We recently connected with Paris Williams and have shared our conversation below.

Paris, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Our mission and purpose is to advance entrepreneurial companies to the next level. Our values are care, connection, contribution and creativity. We do this through creating a financial operating system for growing businesses. This is meaningful for us because our business is an outflow of our personal belief that everyone can contribute and serve in a meaningful way. Recently our lead CFO, James was able to support a client with a small business to grow her revenue above the million dollar mark. This came through strategic planning, a few key hires and helping her to manage accounting systems. With another client, we were able to provide a 12 month dynamic forecast, which they had never utilized before. This was a game changer for our client and we are grateful to be able to support each company to level up. The way that we operate- keeping our vision and values at the forefront helps us to standout and offer CFO services that we are proud of.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

In 2018 our lead CFO, James Williams Jr. started working with some small business owners in Chicago who wanted his professional financial advice. They were friends of ours and it was a great way to start consulting. Initially he was also supporting them with their personal finances. As most entrepreneurs know, your business ideas evolve over time. He soon learned that it would be more effective to focus on supporting leaders of growing companies who do not have a CFO on staff. The virtual CFO vision evolved from the initial consulting. Once we saw the value that we could add to business owners, it became clear that we had a sustainable business model. Once I came on as the full time CEO this allowed us to broaden our vision and serve even more companies. The leaders we work with have built a successful business. They are ready to grow their purpose and profit but need guidance to grow strategically. They want to feel like they are looking further into the future and not just day-to-day or month-to-month. Our team fills the financial leadership role that’s missing in businesses, providing the clarity and guidance needed for sustainable growth. We are a unique fractional CFO firm. We work to live out our values in everything we do- Care, Connection, Creativity, Contribution. We care about the businesses as if they are our own. We believe in forming human connections with each other, our clients and partners. We connect with our clients personally and professionally. Having this connection helps us to build a stronger and more fruitful partnership. We provide creative solutions and ideas to the clients we work with. We wholeheartedly contribute to the mission and vision of each company. Our core offer includes forecasting, cash flow management, pipeline development and financial performance review. Our premium service includes the core service in addition to building and growing the value of the business. Business owners who hire us, have the support of a CFO for a fraction of the market price.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Being a small business owner necessitates an immense amount of resilience. Demonstrating this resilience, we did not charge our clients for the first two years of our venture. This time was spent building, testing and updating our service model. It was in 2020 that we secured our inaugural paying client. In the beginning, our focus was on supporting startups. However, as time passed, we realized the critical importance of solid bookkeeping and accounting for startups to reach a certain level of stability. Most true startups do not need a CFO. Despite the challenges of limited time and resources, especially at the start of our business journey, our resilience stood steadfast.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

In 1998, I had the pleasure of meeting my co-founder, James Williams Jr., who also happens to be my husband, during our time at San Francisco State University. Our journey took an unexpected turn as we tied the knot while still in college. We each choose distinct professional paths. James delved into finance, showcasing his expertise through various roles ranging from audit to private equity. On the other hand, I dedicated myself to education, serving as a school teacher and later as a school leader. However, the unexpected professional reunion happened in 2022 when we joined forces to advance our CFO company. Working together wasn’t something I initially envisioned, yet this venture has proven to be incredibly rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nextlevelfinancial.co/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parisnextlevel/
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/JE_iIHK6BmY