We recently connected with Stacey Gardner and have shared our conversation below.

Stacey , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

Starting a small business for anyone is a risk. It takes a strong individual to take that risk and put themselves out there to start a small business. Once you take that leap, it is a grueling process to take the idea and passion and turn it into a successful, thriving business.

It was a huge financial risk for me to quit my job and start my Bookkeeping and Payroll Business. Like most, I was living paycheck to paycheck and couldn’t afford to take a pay cut. When I looked at the “big picture,” it was overwhelming. There was too much to do, and my goals seemed out of reach.

I found breaking things down into a two-week period was much more manageable. I knew what my gross profit needed to look like and what my expenses, time, and tasks were. As I went along, I could eventually expand that to a monthly view, then a quarterly view. As time went on and I can look at things and plan for a year, there are times I still go back to a two week view is we get overextended, or large projects come up. I found this approach working so well in so many ways, when I coach new business owners, I still teach this method.

Taking the risk paid off for me because I was able to get out in front of the challenges, manage the risk, and not wait until I was so far buried to course correct. I love being a small business owner. The best part of my day is having the opportunity to help other small business owners reach their business goals. If I had never taken that risk, I would have never experienced the joy and fulfillment that owning a small business brings.

Stacey , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am the Founder and CEO of Shoebox Bookkeeping Services, which has been established for over 13 years. With over 20 years of experience, I have dedicated my career to empowering small businesses. I provide a comprehensive suite of services, including bookkeeping cash flow management, payroll, controller, and consulting services, in addition to insurance and workers’ audits and collections.

I have an amazing team, and together, “We Make Life Easy For Small Businesses.” We are not just a service provider; we are a dedicated partner committed to our client’s financial success and growth. Through precision, integrity, and a relentless pursuit of excellence, we aim to be the trusted cornerstone of our clients’ financial stability and prosperity.

At Shoebox Bookkeeping Service & Payroll, our mission is to transform businesses through expert bookkeeping. We are dedicated to offering reliable client-centric bookkeeping solutions that not only meet but exceed the unique needs of our diverse clientele. We are NOT a “cookie cutter”; or “one size fits all”; we customize our bookkeeping and payroll to fit our client’s needs. If we are not providing individualized service for our clients, we can’t really dive into helping their individual needs.

Having a genuine desire to help our clients changes the mindset and, in my opinion, allows for the best possible customer service.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source of new clients for me has been referrals; 98% of my clients came from referrals. Early on, I found that the small things I was doing turned out to be very important to the client, which resulted in so many referrals.

In the beginning, I found myself trying to provide over-the-top customer service and providing several small extras, which was almost killing me with the extra time. I thought these were the things that were going to set Shoebox Bookkeeping Service apart from the other firms. I was completely shocked to learn what was really setting us apart.

When I would ask for feedback from clients on what sets Shoebox Bookkeeping Service apart from other firms, it t had nothing to do with those extravagant extra things we were doing, it was things like “you actually answer the phone when I call,” “you do what you say you are going to do”, “I actually receive reports every month”, “you don’t talk down to me, and you take the time to explain things so I understand”. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, thought these were just normal things that every accounting firm did, but I was shocked to know they didn’t.

I was able to let go of some of the extras that were not providing value and weren’t relevant or really wanted by the client. We then focused on improving and meeting those areas that customers provided positive or negative feedback on, and the referrals kept coming. To this day, I have never paid for advertising. It really boils down to providing a good service, being accountable, following through, and listening to your customers.

Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?

Shoebox Bookkeeping Service and Payroll provides cash flow management services to several of our clients, and I can tell you that missing payroll or being faced with the possibility of closing the doors has been almost a reality for many of them.

Most who face this issue do so because they do not track their cash. They have no idea of things like burn rate, break-even point, and KPI, which are vital terms to know and understand in business. One of my favorite parts of being an accountant is helping small business owners understand and track these very things.

Helping our clients track their cash and do a weekly 10-day projection is a game changer. Being disciplined in this task turned around many of our clients struggling to make payroll and foresee future moments of negative cash flow. Many clients who thought they would not make it past the pandemic financial difficulties could keep their doors open by understanding and having the knowledge to do this simple task and becoming familiar in understanding and tracking their break-even point and KPI’s

Contact Info:

• Website: https://shoeboxbookkeepingservice.com/
• Instagram: @ShoeboxBookkeepingService.com
• Facebook: ShoeboxBookkeepingService

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