your business to the new heights.
From financial statements tobudgeting, tax planning to cash
flow management, we leave nostone unturned in providing you
with the insights and strategiesneeded to make informed
(01:10):
decisions and propel yourorganization towards sustainable
success.
So grab your calculators,sharpen your pencils and prepare
to become the master of yourfinancial destiny.
It's time to embrace theaccounting essentials that every
true CEO must conquer, and todo so, we have our usual panel
of experts, and that's going tobe LaKeisha Cubs Hayes, who is
(01:32):
our CEO expert.
We have, of course, the personwho's going to be giving us most
of the information today, andthat's LeVon Shields, who's our
accounting strategist, and thenmyself, sonia Songer, the HR
specialist here.
So, levon, what are theseto-dos that?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (01:51):
you speak of, and I want to know where
your pencil at because Sharpenit, because you're supposed to
sharpen.
Sonya Songer (01:57):
I have a pen that's not going to work.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (01:59):
We got to erase.
Accounting is all erasure, it'snot erasure?
Sonya Songer (02:06):
You shouldn't be.
Are you doing something shiestythat you need to erase?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (02:09):
The question Do you have a second
set of books?
I mean you might, you should.
Sonya Songer (02:19):
I have one.
What's in my head?
What's?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (02:20):
in my head versus what's on paper.
LaVonne Shields (02:22):
Are you know?
Those two things I've alwaysmet.
Sonya Songer (02:25):
So now there's six tips Don't have too many books.
Don't break the law when you'remaking a law.
Don't break the law when you'remaking a law.
Yeah, don't do that.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (02:35):
I mean.
Sonya Songer (02:36):
And don't out yourself on the podcast.
She doesn't know what she'stalking about, at least not in
regard to true CEO.
I don't know what she's doingover there with strategic
behavior and none of the otherstuff, but true CEO is legit.
LaVonne Shields (02:58):
So what are some crucial accounting to-dos
that new business owners,established business owners
should definitely embrace?
One of the first ones isdefinitely bring in some sort of
professional whether you'rejust meeting with them and a
one-on-one hey what am Isupposed to do?
Kind of thing or actually bringsomeone to do the job of
managing your numbers, Becauseit's just that's facing it's not
(03:21):
everyone's forte, it's not thething they should be doing in
their business at all.
So get the support of having anactual professional who can
walk you through some of that,Because it is it's very muddy
waters.
There's a whole lot of movingand shaking and things that need
some clarification.
So, as opposed to just tryingto wing it, you should probably
(03:41):
get someone who can help youorganize that and put it into
some structure.
I mean, it's just the way ofthe world.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (03:48):
And I was talking to a couple of people I
was coaching there.
It was just like, well, I justwant to know how to do it myself
.
I was like do you really wantto that's a whole separate
profession.
Right, that's a wholeprofession and I was like how
much of it do you want to beable to do?
I mean, I can understand from aCEO standpoint of what do I
need to know within this systemto then be able to have clarity
(04:15):
on my numbers.
I can understand that.
Sonya Songer (04:17):
And make sure somebody's not siphoning money
off of it.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (04:20):
Right, absolutely, absolutely Now.
Sonya Songer (04:22):
I understand that part.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (04:23):
But I'm just like why am I going to do
this myself?
LaVonne Shields (04:28):
Like that is I ask all the time I'm like okay,
so you won't do that by yourself.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (04:33):
Yeah, I'm not the professional in this
round.
I don't even think you reallywant me to deal with the numbers
?
Not at all.
You know I was like-.
LaVonne Shields (04:40):
It's simple.
I'd be like where is thereceipt?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (04:43):
Where's the receipt?
I was like, what receipt, whatreceipt did you want me to have?
I had to have a receipt forevery single thing that I do,
every thing.
Sonya Songer (04:52):
I was like, I mean , I guess, they do give you a
receipt for every transaction.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (04:57):
I mean they do, but I didn't think you
had to have it for every littleLike.
I went and bought some gum.
Why am I Can I buy gum in thebusiness?
That's what I need to know.
What's my first?
LaVonne Shields (05:07):
hope.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (05:09):
You know, I walk right up to the line and
I look at it.
LaVonne Shields (05:12):
Well, I mean if you look at it and you look at
it, but that's the whole thingis because and these are tow,
this are walking.
I'm like can I do this?
But that's the whole thing is.
The numbers are the the story.
And if you don't have thebackup to the story, then I
think we said in another podcastabout HR if there's no
documentation, then there's noway it didn't happen, there's no
(05:34):
way of proving it.
And the crazy part about theIRS is that you're they're crazy
, but your bank statements andcredit card statements don't
show us proof.
Oddly enough, when it comes todeposits they do, but when it
comes to money going out, theydon't count that.
They want to see an asset.
They want to see an actualreceipt that describes what it
(05:54):
is that you were moving moneyfor.
And if you don't have it, thenin the worst case scenario,
which is an audited situation,that goes, that goes away, that
goes, it goes away.
So if you were claiming it andyou don't have the proof of it.
It goes away.
It's no longer part of thecalculation.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (06:11):
So basically, they just put it into
your dividends or all of theother stuff, depending on your
structure.
LaVonne Shields (06:16):
Yeah, depending on the structure so it becomes-
.
So if you're a sober prior,then yeah, because it increases
the net income of the business,and so that's what you're going
to get taxed on, especially forself-employment.
If we're talking about entities, now it's a whole different
deal as far as how it goes,because if it was pulled out and
it should have been considereda payroll, then now you've got
to go back and reevaluate howyou calculated where that
(06:38):
expense was and then possiblypay penalties and interest.
Oh no.
For not calculating the per-.
Why Exactly so, when you don'thave an expert there who's
helped you navigate theminefields of that one?
Because it is that.
It's literally that it's likeoh, don't step right there,
don't do that, unless you don'twant your pinky toe.
You might want to go somewhereelse.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (07:00):
What about that person that's not spending
hardly any money in theirbusiness and they're just
wanting to hold on to it?
Sonya Songer (07:07):
I know what you're talking about?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (07:11):
What about those people?
To be honest, out of the peoplethat I coach now there are a
number of people that say, oh, Ican't spend that money and
every dime that I have goes backinto the business.
I find it quite, you know, like.
Sonya Songer (07:29):
again, I go right up to the line and I look at it
Back into the business, how youshould be spending it then.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (07:34):
Well, I mean, they're spending it kinda,
they're not taking any money,they're not like, they're not
utilizing, they're not payingthemselves.
I mean outside of payroll, youknow, because obviously you have
to do the payroll.
But what about those peoplethat you know are just not doing
what they need to do?
LaVonne Shields (07:55):
Well, this is why the professional comes into
play, because what's thestrategy?
So we're holding on the cashfor what reason?
Because there's always taxstrategy and there's operational
strategy.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (08:04):
Yes.
LaVonne Shields (08:05):
Tax strategy is spend it all, pay it as least
amount of taxes, as you want.
Operational strategy is I wantto make sure that I have access
to any lines of credit or beable to sell my business or do
things like that, so then you'regoing to need to have a
particular level ofprofitability.
The sweet spot is how can weaccomplish where I'm paying the
least amount of taxes for thislevel of profitability that I
(08:26):
want to be in?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (08:27):
Right.
LaVonne Shields (08:27):
Which is why you have your experts.
You don't just kind of wing itand go off of one strategy,
especially if that strategydoesn't even work for your
entity, it doesn't work for yourindustry, it doesn't work for
just your business in general.
You, just because you sawsomeone on TikTok, say you gotta
do this, no, don't.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (08:43):
I just want to see all the money in my
account.
It hit with a capital gains.
LaVonne Shields (08:50):
Goes back to the what Like.
What does that mean?
But then that's where we'rehaving the right kind of
professional.
Unfortunately, my industry isknown for having very
disassociated professionals.
We see you at the end of theyear or we tell you what it is
supposed to do.
However, that person who islooking to see that dollar
amount in their bank accountprobably has another issue that
(09:11):
they're working off of, probablycoming from a place of scarcity
, not knowing what it is thatthey're supposed to be doing
with it in the first place, andso if you can't walk them
through, okay, I understand thatthat's where you're coming from
, but this is our goal.
So how do we release some ofthat?
Going in and depending on theexpert.
Again, my industry is known fortransactional, being very
(09:33):
disassociated with the actualbusiness owner and the
operations of the business, sofinding the right professional
is crucial.
I love the fact that the newones coming out the gate are
being more advisors and not justtransactional, but they're
still.
The foundational part of it isI'm going to prepare your taxes,
okay, well, that's great, but Ialso want to get access to
(09:54):
funding, and those are twodifferent strategies.
And if you don't know anyonewho's willing to have that
conversation with you.
You could be in a positionwhere, yeah, you have low taxes,
but good luck on getting alongfor that building in the next
two years.
Or, yeah, I'm able to get thisloan, but, man, I got paid all
this money and taxes.
I wasn't prepared for that.
How do you step your way intothat?
So getting the rightprofessional is crucial and
(10:18):
there's so many stages that youcan get it from.
So it's not saying you have togo hire someone at $250 an hour
or $2,000 a month is reallyfinding based off of where you
are.
Where can I start?
And then that way you buildinto that relationship and then
find out if that's the rightperson.
Because, again, if all they'retalking about is, oh, we need to
make sure we're at least amountof taxes, okay, but my lender
(10:39):
over there is telling me I needto be prepared to qualify for a
loan.
How do we make this work?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (10:45):
So you got to have that.
What's the strategy and I thinkthat's what I love about just
even talking about this topic iswhat is the strategy in which
you are operating under?
And a lot of people don't havethe strategy.
They're just like, okay, well,now I'm entrusted with all of
this money for this corporationor you know this entity, and now
(11:09):
what am I supposed to do?
And you're either on the on twoends whether I'm hoarding all
of the money because I'm scaredI'm going to go out of business,
or I'm spending all the moneybecause I'm reckless and I don't
necessarily think about youknow what is what the future
entails.
I just know that.
You know this money came in andyou know it's mine and I'm
(11:31):
going to mine and I'm going tomine.
LaVonne Shields (11:33):
Well, that's thought that that's where, again
, having that professional comein, because that mindset is one
of the biggest ones to switchover.
If, even as a sole proprietor,you'd want to create some
separation between you and yourbusiness, yeah, because there
has to be separation between youand your business.
However, if there is no oneguiding you through how to make
that transition, then you end upin a position where you're
(11:55):
forced to have to pay taxes onthis one because, well, yeah,
you was doing this back andforth and when they came and
looked at it, it looked like abusiness, right, it looked like
a business.
So if it didn't look like abusiness and it's not going to
get business benefits or, on theother side of it, it's, you
know, there was just moneymovement and no one knew exactly
where it was going.
And so when it comes time toreally see you moved all this
(12:16):
money, then how do we relate itto what actually happened in
your business?
So you paid these people, yougot the system, you did this
training, you did all thesethings.
How did that relate to what'shappening in operations?
Right, you know, do the peoplewho are making things happen
have the resources that theyneed with all this money you
were moving.
You moved all this money, butyou don't have any new computers
(12:36):
.
You're still working off of.
You know 1997 operating system.
But everybody went to Hawaii forthe team meeting.
It's like, okay, that was great, you wrote off the travel, but
the day to day sucks.
The day to day sucks and youknow, having the right sort of
collaborative professional startthere.
(12:59):
Find somewhere where you canstart asking the questions and
learn how from a CEO, businessowner mindset.
You should be looking at yournumbers, right.
You should be looking at yournumbers so what that actually
leads into what one of the nextparts, which is learn, learn the
language.
You gotta learn the language,right?
You know you're called peopleall the time and you ask me so
(13:21):
what's this between a deductionand an expense?
They're the same thing.
Where are you asking me aboutthe information?
We call it a deduction whenwe're talking about your taxes,
but in your day to day it's anexpense.
So it's interchangeable.
But people get all concernedlike, well, I need to know what
my deductions are because myexpenses.
You said the same thing.
Sonya Songer (13:41):
You said the same thing Like when people order a
chai tea latte.
Chai and tea.
Both mean tea, Chai and tea.
LaVonne Shields (13:51):
So you're asking for a tea, tea, latte.
I was today years old when Igot that, so luckily I don't
chai me, I don't drink chai.
It means tea, so learn some newEnglish.
Well, I know.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (14:07):
I just had my lawyer calls me, probably,
you know, every six months or so.
He's like hey, kish, you needyour minutes right, cause you
have your CPA who's telling youone thing, and then you have
your corporate attorney that'stelling you one thing, and so
sometimes those things match upand sometimes you know they
serve two different functions.
It's really just what it is.
(14:28):
And so he asked me last weeksometime.
He was like he should you know,your dividends are low.
And I was like my dividends,like what are we talking about?
And I was just like well, whatare we?
He was like what are you doingwith the money, you know, cause
you have to be making some kindof profit?
(14:50):
And I was like, well, yeah,we're making a profit.
And he was just like and I waslike disbursements, and he was
just like your disbursements aredividends.
And I was like, okay, becausemy CPA is saying, okay, your
disbursements are this, but thenhe comes with it and have
dividends on the paper and I'mlike I don't even know what
(15:11):
you're talking about right now.
LaVonne Shields (15:13):
And these are two different things.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (15:16):
So where?
Where do you see it?
LaVonne Shields (15:18):
I mean even from a language, from a
simplicity standpoint like, well, I need a profit and loss or do
I need an income statement?
Sonya Songer (15:25):
It's the same thing.
LaVonne Shields (15:26):
Same thing, same thing, but you don't know.
You don't know what you don'tknow.
So if you don't know thelanguage, you don't know how to
communicate it, and not fromeven from a bias standpoint.
But accounting is the languageof business.
It's the one way that you'reable to equalize everybody by
saying, hey, are you makingenough to support your business?
It doesn't matter what industryin, what size you're in.
(15:47):
If your math not math, then wegot a problem.
So learn the language so youcan figure out where what's
happening.
Numbers wise relates to what'shappening in the actual parts of
the business.
As well as being able tocommunicate with people who
aren't a part of these standardconversations, you know you need
to make sure that you canconvey to everyone, speak the
(16:09):
language of business, to peopleso they know exactly how to help
you, exactly where you knowthey can give you the best bang
for your buck or what's going on, as well as to make sure that
you can.
You can see your business froma 360 angle, absolutely.
I mean, if you only see it fromthe.
I know how to make cakes, okay.
Well, do you know what it takesfor you to make the cakes,
market the cakes and figure outhow many, what your capacity is
(16:30):
for, how many cakes you canactually do in the course of a
month.
If you can't answer thosequestions and you're saying but
I need, I need access to a loanfor what.
What do you need to make?
I mean you decide.
Sonya Songer (16:42):
I'm not wanting you money to make camp Right.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (16:46):
I mean, I just literally had this
conversation with our CEO group,our accelerator group, and I
was just telling them, you know,they were like, okay, well, how
much can we afford to paysomeone?
Because it was like the numbersare too low.
And I was like, well, thenumbers aren't low, you just
have not looked and delved intothem.
(17:07):
I was like, you know, let's,let's take one client.
If one client is, you know, $80, then what do you want to take
off the top?
Because you know, obviously youwant to go to profit first.
So if we go to profit first,then profit first says what it
was my expected profit that I'mgoing to make off of this
reverse engineer, and then youreverse engineer it.
(17:28):
So if I'm making, you know, Iexpect to make 15 and 20%, which
is my industry standard, youknow.
So my industry standard set 15to 20%.
I'm going to take my 15 to 20%off the top and then I'm going
to say, okay, this is how much Ihave left.
Well, how much does it cost meevery hour for overhead, for the
(17:49):
people, for the staff thatneeds to make sure that this
runs, without the people thatactually make the money, like
all of those different thingsand all of these different
moving parts that people are notlooking at, and it was just
like oh, I never looked at itlike that.
Yes, so then I can afford topay X amount of dollars for the
people that do the work.
(18:10):
Now am I going to pay completeand other like all the way up my
top?
Absolutely not.
That's not how this works.
LaVonne Shields (18:17):
It's not how it works, but you won't even know
how to make that that scenariohappen if you don't understand
the language of okay, so am Italking about my gross profit?
Am I talking about my netprofit?
Am I talking about my operatingexpenses?
All of the because that's whereyou need to know where you're
going to make your adjustments.
I sat in on a webinar and thisguy explained it the best way
(18:39):
I've ever heard from anaccounting professional.
It was.
It was basically saying at thetop is where we're talking about
your capability of running thebusiness.
Do you know what your pricepoints are?
Do you know what it costs foryou to generate that money?
Everything under that is howwell is your management managing
the business?
Because those are managementdecisions.
How much we paying a rent, howmuch we paying an operation
(19:01):
staff, how much we paying youknow choosing to do you know
over time or things like thoseare management decisions.
Those are happening boots onthe ground, whereas everything
else is happening at the higherlevel.
With your hypothesis, if we sell, this much is going to generate
this much in cash, which willbe what was left over, but if
you don't know what part of theequation that we're talking
about.
You're going to start throwingstuff out there and people are
(19:22):
like what, what do you actuallyknow about your business?
Right, what, what do youactually know about your
business?
So if you can't speak thelanguage, then how can, how can
you expect your business to growif you don't can't even
describe where it is and whereyou want it to go and get the
support you need to move forwardwith it Down to the language,
(19:42):
and then that just leads into.
You know, one of the otherrelationships that you do want
to have is a strong relationshipwith a lender, a banker.
You want to have someone firstyou can talk to you, do you?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (19:54):
want to have that.
LaVonne Shields (19:55):
That should be your coffee buddy at least once
a quarter, somebody who can.
Again, if you're saying I wantto get to five million, all
right, so then we probably wantto make sure you have leverage
of 2.5 as far as access to that.
So in order for you to do thatwhich goes back to the language
I need your gross profits to beat this percentage, I need your
balance sheet to say this as faras your ratios of debt.
(20:16):
I need you to work through that, which means talk to your tax
person to say, hey, least amountof taxes is not our priority
Right.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (20:25):
That's not the priority right now, and it
changes from year to year, andthat's the part that you need to
understand.
Is it changes from?
LaVonne Shields (20:31):
year to year and they need a 12 month.
Look back to be able to say it.
So you can't say I want to beprepared in three months, whoa
Right.
What was your previous ninemonths looking like before?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (20:41):
this happened.
LaVonne Shields (20:43):
Right, but if you don't have relationship with
a banker, then you don't knowone.
What other types of programsthat are there out there?
I mean, there are so many waysof getting access to money, so
many ways of being able to fundyour business, but if you don't
have someone out there who'slooking out for that for you,
then when you need the money,you can't get access to the
money.
And when you don't need themoney but should have it in
(21:03):
reserves, you don't even know togo ask for it.
Right, and even though thinkabout like, oh yeah, we're doing
good, that's great.
Did you consider now applyingfor a line of credit?
Did you consider now thinkingabout what it's going to be to
get your own building, sinceyou've been leasing for this
last five months, five years,why you got your business at
this level?
What's the next part of that?
Right, If there's no one havingthat conversation with you, then
(21:23):
you're usually end up in a very, very uncomfortable I mean not
in a good way uncomfortableposition financially, because
you have access, you need money,but you can't get access to it.
And then, when you're ready tomove forward, you didn't even
think about getting access to it.
And that cycle just keeps goingand going and going.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (21:40):
And it's absolutely imperative for
imperative that people of colorhear this, because I mean you.
Based off of my first name, Iget turned down.
My name is Laquisha LaquishaCobb's Haze.
I am black all the way throughand through.
When they see my name, they'relike I don't get the benefit of
(22:06):
the doubt that I can pay thismoney back, and so a lot of you
know the black community is at adisadvantage, especially when
it comes to lending and havingmoney and you know, majority of
them are boots and they'resubject to the predatory lending
.
LaVonne Shields (22:25):
So you get access to lending.
You got, yeah, I got access tomoney.
Yeah, but you know they'regoing to take money out of your
account every day to pay thatloan Every day, like every day,
every day.
Oh my God, I did that when wefirst started.
I got my money.
I got like what was it like?
A?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (22:37):
$5,000 loan that they wanted me to pay
back every day and my revenuecycle was freaking 45 days.
I did not understand that and Iliterally was like, yep, nope,
this is where I stopped thebleeding.
Why?
Because what I do know like Isaid, I walk right on up to the
(23:01):
line is that this is predatorylending and that you can file
whatever you need to file, butwhat I'm not going to do is pay
every single day.
But then that also caused meissues with what was it?
What was that?
What you call it lean that theyput on you.
LaVonne Shields (23:19):
The CC one.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (23:22):
Yeah, the CCL.
They put that out there.
I think it's called CCL or CCsomething.
Whatever it is.
It stopped me from gettingloans my very first few years.
LaVonne Shields (23:36):
And then the other part of that one is
getting the wrong loan for whatyou're looking for.
So it was why would you financea big asset on a credit card
just because the credit card hasthe capability?
You probably would have donebetter by getting a fixed loan
that you could spread out overthis period of time, especially
when you're weighing it out.
So if you don't have anyonewho's letting you know like, hey
, I get what you're trying to do, let's find the right tool for
(23:58):
that.
Let's figure out what this islong term.
So I would tell all my clientswhenever I work with them we're
talking about money movement.
It's very rare that money needsto move that fast where you
don't have the capability totake a step back and go.
Is this the right thing to do?
I mean anything under dependingon the size of the business.
It might be $1,000 or less.
Yeah, we're not talking aboutthat.
But when you start getting to,oh, I got to pay this $10,000.
(24:21):
How do we not know that $10,000?
No one knew.
No one knew 10 grand was coming, because I know payroll is
coming every two weeks.
So I was prepared for that.
But what's this?
10 grand?
What's that in two?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (24:35):
But that's what I'm saying and who's
talking to you about it?
I mean, I know I'm prettytransparent and I say it, but I
was dumb.
It was my first couple of yearsin business.
I didn't know.
I knew payroll was coming.
My revenue cycle was 45.
I needed to pay these bills.
I had enough, but I didn't haveenough.
You had just barely enough.
(24:57):
I had just barely enough.
And then, who was I going totalk to?
To say, hey, do you know abanker?
First of all, I'm alreadyembarrassed.
I'm already.
I'm about to freaking fail.
It's about to be over, I'm nogood at business.
All of these things are goingthrough your brain like dang.
Why didn't I think about that?
And what was I supposed to do?
(25:19):
And how was I supposed to getto this number?
And damn, was this a?
LaVonne Shields (25:24):
really good idea.
And then the other scary partis that because people make the
assumption that a lender doesn'twant to lend, that's their job.
It doesn't literally how theygenerate money is their ability
to generate interest and comefor it.
Right, so I have lended out thismuch.
So if you don't develop thatrelationship, you're not
(25:45):
allowing someone to do what itis that they're here to do.
You're not letting them servetheir purpose.
And the problem, especiallyamongst our community, is
there's a belief that no onewants to loan to us, and that's
not true.
It's just that you're going tothe wrong places.
You're assuming that the bankon the corner, which is on every
corner, wants to do businesswith you.
They know that you have no otherchoice to do business with them
(26:08):
so that they can be verydiscerning.
However, that little smallthing that's in the cut, that
you think has no resources, isprobably banging with money,
like access to a lot ofresources, and they have someone
who will look at you and gookay, I see three years ago you
got in a little bit of trouble,but I've noticed that over here
and, looking at your financials,we have something we can do for
(26:30):
you, absolutely.
You might not get $5 million aday, I might not be able to get
you access to that, but I canget you $1.5 million and then we
can build on that.
You want that kind of thing.
Now someone says, oh, so youapplied for $5 million and you
just didn't get it and it's a no, and then they just be like
nope.
No, Right, Because they don'tneed to worry about it, because
they know that they get to playthe law of numbers.
(26:51):
50,000 people are going toapply today for some sort of
line of credit.
All I need is two.
All I need is two.
So just imagine all that.
All we need is two.
So I can be very conscious andchoose to have you.
Just see what boxes you check,Because somebody else is going
to go at a more prominent bankthat you might not see as being
(27:14):
as prominent as they are.
They will look at you and gookay, so what are the sum of
your parts?
Let's figure out how we makethis work.
And again, you might think youneed five, but I can't get you
five.
I can get you two and we canlead up to the five.
Or I can get you two as adirect loan and the other two I
can get you as a line of credit.
But you won't know that if youdon't develop a relationship
(27:35):
with someone who can tell youwhat are the lending options
that are available to you andhow do we get you to fit into
the right one.
I mean so knowing having arelationship with a banker is a
crucial part of growing yourbusiness.
That's something you definitelywant to do, whether it be at
your bank.
Find another bank, findsomewhere where there's a person
who understands business that'sone.
(27:57):
Make sure they understandbusiness and develop a
relationship with them.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (28:02):
This is not typically your B of A's or.
LaVonne Shields (28:06):
Wells Fargo.
They usually have someone who'srotating through Her taste was
pretty good.
Well, that's the funny part is,a lot of them are trying
because they realize they'vegotten that rap.
Like you know, a businessbanker.
I went to see a business bankerand I told them what I I work
in accounting and I told themwhat I do and they were like so
so what exactly is it that youdo?
One is in the name.
(28:27):
Right, I could have the time mybusiness was keeping on
steroids.
It's like it's in the name whatI do.
So you're a business banker,cause now I got questions.
I got a lot of questions aboutyou, what you do, and why am I
banking here?
Why am I?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (28:47):
No no no, no, no no, no, I know, for me it
was really hard, just or it'sreally hard, I should say
because everything that I do andI've established over the past
seven years is in a big bank,and so even the thought of
having to move all of that toanother bank it is disheartening
(29:09):
.
And so I know for me that'sprobably maybe a barrier for me
to even switch to another bank,because I'm looking at it like,
okay, well, what do I move?
And everything comes throughhere and this is a daily, hourly
type deal.
So where do you make that firststep to say, okay, well, I'm
(29:30):
going to look at a smaller bank,and but I guess that kind of
goes along with what you'resaying is talk to the bankers
and talk to those people to say,hey, this is where I'm at and
this is what I want to do onwhat's going to be the best, and
have a real conversation.
LaVonne Shields (29:44):
You know, don't just go on there, have an
expectation that, well, this iswhat you do, so get this to me.
It's about the network part ofit, finding the right bank,
finding the right bankers,because I mean, it's such a
broad just from within that thatlittle part is so still vast,
because there's those who onlyfocus on industries, there's
(30:05):
some that focus on commercial,there's some that focus on
working capital.
The lending comes in so manydifferent ways.
So having someone who can say,hey, here's a map that I think
we can work through and aswilling to be a part of your
advisory team in some way, shapeor form, that's where you win,
as you get your full advisoryboard together, and your banker
(30:26):
should be one of those, and yourbanker and your tax person
should be having a conversation.
They should be having some sortof a be in alignment in some
kind of way, because if yourtaxes look like you know, with
no, no low tax liability, mightnot be able to qualify for a
loan.
Sonya Songer (30:44):
Now to circle back to the banking part of it.
I hear what Keisha is saying inregards to not wanting to
switch all of that over whenyou're so enmeshed in the large
bank that you're with.
So if you're having thatconversation with a smaller bank
(31:05):
, is there a possibility towhere you don't have to make
that huge switch?
Is there a possibility?
LaVonne Shields (31:13):
Well, that's what the back room ever heard,
that you ever heard.
Sonya Songer (31:15):
Right.
But I mean, have you heard ofthat happening to where?
Okay, what if I just put acertain amount here in your bank
?
Will that allow, will thatqualify me to then be a part of
your network?
Now, to where I can still,because it's not obviously going
to be the same numbers, right,because I'm showing you the
numbers based on where all of mystuff is right now at this
(31:37):
other bank.
But for you to help me, can Ijust put a portion of that money
into your bank?
LaVonne Shields (31:44):
Which, being able to have that good
conversation with them and sayhey look, I've been, I've been
here the entire length of mybusiness, everything runs
through it.
But you're telling me you cangive me X, Y and Z.
What's the roadmap to get there?
Do I have to have all so muchhere?
Because, again, depending onthe lending mechanism that
you're using, yeah, you got toput 10 grand here because I'm
(32:07):
using as 10% of collateral onthe line of credit that we're
getting right to offer you.
So, at bare minimum, yeah, Ineed 10 grand.
Sonya Songer (32:13):
Okay, cool.
LaVonne Shields (32:14):
Or at bare minimum I need you to like.
For many of them during COVIDfor PPP, it was put your.
I mean, I can get you this PPPloan, but I need you to now run
your payroll through this bank.
Okay, so let's figure out how Ican just run payroll through
this bank.
What does that look like?
And then the hope is that youappreciate the service that
they're giving you and likewhat's going on, and then you'll
(32:37):
be willing to move everythingover because it'll be easier.
However, if you're notcomfortable having a
conversation with a lender atall, then you're missing out on
so many of the avenues that arepart of business that run
through money.
I mean that are directlyrunning through your access to
money, how you're using yourmoney, how the money gets easily
(32:57):
moved across different banksand different payment styles.
You get the wrong bank thatdoesn't allow you to do sale,
and you're dealing with a wholelot of people who.
That's how they operate.
Sonya Songer (33:06):
You're like oh, do you have some clients that
can't do sale, because for awhile it was difficult.
LaVonne Shields (33:11):
I don't know how to do it.
I guess difficult, but I mean,but that was a big thing when
QuickBooks became really, reallyhuge and they started having
the relationships with banks soyou can have downloads.
No, you're still not sure aboutthat.
You're not sure about that.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (33:28):
She's saying I'm not sure that you're
talking the right stuff rightnow, Hold on.
LaVonne Shields (33:34):
It's.
You know a lot of them.
They didn't allow you to dodownloads in the QuickBooks, and
so that was a decision,especially when me, when I was
working with businesses, I waslike, if I can't download and
you want me to do manual entry,I got to now charge you per hour
because that's time for me.
Sonya Songer (33:48):
That upticks the amount exponentially.
LaVonne Shields (33:52):
A lot, and so it is, you know, finding the
right features.
So you, you want to talk tosomeone who will walk you
through it and give you the bestinformation moving forward so
that you can develop thatrelationship long term.
I would say the magic number isthree.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (34:09):
That's my magic number.
My magic number, my thresholdand magic number is three.
I can talk to three differentpeople, ask them the same
questions and or differentquestions, and you're going to
be able to decipher, because Ithink that's the part where
especially new entrepreneurs gethung up on.
Okay, well, I went to go talkto this one banker.
No, you need to go talk to twomore.
(34:31):
You need to go talk to two morepeople, and if they're all
telling you the exact same thing, then obviously that's the
thing.
That's the thing I said.
Now, if they all tell you threedifferent things and you
probably need to go speak to afourth and or fifth Right or go
deeper into the conversation orgo deeper into the conversation.
You're not asking the rightquestions.
(34:52):
What kind of questions should Iask?
LaVonne Shields (34:55):
What was the perspective that they were
giving you the answer on?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (34:58):
You know were you rushed, you know, is
this a conversation that youknow you need to let them know
that you want to take your timewith this conversation.
You are vested, you know you'relooking into moving your money
into a place, so what is it thatI need to know?
And don't feel like you have tobe pressured into making a sale
(35:18):
because the best people are notgoing to pressure you into
making a sale.
LaVonne Shields (35:22):
They're going to be about the long term.
The word is go, and that's, youknow, the next important thing.
Through that, embracetechnology.
Ooh, number four, you gottaembrace technology, you gotta
learn how to use it.
Sonya Songer (35:39):
I mean, I'm still sending me checks.
LaVonne Shields (35:42):
I'm still dealing with people who are
writing stuff down and manualledgers.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (35:46):
Oh, wow.
LaVonne Shields (35:47):
Uh-uh Excel.
And then, until then, excel wasthe next thing, and so now
you're realizing there's a lot,of, a lot more accounting
softwares out there that takeaway and streamline this process
.
The thing about accounting isthat it has always been so
mentally manual Like you have tomentally manually do stuff and
(36:10):
then keep coming back tocross-reference your work which
I can only imagine how easy itwas for people to steal money
back in the day because it wasjust.
Sonya Songer (36:20):
I'm just going to turn this from one to ten Real
easy, like at the beginning of apodcast.
Books, like literally two books.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (36:29):
Right, my stuff is all manual.
So, you guys know, I do nothave two books, right?
LaVonne Shields (36:36):
So when you can embrace the technology, that
would be wicked.
Embrace the technology becausethere's too much of it out there
for you, not, right?
It's just too much.
And so for you to not embraceit, you're putting yourself at a
disadvantage, because now it'snot easy for you to pull
financial reports, because yougot to literally lay out a whole
(36:58):
day to just figure out what itis.
You did two months ago and withthe whole goal is we're trying
to plan what we're going to doin the next two months.
Sonya Songer (37:06):
Yes, and they're at various different price
points, so there's absolutelysomething out there for
everybody.
LaVonne Shields (37:12):
Yeah, and that's the big thing is find the
technology that works for whereyou are and then do something
with it.
But 2023, you got to embracetechnology you got to embrace
technology.
Because once you're able toembrace technology, that takes
you to the fifth one, which isthen learn your key performance
indicators, that your numberstell you about your business Key
(37:34):
performance.
I need my bank account toalways be in this amount.
I need my debt to only be thisamount.
I need my operating cost to bethis amount.
How will you?
What are the key things thatlet you know what we're doing is
working?
What we're doing is not working?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (37:49):
and we're making adjustments.
It's like a GPS.
It's kind of like okay, I needto get to X, y and Z, I want to
go to Newport Beach and I needto know the quickest and the
fastest way to get there.
I'm not getting ready to wingit.
I'm not about to go pick up abook the Thomas guide I don't
know who remembers those, I'molder than you.
Sonya Songer (38:08):
Of course I remember when are Thomas.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (38:12):
I don't even know what was before the
Thomas guide, but I remember theThomas guide.
Sonya Songer (38:16):
They used to have them in the gas station.
They didn't know the map of thearea there no longer there.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (38:22):
And neither is the Thomas guy.
I believe the Thomas guy iseven online.
I believe it's online.
So, technically like you haveto know where you're going and
those KPIs are going to get youthere, you need to make a left
turn.
That might be you know, I needto save up X amount of dollars
for you know, I don't knowpayroll.
LaVonne Shields (38:41):
I need to have X amount of dollars in a bank or
pay her to do whatever computerto add to whatever it is that
you're looking to do.
You need to know yourindicators to make sure that you
can do it whether, even if youjust look at it from a
standpoint, we need to get 10more clients.
Okay, so how much money are weplanning on spending to get
those 10 more clients and do wehave the capacity to actually
service those 10 clients?
(39:03):
Are we willing to?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (39:04):
Me and Sonya had that conversation.
Where are we spending $5,000 on?
Indeed, and we got two clients.
I'm sitting up there like, uh,no, no, that's not, that's not
going to work out for me.
So then she comes back and says, okay, well, if you don't want
to spend $5,000, keisha, thenhere's our other options, and
(39:25):
we're not saying that they'regoing to bring in the other
place.
But what is the amount that youwant to spend?
Where is the line?
And if you don't know the line,well, I need to bring in X
amount of people to have, and Iwant this many people.
At the end of the year, likeright now, we have a goal of 30
new clients actually in centers.
(39:46):
Every quarter, 30.
Now, mind you, we had acapability of more, but 30 is.
30 is where we are, Because 30covers these bills 30 covers.
LaVonne Shields (40:00):
So we definitely don't mind going
above 30, but we know we damnsure can't go below 30.
Absolutely, absolutely.
And if you don't know, if youcannot figure out how to take
the numbers which are tellingyou what it is that you're doing
on an everyday basis and turnthose into your benchmarkers,
turn those into yourconversation points and talking
points when you're talking toyour team, your advisors,
(40:22):
everyone, then how will you knowwhen to make that left turn?
It's not.
People ask when am I supposedto incorporate?
I don't know.
What are your numbers Tell me,because that's going to tell me.
At what point is it that you'repaying too much?
You're not getting the bestbang for your buck if you're in
this entity or you know you needto start doing this before you
start doing that.
But we can't, if we don't haveeverything in the system, we
(40:43):
can't pull that information outand use that to determine where
you're healthy, where your areasof improvement and where.
Hey, if you don't keep an eyeon this, your business will die.
Well, business will die if thisnumber continues to trickle
down and it's going to die thisfast.
Sonya Songer (41:01):
I don't want that.
I don't want that.
That's horrible.
Look I don't want that.
LaVonne Shields (41:05):
However, most horrible because this topic of
discussion and it's so funnyeverybody's like well, you know,
I don't like numbers.
Numbers scare me.
I'm not a numbers person.
I'm like, if you've been ableto keep a roof over your head,
clothes on your back and food onyour plate, I don't want to
hear that, but it is.
You just don't know how to useit the right way, which is what
goes back to get people who cananswer those questions for you.
(41:29):
Get a consultant, get aprofessional who's willing to
have a conversation with you sothat you can grow into not just
a technician who knows how togenerate income, but a business
owner, a CEO, who knows how torun the enterprise of it and the
accounting.
That's the conversation.
That's where it all fits.
Sonya Songer (41:47):
So then let's recap.
Number one get yourself aconsultant.
Number two know the lingo.
I'm remembering something.
LaVonne Shields (41:56):
Yeah.
Sonya Songer (41:57):
I'm happy for you.
I'm like you.
Look at the cup.
This is off the cup.
And those are the only two thatI do remember off the cup.
What's the third?
LaVonne Shields (42:06):
one after Technology Technology Know your
lender, have a relationship withyour lender, banker, your
banker.
Sonya Songer (42:13):
Banker.
LaVonne Shields (42:13):
Johnny, banker Johnny.
And then know your keyperformance indicators, know
what your numbers are tellingyou about your business.
Sonya Songer (42:21):
Awesome.
So thank you, guys all forjoining us on this enlightening
journey.
Get ready to revolutionize yourapproach to accounting and
empower your leadership withfinancial prowess.
The true CEO podcast is here toguide you every step of the way
in all of these things.
So, levon, tell them where theycan find you, because number
(42:44):
one is get yourself a consultant.
LaVonne Shields (42:47):
Yeah, so you can reach me, the accounting
strategist, on all platforms.
The accounting strategist, andthat's how you can find me.
Or if you're looking forsomething a little bit more
personal, you can find me LeVonShields.
And you know, brace yourself,my professional life and my
personal life don't alwaysintersect the way you might
expect them to.
Sonya Songer (43:04):
So like for real, for real brace yourself, I'm me
all day, every day, for real,for real.
Brace yourself there as well.
All platforms you should, youshould definitely brace yourself
.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (43:17):
You can find me at LeQuise Coptes.
You can also find me atStrategic Underscore Behavior.
You can find us atTrueCEOlifecom or
StrategicBehaviorConsultantscom.
Sonya Songer (43:31):
And how we find you.
You can find me at BossyHR onFacebook and at only BossyHR on
Instagram, and I believe mymarketing team even has a
Twitter for me and that's eithergoing to be under Sonia Songer
or under BossyHR, I don't knowwhich they did.
LaVonne Shields (43:52):
So prepare for an unveiling of the Twitter to
be announced.
Sonya Songer (43:59):
And that's where you can find me.
Oh, and the website BossyHRcom.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (44:05):
And that's a wrap.
Thanks, guys.
Thousands of Patrons, ements of Patrons,
birch trees Rocks.
(00:25):
Welcome to the True CEO Podcast, where we equip CEOs with the
financial prowess they need toconquer the business landscape.
I'm your host, sonia Songer,and I extend a warm welcome to
all the visionary minds joiningus today.
In this episode, we dive intothe world of accounting and
(00:47):
unveil the crucial to-dos thatevery CEO must master.
Get ready to unlock the secretsof financial acumen as we
explore the essential accountingpractices that will elevate
your business to the new heights.
From financial statements tobudgeting, tax planning to cash
flow management, we leave nostone unturned in providing you
with the insights and strategiesneeded to make informed
(01:10):
decisions and propel yourorganization towards sustainable
success.
So grab your calculators,sharpen your pencils and prepare
to become the master of yourfinancial destiny.
It's time to embrace theaccounting essentials that every
true CEO must conquer, and todo so, we have our usual panel
of experts, and that's going tobe LaKeisha Cubs Hayes, who is
(01:32):
our CEO expert.
We have, of course, the personwho's going to be giving us most
of the information today, andthat's LeVon Shields, who's our
accounting strategist, and thenmyself, sonia Songer, the HR
specialist here.
So, levon, what are theseto-dos that?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (01:51):
you speak of, and I want to know where
your pencil at because Sharpenit, because you're supposed to
sharpen.
Sonya Songer (01:57):
I have a pen that's not going to work.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (01:59):
We got to erase.
Accounting is all erasure, it'snot erasure?
Sonya Songer (02:06):
You shouldn't be.
Are you doing something shiestythat you need to erase?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (02:09):
The question Do you have a second
set of books?
I mean you might, you should.
Sonya Songer (02:19):
I have one.
What's in my head?
What's?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (02:20):
in my head versus what's on paper.
LaVonne Shields (02:22):
Are you know?
Those two things I've alwaysmet.
Sonya Songer (02:25):
So now there's six tips Don't have too many books.
Don't break the law when you'remaking a law.
Don't break the law when you'remaking a law.
Yeah, don't do that.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (02:35):
I mean.
Sonya Songer (02:36):
And don't out yourself on the podcast.
She doesn't know what she'stalking about, at least not in
regard to true CEO.
I don't know what she's doingover there with strategic
behavior and none of the otherstuff, but true CEO is legit.
LaVonne Shields (02:58):
So what are some crucial accounting to-dos
that new business owners,established business owners
should definitely embrace?
One of the first ones isdefinitely bring in some sort of
professional whether you'rejust meeting with them and a
one-on-one hey what am Isupposed to do?
Kind of thing or actually bringsomeone to do the job of
managing your numbers, Becauseit's just that's facing it's not
(03:21):
everyone's forte, it's not thething they should be doing in
their business at all.
So get the support of having anactual professional who can
walk you through some of that,Because it is it's very muddy
waters.
There's a whole lot of movingand shaking and things that need
some clarification.
So, as opposed to just tryingto wing it, you should probably
(03:41):
get someone who can help youorganize that and put it into
some structure.
I mean, it's just the way ofthe world.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (03:48):
And I was talking to a couple of people I
was coaching there.
It was just like, well, I justwant to know how to do it myself
.
I was like do you really wantto that's a whole separate
profession.
Right, that's a wholeprofession and I was like how
much of it do you want to beable to do?
I mean, I can understand from aCEO standpoint of what do I
need to know within this systemto then be able to have clarity
(04:15):
on my numbers.
I can understand that.
Sonya Songer (04:17):
And make sure somebody's not siphoning money
off of it.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (04:20):
Right, absolutely, absolutely Now.
Sonya Songer (04:22):
I understand that part.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (04:23):
But I'm just like why am I going to do
this myself?
LaVonne Shields (04:28):
Like that is I ask all the time I'm like okay,
so you won't do that by yourself.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (04:33):
Yeah, I'm not the professional in this
round.
I don't even think you reallywant me to deal with the numbers
?
Not at all.
You know I was like-.
LaVonne Shields (04:40):
It's simple.
I'd be like where is thereceipt?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (04:43):
Where's the receipt?
I was like, what receipt, whatreceipt did you want me to have?
I had to have a receipt forevery single thing that I do,
every thing.
Sonya Songer (04:52):
I was like, I mean , I guess, they do give you a
receipt for every transaction.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (04:57):
I mean they do, but I didn't think you
had to have it for every littleLike.
I went and bought some gum.
Why am I Can I buy gum in thebusiness?
That's what I need to know.
What's my first?
LaVonne Shields (05:07):
hope.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (05:09):
You know, I walk right up to the line and
I look at it.
LaVonne Shields (05:12):
Well, I mean if you look at it and you look at
it, but that's the whole thingis because and these are tow,
this are walking.
I'm like can I do this?
But that's the whole thing is.
The numbers are the the story.
And if you don't have thebackup to the story, then I
think we said in another podcastabout HR if there's no
documentation, then there's noway it didn't happen, there's no
(05:34):
way of proving it.
And the crazy part about theIRS is that you're they're crazy
, but your bank statements andcredit card statements don't
show us proof.
Oddly enough, when it comes todeposits they do, but when it
comes to money going out, theydon't count that.
They want to see an asset.
They want to see an actualreceipt that describes what it
(05:54):
is that you were moving moneyfor.
And if you don't have it, thenin the worst case scenario,
which is an audited situation,that goes, that goes away, that
goes, it goes away.
So if you were claiming it andyou don't have the proof of it.
It goes away.
It's no longer part of thecalculation.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (06:11):
So basically, they just put it into
your dividends or all of theother stuff, depending on your
structure.
LaVonne Shields (06:16):
Yeah, depending on the structure so it becomes-
.
So if you're a sober prior,then yeah, because it increases
the net income of the business,and so that's what you're going
to get taxed on, especially forself-employment.
If we're talking about entities, now it's a whole different
deal as far as how it goes,because if it was pulled out and
it should have been considereda payroll, then now you've got
to go back and reevaluate howyou calculated where that
(06:38):
expense was and then possiblypay penalties and interest.
Oh no.
For not calculating the per-.
Why Exactly so, when you don'thave an expert there who's
helped you navigate theminefields of that one?
Because it is that.
It's literally that it's likeoh, don't step right there,
don't do that, unless you don'twant your pinky toe.
You might want to go somewhereelse.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (07:00):
What about that person that's not spending
hardly any money in theirbusiness and they're just
wanting to hold on to it?
Sonya Songer (07:07):
I know what you're talking about?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (07:11):
What about those people?
To be honest, out of the peoplethat I coach now there are a
number of people that say, oh, Ican't spend that money and
every dime that I have goes backinto the business.
I find it quite, you know, like.
Sonya Songer (07:29):
again, I go right up to the line and I look at it
Back into the business, how youshould be spending it then.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (07:34):
Well, I mean, they're spending it kinda,
they're not taking any money,they're not like, they're not
utilizing, they're not payingthemselves.
I mean outside of payroll, youknow, because obviously you have
to do the payroll.
But what about those peoplethat you know are just not doing
what they need to do?
LaVonne Shields (07:55):
Well, this is why the professional comes into
play, because what's thestrategy?
So we're holding on the cashfor what reason?
Because there's always taxstrategy and there's operational
strategy.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (08:04):
Yes.
LaVonne Shields (08:05):
Tax strategy is spend it all, pay it as least
amount of taxes, as you want.
Operational strategy is I wantto make sure that I have access
to any lines of credit or beable to sell my business or do
things like that, so then you'regoing to need to have a
particular level ofprofitability.
The sweet spot is how can weaccomplish where I'm paying the
least amount of taxes for thislevel of profitability that I
(08:26):
want to be in?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (08:27):
Right.
LaVonne Shields (08:27):
Which is why you have your experts.
You don't just kind of wing itand go off of one strategy,
especially if that strategydoesn't even work for your
entity, it doesn't work for yourindustry, it doesn't work for
just your business in general.
You, just because you sawsomeone on TikTok, say you gotta
do this, no, don't.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (08:43):
I just want to see all the money in my
account.
It hit with a capital gains.
LaVonne Shields (08:50):
Goes back to the what Like.
What does that mean?
But then that's where we'rehaving the right kind of
professional.
Unfortunately, my industry isknown for having very
disassociated professionals.
We see you at the end of theyear or we tell you what it is
supposed to do.
However, that person who islooking to see that dollar
amount in their bank accountprobably has another issue that
(09:11):
they're working off of, probablycoming from a place of scarcity
, not knowing what it is thatthey're supposed to be doing
with it in the first place, andso if you can't walk them
through, okay, I understand thatthat's where you're coming from
, but this is our goal.
So how do we release some ofthat?
Going in and depending on theexpert.
Again, my industry is known fortransactional, being very
(09:33):
disassociated with the actualbusiness owner and the
operations of the business, sofinding the right professional
is crucial.
I love the fact that the newones coming out the gate are
being more advisors and not justtransactional, but they're
still.
The foundational part of it isI'm going to prepare your taxes,
okay, well, that's great, but Ialso want to get access to
(09:54):
funding, and those are twodifferent strategies.
And if you don't know anyonewho's willing to have that
conversation with you.
You could be in a positionwhere, yeah, you have low taxes,
but good luck on getting alongfor that building in the next
two years.
Or, yeah, I'm able to get thisloan, but, man, I got paid all
this money and taxes.
I wasn't prepared for that.
How do you step your way intothat?
So getting the rightprofessional is crucial and
(10:18):
there's so many stages that youcan get it from.
So it's not saying you have togo hire someone at $250 an hour
or $2,000 a month is reallyfinding based off of where you
are.
Where can I start?
And then that way you buildinto that relationship and then
find out if that's the rightperson.
Because, again, if all they'retalking about is, oh, we need to
make sure we're at least amountof taxes, okay, but my lender
(10:39):
over there is telling me I needto be prepared to qualify for a
loan.
How do we make this work?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (10:45):
So you got to have that.
What's the strategy and I thinkthat's what I love about just
even talking about this topic iswhat is the strategy in which
you are operating under?
And a lot of people don't havethe strategy.
They're just like, okay, well,now I'm entrusted with all of
this money for this corporationor you know this entity, and now
(11:09):
what am I supposed to do?
And you're either on the on twoends whether I'm hoarding all
of the money because I'm scaredI'm going to go out of business,
or I'm spending all the moneybecause I'm reckless and I don't
necessarily think about youknow what is what the future
entails.
I just know that.
You know this money came in andyou know it's mine and I'm
(11:31):
going to mine and I'm going tomine.
LaVonne Shields (11:33):
Well, that's thought that that's where, again
, having that professional comein, because that mindset is one
of the biggest ones to switchover.
If, even as a sole proprietor,you'd want to create some
separation between you and yourbusiness, yeah, because there
has to be separation between youand your business.
However, if there is no oneguiding you through how to make
that transition, then you end upin a position where you're
(11:55):
forced to have to pay taxes onthis one because, well, yeah,
you was doing this back andforth and when they came and
looked at it, it looked like abusiness, right, it looked like
a business.
So if it didn't look like abusiness and it's not going to
get business benefits or, on theother side of it, it's, you
know, there was just moneymovement and no one knew exactly
where it was going.
And so when it comes time toreally see you moved all this
(12:16):
money, then how do we relate itto what actually happened in
your business?
So you paid these people, yougot the system, you did this
training, you did all thesethings.
How did that relate to what'shappening in operations?
Right, you know, do the peoplewho are making things happen
have the resources that theyneed with all this money you
were moving.
You moved all this money, butyou don't have any new computers
(12:36):
.
You're still working off of.
You know 1997 operating system.
But everybody went to Hawaii forthe team meeting.
It's like, okay, that was great, you wrote off the travel, but
the day to day sucks.
The day to day sucks and youknow, having the right sort of
collaborative professional startthere.
(12:59):
Find somewhere where you canstart asking the questions and
learn how from a CEO, businessowner mindset.
You should be looking at yournumbers, right.
You should be looking at yournumbers so what that actually
leads into what one of the nextparts, which is learn, learn the
language.
You gotta learn the language,right?
You know you're called peopleall the time and you ask me so
(13:21):
what's this between a deductionand an expense?
They're the same thing.
Where are you asking me aboutthe information?
We call it a deduction whenwe're talking about your taxes,
but in your day to day it's anexpense.
So it's interchangeable.
But people get all concernedlike, well, I need to know what
my deductions are because myexpenses.
You said the same thing.
Sonya Songer (13:41):
You said the same thing Like when people order a
chai tea latte.
Chai and tea.
Both mean tea, Chai and tea.
LaVonne Shields (13:51):
So you're asking for a tea, tea, latte.
I was today years old when Igot that, so luckily I don't
chai me, I don't drink chai.
It means tea, so learn some newEnglish.
Well, I know.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (14:07):
I just had my lawyer calls me, probably,
you know, every six months or so.
He's like hey, kish, you needyour minutes right, cause you
have your CPA who's telling youone thing, and then you have
your corporate attorney that'stelling you one thing, and so
sometimes those things match upand sometimes you know they
serve two different functions.
It's really just what it is.
(14:28):
And so he asked me last weeksometime.
He was like he should you know,your dividends are low.
And I was like my dividends,like what are we talking about?
And I was just like well, whatare we?
He was like what are you doingwith the money, you know, cause
you have to be making some kindof profit?
(14:50):
And I was like, well, yeah,we're making a profit.
And he was just like and I waslike disbursements, and he was
just like your disbursements aredividends.
And I was like, okay, becausemy CPA is saying, okay, your
disbursements are this, but thenhe comes with it and have
dividends on the paper and I'mlike I don't even know what
(15:11):
you're talking about right now.
LaVonne Shields (15:13):
And these are two different things.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (15:16):
So where?
Where do you see it?
LaVonne Shields (15:18):
I mean even from a language, from a
simplicity standpoint like, well, I need a profit and loss or do
I need an income statement?
Sonya Songer (15:25):
It's the same thing.
LaVonne Shields (15:26):
Same thing, same thing, but you don't know.
You don't know what you don'tknow.
So if you don't know thelanguage, you don't know how to
communicate it, and not fromeven from a bias standpoint.
But accounting is the languageof business.
It's the one way that you'reable to equalize everybody by
saying, hey, are you makingenough to support your business?
It doesn't matter what industryin, what size you're in.
(15:47):
If your math not math, then wegot a problem.
So learn the language so youcan figure out where what's
happening.
Numbers wise relates to what'shappening in the actual parts of
the business.
As well as being able tocommunicate with people who
aren't a part of these standardconversations, you know you need
to make sure that you canconvey to everyone, speak the
(16:09):
language of business, to peopleso they know exactly how to help
you, exactly where you knowthey can give you the best bang
for your buck or what's going on, as well as to make sure that
you can.
You can see your business froma 360 angle, absolutely.
I mean, if you only see it fromthe.
I know how to make cakes, okay.
Well, do you know what it takesfor you to make the cakes,
market the cakes and figure outhow many, what your capacity is
(16:30):
for, how many cakes you canactually do in the course of a
month.
If you can't answer thosequestions and you're saying but
I need, I need access to a loanfor what.
What do you need to make?
I mean you decide.
Sonya Songer (16:42):
I'm not wanting you money to make camp Right.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (16:46):
I mean, I just literally had this
conversation with our CEO group,our accelerator group, and I
was just telling them, you know,they were like, okay, well, how
much can we afford to paysomeone?
Because it was like the numbersare too low.
And I was like, well, thenumbers aren't low, you just
have not looked and delved intothem.
(17:07):
I was like, you know, let's,let's take one client.
If one client is, you know, $80, then what do you want to take
off the top?
Because you know, obviously youwant to go to profit first.
So if we go to profit first,then profit first says what it
was my expected profit that I'mgoing to make off of this
reverse engineer, and then youreverse engineer it.
(17:28):
So if I'm making, you know, Iexpect to make 15 and 20%, which
is my industry standard, youknow.
So my industry standard set 15to 20%.
I'm going to take my 15 to 20%off the top and then I'm going
to say, okay, this is how much Ihave left.
Well, how much does it cost meevery hour for overhead, for the
(17:49):
people, for the staff thatneeds to make sure that this
runs, without the people thatactually make the money, like
all of those different thingsand all of these different
moving parts that people are notlooking at, and it was just
like oh, I never looked at itlike that.
Yes, so then I can afford topay X amount of dollars for the
people that do the work.
(18:10):
Now am I going to pay completeand other like all the way up my
top?
Absolutely not.
That's not how this works.
LaVonne Shields (18:17):
It's not how it works, but you won't even know
how to make that that scenariohappen if you don't understand
the language of okay, so am Italking about my gross profit?
Am I talking about my netprofit?
Am I talking about my operatingexpenses?
All of the because that's whereyou need to know where you're
going to make your adjustments.
I sat in on a webinar and thisguy explained it the best way
(18:39):
I've ever heard from anaccounting professional.
It was.
It was basically saying at thetop is where we're talking about
your capability of running thebusiness.
Do you know what your pricepoints are?
Do you know what it costs foryou to generate that money?
Everything under that is howwell is your management managing
the business?
Because those are managementdecisions.
How much we paying a rent, howmuch we paying an operation
(19:01):
staff, how much we paying youknow choosing to do you know
over time or things like thoseare management decisions.
Those are happening boots onthe ground, whereas everything
else is happening at the higherlevel.
With your hypothesis, if we sell, this much is going to generate
this much in cash, which willbe what was left over, but if
you don't know what part of theequation that we're talking
about.
You're going to start throwingstuff out there and people are
(19:22):
like what, what do you actuallyknow about your business?
Right, what, what do youactually know about your
business?
So if you can't speak thelanguage, then how can, how can
you expect your business to growif you don't can't even
describe where it is and whereyou want it to go and get the
support you need to move forwardwith it Down to the language,
(19:42):
and then that just leads into.
You know, one of the otherrelationships that you do want
to have is a strong relationshipwith a lender, a banker.
You want to have someone firstyou can talk to you, do you?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (19:54):
want to have that.
LaVonne Shields (19:55):
That should be your coffee buddy at least once
a quarter, somebody who can.
Again, if you're saying I wantto get to five million, all
right, so then we probably wantto make sure you have leverage
of 2.5 as far as access to that.
So in order for you to do thatwhich goes back to the language
I need your gross profits to beat this percentage, I need your
balance sheet to say this as faras your ratios of debt.
(20:16):
I need you to work through that, which means talk to your tax
person to say, hey, least amountof taxes is not our priority
Right.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (20:25):
That's not the priority right now, and it
changes from year to year, andthat's the part that you need to
understand.
Is it changes from?
LaVonne Shields (20:31):
year to year and they need a 12 month.
Look back to be able to say it.
So you can't say I want to beprepared in three months, whoa
Right.
What was your previous ninemonths looking like before?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (20:41):
this happened.
LaVonne Shields (20:43):
Right, but if you don't have relationship with
a banker, then you don't knowone.
What other types of programsthat are there out there?
I mean, there are so many waysof getting access to money, so
many ways of being able to fundyour business, but if you don't
have someone out there who'slooking out for that for you,
then when you need the money,you can't get access to the
money.
And when you don't need themoney but should have it in
(21:03):
reserves, you don't even know togo ask for it.
Right, and even though thinkabout like, oh yeah, we're doing
good, that's great.
Did you consider now applyingfor a line of credit?
Did you consider now thinkingabout what it's going to be to
get your own building, sinceyou've been leasing for this
last five months, five years,why you got your business at
this level?
What's the next part of that?
Right, If there's no one havingthat conversation with you, then
(21:23):
you're usually end up in a very, very uncomfortable I mean not
in a good way uncomfortableposition financially, because
you have access, you need money,but you can't get access to it.
And then, when you're ready tomove forward, you didn't even
think about getting access to it.
And that cycle just keeps goingand going and going.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (21:40):
And it's absolutely imperative for
imperative that people of colorhear this, because I mean you.
Based off of my first name, Iget turned down.
My name is Laquisha LaquishaCobb's Haze.
I am black all the way throughand through.
When they see my name, they'relike I don't get the benefit of
(22:06):
the doubt that I can pay thismoney back, and so a lot of you
know the black community is at adisadvantage, especially when
it comes to lending and havingmoney and you know, majority of
them are boots and they'resubject to the predatory lending
.
LaVonne Shields (22:25):
So you get access to lending.
You got, yeah, I got access tomoney.
Yeah, but you know they'regoing to take money out of your
account every day to pay thatloan Every day, like every day,
every day.
Oh my God, I did that when wefirst started.
I got my money.
I got like what was it like?
A?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (22:37):
$5,000 loan that they wanted me to pay
back every day and my revenuecycle was freaking 45 days.
I did not understand that and Iliterally was like, yep, nope,
this is where I stopped thebleeding.
Why?
Because what I do know like Isaid, I walk right on up to the
(23:01):
line is that this is predatorylending and that you can file
whatever you need to file, butwhat I'm not going to do is pay
every single day.
But then that also caused meissues with what was it?
What was that?
What you call it lean that theyput on you.
LaVonne Shields (23:19):
The CC one.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (23:22):
Yeah, the CCL.
They put that out there.
I think it's called CCL or CCsomething.
Whatever it is.
It stopped me from gettingloans my very first few years.
LaVonne Shields (23:36):
And then the other part of that one is
getting the wrong loan for whatyou're looking for.
So it was why would you financea big asset on a credit card
just because the credit card hasthe capability?
You probably would have donebetter by getting a fixed loan
that you could spread out overthis period of time, especially
when you're weighing it out.
So if you don't have anyonewho's letting you know like, hey
, I get what you're trying to do, let's find the right tool for
(23:58):
that.
Let's figure out what this islong term.
So I would tell all my clientswhenever I work with them we're
talking about money movement.
It's very rare that money needsto move that fast where you
don't have the capability totake a step back and go.
Is this the right thing to do?
I mean anything under dependingon the size of the business.
It might be $1,000 or less.
Yeah, we're not talking aboutthat.
But when you start getting to,oh, I got to pay this $10,000.
(24:21):
How do we not know that $10,000?
No one knew.
No one knew 10 grand was coming, because I know payroll is
coming every two weeks.
So I was prepared for that.
But what's this?
10 grand?
What's that in two?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (24:35):
But that's what I'm saying and who's
talking to you about it?
I mean, I know I'm prettytransparent and I say it, but I
was dumb.
It was my first couple of yearsin business.
I didn't know.
I knew payroll was coming.
My revenue cycle was 45.
I needed to pay these bills.
I had enough, but I didn't haveenough.
You had just barely enough.
(24:57):
I had just barely enough.
And then, who was I going totalk to?
To say, hey, do you know abanker?
First of all, I'm alreadyembarrassed.
I'm already.
I'm about to freaking fail.
It's about to be over, I'm nogood at business.
All of these things are goingthrough your brain like dang.
Why didn't I think about that?
And what was I supposed to do?
(25:19):
And how was I supposed to getto this number?
And damn, was this a?
LaVonne Shields (25:24):
really good idea.
And then the other scary partis that because people make the
assumption that a lender doesn'twant to lend, that's their job.
It doesn't literally how theygenerate money is their ability
to generate interest and comefor it.
Right, so I have lended out thismuch.
So if you don't develop thatrelationship, you're not
(25:45):
allowing someone to do what itis that they're here to do.
You're not letting them servetheir purpose.
And the problem, especiallyamongst our community, is
there's a belief that no onewants to loan to us, and that's
not true.
It's just that you're going tothe wrong places.
You're assuming that the bankon the corner, which is on every
corner, wants to do businesswith you.
They know that you have no otherchoice to do business with them
(26:08):
so that they can be verydiscerning.
However, that little smallthing that's in the cut, that
you think has no resources, isprobably banging with money,
like access to a lot ofresources, and they have someone
who will look at you and gookay, I see three years ago you
got in a little bit of trouble,but I've noticed that over here
and, looking at your financials,we have something we can do for
(26:30):
you, absolutely.
You might not get $5 million aday, I might not be able to get
you access to that, but I canget you $1.5 million and then we
can build on that.
You want that kind of thing.
Now someone says, oh, so youapplied for $5 million and you
just didn't get it and it's a no, and then they just be like
nope.
No, Right, Because they don'tneed to worry about it, because
they know that they get to playthe law of numbers.
(26:51):
50,000 people are going toapply today for some sort of
line of credit.
All I need is two.
All I need is two.
So just imagine all that.
All we need is two.
So I can be very conscious andchoose to have you.
Just see what boxes you check,Because somebody else is going
to go at a more prominent bankthat you might not see as being
(27:14):
as prominent as they are.
They will look at you and gookay, so what are the sum of
your parts?
Let's figure out how we makethis work.
And again, you might think youneed five, but I can't get you
five.
I can get you two and we canlead up to the five.
Or I can get you two as adirect loan and the other two I
can get you as a line of credit.
But you won't know that if youdon't develop a relationship
(27:35):
with someone who can tell youwhat are the lending options
that are available to you andhow do we get you to fit into
the right one.
I mean so knowing having arelationship with a banker is a
crucial part of growing yourbusiness.
That's something you definitelywant to do, whether it be at
your bank.
Find another bank, findsomewhere where there's a person
who understands business that'sone.
(27:57):
Make sure they understandbusiness and develop a
relationship with them.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (28:02):
This is not typically your B of A's or.
LaVonne Shields (28:06):
Wells Fargo.
They usually have someone who'srotating through Her taste was
pretty good.
Well, that's the funny part is,a lot of them are trying
because they realize they'vegotten that rap.
Like you know, a businessbanker.
I went to see a business bankerand I told them what I I work
in accounting and I told themwhat I do and they were like so
so what exactly is it that youdo?
One is in the name.
(28:27):
Right, I could have the time mybusiness was keeping on
steroids.
It's like it's in the name whatI do.
So you're a business banker,cause now I got questions.
I got a lot of questions aboutyou, what you do, and why am I
banking here?
Why am I?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (28:47):
No no no, no, no no, no, I know, for me it
was really hard, just or it'sreally hard, I should say
because everything that I do andI've established over the past
seven years is in a big bank,and so even the thought of
having to move all of that toanother bank it is disheartening
(29:09):
.
And so I know for me that'sprobably maybe a barrier for me
to even switch to another bank,because I'm looking at it like,
okay, well, what do I move?
And everything comes throughhere and this is a daily, hourly
type deal.
So where do you make that firststep to say, okay, well, I'm
(29:30):
going to look at a smaller bank,and but I guess that kind of
goes along with what you'resaying is talk to the bankers
and talk to those people to say,hey, this is where I'm at and
this is what I want to do onwhat's going to be the best, and
have a real conversation.
LaVonne Shields (29:44):
You know, don't just go on there, have an
expectation that, well, this iswhat you do, so get this to me.
It's about the network part ofit, finding the right bank,
finding the right bankers,because I mean, it's such a
broad just from within that thatlittle part is so still vast,
because there's those who onlyfocus on industries, there's
(30:05):
some that focus on commercial,there's some that focus on
working capital.
The lending comes in so manydifferent ways.
So having someone who can say,hey, here's a map that I think
we can work through and aswilling to be a part of your
advisory team in some way, shapeor form, that's where you win,
as you get your full advisoryboard together, and your banker
(30:26):
should be one of those, and yourbanker and your tax person
should be having a conversation.
They should be having some sortof a be in alignment in some
kind of way, because if yourtaxes look like you know, with
no, no low tax liability, mightnot be able to qualify for a
loan.
Sonya Songer (30:44):
Now to circle back to the banking part of it.
I hear what Keisha is saying inregards to not wanting to
switch all of that over whenyou're so enmeshed in the large
bank that you're with.
So if you're having thatconversation with a smaller bank
(31:05):
, is there a possibility towhere you don't have to make
that huge switch?
Is there a possibility?
LaVonne Shields (31:13):
Well, that's what the back room ever heard,
that you ever heard.
Sonya Songer (31:15):
Right.
But I mean, have you heard ofthat happening to where?
Okay, what if I just put acertain amount here in your bank
?
Will that allow, will thatqualify me to then be a part of
your network?
Now, to where I can still,because it's not obviously going
to be the same numbers, right,because I'm showing you the
numbers based on where all of mystuff is right now at this
(31:37):
other bank.
But for you to help me, can Ijust put a portion of that money
into your bank?
LaVonne Shields (31:44):
Which, being able to have that good
conversation with them and sayhey look, I've been, I've been
here the entire length of mybusiness, everything runs
through it.
But you're telling me you cangive me X, Y and Z.
What's the roadmap to get there?
Do I have to have all so muchhere?
Because, again, depending onthe lending mechanism that
you're using, yeah, you got toput 10 grand here because I'm
(32:07):
using as 10% of collateral onthe line of credit that we're
getting right to offer you.
So, at bare minimum, yeah, Ineed 10 grand.
Sonya Songer (32:13):
Okay, cool.
LaVonne Shields (32:14):
Or at bare minimum I need you to like.
For many of them during COVIDfor PPP, it was put your.
I mean, I can get you this PPPloan, but I need you to now run
your payroll through this bank.
Okay, so let's figure out how Ican just run payroll through
this bank.
What does that look like?
And then the hope is that youappreciate the service that
they're giving you and likewhat's going on, and then you'll
(32:37):
be willing to move everythingover because it'll be easier.
However, if you're notcomfortable having a
conversation with a lender atall, then you're missing out on
so many of the avenues that arepart of business that run
through money.
I mean that are directlyrunning through your access to
money, how you're using yourmoney, how the money gets easily
(32:57):
moved across different banksand different payment styles.
You get the wrong bank thatdoesn't allow you to do sale,
and you're dealing with a wholelot of people who.
That's how they operate.
Sonya Songer (33:06):
You're like oh, do you have some clients that
can't do sale, because for awhile it was difficult.
LaVonne Shields (33:11):
I don't know how to do it.
I guess difficult, but I mean,but that was a big thing when
QuickBooks became really, reallyhuge and they started having
the relationships with banks soyou can have downloads.
No, you're still not sure aboutthat.
You're not sure about that.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (33:28):
She's saying I'm not sure that you're
talking the right stuff rightnow, Hold on.
LaVonne Shields (33:34):
It's.
You know a lot of them.
They didn't allow you to dodownloads in the QuickBooks, and
so that was a decision,especially when me, when I was
working with businesses, I waslike, if I can't download and
you want me to do manual entry,I got to now charge you per hour
because that's time for me.
Sonya Songer (33:48):
That upticks the amount exponentially.
LaVonne Shields (33:52):
A lot, and so it is, you know, finding the
right features.
So you, you want to talk tosomeone who will walk you
through it and give you the bestinformation moving forward so
that you can develop thatrelationship long term.
I would say the magic number isthree.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (34:09):
That's my magic number.
My magic number, my thresholdand magic number is three.
I can talk to three differentpeople, ask them the same
questions and or differentquestions, and you're going to
be able to decipher, because Ithink that's the part where
especially new entrepreneurs gethung up on.
Okay, well, I went to go talkto this one banker.
No, you need to go talk to twomore.
(34:31):
You need to go talk to two morepeople, and if they're all
telling you the exact same thing, then obviously that's the
thing.
That's the thing I said.
Now, if they all tell you threedifferent things and you
probably need to go speak to afourth and or fifth Right or go
deeper into the conversation orgo deeper into the conversation.
You're not asking the rightquestions.
(34:52):
What kind of questions should Iask?
LaVonne Shields (34:55):
What was the perspective that they were
giving you the answer on?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (34:58):
You know were you rushed, you know, is
this a conversation that youknow you need to let them know
that you want to take your timewith this conversation.
You are vested, you know you'relooking into moving your money
into a place, so what is it thatI need to know?
And don't feel like you have tobe pressured into making a sale
(35:18):
because the best people are notgoing to pressure you into
making a sale.
LaVonne Shields (35:22):
They're going to be about the long term.
The word is go, and that's, youknow, the next important thing.
Through that, embracetechnology.
Ooh, number four, you gottaembrace technology, you gotta
learn how to use it.
Sonya Songer (35:39):
I mean, I'm still sending me checks.
LaVonne Shields (35:42):
I'm still dealing with people who are
writing stuff down and manualledgers.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (35:46):
Oh, wow.
LaVonne Shields (35:47):
Uh-uh Excel.
And then, until then, excel wasthe next thing, and so now
you're realizing there's a lot,of, a lot more accounting
softwares out there that takeaway and streamline this process
.
The thing about accounting isthat it has always been so
mentally manual Like you have tomentally manually do stuff and
(36:10):
then keep coming back tocross-reference your work which
I can only imagine how easy itwas for people to steal money
back in the day because it wasjust.
Sonya Songer (36:20):
I'm just going to turn this from one to ten Real
easy, like at the beginning of apodcast.
Books, like literally two books.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (36:29):
Right, my stuff is all manual.
So, you guys know, I do nothave two books, right?
LaVonne Shields (36:36):
So when you can embrace the technology, that
would be wicked.
Embrace the technology becausethere's too much of it out there
for you, not, right?
It's just too much.
And so for you to not embraceit, you're putting yourself at a
disadvantage, because now it'snot easy for you to pull
financial reports, because yougot to literally lay out a whole
(36:58):
day to just figure out what itis.
You did two months ago and withthe whole goal is we're trying
to plan what we're going to doin the next two months.
Sonya Songer (37:06):
Yes, and they're at various different price
points, so there's absolutelysomething out there for
everybody.
LaVonne Shields (37:12):
Yeah, and that's the big thing is find the
technology that works for whereyou are and then do something
with it.
But 2023, you got to embracetechnology you got to embrace
technology.
Because once you're able toembrace technology, that takes
you to the fifth one, which isthen learn your key performance
indicators, that your numberstell you about your business Key
(37:34):
performance.
I need my bank account toalways be in this amount.
I need my debt to only be thisamount.
I need my operating cost to bethis amount.
How will you?
What are the key things thatlet you know what we're doing is
working?
What we're doing is not working?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (37:49):
and we're making adjustments.
It's like a GPS.
It's kind of like okay, I needto get to X, y and Z, I want to
go to Newport Beach and I needto know the quickest and the
fastest way to get there.
I'm not getting ready to wingit.
I'm not about to go pick up abook the Thomas guide I don't
know who remembers those, I'molder than you.
Sonya Songer (38:08):
Of course I remember when are Thomas.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (38:12):
I don't even know what was before the
Thomas guide, but I remember theThomas guide.
Sonya Songer (38:16):
They used to have them in the gas station.
They didn't know the map of thearea there no longer there.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (38:22):
And neither is the Thomas guy.
I believe the Thomas guy iseven online.
I believe it's online.
So, technically like you haveto know where you're going and
those KPIs are going to get youthere, you need to make a left
turn.
That might be you know, I needto save up X amount of dollars
for you know, I don't knowpayroll.
LaVonne Shields (38:41):
I need to have X amount of dollars in a bank or
pay her to do whatever computerto add to whatever it is that
you're looking to do.
You need to know yourindicators to make sure that you
can do it whether, even if youjust look at it from a
standpoint, we need to get 10more clients.
Okay, so how much money are weplanning on spending to get
those 10 more clients and do wehave the capacity to actually
service those 10 clients?
(39:03):
Are we willing to?
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (39:04):
Me and Sonya had that conversation.
Where are we spending $5,000 on?
Indeed, and we got two clients.
I'm sitting up there like, uh,no, no, that's not, that's not
going to work out for me.
So then she comes back and says, okay, well, if you don't want
to spend $5,000, keisha, thenhere's our other options, and
(39:25):
we're not saying that they'regoing to bring in the other
place.
But what is the amount that youwant to spend?
Where is the line?
And if you don't know the line,well, I need to bring in X
amount of people to have, and Iwant this many people.
At the end of the year, likeright now, we have a goal of 30
new clients actually in centers.
(39:46):
Every quarter, 30.
Now, mind you, we had acapability of more, but 30 is.
30 is where we are, Because 30covers these bills 30 covers.
LaVonne Shields (40:00):
So we definitely don't mind going
above 30, but we know we damnsure can't go below 30.
Absolutely, absolutely.
And if you don't know, if youcannot figure out how to take
the numbers which are tellingyou what it is that you're doing
on an everyday basis and turnthose into your benchmarkers,
turn those into yourconversation points and talking
points when you're talking toyour team, your advisors,
(40:22):
everyone, then how will you knowwhen to make that left turn?
It's not.
People ask when am I supposedto incorporate?
I don't know.
What are your numbers Tell me,because that's going to tell me.
At what point is it that you'repaying too much?
You're not getting the bestbang for your buck if you're in
this entity or you know you needto start doing this before you
start doing that.
But we can't, if we don't haveeverything in the system, we
(40:43):
can't pull that information outand use that to determine where
you're healthy, where your areasof improvement and where.
Hey, if you don't keep an eyeon this, your business will die.
Well, business will die if thisnumber continues to trickle
down and it's going to die thisfast.
Sonya Songer (41:01):
I don't want that.
I don't want that.
That's horrible.
Look I don't want that.
LaVonne Shields (41:05):
However, most horrible because this topic of
discussion and it's so funnyeverybody's like well, you know,
I don't like numbers.
Numbers scare me.
I'm not a numbers person.
I'm like, if you've been ableto keep a roof over your head,
clothes on your back and food onyour plate, I don't want to
hear that, but it is.
You just don't know how to useit the right way, which is what
goes back to get people who cananswer those questions for you.
(41:29):
Get a consultant, get aprofessional who's willing to
have a conversation with you sothat you can grow into not just
a technician who knows how togenerate income, but a business
owner, a CEO, who knows how torun the enterprise of it and the
accounting.
That's the conversation.
That's where it all fits.
Sonya Songer (41:47):
So then let's recap.
Number one get yourself aconsultant.
Number two know the lingo.
I'm remembering something.
LaVonne Shields (41:56):
Yeah.
Sonya Songer (41:57):
I'm happy for you.
I'm like you.
Look at the cup.
This is off the cup.
And those are the only two thatI do remember off the cup.
What's the third?
LaVonne Shields (42:06):
one after Technology Technology Know your
lender, have a relationship withyour lender, banker, your
banker.
Sonya Songer (42:13):
Banker.
LaVonne Shields (42:13):
Johnny, banker Johnny.
And then know your keyperformance indicators, know
what your numbers are tellingyou about your business.
Sonya Songer (42:21):
Awesome.
So thank you, guys all forjoining us on this enlightening
journey.
Get ready to revolutionize yourapproach to accounting and
empower your leadership withfinancial prowess.
The true CEO podcast is here toguide you every step of the way
in all of these things.
So, levon, tell them where theycan find you, because number
(42:44):
one is get yourself a consultant.
LaVonne Shields (42:47):
Yeah, so you can reach me, the accounting
strategist, on all platforms.
The accounting strategist, andthat's how you can find me.
Or if you're looking forsomething a little bit more
personal, you can find me LeVonShields.
And you know, brace yourself,my professional life and my
personal life don't alwaysintersect the way you might
expect them to.
Sonya Songer (43:04):
So like for real, for real brace yourself, I'm me
all day, every day, for real,for real.
Brace yourself there as well.
All platforms you should, youshould definitely brace yourself
.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (43:17):
You can find me at LeQuise Coptes.
You can also find me atStrategic Underscore Behavior.
You can find us atTrueCEOlifecom or
StrategicBehaviorConsultantscom.
Sonya Songer (43:31):
And how we find you.
You can find me at BossyHR onFacebook and at only BossyHR on
Instagram, and I believe mymarketing team even has a
Twitter for me and that's eithergoing to be under Sonia Songer
or under BossyHR, I don't knowwhich they did.
LaVonne Shields (43:52):
So prepare for an unveiling of the Twitter to
be announced.
Sonya Songer (43:59):
And that's where you can find me.
Oh, and the website BossyHRcom.
LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes (44:05):
And that's a wrap.
Thanks, guys.
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