We were lucky to catch up with Carrie Donatelli recently and have shared our conversation below.

Carrie, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

Yes! For many of the business owners who come to me as prospective clients, they are super frustrated with their former bookkeepers, coaches and/or payroll services. They don’t know what they’re paying for and they struggle to get their former providers to even answer an email or phone call. And often times, those who are well-versed in math and ‘the numbers’ don’t communicate well or want a lot of interaction with clients.

I’m different because I understand the math and work with numbers constantly, AND I start by building a solid relationship with my clients. I want to know them. I want to celebrate their wins and encourage them through their losses. And I communicate happily and usually within a day. Communication is SUPER important for me in my business. And I’ve actually parted ways with clients who wouldn’t answer my calls or emails. I actually insist on forming a partnership with my clients rather than accepting work that they don’t want to do and don’t want to deal with, as a ‘hand-off’. My ideal clients want this as well. Otherwise, I’m happy to refer prospects to other service providers who may be a better fit for them.

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?

I’m Carrie! I got much of my professional experience in the Construction Management space. I worked for a few large companies, primarily working on Transmission Line and Substation construction projects for utility companies. At that point, I worked in Project Controls, but because I liked people and communicated well, I had some skills that many in my department didn’t. I excelled in my field and loved the work. I worked in Construction Management over the span of about a decade. I took a break when I had my daughter, so I could focus on her. But I knew I wanted to own my own company at some point. So, when she started becoming more independent and went to preschool, I started the groundwork on my business. I researched names, networked with other small business owners in Denver and wrote my business plan.

Living in Colorado, I wanted to incorporate ‘Peak’ or ‘Summit’ into the name of my business. Peak Business Group allowed me the room to expand into new areas in the future, while getting the message across that I can help other business owners run their businesses at ‘Peak Performance’ without sacrificing the parts of their businesses that they love in order to keep the back office tasks going.

In 2019 I started my LLC and offered bookkeeping and business planning to other local businesses. In 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic, I found Profit First and knew I had to become an expert in this proven cash management system. It was a total game changer in my business. So I joined the Profit First Professionals, got certified and started spreading the word about the coaching services I could provide. It’s so rewarding to be able to work with clients and help them realize better profitability and be able to pay themselves appropriately. Through my certification process, I learned how to identify my ideal clients and really hone in on the services I wanted to offer. I knew I was passionate about helping people but after coaching a few of my clients through Profit First, I realized that coaching was my passion! So, I now offer Business & Profit First Coaching, as well as bookkeeping, payroll and HR services for other businesses. I have a team of experienced professionals who can do the tasks I don’t love and focus my energy and time on building my coaching practice.

I’ve absolutely loved building Peak Business Group! And as a single mom, I have the flexibility I need to be able to be there for my daughter when she needs me! Don’t get me wrong; It’s very challenging. But I like challenges. And my work is so rewarding, I can’t imagine doing anything else.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When the Covid-19 Pandemic hit in March 2020, I was still very new in business. And parents had less than a day’s notice that school was being cancelled and students would have to do remote learning. Translation: Parents would need to be there and help their kids with remote learning. Especially parents with young children. My daughter was only in kindergarten. So to help her understand that she couldn’t see her friends everyday anymore and she had to do zoom meetings for school was incomprehensible. She wasn’t even 6 years old yet! So that was a HUGE eye opener and a time when I had to pivot my entire life, including my business.

I pivoted my business and also helped my clients figure out new ways to make money since most of them were in-person retail businesses who had to close their doors temporarily. I didn’t feel right charging them for my services if they had no income to pay me, so I didn’t. I did apply for some of the pandemic relief options offered to small business owners, and that helped tremendously. But I remember brainstorming with my clients on how to do virtual facials via zoom and coming up with project boxes that people could buy and make at home. Just trying all kinds of ideas to keep cash flowing until the World could regain some normalcy. It. Was. Hard. One thing that I clung to for comfort was that no one was prepared for a pandemic. It wasn’t just me. We were literally all in this situation together. So we did our very best to protect our businesses and our mental health.

So yes. I’m very familiar with pivoting in both my career and in my life. Remote learning is hard for adults, much less 6-7 year olds. We lost the last two months of school and several weeks the following year had to be done virtually. Kids have been behind on major learning timelines with reading and math. Thankfully, this school year has been closer to ‘normal’.

It has to be said that the Pandemic did produce at least one good thing. Namely, the Zoom revolution. Now that we know we can connect and communication via video teleconferencing software like Zoom, many people can work from home, who didn’t prior to 2020. And we business owners can work smarter and hold client meetings via zoom rather than spending all that time in the car. Nothing substitutes face-to-face interaction. But virtual meetings are a great way to be more efficient.

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

My best source of new clients is always referrals from current clients. It’s how I built my business in my first year. Now, that being said, some of those clients didn’t turn out to be great connections for me and we’ve since parted ways.

Now that I know who my ideal clients are, I’m building my relationships with my best, most ideal clients. And they happily refer me. I have great clients and they usually know more business owners who are much like them! Its a win-win situation for sure.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.yourpeakbusiness.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/peak_business_group
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourpeakbusiness
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carriedonatelli/
• Twitter: @carriedonatelli
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJiggYNVS2HqH4sQxg6A-lA
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/peak-business-group-littleton?osq=peak+business+group

Image Credits
Blaze Branding Solutions Lynn Clark Photography