Profit First, Panic Last: Sidekick Accounting Services
Let’s be honest- most business owners didn’t start their company because they love spreadsheets.
But avoiding your numbers? That’s where things get dangerous.
In this episode, we sit down with Megan Schwan, founder of Sidekick Accounting Services, to talk about money without the jargon, judgment, or shame. Megan shares why financial literacy is the real power move for entrepreneurs, and how the Profit First method flips the script on traditional accounting.
We talk cash flow, confidence, and why so many smart, capable business owners (especially women and minorities) feel overwhelmed by money- and what to do about it.
This episode is equal parts education, empowerment, and “why didn’t anyone tell me this sooner?”
If you want your business to stop surviving and start thriving, this one’s a must-listen.
What You’ll Learn:
- The #1 financial mistake small business owners make
- How to take control of your money without becoming an accountant
- Why Profit First puts YOU first
- How understanding your numbers builds confidence, clarity, and growth
Connect with Megan: chatwithmeg.com
Company Spotlight: Sidekick Accounting Services
Mentioned in this episode:
Joe Bean Roasters
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Transcript
Foreign.
Speaker A:Welcome back to another episode of Getting Real with Bossy, the podcast that shows you what it's really like to be a business owner.
Speaker A:We are your hosts, Kelly Bush and Kelly Metrus, and we are so glad to be with you today on this rainy, rainy, rainy, cold, miserable day.
Speaker B:Yay.
Speaker B:There's no better day to podcast, though.
Speaker A:I agree.
Speaker B:I got my blanket on.
Speaker B:I'm cozy.
Speaker B:I am stuck in my kitchen because it's loud near all the windows, but at least I'm cozy.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:I'm glad you're cozy.
Speaker A:I've jumped in, like, 10 different.
Speaker A:Not jumped, stepped in puddles.
Speaker A:I'm soaking wet from, like, my middle of my calf down, but I got the heaters on, so my feet are starting to warm up and my hair's all frizzy.
Speaker A:But it's okay.
Speaker A:We're gonna make it through.
Speaker C:It's okay.
Speaker A:We're making it through because we've got a great.
Speaker A:A great episode today.
Speaker A:So I'm excited about that.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:So other than being soaking wet, how are you, Kelly?
Speaker A:I'm great.
Speaker A:I got out of town for a couple days.
Speaker A:We had our restaurant association member summit in Cooperstown, which is one of my favorite, favorite little towns in New York State.
Speaker A:It's gorgeous, especially this time of year.
Speaker A:I woke up one morning.
Speaker A:It was 28 degrees.
Speaker A:I was like, oh, I'm just gonna go out, stand and breathe outside and breathe for a minute because it was just so cold.
Speaker A:It was really wonderful.
Speaker B:But you're insane.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And I was.
Speaker A:I was begging people to jump in the water with me because it's right on the lake, but nobody would.
Speaker A:But that's okay.
Speaker B:I didn't.
Speaker A:I did not go do my own little polar plunge.
Speaker A:If Aaron was there, he probably would have came with me.
Speaker B:Oh, totally.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:I should have called.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:But, yeah, it was good to get away.
Speaker A:It's always good to be with other industry professionals and hear from people who are having the same issues and successes as you and sharing information.
Speaker A:I got a lot of great ideas and talked to the couple people about some things that we're talking.
Speaker A:Gonna talk about today, about how to manage your finances and redistribute things a little bit.
Speaker A:So I'm excited to.
Speaker A:Excited, excited.
Speaker A:It was nice to get away and, you know, feel a little.
Speaker B:I really wanted to go.
Speaker B:I'm jealous.
Speaker B:It was nice.
Speaker B:Did you by any chance.
Speaker B:There's a Calvin and Hobbs exhibit in Cooperstown right now.
Speaker B:Did you buy.
Speaker B:I thought if I had known that you were going because I didn't Realize you were going.
Speaker B:I would have told you about it.
Speaker A:I did not see it.
Speaker B:They have, like, the actual, like, original drawings.
Speaker A:Really?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Oh, that's cool.
Speaker A:I didn't have any free time, but.
Speaker B:We are literally going to drive to Cooperstown and drive back, like, in a day.
Speaker A:I'll go with you.
Speaker B:If we weren't able to go.
Speaker A:Yeah, no, it was.
Speaker A:I got there.
Speaker B:We.
Speaker A:I went right into session, and then as soon as we left, I had to leave because we had a big event on Tuesday with a new person who.
Speaker A:New to doing events at our place.
Speaker A:So I had to go and help out with that.
Speaker A:So I could not.
Speaker A:I could not.
Speaker A:I did not get to.
Speaker A:To spend any time.
Speaker A:Really.
Speaker B:Did you get to enjoy yourself at all?
Speaker A:So, so much.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Because Don came the second night.
Speaker A:So the first night I was on my own, which I'm always like, I love when he's there, but it sometimes takes him a second to warm up and, you know, start mingling.
Speaker A:So it was nice for the first night for the welcome reception.
Speaker A:I was like, okay, I'm gonna go talk to every single person who's standing by themselves.
Speaker A:So it was like, a nice little challenge for me to kind of go out and meet new people.
Speaker A:And we have three new board members who are all incredible and.
Speaker A:And unique.
Speaker A:So I got to kind of get them all together at the table and sit with them for a while and feel like I was actually doing my job because I'm head of leadership.
Speaker A:So it was good.
Speaker A:I was like, I feel like I'm.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:It was very successful meeting.
Speaker A:Very excited.
Speaker B:Awesome.
Speaker A:Because our industry.
Speaker B:Well, I'm glad you got to go.
Speaker A:Struggling, so it's nice to, like, be good people, but.
Speaker A:Yeah, me too.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Wish you could have been there.
Speaker A:How are you doing?
Speaker B:I'm okay.
Speaker B:It's crazy, you know, as usual, just managing, getting through all the stuff.
Speaker B:Yeah, the stuff.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Just every day just flies by full of stuff to do, and another day happens, and then you're like, oh, it's the end of October.
Speaker A:Sweet, right?
Speaker A:I know.
Speaker A:It was not arguing, but I have a vendor who's giving me some trouble right now.
Speaker A:And I'm like, it's November.
Speaker A:He's like, it's October.
Speaker A:I'm like, really?
Speaker A:It's November.
Speaker B:Like, it's November.
Speaker A:By the time I'm going to be getting this stuff in that you.
Speaker A:I've been promised for a while now it's going to be November.
Speaker A:Because November is.
Speaker B:And for those.
Speaker B:Those listening, I don't think this is airing until January, but yes, we tape ahead, so.
Speaker B:Surprise.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:Yeah, I'm actually speaking of January, I've been looking at travel plans for my family because every time there's a two week Christmas break, I try to, you know, for their Christmas present, like leave town.
Speaker B:And I don't want to book flights because it's, you know, in January.
Speaker B:Maybe this will be fixed and you guys will be listening to this and be like, what is she even talking about?
Speaker B:But remember back to October when aviation just starts falling apart and nobody's able to fly.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:I would go somewhere on a train maybe.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I'm like, oh, right.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:So that's where I'm at.
Speaker B:So that's any free time I'm having right now.
Speaker B:I'm trying to get ahead on Christmas and birthday season.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So by the time this airs in January, I will be three weeks away from finalizing the holiday season in my family.
Speaker A:Good times.
Speaker B:It'll almost be done.
Speaker B:So just know that I've been working on it since before now.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Well, Megan's amazing.
Speaker B:Everybody is going to learn something new today.
Speaker B:Gonna take something from it and hopefully hit up chat with Meg.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:So we hope you enjoy the episode.
Speaker A:Hello, and welcome back to another episode of Getting Real with Bossy, the podcast that shows you what it's actually like to be a small business owner.
Speaker A:Today we're talking with someone who truly embodies resilience, strategy, and heart.
Speaker A:Megan Schwann, CEO and founder of Sidekick Accounting Services, a national virtual accounting firm, on a mission to help flip the statistic that 8 out of 10 small businesses fail.
Speaker A:For decades, Megan has helped thousands of entrepreneurs gain control of their finances, master their numbers, and build businesses that are not just profitable, but sustainable.
Speaker A:She's a certified profit first, professional business scaling expert, and also a solo mom of four who has faced incredible personal challenges and still found the strength to build something remarkable.
Speaker A:In today's episode, we'll talk about her journey from overcoming adversity to becoming a powerhouse business owner and.
Speaker A:And how our courage, mindset and mission are changing the way small business owners think about success.
Speaker A:Thank you so much for joining us today, Megan.
Speaker C:Thank you, Kelly.
Speaker C:And Kelly, I'm so excited to be here.
Speaker A:We are so glad to have you.
Speaker B:So many questions.
Speaker B:First of all, I know we want to hear your story, but Sidekick, I love the name.
Speaker B:Can we start there?
Speaker C:Sure.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So originally my business was my last name, my married last name.
Speaker C:And so when I went through a divorce or separate, really started with a separation I was like, I gotta change my business name.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker C:So it was really difficult.
Speaker C:I don't know if like anybody, I put a lot of weight on names.
Speaker C:First of all, I should probably start there.
Speaker C:My kids have very intentional names that have meanings behind them, so it means something.
Speaker C:So when I was trying to figure out my business name kind of wanted the same, you know, you know, thing where it was like, wait.
Speaker C:So it was a really hard process.
Speaker C:But one of when I was researching names, somebody had told me to look at what I was want when I wanting to embody for our clients and look at different languages that mean those same things.
Speaker C:So kind of like when I was doing the research behind that, I had just come across Sidekick.
Speaker C:And I was like, oh, that's, that's perfect because we want to really be a sidekick and a partner and a collaborator with our clients on their business journey.
Speaker C:But the other kind of caveat to that is that me and my kids were really big Marvel fans and Sidekick is like superhero.
Speaker C:So it was kind of embodied the mission of our company, but then also was kind of a homage to my kids as well.
Speaker C:So it just was, it was perfect.
Speaker C:And that's how it is.
Speaker C:And we have a lot of fun internally, like in our business, playing off of the sidekick theme.
Speaker C:We do team ups as like what we call our morning meetings.
Speaker C:We do Sidekicks Unite as like our company wide meetings.
Speaker C:We do a profit assessment, what we, which we call our version Profit Avenger.
Speaker C:So we play a lot into the whole superhero theme within our services and so many possibilities.
Speaker C:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker B:And legitimately it's been a lot of fun.
Speaker B:No successful superhero gets there alone, Right, Exactly.
Speaker B:They have to have a sidekick.
Speaker B:They have to have, everybody's got a sidekick.
Speaker B:And it, it's so funny because I don't think we really talk about that.
Speaker B:The naming of your business is such like, you know what you want to do, you're passionate about it, you're excited to start your business, and then you're like, oh, I have to come up with a name.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:And it can be really tough trying to figure it out, making sure it's available.
Speaker C:You know, all of that kind of stuff too.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Hitting a name and then it's not available and you have to start over.
Speaker C:And you have to start over and.
Speaker A:Renaming and that's, you know, that's a challenge in itself.
Speaker A:And yeah, sounds like you picked the right one.
Speaker A:It works for you.
Speaker A:It's a nice balance between home and work, which I think is something that you embody and and business, small businesses, who you are helping, we need to remember that we need that balance and it's just great name.
Speaker A:I love that, love that we're starting.
Speaker C:Thank you.
Speaker B:So tell us how you started your business.
Speaker B:What made you want to be a business sidekick?
Speaker C:Well, I kind of fell into it as I think many of us do.
Speaker C:The long story short is I was working two part time jobs at the time.
Speaker C:One of them was as a bookkeeper for a landscaping company, which was kind of my introduction into small business.
Speaker C:And then I got laid off of both of those jobs within a year of or within a month of each other.
Speaker C:So I worked with both of them for about two years, got laid off within a month of each other.
Speaker C:So it was really like, okay, now what?
Speaker C:At the time I was married, had two small children, we needed two incomes for our household.
Speaker C:So it was really like, all right, now what?
Speaker C:And I was doing taxes on the side for friends and family, had my bachelor's in accounting.
Speaker C:I just kind of thought to myself that I was doing the bookkeeping for that landscaping company.
Speaker C:I could probably do it for other small businesses, still, still work mostly from home.
Speaker C:So I created my company, started networking, and now, almost 12 years later, we work with hundreds of clients every year across the US And I have a team of seven employees and two contractors that work with me regularly.
Speaker C:And it's really grown into something I never imagined at the time.
Speaker C:It was just like I needed income, I wanted to be flexible for my family.
Speaker C:It's just, it's really grown into something that I couldn't have imagined.
Speaker C:But I'm so, so thankful for.
Speaker C:My business has been so instrumental to being able to help me through some incredible life challenges and transitions.
Speaker C:And now, you know, that's what our goal is, to help other people grow successful businesses that support their life and their vision and gives them options.
Speaker C:Because when you have a successful and sustainable business, you as the owner have options for, you know, you have to pull back or if you want to move forward or, you know, whatever that looks like.
Speaker C:And, and that's really, I think, important, especially with the majority of our clients are women and minorities.
Speaker C:So, you know, they often are just doing what they do to support their families.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:Yeah, but that's the, that's the long story short.
Speaker B:So we talked a lot this past year.
Speaker B:We did a summer money series.
Speaker B:We talked a lot about the importance of understanding money, being comfortable with money, talking about money, your cash flow, your numbers, P L statements, like having even if your hands aren't in it, you need to know it.
Speaker B:So even if you have somebody else doing it, as a business owner, you need to understand what these things are, what your goals are, you know, where you are.
Speaker B:Aside from the bookkeeping itself, what does your business do for small business owners?
Speaker C:So we do, we do the bookkeeping, but we also do tax prep, we do tax planning, and then we're certified profit first firm like you mentioned, which is a cash flow management system.
Speaker C:So we help implement that into businesses, create that system, and then also do business coaching related to that as well.
Speaker C:So kind of full circle, one stop shop.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Yep.
Speaker C:And it really, because most of our decisions and most of what happens like in our business reflect in our numbers, you know, so the more you can understand them and lean into them and like you said, you don't have to be the one doing it, but you as the owner need to spend some time with your numbers.
Speaker C:You got to have that understanding of how they work and what they're telling you.
Speaker C:And so we really try to help people do that, you know, not just do the bookkeeping, but really be proactive and have a better understanding for what, what they're looking at and then how to use that so that they can make better data driven decisions for their business to create that sustainable success.
Speaker A:It's so important.
Speaker A:I'm sorry, Kelly, I think I just.
Speaker C:You off go for it.
Speaker A:Do you, do you find people are a little resilient to that at first?
Speaker A:I'm always surprised at how many people are like, no, I've got my bookkeeper, I have my accountant for that stuff.
Speaker A:And we're just like, but you, but part of their job is to be sharing that information with you and you then making decisions to guide them.
Speaker A:They know what they know, but you know your business.
Speaker A:And I'm always so surprised how many people are so hands off.
Speaker A:So do you do find that people are resilient to then utilizing that knowledge?
Speaker C:Yeah, like, yeah, they, they're like resistant to it.
Speaker C:A lot of times they or they can be, but then you have, you have the clients that do where they just want, they just want the box checked that their bookkeeping done, their taxes were done and they don't want to lean in.
Speaker C:But a lot of times what I found is that those are the business owners that tend to struggle with growth.
Speaker C:They tend to struggle with getting out of the business.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:So they're the ones that are still in it and they're just, they're doing everything.
Speaker C:They can't take time off, they get overwhelmed.
Speaker C:So like the business Owners that lean into it.
Speaker C:And we have some business owners that I've worked with when we started doing coaching, and they're so nervous about it and they're so anxious about it, but once we start working through it, and sometimes, like, I have to tell them, trust the process.
Speaker C:You know, as you get into it, it's hard to make changes.
Speaker C:We all know that, right?
Speaker C:We're wired to run, you know, or.
Speaker C:Or avoid anything that's different.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:That's just kind of how our biology is set up.
Speaker C:So when we're leaning into different things, it is scary and it is a little bit overwhelming, but that's what we're there to help with.
Speaker C:We're there to kind of hold people's hands, if you will, a little bit, to walk through them, through that process, to encourage them.
Speaker C:And once they trust that and they.
Speaker C:They get into it and they start to do it, they start to look at their numbers, they start to look at their KPIs and start monitoring, there's, like, this whole sense of empowerment that comes, like.
Speaker C:And confidence that comes from doing that, which is the really cool thing about it.
Speaker C:But, yes, there's a lot of people that, you know, they say they want to be hands off.
Speaker C:We have some clients that are honestly like that.
Speaker C:But a lot of times it's the ones that lean in, the ones that show up, that it really makes a difference for the growth and success of their business and how they start to feel about money, how they start to make decisions, how they start to plan.
Speaker C:You know, it shifts when people really lean in and embrace the uncomfortable of your finances and taxes and all that good stuff.
Speaker B:And when you go to the bank, you know, your industry, the bank's gonna.
Speaker B:The bank doesn't.
Speaker B:The bank knows banking.
Speaker B:They don't.
Speaker B:They look at what the Internet says, you know, and the Internet's not going to tell you your business.
Speaker B:It's going to tell you the overall arching.
Speaker B:And they'll be like, well, this is.
Speaker B:This is what it's supposed to look like.
Speaker B:Well, no, this is my business, and this is the.
Speaker B:The number I've shown consistently for this amount of months or this amount of years.
Speaker B:And knowing that and having the confidence to push back and say, no, you should support my business and its growth because this is what I've proven to do, not what the industry is doing in Michigan or Illinois.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Like, this is here.
Speaker B:This is me.
Speaker B:But I just want to circle back.
Speaker B:You mentioned your Profit first certified.
Speaker B:Can you explain what that is?
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker C:So Profit first is there's a book called Profit First.
Speaker C:So it's based off of this methodology and system of creating stable cash flow within your business.
Speaker C:Every successful business has systems in pretty much every area.
Speaker C:So this is like your money management system is what Profit first creates.
Speaker C:And the way we do that is by creating different bank accounts for different buckets.
Speaker C:So there's five core accounts.
Speaker C:One is income, one is owner's comp, profit is another one.
Speaker C:Operating expenses and then taxes are the five main buckets that, that we create when it comes to that.
Speaker C:And we create a percentage or we look at, we don't create, we look at historical data to create a percentage.
Speaker C:Where every time income comes into your bank account, usually on a weekly basis, it gets distributed by a percentage into these five buckets.
Speaker C:But what it does is it leverages people's behavior.
Speaker C:So over 75% of business owners look at their bank account balance to see how much money they have and to make decisions off of.
Speaker C:So we leverage that behavior by creating these different buckets that now prioritize these different areas and use that to be able to stabilize cash flow.
Speaker C:It also helps to create or force profitability.
Speaker C:Because if your business is not.
Speaker C:If your business doesn't have enough money left over to pay your taxes or to pay you a reasonable amount of, to reinvest into your business, then your business really isn't truly profitable.
Speaker C:It might be on paper, you know, with your net income.
Speaker C:And that's sometimes where people struggle is like on their profit and loss.
Speaker C:There's a net income number, but they feel like they don't have any money.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:Like a lot of people feel that way.
Speaker C:And so this actually helps people be truly profitable.
Speaker C:It helps them to proactively plan by putting money away for taxes.
Speaker C:That's a huge pain point that we see for small business owners all of the time.
Speaker C:People do not pay estimated taxes.
Speaker C:They don't have money put away for taxes.
Speaker C:If you pay taxes, it's not necessarily bad.
Speaker C:It means you made money.
Speaker C:But it really sucks when you didn't plan for it.
Speaker C:So it helps to lean into that as well.
Speaker C:So it creates the stabilization of your cash flow through seasonality or different points of the year.
Speaker C:It forces that profitability.
Speaker C:But what we really see is that it really helps bridge the gap between your monthly reports and then what happens on a day to day basis.
Speaker C:So it really makes money more tangible for people, especially the people that struggle with this area of their business and to understand it and how to manage it and all of that kind of stuff.
Speaker C:So it really helps empower people who struggle with those areas, but it creates a system for how you manage your money, and it helps people be really, really successful and intentional with their business and their money and create that stability that a lot of business owners struggle with.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's a really unique plan.
Speaker A:I actually just went to a training earlier this week with somebody who teaches the same plan.
Speaker A:And when I came home, we were having, you know, this is a tight time of year.
Speaker A:And my husband's like, oh, we need to get this stuff.
Speaker A:And I said, okay, where are we taking it from?
Speaker A:Because if we have this much for payroll, we're not shorting payroll.
Speaker A:So what you're telling me is I'm not gonna have enough for payroll.
Speaker A:Well, I can't short payroll, so where are you taking it from?
Speaker A:So thinking about it in these buckets, I'm like, I need to go to the bank and get more accounts, because this is just a genius thing because, you know, I'm always going to pay that bill.
Speaker A:But physically having to take it from my cost of goods for liquor is.
Speaker A:Is a conscious thing.
Speaker A:And it just makes you really think, how am I spending my money?
Speaker B:And that's such a thing.
Speaker B:I think we need it, like, across our lives, not just in our business.
Speaker B:Money has become less and less tangible.
Speaker B:And now it's just tap and go.
Speaker B:You don't even swipe.
Speaker B:Like, I don't even have to.
Speaker B:It's on my phone.
Speaker B:I don't even need my wallet.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:I can buy things on my phone and just hit a button, and then my phone buys it.
Speaker B:It's so intangible.
Speaker B:And the idea of forcing.
Speaker B:I don't know if this is a word.
Speaker B:Tangibility.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:With our money, I think, is fascinating.
Speaker B:And for the listeners out there, they're probably like, me and I listen to these things and we go to these trainings, and you're like, I'll totally do that when I get home.
Speaker B:I'm going to set up my five accounts and.
Speaker B:And you're not gonna.
Speaker B:90% of the time, we're not gonna.
Speaker B:So this is where your business comes in.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:And not only are you doing the book eating, but you're able to make these changes and force people into these behavior changes.
Speaker B:Because behavior modification is not an easy thing.
Speaker B:That's why we are stuck in our habits.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Like, yeah.
Speaker B:As people.
Speaker A:Well, and it's.
Speaker C:It's.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker A:You know, it's.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:The success of our small businesses is so tied into everything about us internally, and it kind of goes Back to that fear of even letting people look into our books.
Speaker A:I'm not, you know, if there's a moment I'm not profitable, I'm.
Speaker A:I'm.
Speaker A:I'm taking that personal.
Speaker A:So to have somebody look at that and go, oh, look, you know, it's just nice to know that there are people out there who just really are looking for that success.
Speaker A:And because you are so full service, you know, it's very clear that you're going the extra mile to help people feel comfortable about that and teach them how to be successful.
Speaker A:Because there are times where my books look like I am incredibly unsuccessful.
Speaker A:And to not take that personally is difficult.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Yep.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And that's where having, like, profit first really helps because it uses.
Speaker C:It uses, like, your historical numbers, which for most businesses, whatever you did last year in terms of, like, revenue, you typically can do the same in this year.
Speaker C:But even if it ebbs and flows, it helps to stabilize it because we're using that percentage over time.
Speaker C:And every we with the way we work with our clients is every quarter we're reassessing.
Speaker C:So it's not like this is it for the whole year.
Speaker C:Every quarter, we're taking a look at what happened.
Speaker C:If we need to make adjustments, we have a target that we're working towards to make those small tweaks to get closer to our goals.
Speaker C:So we work hand in hand as a sidekick, like we talked about, with our business owners, to help them make those moves and to make those adjustments and create that accountability that really helps drive them towards success and create that habit, which is really powerful and really helpful, I think, for business owners, because it is a hard topic.
Speaker C:It's hard to make changes.
Speaker C:So having somebody there to cheer you on and be a safe place can make all the difference between, you know, your success and failure when it comes to this.
Speaker B:I just had this image pop into my head of, like, all of the top superheroes.
Speaker B:And, like, their sidekick isn't just a trusted, like, friend.
Speaker B:They push them.
Speaker B:You know, not only do they make them do things differently, but they also keep them from doing crazy things.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So the sidekick is a.
Speaker B:Is a pretty important person, sometimes more.
Speaker A:Important, let's be honest.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:They're the ones that are actually doing it and, like, making sure it all happens.
Speaker B:So I love that.
Speaker B:So I was reading up on all of your stuff, and one of the things I loved that I saw you wrote is helping people rewrite their financial story.
Speaker B:And I just love that.
Speaker B:I think that that such a great line to rewrite your financial story.
Speaker B:We don't think about money in a personal way.
Speaker B:And Kelly and I have been talking about this a lot on the episodes is it is such a personal part of us, you know, and a part of our story.
Speaker B:And to have the power to do that.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker C:And especially with women, you know, we work with a lot of women.
Speaker C:And this money area, it can be so difficult because I think we.
Speaker C:We tie it to so many things, right?
Speaker C:Like our birth and our security and trauma future, you know, and.
Speaker C:Yeah, and trauma, exactly.
Speaker C:So there's so many things, like, involved with it that it really is something that you can't avoid, but it's really hard to also embrace and lean into.
Speaker C:And sometimes.
Speaker C:Well, a lot of times, I know even for myself, I had to unlearn a lot of things around money.
Speaker C:You know, I was raised in the church, and we always heard, you know, the money is the root of all evil, which isn't actually even the truth.
Speaker C:The true quote, right.
Speaker C:It's the love of money that's the root of all evil.
Speaker C:Not just money, but you always hear it.
Speaker C:So you think money's bad, money's bad, money's bad.
Speaker C:It's kind of like what gets drilled into you.
Speaker C:But as a business owner, I'm like, I have to be successful, and I want to grow and be able to not just provide for my family, but also make an impact.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:And in order to do that, you gotta have money.
Speaker C:So I had to unlearn and relearn a lot of things about money in my own journey, you know, rewrite.
Speaker C:Like you said.
Speaker C:Rewriting that money journey is definitely something that I've had to do myself.
Speaker C:And I think that's why I love what I get to do now as far as coaching and helping these business owners, like, really understand and lean into this.
Speaker C:Because so much of it I've had to take from my own journey and experience of growing and creating a successful business.
Speaker C:And so now I get to help people do that also, which is really powerful.
Speaker C:But we can, you know, and when things are successful and we have a better understanding of how things ebb and flow, we can unlearn the things that are not helpful and learn the things that are so that we can create the futures and communities and, you know, family dynamics that we want to create, a need to create oftentimes as well, we all know how the world is and the country and everything.
Speaker C:People need people who are.
Speaker C:Who have a big mission, you know, and want to make a good, positive impact.
Speaker C:There needs to be more of us that are successful to be able to really create that change.
Speaker C:And that's something that we can do even if it's not like, on a global or even national stage, if it's within our families and within our small communities, we can make a huge impact.
Speaker C:That's a ripple effect into other people when we're able to be successful.
Speaker C:So it's.
Speaker C:It's really cool.
Speaker B:And as women, I think that we are taught by society, I don't know that who we're taught by, that we don't get a bucket or our bucket should be smaller, and that we should be putting things into different buckets.
Speaker B:And I love that this forces you to.
Speaker B:To have a bucket that's reasonable.
Speaker B:And it's.
Speaker B:It's okay to make a living.
Speaker B:It's okay to get paid for your worth.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And I think as business owners, as women business owners, we feel almost guilty taking that pay when we could be doing other things or, oh, I could be fixing this, or I could be putting the money somewhere else, that we deserve it, that we've earned it, and that it's okay to pay ourselves.
Speaker C:It is.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And you actually really need to.
Speaker C:It's kind of like they say about, you know, you got to put your mask on first, right?
Speaker C:In an airplane, if there's an emergency, you got to put your mask on first before you can help anybody else.
Speaker C:And I've had this conversation actually, a lot of times with several of our clients where it's like, you have to be profitable.
Speaker C:Like, it's fine if you want to, you know, do the pro bono or the discounted service, but if you're not able to pay yourself and take care of your family, the only thing you're going to do is burn yourself out, and then you're not going to help anybody.
Speaker C:So it's like, we've had to have this conversation with people before where it's like you have to make sure you're.
Speaker C:You're sustaining yourself first before you can help anybody else with what they're doing.
Speaker C:And it is a hard, you know, concept to.
Speaker C:Or a hard reality, I guess.
Speaker C:It's not even a concept.
Speaker C:It's a reality that has to be, you know, you have to do it if you want to get to, like, the next level.
Speaker C:And I, you know, same thing.
Speaker C:I had to do that myself, and I started through the certification process with profit first.
Speaker C:We have to implement it within our own businesses first.
Speaker C:And so when I got certified a few years ago, I had to go through the process of Implementing it within my own business.
Speaker C:And it was really incredible because of, even though I was an accountant and, you know, business owner and everything, like just the way it really does make money more tangible and makes you more proactive.
Speaker C:It gave me the tools that I needed to buy a house.
Speaker C:So last year I bought a house for me and my kids as a single woman and a solo mom, which was a really big achievement and I'm very proud of myself.
Speaker C:But I wouldn't have been able to do that as easily if I hadn't put a system in place and really made sure that I was able to pay myself what I needed to get paid and be able to plan proactively, to be able to do that for my family.
Speaker C:And the same is true with that.
Speaker C:Now that I have, you know, a home to provide for for my family, we're able to start, you know, giving back in different ways.
Speaker C:So we work with nonprofits where we do do different discounts with, related to that.
Speaker C:And we've got lower level services that we help with startups, you know, and things like that where we've made them really, really affordable to help support them along their business journey as well.
Speaker C:And so that's been really cool to be able to do, but I had to start with being able to provide for myself and my family.
Speaker C:And you know, now that's a big weight off.
Speaker C:I don't have to worry about where we live and that my kids have spaces and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker C:And that's really important and people need to do that as well to be able to.
Speaker C:You got to take care of yourself, I guess is what, where I'm getting at.
Speaker C:You got to put your mask on before you can help anybody else.
Speaker C:Because when you do that, then you have a lot more capacity and opportunity to help other people.
Speaker C:So it's like taking care of yourself.
Speaker C:You're actually empowering yourself and giving yourself a foundation to be able to have the impact and the ability to help other people outside of yourself.
Speaker A:That's incredible.
Speaker B:Options.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:You're giving yourself options.
Speaker A:Well, I think, you know, we go, we go into this a lot of us trying to help other people and you get so into it and oh no, I'll just want to do what I want to do and I want to be helpful.
Speaker A:But you know, making yourself a profitable business gives you so many more opportunities to be able to do that on a much larger scale afterwards.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:So what are, what are some things that you notice collectively that small businesses are doing wrong that you go in to help them with.
Speaker C:So the most basic one is not having separate accounts.
Speaker C:So not even just having the profit first accounts, even if you don't have that, but just like having your business and your personal accounts separate.
Speaker C:And that's a big issue because if you get audited from taxes or anything else and your information is commingled, you're putting yourself at risk.
Speaker C:You could end up owing a lot more in taxes, interest, and penalties because then you're not, you're not displaying the separation that you need to have between personal and business.
Speaker C:And that's on any level.
Speaker C:If you're a sole proprietor, if you're a single member llc, if you're a partnership, if you're an S corp, if you're C Corp, any of the entities, no matter how big or small your businesses, you need to have separate accounts.
Speaker C:So that's probably the number one thing.
Speaker C:When we work with people, we, we see that a lot.
Speaker C:When we start working with businesses, we're like, okay, first things first.
Speaker C:You got to separate these things starting now.
Speaker C:So even if you haven't in the past, start doing it now.
Speaker C:But the second thing, which also is kind of, you know, a more basic thing, but it often gets pushed to the, the back burner, as they say, is just your bookkeeping.
Speaker C:So making sure that you're doing your bookkeeping on a regular basis or that it's being done even if it's not you, if you hire a bookkeeper, you need to make sure it's being done on, on a more consistent basis.
Speaker C:And it was kind of funny.
Speaker C:I actually just started following I.
Speaker C:The IRS Facebook page popped up on my feed the other day and I was like, oh, let me just, you know, follow that in case there's like, updates and things.
Speaker C:But one of the first posts that I saw was actually about this.
Speaker C:And they're like, hey, you know, having good record keeping in place is what's going to help you deduct, you know, maximize your deductions on your expenses.
Speaker C:And I'm like, yes, like, I've been preaching that for years.
Speaker C:But now the IRS is also, you know, solidifying that because it's true.
Speaker C:If you are trying to do your bookkeeping at the end of the year, that's a whole year.
Speaker C:You got to think back and try to remember there's probably things you're missing.
Speaker C:If you're not doing it consistently, you're probably missing out in a lot of deductions or at the very least, being proactive to make changes.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:Because all your decisions tie back to your numbers.
Speaker C:So the more you're looking at them, the more you're going to see trends, the more you're going to see issues that pop up.
Speaker C:And you can make changes quicker if you're doing.
Speaker C:If you're looking at your financials on a regular basis.
Speaker C:And then probably the third one, especially for, well, really any size business is really just not having a good understanding of taxes or being proactive about tax planning is probably the next one.
Speaker C:And it doesn't have to be anything, you know, super complex, but just having, you know, somebody in your back corner or resource or somebody that you can listen to so that you understand your deductions, what's available to you.
Speaker C:If there are other strategies, a lot of times people will forget about retirement or, or mileage or home office or setting up accountable plans or reasonable comp.
Speaker C:Like, just like these different strategies that are available to people.
Speaker C:If you're not having a conversation with your tax preparer before the end of the year, you're probably missing out in some kind of opportunity to be able to minimize your liability.
Speaker C:So you want to make sure that you're, you know, it's uncomfortable and it's scary with taxes.
Speaker C:But I always tell people, like, the fear that we feel a lot of times when it comes to things is because there's a lack of understanding.
Speaker C:So the more you can understand your taxes, the less scary they're going to be.
Speaker C:The more you can understand how taxes work, the less scary they're going to be.
Speaker C:So really stepping into it versus avoiding it is going to put you in a better position just overall when it comes to your business and your finances and your taxes.
Speaker A:And that is a service that you provide, right?
Speaker C:It is, yeah.
Speaker A:So if your accountant isn't doing these things with you, Megan is virtual.
Speaker A:Give her a call.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker B:I remember my very first year in business.
Speaker B:We finished the year we had a ton of loans out because we just bought the business and, you know, eking by and had, you know, very little in the checking account at the end of each week, just trying to figure out how we were going to do it.
Speaker B:And we owed like $30,000 in taxes.
Speaker B:And I was like, I have dollars in my checking account.
Speaker B:Like, how, how does this work?
Speaker B:And I didn't know that loan payments are still profit.
Speaker B:Like you still made that money and you can't write anything off because it went to, you know, and so it.
Speaker C:Was like these kind of things.
Speaker B:And we learned very quickly how to navigate and plan ahead and, you know, do the prepayments and plan it all out so that we could pay our taxes and not get slammed in the face, you know, end of the year.
Speaker B:Super fun.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:But you don't know you're not a tax preparer when you go into business unless you're going into a tax preparation business.
Speaker A:Exactly.
Speaker A:And that's, that's why we do.
Speaker A:That's why we have these conversations.
Speaker A:And that's, this is why bossy exists.
Speaker A:Because when you go into business, you know, you don't know these things and, and it's so overwhelming.
Speaker A:And then an audit comes and there's all these things you just didn't know.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker C:There's a lot to being a business owner that I don't think any of us really realize until we're like, in it.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:So there's been, there's been a lot of things I've learned over the last, you know, 12 years, I'm sure, as its owner too.
Speaker A:And none of it comes at the convenient times.
Speaker B:No, no.
Speaker C:Usually you're just kind of learning on in the process.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:Or building as they fly or whatever.
Speaker B:Building the plane as you fly it.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:I did see that you have a free download on your website.
Speaker C:I do, yes.
Speaker C:Yep.
Speaker C:The one on our website, which is actually really good if you're working with an accountant, but you're not sure if they're going to be proactive on your behalf.
Speaker C:We.
Speaker C:My download is 9 Questions to Ask your accountant.
Speaker C:And it.
Speaker C:You don't have to necessarily.
Speaker C:The thing is, is that you don't have to know the answers.
Speaker C:Although I do give kind of what you're looking for from your response.
Speaker C:It's really listening for how they respond to you.
Speaker C:Because if somebody's going to be avoidant or if they're going to give you a short answer and they're not going to really be open to a conversation or be a resource to you, then you may want to consider working with somebody else because you want somebody who's going to be in your corner and who's not going to just help you be compliant, but also make changes that are going to be beneficial to you in the long run as well.
Speaker C:And unfortunately, there's a lot of people in our industry that don't do tax planning because tax preparation is by definition a compliance thing.
Speaker C:So it's kind of after the fact, it's not proactive.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker C:But if you want to be in a better place when it comes to your taxes, you got to be proactive about it.
Speaker C:So it's an important Distinction.
Speaker C:But unfortunately, not everybody does it.
Speaker C:So those will be some questions to kind of help you figure out if your accountant is more proactive or reactive so that you can make the best decision for your, you know, your company and your future.
Speaker C:So definitely download that.
Speaker B:So if somebody wants you to be the person that forces them into bucket mode, I'm gonna call it bucket mode, and they want you to be their sidekick.
Speaker B:And they're like, all right, I listened to this podcast, and I found the perfect person to help me get my in gear.
Speaker B:How do they reach you?
Speaker C:My website's going to be the best place to go ahead and book a call with me.
Speaker C:My short link to My website is chatwithmeg.com and that will take you.
Speaker C:Yeah, that'll take you to my website, and you can book a call right on there and learn more about our services and my team.
Speaker C:And I'd love to have a conversation because, yeah, there's definitely ways that you can do and things to.
Speaker C:To help you get sustainable and successful, and that's what we're here for.
Speaker B:And because you're virtual, do you have anything else that you offer?
Speaker C:Well, we work with clients across the U.S. we do have an event that's coming up in January.
Speaker C:It's called our Profit Clarity Workshop.
Speaker C:And it's a great way to kind of get a little bit clearer on your profits.
Speaker C:So we go through your packages, pricing, and then just your cash flow in general on that workshop.
Speaker C:So it's a really great, like, first step into the buckets or, like, into the profit points of your business and getting the those clear.
Speaker C:So it'll be a really fun workshop.
Speaker C:If you're available to join us January 14th, I'd love to have you.
Speaker A:Is that just for your current clients or anybody can sign up for that?
Speaker C:No, that's anybody?
Speaker C:Yep, that's anybody.
Speaker A:Well, it'll be just after my surgery, so it'll be perfect because.
Speaker B:Yeah, Kelly, no one's gonna believe that you're having surgery.
Speaker B:You've been talking about this.
Speaker A:So I was supposed to have surgery on September 14, and I put off a lot of my book work because I was.
Speaker A:The first three weeks, I can't leave bed, like, other than to, like, because, I mean, my ankles fused, so I was like, I'm gonna need to do so much stuff and putting stuff on.
Speaker A:And now I'm like, now it got postponed because I got shingles, so I end up in bed anyway.
Speaker A:But, you know, going back, even just now that I'm, like, two months behind, I'm Like, I don't remember.
Speaker A:What was that for?
Speaker A:I'm like, what?
Speaker A:And it's.
Speaker A:It is so important to stay on top of that stuff.
Speaker A:So I'm glad that you brought that up.
Speaker A:I'm like, testify.
Speaker A:Because I literally improve of how much that screws you up.
Speaker A:Even just a month or two.
Speaker A:And there's been times where I've been more.
Speaker A:I'll be honest, there's been times where I've been more than a month or two off because of whatever reason, and I end up working more than I'm supposed to and don't get time to do the other stuff.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Staying on schedule it.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:Schedule anything else.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And I have found, too, I always tell people, because I teach QuickBooks classes also.
Speaker C:And so I always tell them, you know, you're gonna lose this if you're not using it.
Speaker C:So that's kind of the other thing too, is like you.
Speaker C:If you're learning how to do it yourself, it's gonna.
Speaker C:It's gonna be something that you kind of forget how to do.
Speaker C:So then you got to kind of relearn it each time.
Speaker C:But the other part, a lot of times is that if you wait and wait and wait, it's going to become bigger and bigger and bigger, which means you're just going to avoid it more and more.
Speaker C:So I tell people, put it on your calendar, even if it's once a month, ideally probably once a week, where you can just, like get caught up for the week.
Speaker C:Takes 20 minutes maybe, if that.
Speaker C:And you know, then you're on track and you're not avoiding it, and then it's not growing into a big, huge monster that you avoid for another six months.
Speaker B:And what I've learned is those monsters are usually the easiest things.
Speaker B:When you finally sit down to attack the monster, you're like, why?
Speaker B:This was not difficult.
Speaker B:This was not difficult.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Why did I put this off for so long?
Speaker C:It's like that frog, if anybody's ever read that book, eat that frog.
Speaker A:Like, not only is it not difficult, but how good you feel after it's done.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:And how bad you feel every time you put it off.
Speaker B:Like it just fingering in your head.
Speaker B:You know what?
Speaker A:It stands.
Speaker B:So this is your friendly reminder that money should be tangible, that we need to know our numbers, we need to get our stuff in order, and that we need a trusting sidekick to get us there.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:Wonderful advice.
Speaker B:Well, thank you for joining us, Megan.
Speaker B:I look forward to your Profit Clarity workshop in January.
Speaker B:And I love chat with Meg As a website.
Speaker B:I need to adjust my website.
Speaker A:You want to get to your website, so do that.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Chat with Meg.
Speaker B:Awesome.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker B:And thank you for reminding us that knowing our money and paying ourselves gives us choices and options and the power that comes with that.
Speaker B:So we really appreciate you joining us today, Megan.
Speaker C:Thank you.
Speaker C:Thank you for having me.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker C:Great conversation.
Speaker B:Megan didn't get into it, but she has a very inspiring story of power and resilience of knowing your business and being able to take it to a place that supports you.
Speaker B:And maybe she'll come back and tell us more about that.
Speaker B:A different time.
Speaker B:But she.
Speaker B:She grew leaps and bounds to be able to take care of her family, which is amazing.
Speaker B:Rewrite your financial story and came out the other side and able to sit and inspire us today.
Speaker B:I don't know if I could have done it, but she's amazing, so hopefully she'll come back and share more.
Speaker B:And you know, she brought up taxes a lot and that's something we wouldn't really talk about in our money series is the importance of knowing your numbers and your cash flow.
Speaker B:But incorporating taxes, like, for me, I just.
Speaker B:It's a part of my cash flow because I've already got the prepayments built in.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Because I'm scared of paying at the end of the year.
Speaker B:So, yeah, I think that that's a very important conversation too.
Speaker A:Is.
Speaker B:Is where you're especially.
Speaker B:This isn't going to air until January, so it's too late.
Speaker B:But for the next year, take what you learned this year and work it into your cash flow for next year and your buckets.
Speaker B:So we actually have a bucket because I'm scared of taxes.
Speaker B:So from the get go, our savings account is our tax.
Speaker B:So every week we put a certain amount of money into the savings account and that is savings and taxes.
Speaker B:So it's like that money just goes in there and then when the tax payment comes, that money comes back over whatever we need for the tax portion and then the rest stays in savings.
Speaker B:Because it is important to not see that money.
Speaker B:It makes a huge difference and it does make it more tangible.
Speaker B:But I do hate how money is so virtual now.
Speaker B:Too many things are virtual.
Speaker B:All right, we'll chat with Mega, know your numbers.
Speaker B:Follow us on all your favorite socials.
Speaker B:Really, we're just on Facebook and Instagram.
Speaker B:We try to be on the rest of them, but we're busy.
Speaker B:Bossy Rochester.
Speaker B:B O S S Y Rochester.
Speaker B:And share this with somebody who you think needs to hear it.
Speaker B:Get those buckets out, Help other people.
Speaker B:Be as successful as you're going to be.
Speaker B:Be the boss.
