Episode 27: Mindset & Strategies for Delegating and Minimizing Mistakes with Samantha Palisoul

Aug 8

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Alyssa Lang interviews Samantha Palisoul, Owner and HBIC (Head Bookkeeper In Charge) at Little Town Bookkeeping where she helps growth minded coaches and service providers break through their income plateau, without putting off their desires, by aligning their BIG vision with their bookkeeping. Alyssa and Samantha discuss mindset issues around hiring and how to overcome them and aligning your vision with your goals.

In this episode you’ll hear:

How to align your values with your business with your team and clients
How to help your clients align with their vision
Ways to overcome mindset blocks around hiring team members
How to implement a Quality Control process to manage errors and expectations
What discipline looks like in business

Resources mentioned in this episode:

💻 Breakthrough for Bookkeepers & Accountants

☎️ Book a Free Consult Call for Breakthrough

💻 Kickoff with Asana for Bookkeepers & Accountants

⚙️ PayTraQer

⚙️Bnbtally

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The BEST thing I’ve ever done for my business is hire a team to support me. But there’s a lot that goes into it, including some mindset shifts that I had to make before I was actually ready to hand off tasks and show someone the backend of my business. In this episode, you’ll hear a similar story from Samantha Palisoul, owner of Little Town Bookkeeping and a current student of Breakthrough for Bookkeepers & Accountants!

We’ll talk about:

Being intentional about what you name your firm
How to decide WHEN it’s time to hire your first team member
Deciding which role you need to fill first
The process of niching down
Taking the next step in your business journey

This one is PACKED full of incredible and relatable info so I can’t wait for you to dive in!

Choosing a Name for Your Firm That Aligns with Your Values

When Samantha named her business, she knew she wanted it to be something that felt like community. It’s super important to her that prospective clients know the kind of care and vibe they’re stepping into when they work with her firm! Little Town Bookkeeping does that perfectly, and gives off the kind of energy that Samantha’s going for.

I love this because it shows that we as bookkeepers and accountants don’t have to follow any kind of strict or super formal rules when it comes to naming our businesses. The industry is shifting to something wayyyy more authentic and personalized, which is why I named my firm Magnetic Bookkeeping & Consulting! I wanted people to feel attracted to my firm, pretty much like a magnet!

Just like how you can make your business name super personal, you can make your clients’ bookkeeping processes personal to them. If they have specific goals or things they want to do with their money, YOU get to guide them on how to achieve those goals on the backend. Bookkeeping isn’t just about data entry and getting ready to file taxes any more, which is a huge step for the industry.

When’s the Right Time to Build a Team?

Samantha had some resistance to the idea of hiring a team member when she first joined Breakthrough, and that’s totally normal! A few of the mindset blocks that kept her from going for it sooner were:

Fear of letting go of client work
Dealing with the repercussions of mistakes made by the team
Leading a team and being pushover
Being a perfectionist
Letting someone see the backend of her business
Finding the right person to do the job
Spending the time hiring, writing a job description, training

And we’ve probably ALL had at least one of those concerns — I know I have! But learning to look beyond the fears and focus on the benefits of hiring is SO powerful.

It helps to take baby steps toward letting go of control when you hire someone to handle your workload. For example, if you hire a bookkeeper to take some client work off your plate, you can:

Give them all the information they’ll need to do the task upfront
Layer in an “end of month handoff” step where they submit their work to you before the client sees it
Set up a QC (quality control) checklist
Give them feedback on their work and make changes

Doing this acts as a barrier between the team member and the client, and helps you catch mistakes before it’s too late. And just keep in mind that mistakes WILL happen. You’ll make them, your team members will make them. Everything is fixable!

Choosing the First Role to Fill in Your Business

Some people might think that the obvious first hire for their firm is a bookkeeper to support with client work – but that might not always be the case.

For a lot of our Breakthrough students, we find that they actually need an assistant or VA before they’re ready to hire someone with bookkeeping experience. Everyone’s different of course, so the best way to tell what your business needs ASAP is to time track!

I’ve talked about time tracking SO MUCH in the past, and we preach it heavily in Breakthrough because it really works. Samantha was really resistant to time tracking because it felt like an unnecessary step, but when she started questioning if she was charging her clients enough to be profitable… the time tracking data was super helpful.

And you can use the data you collect to see where you’re spending your time that could easily be outsourced to someone else — aka your first hire!

The Process of Niching Down

There’s a lot of talk about picking a niche, the pros and cons of it, and how to decide on a niche in the first place. But then it’s like, HOW do you start niching down and what are you supposed to do with your existing client roster?

So here’s the answer and what I told Samantha in our interview:

Once you figure out which niche you want to serve, shift your messaging so that you’re only speaking to that audience.
Access your current client list and decide if you’re going to keep the ones you love working with, even if they don’t fit your niche (I don’t think you need to get rid of clients you enjoy serving just because they’re not in your niche, but it’s totally up to you!).
Keep an open mind! If someone comes your way that you want to work with, even though they fall outside of your ideal client, you don’t necessarily have to turn them away.

Stepping Into Your Power as CEO

Ready to get super clear on your offers, pricing, niche, dream team, and so much more? Breakthrough for Bookkeepers & Accountants is THE place to be.

If you’re feeling like…

You’ve plateaued in your capacity to serve your current client list and you’re afraid to take on more
You want to start building a team but you don’t know where to start
You want to develop your existing team into taking on more responsibility
You want to niche down and analyze your profitability
You want to have access to a community of like-minded firm owners + experience coaches
You want internal systems that aren’t just “fine”, but super efficient
You want to start using tech that enhances your business and makes sense for you

Join us in Breakthrough for Bookkeepers & Accountants! Samantha says that if you’re ALL in on your business, this is the group coaching program for you. Just commit to yourself and do the work to see the massive impact it will have on your firm as a whole!

About our guest:

Samantha Palisoul is the owner and HBIC (Head Bookkeeper In Charge) at Little Town Bookkeeping where she helps growth minded coaches and service providers break through their income plateau, without putting off their desires, by aligning their BIG vision with their bookkeeping. When she's not working she loves hanging out with her husband, Eddie, and their dog, Nash, reading, practicing archery, and spending time with friends and family.

Connect with Samantha Palisoul :

Send her an Email: info@littletownbookkeeping.com
Check out her Facebook Business Page: https://www.facebook.com/littletownbookkeeping
Connect with her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samantha.palisoul
Connect with her on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@slpalisoul

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