Accounting and Finance in Non-Traditional Businesses with Dr. Daisy Valentin

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Daisy Valentin—accounting and finance expert, business consultant, and unapologetic NASCAR fan—to dig into the (often intimidating) world of money for small business owners.

We talk about all the things most of us wish we had learned way earlier in our entrepreneurial journey, especially if you’re a solopreneur or running a women-led, non-traditional business. Daisy brings real talk, decades of experience, and practical strategies that will help you better understand your numbers—and actually feel empowered doing it.

We get into:

• What it really means to separate business and personal finances (and why it matters)
• Why paying yourself isn’t optional, even if you think you can’t afford it
• How DIY’ing your bookkeeping can work—until it doesn’t
• What to consider before moving contractors to employees
• The big difference between tax accounting and business accounting
• Simple ways to start educating yourself without the overwhelm
• How to use accounting software to your advantage without getting buried in it
• Why investing in support (like a real accountant!) saves you time, stress, and money

Daisy and I also talk through mindset blocks, red flags, and what it looks like to actually grow into a CEO role in your business.

Her number one tip? Educate yourself and find support that fits you—and your business stage—so you’re not stuck in the same financial rut year after year.

About Dr. Daisy Valentin:

Dr. Daisy Valentin (she, her, ella) is a Puerto Rican business consultant and the co-owner and CEO of Valyntin Consulting, LLC. She holds a Doctorate from Walden University with an emphasis on Accounting, Finance, and Quantitative Analysis, as well as certifications in Project Management Essentials (PMEC), Lean Six Sigma White Belt (LSSWBC), Six Sigma Essential (SSEC), and Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFLEN). She has been an online professor in the Higher Education sector for over eight years, teaching at various universities and colleges across the country and internationally in both adjunct and other academic roles.

Dr. Daisy Valentin, along with her expert team, is committed to helping small, non-traditional women-owned businesses succeed. With over 20 years of experience in Accounting, Finance, and Business Leadership, Dr. Valentin provides specialized services in accounting, finance, payroll, and business coaching through Valyntin Consulting LLC.

As advocates for women entrepreneurs, she and her team understand the unique challenges they face and are dedicated to offering solutions that support business growth. Valyntin Consulting LLC works with women-led businesses to simplify financial management, ensure payroll accuracy, and provide strategic coaching that empowers business owners to reach their goals.

Links for Dr. Valentin:

Website: www.valyntin.com

LinkedIn

Instagram

Facebook

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Learn more about BizMagic or the BizMagic Podcast.

Transcript

Patti: Welcome back to another episode of the Biz Magic Podcast, your place for all things tech in your online business with solid. So General Biz Chat two. My name is Patty Meyer and I am the CEO and founder of Biz Magic, where my team and I support entrepreneurs who are overwhelmed by the backend tech of their business.

We create, implement, and teach the tweaks that help our clients make a bigger impact with less stress. Today we are focusing on a topic that. Essential for sustainable growth, accounting and finance, specifically for non-traditional and women-led businesses. Whether you are navigating your first hire, figuring out how to manage your books, or just looking to build a stronger financial foundation, the conversation today is going to support you.

I have a guest with me who brings deep expertise and a passion for empowering business owners to lead with confidence and alignment, and her name is Dr. Daisy Valentine. Okay. Dr. Daisy Valentine is a Puerto Rican business consultant and the co-owner and CEO of Valentine Consulting LLC. She holds a doctorate from Walden University with an emphasis on accounting, finance, and quantitative analysis, as well as certifications in project management essentials.

Lean Six Sigma White Belt, six Sigma essential, and teaching English as a foreign language. She has been an online professor in the higher education sector for over eight years, teaching at various universities and colleges across the country and internationally, and both adjunct and other academic roles.

Dr. Daisy Valentine, along with her expert team, is committed to helping small, non-traditional women owned businesses succeed. With over 20 years of experience in accounting, finance, and business leadership, Dr. Valentine provides specialized services in accounting, finance, payroll, and business coaching through Valentine Consulting, LLC.

As advocates for women entrepreneurs, she and her team understand the unique challenges they face and are dedicated to offering solutions that support business growth. Valentine Consulting LLC works with women-led businesses to simplify financial management, ensure payroll accuracy, and provides strategic coaching that empowers business owners to reach their goals.

So. In this episode, we're gonna talk about how to simplify your financial systems, avoid common pitfalls, and create a business structure that truly supports your goals. Let's dive in. Hey Daisy, how are you? Thanks so much for joining me. Thank you, Patty. I am so excited to be here. Yeah. So I've read a little bit about you already, but I would love for you to just sort of share with the audience just a little bit more about you in your own words, something that maybe we wouldn't know from the bio and, and how you got into doing what you do.

Daisy: Well, my name is Dr. Daisy Valentine. I am the CEO President of Valentine Consulting, LLC. And um, I'm not sure if I shared this on my bio or not, but me and my husband are very big, avid NASCAR fans. You did? Um, we live nascar. Um, you know, a lot of people think NASCAR's not, you know, like a boring sport, but for us it's, it's a really enjoyable sport.

Um, we had our youngest son, um, at the, at the age of 11 months at our first nascar, uh, race. So Wow. That's one of his key factors about us. Um. But, you know, how did I get into, um, accounting and finance? Well, I've been doing accounting and finance for years, even prior to getting my, my degree. And, um, it, I think it just really expanded from COVID really, you know?

Okay. Um, I, I started as a corporate, in the corporate sector and then went into education after having my youngest son. And then what I decided to do is during COVID, it was like, you know what? A job can be gone. A job can be gone. And I think I need to, to put what I work so hard in my education and my experience, um, to, to practice.

So I decided that it was time to start my own business, and I did. And I started my own business, um, back in 2021, February, 2021. And then I also became a publisher at the same time. So I published my own book, um, as well, believing You. So that's one of the, the things that's a motivational book. It tells my journey, how it tells my testimony, my story from where I am to then at that time where I was at that time, and in the process of hoping to do in a sequel to that.

Book, hopefully. 

Patti: I love that. So yeah, you, so you've, when you were in corporate world, you were doing accounting and financing, or you were doing something else? 

Daisy: No, I was doing accounting and finance. It was, I was overseeing all the accounting, accounts payable, accounts receivable, you know, as a corporate controller, um, overseeing some of the, um, like I live here in Minnesota.

So one of the organizations that I worked for was like Girl Scouts in Minnesota. I also worked for, um, another organization that had been around for over a hundred years, um, here in Minnesota. So I was the corporate controller and I also traveled, um, to different states because they have different locations.

So the accounting sector, you know, that, that main person in the top, top of the accounting side of things. Yeah. So I call it. Because, you know, a lot of people don't like accounting. And so I'm like, yeah, I was that, you know, person in the top, top that had to go over there and put in the processes, you know?

And as a corporate controller, it's not just accounting, you know, because there's a lot of, um, a lot of different purposes in there. It's, you know, you have the payroll, you have accounting, you have management operations and things like that fall under that. So accounting and finance is one of the big things.

About 20 year, 20 plus years I've been 

Patti: doing that. Wow. So how was the transition for you as you moved from sort of this corporate world, which is so different from running your own business in so many ways? Like what was that transition like for you moving into a business owner all on your own from that sort of experience for so long?

Daisy: Well, actually I've been a business owner before. The only thing is I didn't have the education that I have, so, you know, when I was 18, I owned my own cleaning business. I had over a hundred homes. I had contractors, construction. Um, I also, when I had started my degree, I also had my own small mortgage business as well.

Okay. So it was just a matter of the timing. Right. Yeah, the timing, because I also didn't have all the education that I thought I needed it, even when I owned my own mortgage business back in Florida, but. I, it's all about educate, educating yourself in the right way. Because having in a business, it's not just about, and that's where, that's where now this business transitioned to was because having a business that's not accounting, right, but knowing that you have to be accountable and you're accounting and finance is really, really important.

And I think that, I didn't have that at the time when I started a business back then. Years ago, you know what I mean? Okay. Yeah. Um, so I just went into, you know, with the times and the, the, um, the market down back in 2009, I had to close my doors to my mortgage business. So, you know, I was one of those ethical mortgage companies where, you know, unfortunately the business wasn't there because people didn't want it ethically done.

Right. So ethically done. So I'm like, Hey, I gotta close my doors 'cause I can't do that. So I decided to put my, you know, my education. 

Patti: To 

Daisy: use, right. To use and start working for, you know, I worked for Miranda Homes, which is in construction. I mean, I can read plans like I was a superintendent to one of the largest, um, companies.

Um, you know, and having my degree really helped me reach goals, uh, be, you know, starting from like management rising up to a corporate controller. So I think that's, having a business, starting a business is easy. Maintaining it and understanding the ins and outs of it is the problem. 

Patti: Yeah. Yeah. 

Daisy: That's the transition.

That's the transition. 

Patti: And so when, so, and, and so you work with sort of non-traditional women owned businesses, marginalized owned businesses, things like that. Right. And so, so what, what do you see when these small businesses come to you and, and what are, what are some of the, the most typical challenges that people have when they show up and they wanna start working with you when it comes to their, their accounting and their finances?

Daisy: Well, my, the typical situation is they don't feel that they have enough resources. Mm-hmm. They don't feel like they are seen or that, and, and in some cases it's like that they don't know. Right, right. They don't know what, what, what's out there for them. So I feel that, you know, be being my experience where I've been there, done that in a kind of way, in a non-traditional basis.

And me being a non-traditional business as well, you know, we do cater to women, women owned businesses, and non-traditional, but we are Okay. You know, touching base with a, a male here and there. Yeah. It's not same the women. That's our niche, right? But I feel that when it comes to non-traditional businesses, because they're unique, right?

Um, freelancers, uh, consultants, coaches, direct sales, lms, um, businesses like myself, you know, we're not those big 3M Walmarts, you know, um, out there. We're not those big name brands, right? We're some of those brands. We are a small, non-traditional business, but we still need to help. Other small, non-traditional businesses with what we do.

Yeah. Yeah. That's the, that's the niche too, is that how do, how do they know that? Like how are they looking for that? So that's, that's where we come in and specialize in supporting those non-traditional businesses because we are, we are a non-traditional businesses. We're not a typical CPA firm. 

Patti: Yeah. And do you, so, so for me, right?

One of the, the challenges that I've had when, when I talk about biz magic's money, right? And, and looking at finances is, is almost that like. I was afraid to look at my numbers, that it, that it felt very intimidating and very scary to look at my numbers because I think number one, I did, I didn't know how to interpret them all the time and, and what is a profit margin exactly.

And what does it really mean and what we like and what is a good profit and what is not enough and, you know, all of these things that just felt very. Overwhelming. And so I found actually in the last year, and Biz Magic's been in business for eight years, but it really was only the last year or two that I was like, oh shit, I should probably actually look at my numbers better.

Like, I tracked everything so for my taxes, but I wasn't very good at like really trying to analyze them and really look at them because I was so intimidated by them. Do you find that as an experience with smaller businesses and the, and the businesses you work with, and if so. What kind of advice do you give them to get them out of that intimidation 

Daisy: thing?

I come across day to day. Day to day. Okay. Um, one thing that I, I always tell my new clients, or just speaking, you know, 'cause we do business coaching as well, speaking to clients, is make sure that whoever you're working with. Lets you know that tax accounting and accounting are two separate things. Mm-hmm.

And that you wanna be educated. We, we want you to be educated. I'm gonna say it from a perspective of Valentine Consulting. When we help you, we wanna educate you. We don't just wanna do the work for you. We want to educate you. We want you to know why your financials are what you're looking at. We want you to know why these expenses are where they're at.

We want you to have that experience. And what we come across is people are afraid to look at their numbers. They're not afraid to do the work. They're not afraid to make the money. They can make the money. A lot of the people I come across, they making money. They just don't know how to manage their money.

Right? Okay. And what happens is, is they're afraid. Absolutely. Because they're afraid to ask for help because they think it's gonna cost them a lot of money. Mm. Okay. Yeah, and that's where I come in because Valentine Consulting, as I mentioned before, is not your typical accounting firm. It's not. We help with payroll, we help with accounting, we help with finance, we help with various spaces, but we do it on a tier based pricing.

Right. Right. And it helps people because it's like a Netflix subscription, right? Right. Who doesn't have a Netflix next to Netflix subscription. Right. But we also offer the training with the bookkeeping, with the accounting, with the payroll. It's not just that you. People are afraid to look at their numbers.

'cause many are afraid of math, right? Many are afraid of, of looking at the math, looking at what you know, maybe they missed something or maybe they're not doing well as well as they think, but it's a matter of educating yourself. Right. A non-traditional business owner needs to always think about educating themselves, educating themselves in everything, and whoever they go with, they don't necessarily have to go with me, but if they come to me and we do a brief financial analysis for you just to see where you are at.

Right, so we can tell you and guide you where you're at. That's our start of educating you, and we tell people, Hey, if you want to know something, ask the question. Don't feel afraid. Yeah, because it's your business, it's your money. 

Patti: Yeah. Yeah. So what kind of, so when, when you start, you know, let's say somebody is working with you, what kind of like blind spots or mistakes do you think and see some of your clients making when it comes to their own accounting and finances?

Daisy: That is an amazing question because the first one is mixing business with pleasure. Mm. Okay. What I mean by that, mixing their business with their personal mm-hmm. Finances, you wanna have a separate bank account for your business. 

Patti: Mm-hmm. And 

Daisy: where I find the big mistake is people just taking their money out of their business, but not accounting for it.

Mm-hmm. So you wanna make sure that you learn how to pay yourself. I have a lot of, lot of people that tell me, well, I can't pay myself. I don't make enough. I'm like, whatcha talking about you making good enough money? Yeah. To pay yourself. You know, I tell clients like, Hey, you gotta think about that in a way.

That. Okay, how much do I need to sustain myself? Like if, if you don't have a separate bi, a separate job. Most small non-traditional businesses, they have another job. They have a full-time job. Right? Right. So I try to think to tell them to think about this. You know, it brings back Robert Kiyosaki, I'm gonna quote him.

You know Rich Dad, poor Dad, where he says, you have to be a B two business. You have to know you don't let leave your full-time job until your business is making what your full-time job can cover, right? So you need to think what is it that you need? How much is it that you need, and how can we budget it in to pay yourself?

Yes. Yeah. And implement that. Because if you are not paying yourself, this is why you're taking the money outta your business because you are taking the money, but you say, oh, I can't afford it. But you're taking the money, right? Right. Yeah, yeah, exactly. You're taking that money so you know you can't afford it because you're taking the money.

You don't see that you're taking the money, but if you make an effort and say, I'm gonna pay myself, whether you pay yourself as a 10 99 or you wanna. C taxes taken out, you pay yourself as a W2. It doesn't matter. Pay yourself first. Yeah. That's your biggest expense, right? Yeah. Until you start paying yourself.

You won't see the, the, that's that, that, that's one of the biggest ones I say. Yeah. Yeah. It's paying yourself. 

Patti: Yeah. And I think that goes to like, I know you do business consulting as well, and so sort of, that's one of the, the things that, when I talk to people about pricing and things like that, is you wanna take your own.

Payment your salary into consideration when you're pricing your services. And that for me, I, I, I was good from that, from the day one, I, I, as soon as I could, I got a separate bank account, but I wasn't, but I, I would basically just like, take the money, take money as I needed it from the account, and then I reached a point where I was able to say, okay, I need to pay myself on a schedule.

And so, even though I was still at 10 99 for a while, now I'm, you know. An S corp filing. So I, I pay myself with payroll, but at the time, even then, even though it was 10 99 and I'm just transferring from one place to another, I still did it twice a month. I did it on a schedule. And to this day, I pay myself on a schedule.

If it's not payday, I ain't getting the money. And that's just how it is. You know, like I know every, like I can, whatever. But you know, that for me is really important for making sure that things make sense and kind of state. They feel like the business that it's right. It's sort of keeping myself in that mindset.

Absolutely. Yeah, 

Daisy: absolutely. I think 

Patti: you 

Daisy: hit it right on the money. People know to separate their bank accounts. They do know it, most of them, you know, but when it comes to making sure you pay yourself, that's one that people don't think about and, and what you stated too is people don't think about pricing.

Think about operating expenses, includes your salary. Yes. Okay. It does not, it, you do not discount your salary from operating expenses. And that's where many small, non-traditional businesses don't see these things because they, they don't see it as you got. I, I tell them, you gotta see yourself as one of those big box stores.

It's the same thing. They account for salaries. Yeah, you know, wages as part of their operating expenses. And what happens is, is I, I, I do a lot of talks and I do education. I also teach at university where I tell, uh, tell students and business owners, Hey, if you are wanting to open a business, if you're wanting to start up your entrepreneur or you own a business already.

In your business plan, you should have paid yourself. Right. That's one of the biggest mistakes that I see a lot of people don't do in their business plan. They put a great business plan together. They think about payroll as other people. They don't think about payroll as themself. Right. When that comes to play.

So that is really, yeah, really exactly what you mentioned. 

Patti: Yeah. Yeah. So. So for people who, because I'm sure you get this too, right? Is is people who come to you and things are, and, and they're like, okay, so maybe I haven't been doing my books really in the last couple years. Maybe I haven't been. Or maybe they do their taxes with TurboTax just 'cause they have to and they do what they have to do.

So what, what kind of tips do you give people when. To to number one, catch up when they feel behind on things in their business and money. And then the second part is what kind of tips do you give people to keep updated, keep maintaining. They're accounting their books so that they can be looking at their numbers, they can look at paying themselves and all of the stuff that they, that, that is, I wanted to say should, but I don't like shoulding.

So like that, that it's beneficial for people to be doing in their business. So what are, again, the, the, the ways to catch up and what are the ways to stay moving forward in a really good place? 

Daisy: Well, we could use the word could instead of should. There we go. 

Patti: Yes. 

Daisy: Instead of should. Well, the, the one thing that I tell them is find a good, uh, a good accountant, not a tax accountant, an accountant that can really guide them and educate them.

Okay. Because not everybody's for everybody. Right. Right. Finding that is one of the crucial pieces, because you wanna find that. Um, because doing Turbo Tax, that's great. You're getting their taxes, but are you getting your benefits? Because making sure that they have a good accountant that's guiding them, directing them, educating them to what they need to write off to get the most benefits.

Right. Okay. And also guiding them that when they reach a certain level in their business, how they can transition. As you mentioned, you're an S corp. How they can transition from an LLC to a S-corp or to a corporation, right, versus an S-corp because of the fact that many times, you know. They don't know what they don't know, so making sure that they are educated, and if they feel that it's too overwhelming, then how much are you willing to pay?

What is your budget? Right? Look for people that are willing to work with your budget and outsource that. Outsource it. Yeah. To someone that you know that can at least do the basic bookkeeping for you, which is reconciliation, making sure you're tax compliant, make sure your expenses are, get that, making sure that you are getting what you need to get the to, to see your, the benefits from you having this entity, and also through seeing the benefits.

When you go do your taxes, because what happens is, is people want to just do their taxes and they think they can write off everything in the world. Right? In some cases we can, but in most cases we can't. But you also try to take in consideration if you're trying to apply for a loan, if you're trying to apply for purchasing a home, if you're trying to buy a commercial property, you can't write off everything.

Yeah. Right. Because you're not gonna be showing your A, your income, you know? Right. You know, that's one of the key factors. It's understanding how accounting works to be able to provide you the what you need when you need it. Because the other thing I say to um, clients too is think about building credit with your business.

Right. If you're building credit, like credit cards, things like that, or a credit loan or equity loan or something like that to sustain your business, but your business pays back that equity loan, so you're building credit for your business, that's a liability. So it doesn't really show up as an expense, but it does show up as a liability, which still reduces your debt to income ratio or even your stockholder's equity per se, but not in a bad way.

In a good way where investors wanna invest in your business, right? But what people don't see is if they're not showing and they're not. They're not doing their bookkeeping. They can't, you can't see that. Right. All you're saying is the tax side of things and the tax side of things doesn't show the true picture.

Patti: Yeah. So, and, and what are your thoughts about people? So I'm somebody who IDIY in the sense of I maintain my spreadsheets and everything like that throughout the year. Um, I put all my expenses down, I make sure I track everything. And I do have. People that I work with to do my taxes and check up with multiple times a year to, you know, for my estimated tax and, and all of that.

And they helped me with also advising me on when I needed to switch to an S corp and what the benefits of that and walked me through that. And so, because I, I am like. At one point reached the point where I was like, okay, it's worth it to me for the peace of mind to invest monthly, to have these people that are supporting me so that I under, because there's so much about that, that, like I said, feels intimidating and overwhelming and, and that sort of thing.

And so I knew there was. So like I would've never knew to go move into an S-corp, never. And what that meant, and then what it meant to have to pay myself and, and a reasonable amount and all of that, like, I would've never understood any of that, um, or the Augusta rule, right? And, and so having people that helped me with that is really helpful.

But in the meantime, I just track everything on my spreadsheet and keep that going so I don't have a separate accountant. Because I just sort of do that. What are your thoughts when it comes to people sort of DIYing maintaining their, their finances in a spreadsheet or in whatever they use while also working with, you know, an organization or an accountant or a tax accountant or, or that sort of thing?

Daisy: You know, it's okay to have those spreadsheets Okay. For your own sanity because many of them need it for their own sanity. Okay. Yeah. But I always tell. Clients or people that DIY, their stuff have some type of accounting software. There are many, many accounting softwares out there that are free. Yeah.

That you can just start off with and start implementing it. 

Patti: Mm-hmm. It's 

Daisy: one of the things that many CPAs should be recommending because even to, it makes it easier on those CPAs when you are. Touching base with them every so often. Um, in some cases, some people's CPAs only talk to them once a year. Right.

So you wanna be able to say, Hey, I wanna find that accountant that is gonna tell me every three months or every six months, you know, Hey, how am I doing? Yeah, those, those spreadsheets can be converted into a. Specific file to upload into those software so you can kind of keep accountability of what you see, because those spreadsheets are great, but are you really looking at it as a whole?

Mm-hmm. Just instead of just the spreadsheets, right? Mm-hmm. DIYing, their financials is great to appoint. Like I mentioned a little bit earlier, if you're trying to get a loan, you're trying to get credit, you're trying to buy something, the, those financials are not suffice. Got it. Yeah. How you're D iy it.

Okay. Lenders, um, you know, investors, they wanna see more. Mm. They wanna see more. Right. Um, you know, and it, it gets terrifying. People because they're like, well, what do you mean I need more? Well, yeah, when you go to a banker and you're wanting to get a line of credit to help you, you know, probably purchase equipment or you're starting a new product, manufacture product, or you're starting a new uh, service, they wanna see actual financials.

You know, using actual software 

Patti: and the reporting that comes with all of that, because you're not able to pull reports and really look at things in the same way with Absolutely, absolutely as you are if you have it all together in one place. 

Daisy: Absolutely those re those finance, like I said, those Excel spreadsheets or whatever anyone does, they're wonderful, but you wanna be able to implement, there's very, you know, simple software out there.

Oh yeah, sure. To start off with. Okay. Yeah. I tell people it's not just QuickBooks. Right. Yeah. Yeah. There's Wave, there's FreshBooks, there's 

Patti: so much. Yeah, 

Daisy: there are so many different platforms out there. You know, and every accountant is an, if they're an accountant, the right accountant knows how to use those different platforms.

Okay. And you know, I'm not saying that QuickBooks is not a great tool. It is a great tool, but it's not the only tool. Every company, every non-traditional business, including yourself and myself, we may have to use different accounting software based on our services. 

Patti: Yeah. 

Daisy: Right. 

Patti: Yeah, 

Daisy: because you, you can start off with.

You know, one of the most very, you know, small accounting softwares, but your business grows, so does your software like anything else, 

Patti: right? Yeah. Which I know lots about, right? As a, as a tech person, right. That's a big part of, of all of that, which I know sounds so crazy that I'm like such a tech person.

I'm like, but I do my accounting in a spreadsheet. You know, like, 

Daisy: I know, right? But the thing is, you gotta think about one thing. You, it's a write off for you too, when you invest in that software. 

Patti: Yeah. 

Daisy: It's an expense for your business, but it's a benefited expense. Absolutely. Yeah. So, uh, you know, doing it on the spreadsheets and stuff like that, that's not an expense.

You don't have a lot of write off there, but when you start implementing this. This resource or this software, it has advantages, right? Yeah. There's apps, it's mobile, it's available to you. Once, once I get, uh, clients set up on their mobile, whether it's QuickBooks or whatever software we have on, then with.

They are like, oh my gosh, I can do it from the palm of my hands. I said, yes, you need to invoice something. You can do it from the palm of your hands. Yeah, so it, it's so easier. You don't have to take your big old laptop or your computer with you if you're trying to run your business. You can do it from the palm of your hands.

Patti: Yeah. Yeah. I love that. And so, okay, so here's one of the, the, the places that a lot of small businesses get to, right? A lot of us have contractors and um, so we have all of our people on 10 99, right? I have a small agency and so. Is there a point at which, so right as I, as I said, when I became an S-corp, I had to then pay myself on payroll, right?

Mm-hmm. And so I suddenly needed to do that, and then was looking at payroll taxes and all of that fun stuff. And I did at that moment kind of look at, okay, what would it, what would it look like for me to transition some of these contractors into employees? Is, what does that look like, that process, because that's another intimidating process for a lot of people of saying, okay, it's time to take my business from having contractors to adding one or two employees and therefore kind of bringing in payroll taxes and all of that.

Do you have any thoughts or advice or anything on, on just that, that process or when it's a good time or what people can expect or, or just anything along the lines of, of navigating from contractor to. To employee within their business and payroll. 

Daisy: It all depends on the person, um, and the business.

Because you can start off with a payroll company, service from one employee, from one person, right? Mm-hmm. Um, you can run payroll from just that. Um, it all depends on how many people you are transitioning or the type of, um. Subcontractors that you have and what's the service for? You know, like the type of it all, um, has to do with like their titles.

Like what exactly are they doing for you, right. You know, as a subcontractor and as an employee, because now you gotta think about which one gives you the most tax break too, right. As. Um, because it, you know, and then also thinking about does that employee plan on having their own business and you're subcontracting their business, or does that employee person not really wanting to be a, a, an entrepreneur and they just wanna work for you?

Right. So that's one of the key factors. Having the payroll always comes down to. Having the shift in, where are you at financially, how can you transition it? Because when you start running payroll now there's more on your plate. As expenses, right as well versus you, you know, you doing it yourself. Just hiring somebody as a 10 99.

There's not that much. It's a bigger write off for you as your business because it's a 10 99. But if you start implementing people into W Twos or even yourself as a W2, now you gotta think about all the different pieces that are involved in there. From FICA Suda, you know, paying payroll based on where you live as well.

Mm-hmm. Right, because you gotta remember. When you own a business, depending on where you are housed, what your location is, you gotta pay taxes and payroll taxes for city, county, state, right? Not just federal, right? So that's one of those key factors that you gotta think about. Where do you see it beneficially for you, right?

You know, to do that. Now, the other thing is, is your accountant affiliated with a payroll company? Like we are affiliated with a specific payroll company that gives discounts to our WAN nontraditional businesses that if they get to a point, and I've had many that they need to have that, that payroll piece.

Yeah, they need it. They make enough money to take it to that point because they need that workman's comp. Okay. Mm. Okay. Workman's comp is very expensive if you do it on your own. Mm, very pricey, right? But if you do it through a payroll company, do it through a payroll service. It's pennies on a dollar. Mm.

Okay. And that is where you need to know what you're doing. You have to have workman's comp, you have to have business insurance that covers your employees, and that is where the expenses that are you ready to make that move? And if you are, the best way to do it is hiring a payroll service to do it right.

Right. Okay. Yeah. Now the other thing with payroll, if I may add Yeah, please. Is it, does your accounting software implement that? Does it offer you that? Not every accounting software does that. Right? Okay. Yeah. So you have to be sure that you know that you could have something that can be integrated with a platform of payroll.

Or that has its itself. They still do the same processes, right? They still do the same payroll processes and workman's comp, but also making sure that you shop around and get your best pricing. You don't just wanna go with the first Joe Blow. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You know, you wanna make sure that you, when you're gonna do that shift financially, right?

From employees to contractors or contractors to employees, it can go vice versa too. Yeah. That, you know what? What you're going into and do you have that budget to cover it? 

Patti: Yeah, yeah, definitely. And that's ultimately why I sort of was like, okay, so I am on payroll and only I am on payroll. Like it was, it was an expense, it was a little too high for me at that point and where I'm at in my business and I, and I can see the benefits of it.

It's just not there yet. Right. And so I think that that's a, um, it's it, everything about running a business, it takes it's steps, it's steps in, in different directions and always stopping and assessing kind of where you're at and what makes sense for you. And, and this is, I think, the same and one of them as well.

So, um, yeah. I 

Daisy: add something to that too, because you don't necessarily have to pay yourself being an S Corp as well. You can start paying yourself being an LLC. So I wanna clarify that. You can be you, you know, I. I, I, I heard you say that you started payrolls Corp, but I want people to get that clear. You can start paying yourself and having payroll from being an LLC.

Mm-hmm. Now, as your business grows financially, then you transition to which one best suits you and S Corp or a C Corp. Okay. Right. Because they both have the same benefits. There's some pros and cons to both, but there's some, both benefits to both. But when in any entity you can start 

Patti: payroll. Right. And it, I think my understanding was that it, because I became an S corporate that point, I had to put myself on payroll.

Like you had to have. I believe that, not 

Daisy: necessarily. Oh, okay. Not necessarily. That's depends on the opinion of that CPA. It's not necessarily the that, that, that, that way. Okay. Um, because you know, you're a shareholder of your business as an scorp. You know, so you still have to recognize the income as a shareholder, 

Patti: right?

Because 

Daisy: you're given shareholder funds, that's still income on your taxes. Now, as a C Corp, you wanna bus be an employee because. The C Corp separates the business. The business does its own taxes. You do your own taxes. Right. Whether you LLC and S corp, it's all incorporated into your personal taxes, correct?

Right. 

Patti: Yeah. 

Daisy: Got it. 

Patti: Yeah. The see, and this is, this is why hiring people is so important because. So much that when I start to even, like, there's even been moments when you're talking that I'm like, my brain is exploding right now. I don't know what you're saying anymore. You know? And I think that it's so important.

It's the same as, you know, I, I tell people all the time, you know, you hire me for things because you shouldn't need to know how to do these things in your business just because you have a business. And this is the same thing for me. This is something that. When it comes to the number side of things, my brain just melts.

And so why would I put myself through that and put my business in an uncomfortable position to try to save some money or for some ego or for something like that? And it just makes more sense for me to make sure I'm paying somebody to make sure that things are being done, being done well, and in a way that is the most optimal for my business.

Daisy: Absolutely, because one of the things that I see too, um, is making sure that, um, you know, non-traditional businesses really think about the transition, the transition of going from. LLC to escort. Understanding that process, understanding where you need to be in that process. And not only that when it comes to, um, understanding like not just payroll, but where you're at in your business to when you're going to implement your accounting software.

I always tell people, think about long term. Don't think about right now. Right. Well, how is that? How is that whatever you're going to do gonna benefit you long term? You know, I've heard it by many people that you wanna have five different people in your corner. Like you said, I can't do what you do. I'm in a county.

Yes, I know how to use the software, but I'm nowhere near tech person. That's right. Okay. So you always wanna find your accounting person, your finance person. Okay. Your business attorney, your IT person. You know you need your top five people Yeah. That you know you can go to, and it is really important to know that.

And then also knowing that those people are there, not only to help you do the work, but also. Transitioning you to educating you and training you on what you're doing. 

Patti: Yeah, yeah, 

Daisy: absolutely as well. Because if not, you're gonna get lost. And I always tell clients it's better to pay the cost upfront and invest upfront, 

Patti: right.

Than 

Daisy: having to change it up every year, every quarter, or whatever it is. And you're, it's costing you more money. 

Patti: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. It's worth it. It's so, it's so worth it. And again, to know that it's being done right and exactly that, that, you know, 'cause that's my fear too, is that I'm gonna do something wrong and then all of a sudden I'm gonna owe thousands and thousands of dollars that I wasn't expecting.

But being able to say in income with confidence. I know this is done and this is done right. It's done well and I, it's one less thing for me to have to worry about because look, we have plenty to worry about as business owners. So whatever you can take off of your plate that you don't, that isn't your zone of genius, do it.

And I think money is one of the top most important things to, that is worth outsourcing in your business with somebody that you trust so that you know that it's taken care of and it's done well. Yeah. 

Daisy: And I, and I agree with that a hundred percent. I feel that as small, especially small, non-traditional business owners, we have to worry about a lot more.

Yeah. Because it, it, we, most of us are one men shows. Mm-hmm. You know, I am not, I have a team, but we didn't start off, I didn't start off as a team. Right, right. I started off as a one man show. Right. So you really have. To think about your future, you want this business to run just like any. Box store runs, right?

You wanna be able to go off to a far away island and say, Hey, my business is running itself. I don't have to right worry about my business, why I'm out here, you know, in Tahiti or something like that. I'm just throwing that out there. But it's true, right? You wanna be able to spend time with your family and not have to worry about, oh, I can't go to my dysfunction because.

My business needs me, right? So those are the, you know, those are parts of what I tell, um, a lot of business owners is think about how you set up your business plan. You know, what is, what is it that you, you've implemented in there that you can really hone in? Um, because payroll is the number one expense in any business, right?

It doesn't matter if you are a. Big top brand, or you're a small, non-traditional business, payroll is your number one expense. Absolutely. 

Patti: Yeah. It's always nice when I can say, oh, you know, my, my net revenue I brought in, you know, what, 15, $20,000 This. Month. But the reality is it sounds great, but okay, well I've paid out $12,000 in payroll or contractors.

Like it really, you know? Exactly. But that's what makes my business run and that's part of it. So it is something to really think about from that perspective as well. Um, is there, are there any. Tips or one top tip that maybe you haven't shared yet today that is something that you would love to, or that you like to share?

Um, either just with my audience or that you share with, with your own clients. 

Daisy: One tip I say is educate yourself. Yeah. Get a book. Join a webinar, listen to podcasts like this. Find something that's gonna help you educate yourself. 

Patti: Yeah, 

Daisy: it's never too late to educate yourself. It doesn't matter if you have a doctorate degree or you don't have a degree, it does not matter.

You are a savvy person. You started a business. Yeah, educate yourself. You can never stop educating yourself. One thing that many small businesses tend to think is that they can't continue to thrive and be successful. You know, they do, but they don't find, they, they get into a, like a, a stagnant or some kind of like rut, right?

Where it just, it's like, stop there. Yeah. And you need to educate yourself on how you can level up. Right. How can you level up your business? And sometimes it's not just leveling up your business, but leveling up the people you are surrounded with. Mm-hmm. Like the people you pick as those five main things.

Yes, they might have worked for you when you started your business, but they're not gonna work for you as you continue to grow. Yeah, and I tell my clients that all the time. I said, Hey, when you come to me, you are one of those people that are between the two to five range years, right? Yeah. When you start hitting that level where you start getting to that zone, I'm gonna transition you to someone a little more higher than me.

Right. Why? Because you're gonna need that capacity. Yeah. Yeah. You know, and you gotta know that you got the people behind you that's gonna help you get to that space too, right? Yeah. Because I don't mind my clients moving on. I want them to move on to something better than me. Right. Not lower than me.

That's somebody that's gonna take from them. But help them grow with them. Because if you are not getting educated or training or consulting, whether it's books, education, um, podcasts, whatever it is, then you're not filling your cup. You're 

Patti: not, right. Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. I agree completely. Um, okay.

What is, since I'm a tech person and I love tech and biz magic's all about that, um, what is your favorite piece of either accounting software that you prefer to use? Doesn't matter if it's with your clients or not, or any piece of software in your business that's your your favorite to use 

Daisy: Google Workspace digitally.

Oh, Uhhuh. Why? Because you, your bus, you can take it anywhere you need. Yeah. And you can access it and give access to your clients, have access to, you know, confidential information. You have your client at the fingertips of them. You know, if you don't have Google Workspace or something similar to that, which is like a cloud-based support system.

Yeah. You need it. You need it. I agree. I'm telling you, I'm telling you, you know, even during my doctorate, I was like crying one time by not having this, because you can't rely on, on your computer to house everything. You can't rely on that external hard drive to, to, you know, not work. One day you gotta have something cloud-based.

Yeah, you do. You gotta make sure that, you know, we all wanna save money. We always want free. But I'm gonna tell you, if you pay for it, you're going to get the benefit of it. 

Patti: Yeah. 

Daisy: And it's a little investment. That will be a very good thing for you. Yeah, because if you lose your laptop or your something crashes, or for forbid, you drop coffee on your computer.

Like that, and you gotta go get a whole new computer. You know what I mean? You're a tech person. You, you can be able to access that platform from anywhere your email, you know, things like that. So I say a Google workspace has been my, my one of my top favorites to invest in. 

Patti: Yeah. 

Daisy: I love it. Absolutely. I agree 

Patti: completely and that's great.

Um, this has been so great. I appreciate you so much chatting with me. Um, where can people find you, uh, if they want to work with you or learn more about you? 

Daisy: Well, you know what I wanna say thank you so much. It was a pleasure and honor to be here, um, on your podcast as well and where people can find me.

Well, um, you can find us@ww.valentine.com, which is our website, but we also are on LinkedIn and Facebook. And you can find our pages there@valentine.com. I mean Valentine Consulting, LLC. But you can also, um, just email us@infoatvalentine.com. And that is Valentin as V-A-L-Y-N-T-I-N. Um, because our name and.

The name of the business is totally different, so a lot of people wanna spell it that way, but those are the places where you can reach us, and we are more than happy to offer any, you know, brief financial analysis or a free 30 minute consultation to anyone that reaches out to us. 

Patti: Thank you so much.

That's great. And all of this will be in the show notes as well, the spelling of everything and all the links so people can come. Okay. Awesome. Awesome. Thank you so much. Thank you for listening to another episode of the Biz Magic Podcast. Like most small businesses and podcasts, we rely heavily on word of mouth.

So if you like what you heard today or in any episode, please share with your friends and colleagues. And rate, subscribe and comment on your favorite podcast platform. Till next time, cheers to your magical biz success.