Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Blake Venable. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Blake, thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

As a business owner, I found it hard to manage all of the tasks involved alone. I started Blake’s Bookkeeping and Business Branding with the idea that we could “allow you more time to do what you love.” I have equated this to mean – allowing you more time to be present, spend time with family, enjoy the fruits of your labor, and to be the face of your business while entrusting the tasks that are more cumbersome to us. I started the business about 3 years ago when I was approached by a good friend who owned a barbershop in town. He said he was not good with money and had no idea what to do as far as taxes go. He knew I had some experience in this area, and he asked he could pay me to help him get organized. Since then, we have grown to now have over 60 companies that we handle bookkeeping, taxes, payroll, social media, web design, and other administrative tasks for. I employ a staff of five people, I was able to obtain ownership in a highly successful contract painting company, bought a house, am back in school pursuing my CPA license, bought a house, got two dogs, and am in a healthy relationship. To conclude, I feel that sometimes even a simple idea can bloom into something great. I am grateful for my friend for reaching out to me, and I never would have imagined it would turn into a life-long career that pulled me out of a dark place in my life.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I had been in restaurant management for a small chain of steak houses for about 8 years prior to this. I was in charge of the financial aspects of the restaurant so I learned a lot about budgeting, preparing financials, and taxes. As a result, I was able to tailor what I had learned and systems I had created towards small business owners. Today, we offer a wide-range of services from bookkeeping, taxes, payroll, web-design, logo-design, social media management, branding, and other admin related services. We try to take on the tasks that business owners either do not want to handle or find difficult to do. I am most proud of our level of service even after growing to the level that we have. We are very busy, but we still stand by our mission and try to offer the same outstanding level of service to everyone.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I have found that word of mouth has been our best advocate. When you treat your clients with outstanding service and respect while also delivering top-of-the-line service, they take notice and share about this with their friends. From that, you get to the point where your phone does not stop ringing from people wanting your services. It also has allowed us to venture into other areas that I did not foresee. I know have someone managing a book of business for about 10 clients in which we handle their social media, advertising, and website. We have learned that people like having one point of contact to go to for their business needs.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

I had to learn that I could not do it alone. It took me a while to learn how to trust others with tasks and to delegate. Since then, I have created an online booklet for our staff that outlines how to do every single process that we handle for clients. This was instrumental in managing my team because it allowed everyone to be cross-trained in order to free myself up to be able to also enjoy life more and pursue new clients. As for morale, I think it’s important to understand that your team looks to you to establish the aura for your business. Even on days when I am tired, stressed out, and overwhelmed, I still try my best to maintain a positive attitude. I also make sure to always checkin with my staff by asking them questions such as “how are you feeling today.” I have learned that giving your staff time to check-in with not only you, but with themselves shows them that you care about them as a person.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.blakesbookkeeping.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blake_venable1/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blakevenable88
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blake-venable-9711aa99/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/blakes-bookkeeping-and-business-branding-knoxville