Episode 30: Breakthrough Student Spotlight: Coaching, Learning & Executing with Erica Paynter
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Alyssa Lang interviews Erica Paynter, the Founder of My Virtual Bookkeeper where her firm helps cleaning companies with their bookkeeping needs. In this episode, Alyssa and Erica discuss things from sales automation, payment plans, delegation and so much more.
In this episode you’ll hear:
How to take your sales process from manual to automated
How to roll out payment plans to clients and the logistics
How to identify things to delegate to team members
Identifying things to work on ON the business vs IN the business
Resources mentioned in this episode:
💻 Breakthrough for Bookkeepers & Accountants
💻 Kickoff with Asana for Bookkeepers & Accountants
⚙️ Anchor
⚙️ Dubsado
⚙️ GoProposal
⚙️ Notion
⚙️ ChatGPT
📝 Linsey Shae Consulting (use code WFQ10 for 10% off her templates and working with her)
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I’m so excited for you to meet one of my incredible students from Breakthrough— Erica Paynter, founder of My Virtual Bookkeeper. Today, we’ll discuss Erica’s path from a salon owner to founding and owning her dream bookkeeping business.
Through her experiences and insights gained from Kick off with Asana for Bookkeepers & Accountants and Breakthrough for Bookkeepers & Accountants, Erica showcases the transformative power of systems and automation in scaling up her business thanks to what she’s learned in the programs.
Erica's shift from salon owner to bookkeeping powerhouse wasn't without challenges. Leaving behind familiar connections was tough, as she recognized the unique client relationships she built. Despite loving her work in the salon, Erica realized she craved more fulfillment and decided to take the leap into the bookkeeping industry!
In a recent conversation with her son, Erica explained “Imagine wanting to open a golf store, but you've never opened a golf store, and then somebody has all the answers to point you in the right direction”, to describe her experience in our group coaching program.
Balancing Working ON Your Business vs. IN Your Business
For bookkeeping firm owners like Erica, the journey to scaling up can be overwhelming. That's where systems swoop in to fill in the gaps! Erica found that embracing automated processes allowed her to shift her focus from working IN the business to working ON the business. This transition was liberating, enabling her to concentrate on growing her business instead of getting caught up in the day-to-day tasks.
Setting up automations, processes and putting systems in place allows us to seamlessly train and onboard team members AND hand over some of those daily tasks! This frees up the time and mental energy to focus on growing your business!
Streamlining Your Sales Process
I think we’re all guilty of wanting to be in control of EVERYTHING when we first start our business, but then realize pretty quickly that it’s hard to focus on scaling up when you’re still doing everything manually and by yourself!
One of the most time-consuming aspects is probably managing the sales process. I’m pretty sure we all start out using a good ol’ Google Doc which we’d have to download and put into DocuSign to send over to the client and wait.
While that’s fine in the beginning, it’s NOT going to help you in the long run! Doing this process manually without any systems in place could sometimes waste WEEKS of your time! And that’s not because clients are intentionally leaving us out to dry, but they’re busy too!
That’s why I’ll continue to shout from the rooftops about automating your sales process!! With good software like Dubsado or Anchor, you can send the proposal, get paid, and send your engagement letter all in one swoop.
To avoid waiting for weeks for clients to get back to you, you can even include an expiration on your proposal to get paid. If you make changes to the scope of work, it gives your client time to choose whether they want to upgrade to the new scope of work agreement or not.
Automating the whole process just makes life SO MUCH easier, and if you feel lost on the exact steps to set up Dubsado and want all the done-for-you steps, I break them down for you here!
Simplifying Payment Plans
People have VERY different views on payment plans, with some people refusing to take clients on if they aren’t able to pay in full. Whereas others like myself and Erica, have very different opinions about payment plans.
We want to make it affordable for EVERYONE because sometimes people just need to be able to extend their payments for cash flow reasons.
Being burned, or having someone fail on their payment has never happened to me. Sometimes it's as simple as sending a reminder email to say “Hey, the payment failed” and it usually gets resolved pretty quickly.
It’s quite common for people to have the money just not in the right account at that exact moment. I would know, because I’m guilty of that ALL THE TIME!
For my business, I love using Plooto, because it’s super affordable and easy to use! Plooto allows you to automate your monthly client payments with ACH tools and saves me a BUNCH of time while also improving my client’s experience! Wanna learn how to automate your payment plans? Check out my blog post on ACH payments and using Plooto to automate your payments.
The Key to Scaling is Delegating
Having systems in place from the start is SO important because they allow you to hand over some of those daily ins and outs to your team. Whether that’s bookkeepers or a virtual assistant, effective systems allow you to onboard and train them seamlessly.
Project management tools are a literal LIFESAVER! If you’re using tools to track your tasks and manage your workload, all you need to do is assign those tasks out to your team members! Delegating those day-to-day tasks allows you to get back to focusing ON your business!
My ride or die project management tool is Asana! If you wanna learn exactly how to keep track of all your bookkeeping or accounting tasks, check out my blog post on project management in Asana.
Setting Your Boundaries
Setting boundaries from the very beginning with clients is CRUCIAL because a lot of people at that starting phase in their business, typically just want to start the work.
But, a lot of us in the industry who are more seasoned always expect to be paid upfront because that's just the reality of it. You know, think of construction, for example, they’ll ask for a deposit before starting any work!
What's the big takeaway? The road to scaling up your business is paved with the strategic implementation of systems and automation.
Setting up your systems from the start as a business owner will support you as you continue to grow your business and your team.
So, say buh-bye to manual sales chaos and say hello to client-friendly payment plans, delegating tasks to team members and get yourself focusing ON your biz to grow!
Ready for the Next Step?
We cover allllll of these powerful topics and more inside our group coaching program, Breakthrough for Bookkeepers & Accountants! It’s specifically designed for firm owners who’ve established themselves as a solid firm with consistent clients, a project management system, and the drive to take it to the next level! Learn more and join in right here.
About our guest:
Erica Paynter, the founder of My Virtual Bookkeeper—a game-changer for cleaning companies' bookkeeping needs. In just three years, Erica's company has grown exponentially, earning a reputation as a trusted partner in the cleaning industry. Recently, she took the leap, quitting her job to focus on her entrepreneurial passion full-time. Erica's strategic vision and dedication have fueled the company's scaling success.
Connect with Erica Paynter:
Follow her Facebook Biz page: facebook.com/myvirtualbookkeeper
Follow her on Instagram: instagram.com/my.virtual.bookkeeper
Friend her on Facebook: facebook.com/erica.paynter
Schedule a call with her: calendly.com/myvbk/letschat
Send her an email: erica@myvbk.com
Thanks for listening. If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram stories and tag me, @workflowqueen
For more information about the Conquering Workflows & Systems for Bookkeepers & Accountants Podcast or interest in our programs or mentoring visit our resources below:
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Podcast Editing: Ian Gilliam: iangilliam.com
