Episode 61 Soul Sisters in Accounting: Megan Schwan on Profit, Boundaries & Building a Business That Works for You

In this episode of Your Financial Maven®, I sit down with Megan Schwan, founder and CEO of Sidekick Accounting Services, a national virtual firm on a mission to change the statistic that eight out of ten small businesses fail. Megan shares her path from teen mom and high school accounting student to running her own firm for twelve years, and together we dig into what actually helps overwhelmed entrepreneurs find clarity: starting with a separate business bank account, understanding that "knowing your numbers" has nothing to do with being good at math, and using the Profit First method to flip the formula so profitability comes first. We also talk about why revenue doesn't equal profit, how to run a regular expense analysis (and tame subscription creep), the real role of AI in accounting, and why giving yourself grace, protecting time to think, and setting boundaries matter just as much as the numbers — especially for women in business. It's a warm, practical conversation between two soul sisters in the profession who genuinely want to see small businesses thrive. 

You can find Megan here: https://www.sidekick-accounting.com/

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to Your Financial Maven, where we talk all about understanding your money. I'm so glad you're here. I'm Samantha Mitman-Besnoff, certified public accountant. I've been in the accounting field for over 30 years, and I absolutely love sharing my knowledge all about your financial empowerment. Enjoy the podcast. All right, welcome to your financial Maven. I am so excited today to have my guest, Megan Schwan, today. Megan is the founder and CEO of Sidekick Accounting Services. I do have it written down because, you know, I want to get this right. It is a national virtual accounting firm, and you're on a mission to change statistics that eight out of ten small businesses fail. I love that. You're like my soul sister because I agree with you. We've got to find a way to help our small businesses. You've been in the accounting world for over two decades. You've helped thousands of entrepreneurs move from financial confusion to clarity and confidence. You're also a certified profit first professional, which I love. We're going to get talking about profit first. I think that's awesome. You're a business scaling expert, and of course, you're sought after to help, you know, entrepreneurs break down complicated financial concepts into simple practical strategies. But of course, your perspective isn't just professional. There is that personal side. You're a single mom of four, but you also love to go to the beach to relax. Again, a soul sister. I live in Philly Air. Well, I grew up in the Philadelphia suburb area. I live in Lancaster and it's going down the shore for us. So, but it's the same thing, right? It's getting on that sand, getting by that water. Um, I love it. Absolutely love it. So, of course, this is so exciting to have you here, somebody else in the profession uh to help small businesses and entrepreneurs. So, Megan, welcome to your financial maiden. Thank you, Samantha. I'm really happy to be here. Yeah, very excited. So I always ask the very first question it doesn't matter if you're in the financial world. I've had my friends on, I've had financial planners, I've had just business owners on. What is money? What is money? Hmm.

SPEAKER_02 2:08

Yeah, I mean, money is what we use to purchase goods and services, right? And yeah, for us it's the dollar, but for other people, it's other things. And historically, it's been, you know, rocks and pebbles and sticks, probably. Animals too, right? I think there's been animals in there somewhere.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

Right. And I think it's important, you know, and I've talked, I've been doing this podcast for three years, and I always ask this question because there isn't necessarily that one right answer, right? We know that money is that medium of exchange, but it's it's really can be beyond that. So I think it's important for people to hear from accountants, from from CPAs, from tax professionals, whomever, kind of what they're, you know, they think of it from that that aspect, that pure aspect, but we know that that it kind of takes a lot. So I I think it's great to kind of always take a step back.

SPEAKER_02 2:56

Yeah, I like that question.

SPEAKER_00 2:58

Yeah, thank you. Thank you. So I want to first ask you before we really get into talking about entrepreneurs and and their businesses, how did you kind of get started with your business? What did you, you know, do? So I think it kind of to helps to set the stage as we ask and go forward with you know being entrepreneurs.

SPEAKER_02 3:15

Yeah. So um my uh story kind of starts before the business. So I was a teen mom and um I took accounting 101 in in high school. And my teacher just kind of was like, hey, you have a neck for this. So when I got pregnant and I was like, okay, I need to figure out, you know, what to do about providing for me and my child. I guess I was just like, Well, I'm good at accounting. I like that it's logical. I can make a really good career and have lots of important. So that was kind of what got me started in that direction. I went to school and got my bachelor's. And while I was in school, I met my husband. So then when we grab when I graduated, we got married, and then I had my second son. And in the interim, I was working full-time uh in a at a manufacturing company in the accounting department. And when I had him, I decided not to go back to work full-time. So I got a job part-time as a bookkeeper at a landscaping company. And that was kind of my intro into like small business. My full-time job ended up calling me back. They had a created a part-time position for me to work from home. So I worked two part-time jobs, mostly from home for about two years. And then I got laid off of both of those jobs within about a month of each other. One of them structure, the other one got bought out.

SPEAKER_00 4:30

So you kind you kind of understand that then, right? With small businesses that as you talk about failing, and and I think it's important to note that a lot of small businesses, it takes time. It's not this quick fix, right? So I think you having that happen to you, unfortunately, but fortunately as well, right?

SPEAKER_02 4:46

That's aligning. Yep, yep, exactly. So I had to figure out what was next. I was doing taxes on the side for friends and family at that time. And I guess I was just like, well, I was doing bookkeeping for that one, you know, small business. I could probably do it for other people and started networking. And uh, yep, 12 years later, uh, here we are.

SPEAKER_00 5:06

It's so funny because I'll be celebrating 13 years on my own in September. But I've been in the accounting world for over 30 years. So a little longer. Um, I've had my CPA license for 25, but just like you, I fell in love with accounting in high school. I had a business teacher that just the passion that he had for it. Those teachers make a big difference. Really do. He passed away a couple years ago, so it was really sad to hear that he had passed, but he just really that love for business and for students and accounting and just different things. So I I feel yeah. I think this is so cool though. So you're on your own for 12 years now. You know, you're you're a mom, you've got your kids, that whole balance. And I think it's important for people to understand that as entrepreneurs, we're already overwhelmed, right? We're selling or we're making whatever we're doing, whether it's us in the financial world or a widget or a product, whatever. But now we've got to add that finance. And I'm sure you see it, I see it all the time. What they don't necessarily want to know. Yeah. They want somebody else to deal with it. But I think it's important that they do know. So, what are some of the first steps or strategies that you give to your clients to kind of help them take a deep breath and then kind of move forward?

SPEAKER_02 6:22

That's a great question. I think right off the bat, you know, one of the main questions we ask is, you know, do you have separate accounts, you know, bank accounts? Because then there's oh, all the time, right? That is the very first question, 100%. The very first piece of it. But, you know, I think the other thing is, you know, I hear a lot like, oh, I'm not good at math, or I don't really know enough about this. And it's just one of the things that I I talk about a lot is like knowing your numbers has nothing to do with you being good at math. It has nothing to do with me being an accountant, it has everything to do with being a business owner. And if you want to be a successful business owner, you need to learn how to lean into your numbers, not shy away from them. And you'll get the places faster, quicker, you know, more successfully if you pay attention to them. And I think it's intimidating because when you go through trainings and I do a lot of trainings and workshops, you know, and I always tell my students or the attendees, you know, like this seems real overwhelming when we're looking at the PLs and we're looking at the balancing because they're just random numbers. But when you start looking at your numbers, you start to correlate the connection between your decisions and how your numbers reflect those things. And so then they become more personal to you where you can lean into it and they become less intimidating. And then, like you mentioned, we're a certified profit first firm. Um, so we use that a lot of times to help bridge that gap that people feel between their financials and what happens on a day-to-day. It makes my numbers more tangible, in my opinion, and my experience. And that really helps business owners to really kind of make that connection as well. And so that's really powerful.

SPEAKER_00 8:04

100%. It is interesting when you know I do workshops as well. And when you're talking to small business owners and the light bulb kind of goes off, or there's panic that sets in. You're not trying, we're not trying to panic you as entrepreneurs, right? We're trying to give you the tools. Right. And they get a little panicked, and then as you're talking more, or they talk to me afterwards, and I'm like, it's okay, take a deep breath. Yeah. Like, got this, you know, this is what you should be doing. And I've had clients over the years that were with somebody else or tried to do it on their own, and of course they got overwhelmed. And they come to me and they're all like panicked, and I'm just like, okay, first step, right? Do you have a separate bank account? That's always the first step. But then what is it that you're doing? What are you what do you need to understand? And I think you provide, I provide that area of grace and no shame because I think business owners need to understand that as well.

SPEAKER_01 8:53

Yeah, right. Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 8:54

You know, and it's it's so interesting because I think what we talk to business owners about, we can correlate also to individual and personal finances. And it's so interesting, you know. You say when people say, Oh, I don't know math, right? I don't know if you've gotten this, but over all the 30 plus years I've been doing accounting, I've gotten, oh, you must be a math major. And I'm like, no, I don't know if I've ever heard that one, but I hear like, oh, you must love numbers a lot. Or I get, oh, so you're a math major. And I'm like, no. I said, yeah, I can add and subtract, divide, multiply, and use computers, calculators to do that. But uh math is a whole different like. Yeah, I was actually at at hand PT today, had surgery a few weeks ago on my thumb, and I was at PT and I was talking to the PT and the assistant today. And the assistant was so funny because that's what she said. From personal aspect, she's like, I don't like math. And I looked at her and I went, you can add, right? Like that was it. And then I said, no, no, no. I said, it's really understanding what is the money that's coming in and what is the money going out. That basic thing, you know. So do you find that once you have that first step, your clients, the people in your workshops, you know, the people that come to you for this, that they breathe a sigh of relief? Like, are they, you know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:11

Yep. Yeah, that happens a lot. Um, you know, I think, like you said, there's a lot of like misconception around like what accounting is, what it means to business owners, what they need to be responsible for, you know, and I think that's where kind of that overwhelm comes in. So I think when we're like when we kind of clearly define what needs to happen, whether that's somebody doing, you know, their own books, or you know, they're at a level when maybe they can do their own books, but they really shouldn't be doing their books, you know, 100%. 100%. So, you know, we start having those conversations, like, well, this is, you know, looking through it. And like I said, that correlation of like, okay, this is the decision I made. And then this month, this is how the numbers looked. And oh, okay, so that's why that happened, you know, that clarity, it starts to kind of take that pressure off. And then, you know, like you said, kind of creating that safe space. Like I've heard that so many times over the last 12 years of just like, oh, you're so not judgmental. And, you know, I feel safe talking to you about this. And it's like it kind of blows my mind. And I'm sure you can relate as a colleague in the profession, just like the number of people that are just like, oh, I, you know, felt judged or stupid or they never got back to me. And I'm just like, it just kind of blows my mind a little bit because I'm like, this part is so important for businesses. And unfortunately, there's a lot of people in our profession that don't value that, you know.

SPEAKER_00 11:36

Yeah, I mean, it is a reality, and I think it's that gap. You know, I grew up 70s, 80s, school in the 90s, you know, when I started in accounting, it was a different mindset on some level. It was that mindset of you go into audit, you go into tax, you do the work, you don't interact with your clients, you're the expert, right? You're you're here and your client's here. And I think from early on, I felt that I just didn't not want to have that interaction, you know, that transparency with my clients. And and it took some iterations. I think that's why I ended up in tax more than auditing, because I feel with tax you can have those more intimate conversations. And then I did nonprofit for a while and now I'm out on my own. And I feel that the accounting profession, the CPA part of the profession is really starting to say, huh, these small, these smaller practices that are more one-on-one kind of, you know. So I and and not to say that it's right or wrong, there's just these different minds.

SPEAKER_01 12:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:41

And also, as you know, not every accountant is right for every small business owner.

SPEAKER_02 12:45

Oh, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 12:46

Right. So do you focus on any particular industries, or is it just, you know, small business owner needs my help? I'm gonna see what I can do for them.

SPEAKER_02 12:55

Yeah, I mean, we're pretty agnostic in general, but um, we focus on, I guess, like promoting or whatever marketing. Um, we work with a lot of women and minority-owned business owners. Um, so we put a lot of support and education behind all of our services. And then as far as industries, we work with a lot of like service-based industries, but we kind of work in like what you would think of as outliers, like we work with daycares, group homes, oh, I'm not sure. Um small business. That's a whole animal in and of scale. Right. Yeah, right. Yeah, exactly. But not as extensive as like full service restaurants, you know, as well. And then uh service-based businesses. So like agencies, meta-spa's, um, aestheticians, uh, coaching, consulting kind of clients as well. We do a lot of work with those clients. And I guess the the string that kind of connects them because it seems random, but it really is that a lot of those businesses are started by women or minorities, and they are often underserved and undereducated. And so that's where we kind of come in to help support them holistically. And we do bookkeeping, tax prep, tax planning, we do the profit first implementation and business coaching related to that. And then this year we're actually going to be adding in tax resolution. So we're kind of full service for the business as a whole to grow and scale to the next level.

SPEAKER_00 14:16

So and I think it's important you bring, you know, that string of being women or minority, you know, minorities, but it's also the accounting, right? Yes, depending on the industry or the area, some of the accounting, you know, rules or regulations might be a little different, but the basics are the same. The basics are right. So it's the basics are the same. So you talk about a CEO mindset, although I feel for entrepreneurs like us and others, it's both CEO and CFO mindset, right? Because you've kind of got to do it together because it's just you, even if you have staff, you're the one, you know, running your business. So I want to get a little bit into profit first. I will admit I've listened to the Profit First methodology. I think it's a wonderful methodology for small business owners that if they're struggling to get themselves back on track or you know, mindset change. I don't implement it 100% for me. I kind of modified it for me because I have a little bit more experience in this like you have experience. But I do love that thought process of paying yourself first, you know, getting the profit out of the way, and then kind of going down to what do you have left over? You know, and this is the high level, right? Yeah. For expenses, right? Right. And kind of to run your business. And that's a hard mindset. I have a client that I'm working with that I'm going, I told her, go listen to the book, go read the book. Let's, I think it's something that could help her that she feels so overwhelmed. So what is it that, you know, do your clients take to it? What do you see with this methodology? And if you want to explain a little bit more for the listeners, you know, you could probably do it a little better than I could.

SPEAKER_02 15:49

No, that was a good, that was a good high level. But yeah, uh, to dig into it a little bit more. So it's really a cash flow management system, which is why, like whether you're struggling or you're successful, like it can be a really great system to implement because every successful business needs systems, right? And so this is a money management system that the goal is to set that up. So the concept is your income comes into one account. And then based off of looking at the year as a whole, we come up with like the percentages of what the different buckets need to have. So we have, you know, your owners come to pay yourself what you should, and your taxes, because a profitable business, right, will be a truly profitable business will be able to cover your compensation as an owner, whether that's payroll or distributions or draws, like it should cover all of it, your tax it bill that you get at the end of the year, and then profitability so that you can reinvest into your business. So those are like the three, three accounts, income account, and then left the like you said, left over is operation expenses is at the bottom. So we kind of flip that accounting formula around where it's income minus expenses, what's left over is profit. We splip it around and do income minus profit, what's left over you use for your expenses. And that helps a couple of things. One, it forces profitability. But the other thing is that when you are only allowed to or you only limit yourself to use a certain portion of it, it also fosters innovation and creativity, which you need to have as a business owner. So, like if you're like, oh, I only have this much resources, how can I make this work? So like it builds that kind of in. But the other thing is when you have it set up as a system, you also have early indicators that there may be a problem, right? So, like if there's a red flag, you'll catch it a lot quicker using a system like this because maybe something will be short or you know it won't be as high as expect, or you're not meeting your monthly break-even, you know.

SPEAKER_00 17:48

Right, right. And I think you bring up this point. I did just do a workshop recently for small business owners talking about profitability. And the biggest thing is for any business owner to know is revenue does not equal profitability. Right. Yes. Right. That in the sense of what is at that bottom after you take your expenses, that profitability, hopefully not a net loss, but a net a profit. There's other things that can whittle that away. Your revenue's coming in, but remember, time and product inventory, right? So so I think you're right. I think by flipping that and saying, okay, I brought in X, you know, $10,000 at the beginning of the month, I got to put away for my owner's draw, I got to put away for my taxes, and now I got to put away for my profit. And then, like, wait a minute, like this is all I have left. What how am I gonna pay my bills? How am I gonna do this? So it it forces you to go back in and say, well, maybe I'm my utility bills are too high this month, and I didn't know that. So I think that's a great way for businesses to think about their finances.

SPEAKER_02 18:50

Yes, yeah, yep. It's really about like, you know, cutting what isn't being used. Really, it's really about like optimizing every dollar in your business, right? So like you want every dollar in your business to be optimized, that you're getting an ROI on it. Um, we always tell people when we, you know, kind of start the process of this, we do an expense analysis, and the owner has to go through and every, you know, every expense line item, like the detail of it. So, like, you know, Canva or Facebook ads or whatever, like every expense, they have to say, does this have a purpose and an explanation for why I'm paying for this?

SPEAKER_00 19:25

And if it's not, you need to cut it. Right. Like for Canva, you can invite, you know, you pay for a certain level, and then you can have like up to three people. But if you're the only one using it, exactly. Yeah, you don't necessarily have to re-evaluate. And and I think it's important. I think uh entrepreneurs, small business owners need to be doing that. I know they don't want to do it, you know. So maybe if it's not on a monthly basis, maybe they could shift to a quarterly basis, but it's still important to do that analysis.

SPEAKER_02 19:53

For sure. Yeah. Especially in today's, you know, day and age, I feel like we're so subscription heavy. It's so easy to sign up for things, and then you're like, oh, I didn't realize I paid for that, you know. And like, yeah, and then forget it, baby.

SPEAKER_00 20:08

You know, and I I actually don't like that term. I think it's great to set it so that you have it going automatically, but you shouldn't forget about it. You really need to be analyzing that. Yeah. Because you're right. Like, and then I've been, you know, I've known to been known to do that too. And I'm like, wait a minute, why am I still paying for this? Right? Like, I don't know, I signed up for something for business and tax season rolls around, and I'm so busy with taxes, and I'm like, I can't believe I just paid for that for four months and even use it. Yeah. I think people need to understand that when they come to an accountant, they come to his CPA, they're coming. We get it, right? We can do the analysis. And I think that for you and I, we have that extra special connection because we're both entrepreneurs, we're both owners of our business. And I think this profit first methodology, like I said, I think it is a great way for businesses to kind of get started. And I do think, you know, for me, like I said, I use it to a degree, but I should actually go back to really using it. I have the I actually have my bank accounts are still set up with the profit, the the main checking account. And I actually I had rent, but I don't have rent anymore because I'm working out of home. So but I do have the taxes. I still, when my money comes in, I you know, my business money comes in at the beginning of the month, I will sit there and go, okay, I gotta put away for estimated taxes and profit. And I kind of know my you know my percentage. And for me, I sometimes will adjust that percentage just because it depends on the time of year. I mean, I'm busy all the time, but it depends on that ebb and flow. Yeah. Right. Tax season, I do individual tax work as well, and so that is a bump.

SPEAKER_02 21:43

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:44

And I don't, you know, I don't necessarily want to use all that bump and put it to me. I want to put it back into the business. Yeah. Right. Because there's product that we buy, right? Tax software, there's accounting software, there's everything with AI going on right now. Like, you know, so what do you see? Then and I bring up AI. I was just at a Pennsylvania Institute of CPA's annual conference, and AI was the big thing, and talking about accounting. But the interesting thing is, they said people like you and I as accountants are in this space, but because we could utilize AI really to help us with some of our stuff, we can service our clients more. So, what are you thinking about AI? What do you do with your clients who are also thinking about AI in the financial space? How are you helping them kind of navigate that?

SPEAKER_02 22:31

Yeah, I have honestly not done a ton in terms of like our clients. Internally, we are, you know, looking at more ways to implement to make workflows more efficient. Time because, you know, the reality is that you got to kind of embrace it if you want to stay in the game, right? So unfortunately, yes. But the other side of that is really like our differentiator is building that relationship, you know, and building that advisory, you know, kind of piece into it as well. Because uh AI is great. I mean, I use it a lot for myself or you know, content and planning and you know, brainstorming and things like that, and starting to use more of like the agents, you know, and different capabilities there. But the reality is that you can't take the human out of it. Like you're not 100% get the human out of it, right? And so like still being it's not at least not yet, and hopefully, I don't know if I wanted to get to that point where it's like it can like project and try to, you know, do different scenarios, but even if it could project, even though you bring that up, even if it could project, I think the issue there is every client has their nuance to their business.

SPEAKER_00 23:41

They do.

SPEAKER_02 23:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:42

Right. Every client has that little bit of nuance. So I think that utilizing AI for ourselves, but maybe working with our clients to get them to understand that even if they utilize AI, you know, accounting software is starting to utilize AI a little more. Right. I can't say I agree 100% with how they're doing it because it's a little annoying.

SPEAKER_02 24:01

Right.

SPEAKER_00 24:02

But I understand the process, but we still need to have that like, hey, you need to still review this.

SPEAKER_02 24:08

Right, right.

SPEAKER_00 24:09

So I was wondering if any of your clients kind of threw it into AI or they're using AI more and they're coming to you going, This is what it's telling me. And you're going, well, wait, let's take a step back, right?

SPEAKER_02 24:21

We have we have more on like the tax side of things where people will be like, Oh, well, I asked Chat GPT about this tax question, and you know, what do you think about that? And I'm like, Yeah, they gave you the wrong information. I'm like, first of all, it's it's pulling from information from a couple of years ago. So like a lot of times it's not accurate, up to date. Right.

SPEAKER_00 24:41

And and nothing against our clients or just people who aren't in our field, they might not know what kind of question to ask.

SPEAKER_02 24:48

Exactly. Yeah. Right. Not fully or like, yeah, how to how to add it, ask it specifically. So yeah, we've definitely seen a little more of that on that side. Uh, I guess on the bookkeeping side, because most of the clients were we're the ones doing the bookkeeping. So they typically aren't in their books a whole lot outside of maybe the invoicing piece. We have some clients that do their own invoicing still, but we do a lot of that piece. So we haven't had really any questions come up about that too much. I know there's a lot of people that don't particularly care for a certain software that's pretty big that has recently implemented.

SPEAKER_00 25:25

Well, you know, that that certain software I think the issue has been, and I'm sure you've seen this too on your end, is when they are making changes, not talking to the professionals that are heavily, heavily using it. Can it it's an issue. Yes. And I think that's the frustration. Oh, for sure. Yeah. You know, and I'm not saying that this big software, you know, a good, you know, bookkeeping software. It's it's just the change happens so fast. And I think not having or utilizing the knowledge that that we have to help our clients. Because I've had clients call me because they do, I have clients who do their bookkeeping, but they want me to go in there, check the transactions, help with stuff. And and they're just like, I I can't. I'm like, well, I can. So let me help you. And in that with entrepreneurs, you know, we're both moms, we're both have our own businesses, we're both, you know, trying to get out there and support ourselves. And it's not just mom, I think women in general, right? You brought it up that women in general, I think are underserved. Yeah. Just in all different things. But I think for business, I think whether they're in the corporate world, they're on their own, I think we're underserved. And part of it is that balancing, balancing, growing your business, doing your business, and whatever your family life is. Whether you're married and have kids, whether you're a single mom and have kids, whether you're on your own, I think that can be intimidating. So is there any kind of advice, anything you've seen that maybe in particular you see with women that can, you know, help them kind of get over that hump?

SPEAKER_02 26:59

Well, I think one thing is like releasing the expectation that there's a balance, because really there's no such thing as a balance, at least in my opinion. And I mean, you know, I'm a business owner, I'm a single mom, I do, you know, life solo. So I think I can speak to that, but a little bit. Um, but it's like more of a shifting of priorities, you know, and I think that's one big benefit we have as business owners where we can create that flexibility within our lives and also build businesses that support that, you know, lifestyle as well. Um, a lot of that comes back to knowing your numbers and having that plan to move towards that direction. But I think releasing this expectation that we have to do it all can be really freeing, you know. So, like sometimes it's having somebody come in to help clean the house. I have a meal uh prep service that I use right now because I'm trying to get healthier, but I don't have time to meal prep. And it's just like the reality of what it is, you know.

SPEAKER_00 28:00

I agree with you on that. Like I said, I had had hand surgery, and I said to my husband, I'm like, why didn't we hire like some to come clean the house over the last few weeks?

SPEAKER_02 28:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:08

Like just to help from that aspect. And he just, I love my husband, but he doesn't always think that you know, certain things financially don't make sense to him. So I'm like, that's fine, that is your choice. But you're right, I think, you know, there's a balance in that shift, right? Of like you said, looking at the priorities. And when we're running our own businesses, you know, we're always thinking about it, right? 24-7. I don't think a small business owner stops thinking about their business. Yeah. But it's that shift, it's the it's the delegation, it's the learning to set boundaries. Right. Yeah. Yeah. You know, I I think for women, and it's okay for us to set boundaries. Yeah. For us to say, no, not gonna do that. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:51

Yeah. Yeah. Having kind of that awareness of like what you need and being understanding that that's gonna change. Sometimes they'll change next month, you know, or then you know, we're getting into the summer. So like a lot of people's schedules change for the summer, especially if you're a mom, because your kids are home. Or, you know, they're not going to a full day of school, they're gonna go to summer camp, which is only for five hours or something, you know. So you have to understand, especially like in that mom mode, your priorities and your boundaries and your schedule shifts a lot, you know, and you gotta be like okay with that and and really just kind of embrace that, but also don't feel bad about setting those boundaries, you know. Like I I know for a while there, like I one of the big shifts I made this year was I'm only doing meetings on certain days of the week. Right. And that was something like I was noticing. I was like, I have back-to-back meetings all day, every day, and then I get no, you know, none of the other work done. I don't have any room to think. And you need room to think as a CEO too. Like, you need to have white space. Like, there should be nothing on your calendar sometimes so that your brain can just process. So, like, you have to build that in too, especially if you're growing and have a team and you're a leader, you know, and managing talking to yourself is fine out loud.

SPEAKER_00 30:13

Yeah, it is. Like, my husband is so funny. We both we're both working from home now, and our offices were each, we're in, we took two of the four bedrooms over. Nice. So he well, he's been home for six years because of COVID. And I decided after tax season last year, you know what? I don't need to have an office space. Like I don't need that money going anywhere. But it's so funny. He'll tell me sometimes later, we're with our kids, we're chatting with them, and he'll go, Your mother's funny. She'll you'll he'll sit there and he'll hear me like talking through a problem.

unknown 30:42

Right.

SPEAKER_00 30:43

But you're gonna just hear it out loud, you know. Like yes, we need that time to do it. And I think for women, we have to give ourselves grace. Like you said, I think there's no shame in that. And setting boundaries, you know what? If your client's not happy that you're setting boundaries, and maybe that client or that customer or whatever that is just isn't right for you. And it's okay to say no. It's okay to fire them, it's okay to say I'm done.

SPEAKER_02 31:05

Like, yeah, yeah, you know, and often it's very free, it's way more freeing doing that. And then, like I always like to say, like, and it makes but space for a better, more aligned client, you know. So, like anytime we lose a client, I'm like, oh, they just weren't a good fit for us, you know. And we we assess to see if there was anything we could approve or, you know, maybe did wrong or communicated, you know, incorrectly. But you take a look at that and fix what you can and let the rest of it roll off and just kind of keep going and make that space for better clients because, you know, not everybody is in alignment and that's okay. No giving yourself permission.

SPEAKER_00 31:44

I I think I think that is important, you know, and even setting the expectations with whomever you work with, you know, whether it's client-based or it's service-based, you know, retail based or whatever, sometimes you have to do that. You just have to say, you know what? I I'm I'm closing the office or I'm I'm closing down for a couple days because I gotta do XYZ. You know, it's truly just something I think as women and you know, because people were like, oh, you know, how could you do that? You're taking time off or this. Well, because I am.

SPEAKER_01 32:10

Yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_00 32:10

I mean, it it just and and then that shift, right? When I first started out on my own, my kids were young, and my youngest has a rare migraine disease, so I was dealing with a lot of that. But as they got older, you know, they're both in their 20s now. The one actually just came home from college for literally 24 hours. He's he's finished his semester, but he's living up at school for the summer. And he came home to get the car and he left today. And I was sad because like I don't see him that often. And and so the seasons shift, but I have found myself also, like you said, that that understanding of wow, I have more time to dedicate now to my business because you know, I'm not necessarily having to go get the kid or drive them somewhere or take them places, which I kind of missed. Uh, don't get me wrong, I do miss that. Um, but but understanding financially too how that shifts too. Because I think when I started to do that shift, I started spending more on the business because I was trying to get out there, right? Networking, marketing, started the podcast. Like it just it's okay to kind of have that dip in your business and then go back up. You know, so have you seen a lot of that with your clients as well?

SPEAKER_02 33:15

Yeah, I think depending on where they are in life, it definitely makes a huge difference. I know even for myself, like that was one of the things when I, you know, got pregnant with my third child, you know, I wanted to take, I had my business, it'd been going for a couple of years at that point, and I wanted to be able to take some time off. And so I hired. So for me, like the trade-off wasn't money, you know, monetary. Like I took a little bit of a hit, I guess, with my finances as far as like what I paid myself. But for me, I had that time freedom. And so like that was worth more to me than, you know, a salary, you know, and that's what I tell people too when we do like profit first, because Mike has the target allocation percentages in the book, which are like the most elite, you know, companies that he he studied and surveyed at those income levels. But I always tell people like your business should, those are great, and you got to have a target because you got to have a direction. But at the same time, your business needs to work for you the way you need it to as well. And sometimes it doesn't look like the target allocation percentages. Sometimes it's you making a little bit less so you can have more time freedom. And that's definitely something that we've seen with our clients and we coach them through. I mean, we everybody has like a like a minimum of what you need to make, right? And you should be at that minimum. But like other people, it's like, I don't need to make 300,000, I just need to have this, you know, and I'm terrible and I'm good, and you know, that I can give back and you know, whatever it looks like. So your business can look however you want, and having that flexibility for you is good.

SPEAKER_00 34:48

Right. I yeah, I think you make that good point there too, that it's your business. Yes, there are standards, there's regulations you have to follow, right? There are certain things that in your field or whatever you have to do, but it's your business. There isn't somebody above you saying you have to do this, this, and this, you have to work this, this, and this. Yeah. So I think I think for women in particular, but entrepreneurs, that makes us more powerful.

SPEAKER_02 35:10

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 35:11

So we can and I think we need to lend our voice to that more.

SPEAKER_02 35:14

Yeah. Yep. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:16

I agree. Yeah. It was it was really instrumental. And even just like then I had another one. So my two little my two little guys are Irish twins. They're 12 months apart. You know, so it was like back-to-back baby. And then I unexpectedly, you know, separated and eventually divorced my husband, and then we moved across the country. So it was like there was a lot of life events that happened in a period of time. And I was very thankful though, because my business was profitable so that I was able to make quick, you know, fast decisions, big decisions, you know, in a small amount of time, because I had that flexibility. And that's really what our passion is now at Psychick is helping other people have that so that they have options in life. Like that's really the the centerpiece of having a successful business is if it's able to provide that for you. But the only way it's going to be able to provide that for you is if you are successful and sustainable and profitable.

SPEAKER_00 36:10

So, like, right. Where those things go hand in hand. Right. You know, and by me saying earlier that revenue doesn't equal profit, it doesn't mean we're not saying we don't want you to be profitable. You just have to be aware of that. That you because you know, people come in and say, I made, you know, $100,000 in six months, but but where's it all going? Right. How much did you keep of that? Where what are you spending on? You know, and then of course the estimated tax part with this whole thing gets a lot of small business owners, you know, oh my gosh, I got to put taxes away. And I say, yes, because you don't want that penalty at the end of the year when you go to file. So that's why Profit First puts that in a separate bucket. Yes. Right. That's why they have that set aside so you understand that. Now, if you're an S corporation small business owner, it's a little different because you have payroll and and and there's some stuff for the shareholder, but that doesn't mean you can't do the method and you can't still have for that. It's just you have to be aware of that as well. Megan, this has been fabulous. I love this. I love having somebody that's like a soul sister, a cohort, you know, trying to help small businesses. Any other last minute tips or insights you want to share with my listeners?

SPEAKER_02 37:16

I guess my uh encouragement would just be to give yourself some grace, like we talked about, you know, is like a big one, especially for women. I think we're just really hard on ourselves, and we think that there's an expectation that needs to be made, and you don't have to live up to anybody's expectation. Like that's the beauty of this, is that you get to make your own expectation and create your own life that you want. So just giving yourself grace and you know, business ownership, like we've me and you both, you know, in business for 12, 13 years, there's always something to work on. So 100%, right? Focus on focus on the progress that you've made. Like where did you start? Where are you now? Because I bet there's some really big strides there. Don't focus on how much farther you still have, because there's always gonna be something. Focus on how far you've come and do that. You know, if you're struggling, do it on a regular basis. You know, look at the week, say, okay, what did we get done this week? What were the wins? What are what are gonna be my wins for next week? And just go from there because that will help you be more positive, be more motivated, and you need that as a business owner too. So 100%.

SPEAKER_00 38:28

No, I absolutely agree with your with you there. So, Megan, where can we find you? And do you have any calls to action?

SPEAKER_02 38:35

Yeah, I am on uh Facebook and Instagram and LinkedIn primarily. If you'd like to schedule a call, I do a strategy call, a 20-minute, 30-minute strategy call, a complimentary. If you just want to talk through some things, you can go to chatwithmeg.com. That'll take you to my website and you can book a call. So I'd love to talk to anybody who's thinking about profit first or has questions about bookkeeping or taxes. I am yours for the asking and happy to talk to anybody that's interested.

SPEAKER_00 39:04

I love it. I love it. And you are the CEO and founder of Psychick Accounting Services. I'll have information on, of course, what the podcast is all about in the bio of the podcast, but I'll make sure Megan's information is there as well. Thank you so much for joining me today. Thank you. It was fun. Follow, like, and subscribe to your Financial Maven wherever you listen to your podcasts. And make sure that you leave your money stories or questions for me at www.yourfinancialmavenpodcast.com. I cannot wait to hear what you have to say about money. The purpose of this podcast is to provide general information on the subjects discussed. It is for educational, informational, and entertainment purposes only. It is not meant to resolve your specific financial needs or situations. Please consult with your CPA, tax, or financial professionals. Your Financial Maven is hosted and produced by Samantha M. Bestnoff, CPA, and your Financial Maven LLC. Editing is done by Chris Starnock of KMZen Creative. Music is written, composed, and performed by Daniel Shore.