WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.540 Tell me about your vision. Sure. So I guess about 00:00:04.540 --> 00:00:07.379 a little over a year ago, I started my own practice. 00:00:07.419 --> 00:00:13.179 And the practice is I offer CFO advisory services 00:00:13.179 --> 00:00:17.219 to small business owners, small to medium sized 00:00:17.219 --> 00:00:22.480 business owners to help them grow and add value 00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:28.609 to their business. in addition to that i also 00:00:28.609 --> 00:00:32.149 offer c -suite services they're fractional as 00:00:32.149 --> 00:00:34.570 well which just means part -time and basically 00:00:34.570 --> 00:00:37.530 at a fraction of the cost so that small business 00:00:37.530 --> 00:00:40.990 owners can afford them but the vision in the 00:00:40.990 --> 00:00:43.530 purpose in doing this is to help the small business 00:00:43.530 --> 00:00:48.409 owners have be able to afford and have the same 00:00:48.409 --> 00:00:51.840 type of leadership in their business, strategic 00:00:51.840 --> 00:00:55.079 leadership that the large companies do so they 00:00:55.079 --> 00:00:57.280 can be successful the same way the large companies 00:00:57.280 --> 00:01:06.840 are. That's an amazing point, Teresa. Why did 00:01:06.840 --> 00:01:10.819 you target only small business owners in this 00:01:10.819 --> 00:01:13.659 case scenario? What inspired you to go that route 00:01:13.659 --> 00:01:17.040 instead of medium or large corporations? Good 00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:20.400 question. I've spent the last 25 years in the 00:01:20.400 --> 00:01:23.040 corporate world working at the corporate ladder 00:01:23.040 --> 00:01:30.079 like many people. And I decided what gave me 00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:32.920 the most enjoyment and what's the most fulfilling 00:01:32.920 --> 00:01:35.519 was when I started working with the smaller companies 00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:38.980 and I helped them grow. So I wanted to go back 00:01:38.980 --> 00:01:43.780 to that. I think in doing this, what happens, 00:01:44.120 --> 00:01:46.540 what I know is with the small business owners 00:01:46.540 --> 00:01:49.599 is, you know, we all know they wear all the hats 00:01:49.599 --> 00:01:52.480 in the company, right? And they're overstressed 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:55.500 and overwhelmed. And they can't adequately or 00:01:55.500 --> 00:01:58.819 efficiently or successfully, you know, manage 00:01:58.819 --> 00:02:00.859 all aspects and all parts of their business. 00:02:01.540 --> 00:02:04.200 And the large corporations don't do it that way. 00:02:04.319 --> 00:02:06.840 They're not successful in having one person do. 00:02:08.370 --> 00:02:12.770 So they do it by offering, they have chief officers, 00:02:12.870 --> 00:02:14.990 if you will, that lead and direct all aspects 00:02:14.990 --> 00:02:18.129 of all areas of the company. The small business 00:02:18.129 --> 00:02:21.590 owners don't have that mainly because they can't 00:02:21.590 --> 00:02:25.750 afford in -house, you know, direct officers for 00:02:25.750 --> 00:02:30.180 every area of their business. So the concept 00:02:30.180 --> 00:02:33.099 is to be able to provide them, you know, accessible 00:02:33.099 --> 00:02:37.860 and affordable chief officer positions, leadership 00:02:37.860 --> 00:02:41.340 positions in their company so that they can grow 00:02:41.340 --> 00:02:43.439 and be successful, just like the large corporations. 00:02:44.360 --> 00:02:46.939 But how would they afford something when they 00:02:46.939 --> 00:02:51.870 can't afford those positions anyway? So that's 00:02:51.870 --> 00:02:54.030 to me where the fractional part comes in. So 00:02:54.030 --> 00:02:56.169 fractional is a fancy word, if you will, for 00:02:56.169 --> 00:02:59.990 part time. But it's also a part time cost. So 00:02:59.990 --> 00:03:03.289 they don't have to pay for a full time, you know, 00:03:03.289 --> 00:03:06.310 chief financial officer, chief, you know, marketing 00:03:06.310 --> 00:03:12.169 officers, sales officer. They they they bring 00:03:12.169 --> 00:03:16.469 in these part time officers and pay a part time. 00:03:16.569 --> 00:03:21.759 I'm sorry, a fraction of that cost. That's awesome. 00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:25.659 I want to ask you this question. I think this 00:03:25.659 --> 00:03:29.560 would probably give you more, our audience will 00:03:29.560 --> 00:03:33.139 get more insights on all this. Through your business 00:03:33.139 --> 00:03:36.840 model, what are some of the biggest challenges 00:03:36.840 --> 00:03:39.699 you're facing right now when you're trying to 00:03:39.699 --> 00:03:46.300 help these small businesses out? either stops 00:03:46.300 --> 00:03:49.719 them from hiring you or it stops them from seeing 00:03:49.719 --> 00:03:52.400 that they should hire you. That's right. Or there's 00:03:52.400 --> 00:03:54.939 something in their head, yeah. Yeah, it's, first 00:03:54.939 --> 00:03:58.659 of all, it's the perspective, right? And I like 00:03:58.659 --> 00:04:00.960 to challenge, you know, the small or mid -sized 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:05.719 business owner to think bigger. Think about the 00:04:05.719 --> 00:04:07.759 end in mind, where you want to be, where you 00:04:07.759 --> 00:04:10.039 want to go. How are you going to get there? You 00:04:10.039 --> 00:04:14.469 know, who do you have on your team? Trying to 00:04:14.469 --> 00:04:16.550 do everything all by yourself is not going to 00:04:16.550 --> 00:04:20.509 get you there. That's too big of a challenge. 00:04:20.569 --> 00:04:24.829 It's too overwhelming. And most smaller midsize 00:04:24.829 --> 00:04:27.610 business owners are not successful going that 00:04:27.610 --> 00:04:31.939 route. And so I like to challenge them to. Surround 00:04:31.939 --> 00:04:34.899 yourself, you know, with resources and experts 00:04:34.899 --> 00:04:39.100 in those areas. Bring those in so that you can 00:04:39.100 --> 00:04:41.600 focus on the area of the business that you're 00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:44.819 good at, that you enjoy doing, that will make 00:04:44.819 --> 00:04:50.720 the business successful. I couldn't agree more 00:04:50.720 --> 00:04:53.680 on your statements about why small businesses 00:04:53.680 --> 00:04:55.920 are failing. I mean, I don't know if you've read 00:04:55.920 --> 00:04:59.800 the book E -Myth or not. I'm about to read that 00:04:59.800 --> 00:05:03.160 book. Oh, it's a great book. Yes, I just got 00:05:03.160 --> 00:05:05.699 it and I'm about to read it. Yeah, so there's 00:05:05.699 --> 00:05:09.180 a stat in that book. Spoiler alert a little bit 00:05:09.180 --> 00:05:12.259 for you. In that Michael Gerber states a stat 00:05:12.259 --> 00:05:14.500 like 96 % of businesses are failing within the 00:05:14.500 --> 00:05:16.480 first 10 years in the United States. And that's 00:05:16.480 --> 00:05:19.839 a pretty bad number. If you really think about 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:21.680 it, how many people have actually had successful 00:05:21.680 --> 00:05:23.639 businesses to how many times they have failed, 00:05:23.740 --> 00:05:25.980 that actually makes sense. And how many small 00:05:25.980 --> 00:05:29.199 businesses are actually just getting by and they 00:05:29.199 --> 00:05:31.199 have... Instead of having a business for themselves, 00:05:31.259 --> 00:05:34.600 they have a job for themselves. So there's a 00:05:34.600 --> 00:05:37.980 staggering number against the business owners 00:05:37.980 --> 00:05:41.399 that people don't, they fail to see. And it costs 00:05:41.399 --> 00:05:44.740 them a lot of time, a lot of money, a lot of 00:05:44.740 --> 00:05:47.779 effort. And the return on their investment is 00:05:47.779 --> 00:05:50.639 very, very less. They'd be better off putting 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:53.939 that money into S &P 500 and forgetting about 00:05:53.939 --> 00:05:56.600 it for 25 years. then there would be the time 00:05:56.600 --> 00:05:58.639 they wasted on a business that they don't know 00:05:58.639 --> 00:06:01.339 what they're doing about. And it's not to put 00:06:01.339 --> 00:06:06.300 anyone down, but to help them see that you need 00:06:06.300 --> 00:06:09.620 experts to succeed or you need to know what it 00:06:09.620 --> 00:06:11.740 takes to succeed. And if you don't think you 00:06:11.740 --> 00:06:13.620 can do that, you need to go to a different path, 00:06:13.819 --> 00:06:18.959 maybe an easier path for you. I meet people all 00:06:18.959 --> 00:06:22.850 the time. Most of them are business owners. But 00:06:22.850 --> 00:06:24.430 some of them are not meant for business, but 00:06:24.430 --> 00:06:27.449 they're doing business. And I know a few people 00:06:27.449 --> 00:06:31.470 in my circle myself, they could be great business 00:06:31.470 --> 00:06:33.850 owners, but they don't do business. And some 00:06:33.850 --> 00:06:36.269 people that are not great business owners, but 00:06:36.269 --> 00:06:39.110 they are doing business. They're probably surviving 00:06:39.110 --> 00:06:42.050 in Gen Mai and struggling. And their family gets 00:06:42.050 --> 00:06:44.709 struggled through that. But why put that much 00:06:44.709 --> 00:06:46.870 stress on yourself? And most people fail to see 00:06:46.870 --> 00:06:51.629 that. So for you, Teresa, what would you say 00:06:51.629 --> 00:06:55.689 that, How did you come about this? I mean, like, 00:06:55.750 --> 00:06:57.889 do you have a story that pertains to your why? 00:06:57.970 --> 00:06:59.629 Like, why did you leave the corporate world? 00:06:59.689 --> 00:07:02.029 Why did you leave the corporate ladder and go 00:07:02.029 --> 00:07:05.029 and start helping small business owners? Well, 00:07:05.149 --> 00:07:07.629 like I said before, I mainly left because I lost, 00:07:07.649 --> 00:07:10.490 you know, my passion, my drive. Working for the 00:07:10.490 --> 00:07:14.449 large corporations kind of feel like, you know, 00:07:14.490 --> 00:07:16.790 I've kind of been there, done that, if you will. 00:07:16.949 --> 00:07:19.949 And so I wanted to go back. And I think the other 00:07:19.949 --> 00:07:24.689 thing is. You know, it's OK. So it's exciting 00:07:24.689 --> 00:07:27.389 and rewarding to me at this point in my life 00:07:27.389 --> 00:07:31.490 to take a small business owner and truly help 00:07:31.490 --> 00:07:35.389 them and watch them grow, be able to give them 00:07:35.389 --> 00:07:37.949 some strategic guidance, you know, financial 00:07:37.949 --> 00:07:40.250 planning, make sure their company's financially 00:07:40.250 --> 00:07:42.709 healthy so that they can maximize on opportunities, 00:07:43.129 --> 00:07:46.389 you know, address any red flags that they have 00:07:46.389 --> 00:07:50.199 so that they have. they have more flexibility 00:07:50.199 --> 00:07:53.379 and more freedom out of their business, right? 00:07:53.899 --> 00:07:57.579 So they can focus on the business, like you said, 00:07:57.620 --> 00:08:00.660 as opposed to working in the business. And the 00:08:00.660 --> 00:08:03.579 way you do that is by surrounding yourself with 00:08:03.579 --> 00:08:06.860 those experts and those resources. That's just 00:08:06.860 --> 00:08:12.639 critical. And it's very fulfilling to me when 00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:16.100 I see a company that I've been able to help. 00:08:16.540 --> 00:08:19.759 Right. To give them a new perspective, to show 00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:23.639 them how this works, why this works, and to watch 00:08:23.639 --> 00:08:26.660 them accomplish their goals and their dreams. 00:08:29.360 --> 00:08:32.240 That's awesome. Well, thank you for sharing that 00:08:32.240 --> 00:08:37.759 with us. Yes. I have one more question for you. 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:44.740 And this is a. I don't know if there's no right 00:08:44.740 --> 00:08:47.350 answer to this question. But Teresa, with you 00:08:47.350 --> 00:08:49.750 and your services that you offer and the vision 00:08:49.750 --> 00:08:52.190 that you see, where do you see yourself going 00:08:52.190 --> 00:08:55.710 in the next maybe two, five, ten years? Well, 00:08:55.750 --> 00:09:00.250 I'm on a goal to add a certain number of clients 00:09:00.250 --> 00:09:06.519 to my. client base, both locally and virtually. 00:09:07.240 --> 00:09:12.480 The bigger goal is when I first launched this 00:09:12.480 --> 00:09:18.159 practice and showed up on LinkedIn and Facebook, 00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:21.220 I've had... previous employees that have worked 00:09:21.220 --> 00:09:23.639 for me that have reached out to me and said, 00:09:23.679 --> 00:09:26.720 Hey, Teresa, do you have room for one? Can I 00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:30.519 come work for you? And that was so rewarding 00:09:30.519 --> 00:09:34.259 to me. And I have two daughters that want to 00:09:34.259 --> 00:09:36.500 come work for me. They're both, they have worked 00:09:36.500 --> 00:09:39.179 for me in the past. And I think that's probably 00:09:39.179 --> 00:09:42.480 the. the biggest compliment, if you will, to 00:09:42.480 --> 00:09:45.360 have people from your past that reach out to 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:47.419 you that want to come work with you. And so I'm 00:09:47.419 --> 00:09:49.799 trying to grow my business so that I can bring 00:09:49.799 --> 00:09:53.919 them in, work with them again, and we can all 00:09:53.919 --> 00:09:56.500 help as many small business, mid -sized business 00:09:56.500 --> 00:09:59.340 owners as possible. Thank you for being here 00:09:59.340 --> 00:10:01.220 today. I'm really happy that you tuned in to 00:10:01.220 --> 00:10:03.679 Vision Pros Live. I'm looking forward to seeing 00:10:03.679 --> 00:10:06.720 your reactions as these episodes continue to 00:10:06.720 --> 00:10:08.440 move forward. This is going to get more and more 00:10:08.440 --> 00:10:10.759 fun. We'll have more and more engagement as well. 00:10:10.779 --> 00:10:12.720 We'll invite people to participate in the show. 00:10:12.820 --> 00:10:14.879 And thank you for giving us your time and attention. 00:10:15.159 --> 00:10:17.799 Have an excellent time building out your vision 00:10:17.799 --> 00:10:19.159 and becoming a vision pro yourself.