Latest / The Sharon Francisco Show / Natasha Stadnikoff— The Shift from Chaos to Confidence.

Transcript

Natasha Stadnikoff— The Shift from Chaos to Confidence. · The Sharon Francisco Show

• 0:04
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome, Natasha Stadnikov, to the Sharon Francisco show.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_01: I'm really excited to have this conversation.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Sharon.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_01: I'm super excited to be here too.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_01: Now, Tash, let's skip all the fluffy stuff and get stuck into the good stuff straight away.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_01: What was it that was actually going on in your business before things started to shift?
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: So think back about your business.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: So obviously you've been running your bookkeeping business.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: Before things started to shift, where you thought, you know what, there's a better way to do this.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: What was actually going on in your business before you had that realization?
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_02: That's an I love that you've started with that question.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_02: That's crazy.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I think I have a background in construction and trades.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_02: Uh the my husband and I ran our own business and we went through that COVID time.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_02: We went through all the difficult times, we watched builders fail, and we dealt with a lot of those issues ourselves as well.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_02: Uh having gone through that, and then I had a lot of clients in construction as well when I was, you know, first starting out, watching the struggles for them, I think it made me put a few more things in perspective and into place in order to mitigate more problems for my clients and just become smarter in in the process itself.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_02: So it's not just about doing, you know, clicking the buttons and doing the task.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_02: It's about really actually looking deeper and understanding their numbers better in order to try to help them not to reach that, you know, that doom day stage or anything like that.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_02: So I think it was just a lot of those processes personally prior, but also seeing in my bookkeeping business clients that were in the industry struggling to developing a process to help them mitigate through that.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, nice.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_01: So thinking back to that version of yourself where like where you were processing all this, how were you making the decisions day to day?
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: How were you sort of deciding what to do day to day?
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_01: Uh that's a read that again.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: Sorry.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: Thinking back to that version of yourself because what we were thinking about, like there's been a shift in the way you do your business, right?
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: Like you have shifted in the way you think about your business, and we're going to talk about that in a minute.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: And the way that you're running your business now.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: What we want to do is think about what you were doing before you made that shift.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: So you were sort of juggling a whole bunch of things with COVID and looking at your business and going, what needs to change here?
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: I need to help my clients, I need to help people in the previous business that you had.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: When you think back to that person you were before you made the shift, how were you making the decisions day to day?
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_01: What were you doing differently then to what you're doing now?
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: Was it more reactive?
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: Were you just sort of trying to do the right thing?
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what was the what was the thinking?
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_02: There was always a lot of reactive behavior.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_02: We had to um, I guess, always work backwards for the jobs as well.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_02: And so in my business, I was always watching what was happening from builders or tradies that were getting to a certain point where their books were out of control.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_02: I was then having to be reactive on that level to fix their things.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_02: I didn't want to keep fixing the stuff.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_02: I needed to educate them better.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_02: So it was always a lot more conversations.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_02: I was doing a lot of things manually back then as well.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, this has gone back a few years, but I was doing a lot of manual record keeping, a lot of manual checklists and things like that.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_02: So I created a lot more systems automation using programs like Expert to get workflow under control as well.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_02: Because the quicker I got that in place and got the workflow under control, I actually started to perform better and then didn't actually create those reactive um, you know, the actions of going, oh heck, uh, that's not done, that's not done, this isn't right.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_02: You haven't you haven't been paid.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_02: Getting to a certain point we're realizing that people weren't being paid and they needed that to keep functioning.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_02: So I pr did a lot more preemptive work rather than reactive.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_02: So I've developed that over the years now to become better at um, you know, giving people information before they need it instead of after the fact when they've got a problem.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and it's kind of like when you're in that sort of process, you're in my experience, it it's we tolerate things a lot more, don't we?
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: When we think that we need to be, you know, doing things a certain way before we go, like line in the sand.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: And usually when we get to that line in the sand where this is enough now, I need to make a change.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: We kind of tolerate stuff.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_01: What sort of things were you tolerating?
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_02: Do you remember?
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_02: Or you know.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, 100%.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, definitely tolerating that, um, the non-payment, tolerating that because I think that also came from having that understanding of the situations that people were in.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_02: So that non-payment side, I just I always had that, it'll be all right, we'll give them another week.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um, changing those processes for myself, it helped me on a personal level as well to become a little bit stronger for myself and my own situation and say, look, okay, come on, let's work together on this.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_02: If I do this bit for you, then you'll be able to do this bit for me and and become more cohesive with the clients as well.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_02: So these all these situations have definitely developed me as a person as well.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_02: So it's, you know, business and personal I have developed in a way that look, I I I think I never took no as an answer as a kid.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_02: And I guess I sort of did become the person who did take no as an answer for a while, not getting, you know, paid or not getting documents in time and all that kind of stuff.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_02: And now it's become a well probably a little bit of a modified version of no.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_02: I'll accept a bit of a modified version, but not but I I don't take that no uh as an answer very lightly anymore.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_02: I've gone back again to who I used to be.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_01: It sounds like Tash, what you were willing to do was put the mirror up and have a look at what was was working and wasn't working in your business and go, all right, I need to figure out how to push through this.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: And that's that's usually not or it doesn't start out as a practical thing.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_01: It starts out with a, okay, I've had enough.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: I can't do this anymore.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: Like I need to change something.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: So when you think about when you started to think, okay, I need to change stuff, what did you believe had to happen before you could push through that?
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_01: What did you, what are the thoughts processes?
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: Because this is the key, I think when people, our listeners are thinking, you know, I know stuff has to change.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: What is it that I need to do?
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: So when you think about before, and then when you started thinking about, you know what, I got to change this, I got to start scaling, I've got to start doing things differently in my bookkeeping business.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: What did you believe had to happen before you could grow?
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: So we're looking for the things that perhaps aren't real that you don't need to have.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it's it's sad because the first thing I thought was I had to change myself.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_02: I had to change me and become look, I think it just became um I just had to be be more me and become, yeah, not not as tolerable, but just keep those good parts of me, but change those parts that I'd let slide where it was um allowing certain behaviors and come back to no, okay, I'm changing me.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_02: I be strong, I will be knowledgeable, and I will be that amazing frontline person for my clients' businesses and and really get in have a good relationship with them.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_02: Um but then I had to on a level of um practicality that I think changing was the definitely the automation and systemization of everything to make things run more smoothly.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: It's set, yeah.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: It sounds like Tash that you had a realization that you as a person was fine.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: It was the the boundaries that you had to put up to be able to create a business that you really kind of felt like you weren't a slave to, but you felt like you were moving forward in a way that you had your own back.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, 100%.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_02: I definitely had to to believe in myself.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_02: I still do.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I have days now where I I question things.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_02: I definitely have to have that, get rid of those self-limiting beliefs and really believe that I can do this and I am doing it.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_02: And I think it's awesome because you do get to that point where you suddenly look at something and realize, oh crap, I've actually done that so well.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_02: And and it's it's work.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_02: These these things that I'm doing are working.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_02: So it's always good to literally look in the mirror and say to yourself, this is going exactly how I want it to go, and I am doing well.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_02: I constantly actually do look in the mirror and say, You've got this and you're doing it.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and that's how I sort of give myself a bit of a G up in the morning and go, You've got this and you're doing it.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, nice.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: So, what's actually changed in your thinking to allow you to move past like the the limiting stuff?
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_01: So to get to that point, what's changed in your thinking to get there?
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_02: I always look at my I look at my kids.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_02: I'll go back to um the awards last year.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_02: Uh you want to share a bit about that, Tash?
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, it was one of the look, that's that's probably one of the biggest pivotal moments of my life, career, my business.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_02: So winning the Professional Bookkeeper of the Year Award last year in October.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_02: Through ICB.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_02: Through ICB, yep, the Luca Awards.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_02: That was actually probably my biggest turning point where I actually started to believe, truly, truly, truly deep down, believe.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_02: But then I looked at my kids and and I remember sitting at the table and I messaged my son, who was at home and he was looking after the dogs, and he was like, like I had given him all this responsibility.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_02: God love him.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_02: And um, I messaged him and I said, Oh my god, Sam, I won.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, how exciting.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_02: He didn't reply, he rang me and he said, and he literally said to me, I knew you would.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, he said, I'm so proud of you.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_02: And it flawed me.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_02: Like it wasn't a message, it was a phone call.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_02: And he's like, That is so cool.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_02: What do you get?
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_02: Have you got a trophy?
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_02: Have you got this?
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_02: So he started peppering me with questions.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_02: Now he's like 21, right?
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_02: So, and and it was this amazing conversation.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_02: And then I sent video.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_02: My sister had my daughter, who is now 10, and I sent her, I sent my sister the video of my speech of the award.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_02: So I didn't say anything, just sent the video.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_02: And then she just started like she was so excited because she sits in the office with me as well.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and it was it was amazing.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_02: And that when I look at my kids and I know that I am being an amazing role model for them, and I am driven and still going, and they and they recognize that too.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, that's a big thing as a mum, I think.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_02: And absolutely.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_02: Definitely that's uh that's probably one of the most big biggest pivotal things for me to get rid of that limiting self-belief, but also to know that I'm, you know, I'm achieving.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: And and isn't it interesting that when somebody or something else has belief in you, that that grows your own belief, that that recognition of the prize that you won for, you know, Bookkeeper of the Year and and where you um your recognition their recognition through ICB of your achievements and and what you did for, you know, in your business, to be able to take that and go, you know what, if somebody else believes in me, now I believe in myself more.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: And I love that.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_01: I know because that's been me all throughout my career.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, you know, you sort of borrow other people's belief in you until you then can start to step into it, which is soon after that, is when you join my program, right?
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: The entrepreneurial bookkeeper.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_01: I think it was like two weeks later.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_01: I know, which is really interesting.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I would love to know.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_01: I haven't asked you this.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_01: I would love to know if you didn't win that award.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_01: I wonder if you would have still joined the program.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_01: I believe I would have.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, now because yeah, and and the reason I did your five-day intensive program probably about 18 months prior, and I wanted to join with you then.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_02: Back then, 18 months prior, I was in obviously in that completely different situation.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I was a completely different person, I was dealing with completely different clients.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I was at that time as well, I was working anywhere from 45 to 60 hours in the week.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_02: Like I was going hard, which is so normal in our industry, right?
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_02: 100%, 100%.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_02: And there are days I still do big days now.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_02: That's there's no lie about that for sure.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_02: But I was in a completely different space back then when I did your five-day intensive program, but I got so much out of it.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_02: And I remember having a conversation with you, and you said, Do you want to do this?
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_02: And I said, I want to, but I don't know if I can spend the money.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, okay, nice.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_02: And I'd had the conversations with my husband, because my husband and I have an agreement, not big dollar purchases.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_02: You need to uh we need to have a conversation and and agree on it and talk through the value.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_02: And and I remember having a conversation with my husband, and he is completely 100%, um, 150% supportive of me and what I do.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_02: So he's always got my back as well.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_02: But after the awards, I remember seeing you walk past me on the street and you had a beautiful dress, and I grabbed my family friend and I grabbed Paul and I was like, oh my god, that's Sharon Francisco.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_02: I have to speak to her.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_02: And I remember coming up to you and going, I have to know you.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_02: And it was just a photo of that, haven't we?
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_02: I know we do.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_02: We have an amazing photo.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_02: It's great.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_02: But um I still think even if I hadn't won, because of that straight up connection with you, um, I believe I still would have joined the program because we can't do it alone.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_02: We don't know everything ourselves.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_02: And that creating that network of support around you is really absolutely 100% conducive to having a great personal life, a great business life, and just moving forward.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_02: I and I wouldn't change it.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_02: I wouldn't change any of it.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_02: Interesting.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's interesting because I I was actually thinking you would say no, because it's like, ah, you know, uh because I know for me, with that sort of recognition that you I mean, it's a massive recognition with a company, you know, like an organization like Institute of Special Certified Bookkeepers, it's quite a prestigious award to get.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_01: And that confidence that they had in you, and and you know, the the whole process of going through to pick that is a laborious process.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: They don't sort of half do that.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_01: So it's a proper recognition of of what you've achieved, Tash.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, that's the nomination itself was enough to also tell me that I needed to keep going.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_02: My clients believed in me enough and my colleagues believed in me enough to nominate me.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_02: That's enough to make me keep saying, well, I have to do better and I have to bring better.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_02: Every day do better, you know, and that's where I was at.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_02: Even after the nomination, I knew if I didn't win, it wouldn't matter.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_02: I still had to keep going forward.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, nice, nice.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_01: So let's talk about your thinking now.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_01: So, what's something really practical that you're doing differently now?
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: So you've obviously joined the program the end of last year, whether it's pricing, boundaries, team, or how you run your week, what's the practical things that you've actually applied to your business that's different to where you were before?
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so it's I think the thing I enjoy the most that I've put into place is the workflow automation and the systems, but just those systems.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_02: Like I I actually have a box of clipboards here where I used to do that manual checklist for all my clients.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_02: Now it's um, you know, I'm using Dexte, I'm using Expert, I'm using all sorts of other functionalities as well.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_02: I actually put in some new systems in place at the moment.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_02: Over the last couple of months, I've been trialing a few different things to keep those um systems updated.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_02: I didn't realize before how how much that would help and how much I actually enjoy doing it.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_02: But the other thing that I'm really joy enjoying at the moment is AI and using that to help create processes.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_02: So, and that's for each individual client, creating those processes and uh and task lists and then automating that.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's been great.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, nice.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_01: And what about the other areas that we talk about often around bringing clients into your business?
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_01: How do you think about that differently now?
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_02: I think I like to try to connect with clients more personally, ask more questions and understand their situation in more depth.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_02: Because if I can understand and put myself in their shoes, then I really do become that backbone for them and I can really um like sit down and have a good wholehearted conversation with the client with a full understanding of not only where they're at personally, but where the business is at.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_02: And then if I can communicate effectively with them, I can help them achieve better.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, makes sense.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_01: And how are you finding you're doing that?
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: Is it through a process of asking more questions?
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_01: Is it through a pro like how how do you feel like you're getting more information out of them?
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm definitely asking more questions because that's how I'm going to learn who they are and where they sit in their business and why they start a business.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I've I've got a new client, she's a young mum, and I know she gets a lot of overwhelm with the numbers.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_02: And I've sp I love to talk to her because I can understand who she is as a young mum.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_02: I can understand that she's someone who really wants to succeed in business, but I can also I get to support her too, because I think there's a bit of that personal.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_02: I I have this as soon as I met her, I had this personal connection with her as well.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_02: I was like, I really like you and I really want to help you.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_02: Um and so little things that she has said, I've been able to probably yeah, give her a little bit more in a business-minded sense, but understand her personally and help her in that way.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, like really get personal, ask lots of questions and and walk a mile in their shoes.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's the key, isn't it, Tash?
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_01: It's like I find when, you know, we work with clients and it's it's you in your situation when you're helping somebody with their bookkeeping, understanding their numbers, it's you want to feel safe with somebody to open up about what's really going on.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_01: Because I know there's definitely in my experience of being in business, you know, on and off for the last 30 plus years, it makes me feel really old.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: But um there's a lot of shame.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of shame around numbers, like uh around the way that we behave around numbers and and money and business and what have you.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_01: So we we kind of get, when we're when we have our own businesses, we get really disillusioned if we haven't been used to you know, dealing with, okay, well, we've got all this revenue coming in, and we know that that revenue has to be split up into wages and paying tax and paying super.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_01: And and then, you know, you see a whole bunch of money coming into your bank account and you go, woohoo, this is fun.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_01: And then we do that for a few years and just, you know, go and buy a boat and enjoy our life.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_01: And then we get to the point where we have to come and and speak with somebody about getting our little ducks in a row.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what you're saying about working with that woman and going, you know what, it's okay.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_01: It's I I've got your back with this.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_01: And I know I'm the first to say I'm terrible with numbers, Tash.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: Like I, I'm, I used to get sweaty palms when I talked about it.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's just, it's scary.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_01: When you're not naturally good at numbers, it's scary.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_01: But I know for me, because I'm quite black and white and practical because I grew up in the country, is that I know if I'm not good at something, I'll bring in somebody to help me.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_01: Like I don't, I don't hold a lot of shame around that.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_01: I'm pretty open with what I what I'm good at and what I'm not good at.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_01: And unfortunately, there's a lot of business owners out there that aren't as willing to open up about maybe some indiscretions around how they've handled their money in the past.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_01: And I think having somebody like you talking to them about that and feeling okay to open up about the reality of where their situation is, is when the truth starts to come out.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_01: And that's when real change starts to happen.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_01: And I think from what I know about you and how long I've known you, that's a real skill that you've been able to bring to the table, Tash.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: And obviously, a big part of the reason behind, you know, your prize last year, a bookkeeper of the year with ICB and things like that, to be able to have those conversations in a meaningful way to get great outcomes for your clients.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_02: I think people want to see that you're a human as well, right?
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_02: I have um I have spent many times and meetings with clients.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_02: Opportunities have come about where I have sat with my clients and said, listen, I do what I do because I've been in your shoes and I understand what you feel and what you're thinking right now.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_02: And I I feel you're overwhelmed.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I want you to know that I've, you know, I get it.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_02: I totally get it.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_02: I have given my clients examples of where we've had dramas in construction in our previous business so that they understand that I've I've been in that fire pile and I've come out of it.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we're okay now.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_02: Um here's what I learnt and let's take those lessons and put them into play for you as well.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_02: And if I show my clients that I'm human and I've got them and we can really relate, that will also help them to trust me for sure.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_01: And open up more to get better results for them and you, of course.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: So what felt uncomfortable at first, but now you realize was exactly what you needed to do.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_01: So what felt uncomfortable first for you when you were talking yeah we're well around everything.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_01: So when you think about the changes that you have had.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_01: So we talk a lot about pricing and confidence and systemizing and then delegating and then hiring.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: So something that might have like to begin with when you first started working in the program and I started batting on about all these things that you know if you set all this up and you do this and you do that it's going to be a whole farm and you're like yeah yeah sure Chas.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_01: But like that that was a bit tricky that bit or whatever.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_01: So what felt uncomfortable when you went oh yeah yeah yeah that's great but not yet but then you sort of went you know what I realize exactly what I need to do now and I get it.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_01: I know that there's a fear behind it maybe still but I know that I needed to do it.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_01: So what was uncomfortable and what have you kind of faced like with that fear in the face and one I need to start stepping through this.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah definitely the pricing the pricing was always um something that I needed to tackle head on.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_02: But that came back to that self-limiting belief of believing how much I was worth believing that I was also giving the best outcome for my clients for what I was charging as well.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_02: Also learning that I really do love stepping from more from compliance but more into that advisory role for my clients where I give them more reports and I give them that real nitty gritty stuff.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_02: So that's but that first initial in the mirror thing was believing yourself with your prices because you are worth it.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_02: And and the more I believe in myself with that worth every day, the more I can give my clients more.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_01: And and do you find too Tash and I love I love the fact that when we start to learn and grow and know that you know you you do hold the value I love that saying what's that saying there's people that are less qualified than you making way more money than you or something something like that.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_01: It's like you know that's all just about belief right you know if you've got the belief that you can do something that's that's everything.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_01: So not only for you and your clients but if you think about everything else in your life once you've got that belief around what what you deserve in a relationship with friends and family and what you deserve of you know looking after your temple and taking care of your body I know that you're a runner and you love to take care of your body and nourish your temple well because if we don't nourish our temple well how do we show up to people to be able to get the outcomes that we want for them but also for ourselves.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_01: So it doesn't just stop with confidence in pricing does it like that spreads all the way through your life doesn't it with what other areas have you found that it's touched touch?
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_02: I and I love that you've asked this because I literally about I reckon it was about three days ago I had this conversation with my sister um and and she actually said I can see how much of a change has happened for you in the last you know five four five months not just on a business level but on a personal level as well.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_02: So everything that I've been learning in the coaching has bled into my personal life and it and it definitely has affected me on a personal level making sure that my mindset is that growth mindset and that I'm constantly thinking in a really good positive way.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_02: And then that bleeds into my training my my running definitely um running such a mental thing isn't it oh gosh yes I believe in me I believe when you're it's nine Ks I've got one to go I'm going and going and going like yeah you've really got to push it does it takes a lot of mental strength right yeah but um yeah it's it's definitely made uh at the coaching has and pushing all that through into all areas of my life the training even parenting you know I get a very headstrong little girl there and I I love to she's got SAS but I'm I've I love now that I'm also learning not only with my own mindset but also teaching her to have that better mindset as well especially as a girl you know growing up we have so many changes and and teaching her how to be respectfully confident like that's such a key word in in our vocabulary at the moment so yes you can answer but remember that when you answer you are respectfully confident.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_02: I I have got her now I said to her yesterday at the shops I said right we need a kilo of sausages we need a half a kilo of that and I want you to grab me a roast chicken and she stood at the deli counter and she did it all perfectly and she spoke clear and loud and I was like and she goes how'd I go that was perfect.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_02: You know so all of this everything we've been doing from from pricing all the way mindset the whole way through it's just bled into every corner of my life and yeah it's it's just amazing.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_02: It's amazing what you can do.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_01: That's the best I know I've I've said for years you know I I positively brainwashed my children from a very young age that they can do anything.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_01: And I mean you know certainly I think it would have been quite tricky to grow up in my household for my children because obviously I was always just saying you can do anything you can do anything.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_01: We used to do this thing where we sat around the the dinner table quite often and each of them had to, you know, we did different things all the time but one of the things we did was see who we'd invite to the table like who would you invite to the table alive or dead and what would you ask them and why.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_01: And so we'd have conversations like that or we we bring up philosophy sort of stuff around the table and get them thinking about what's possible.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_01: And you know the the outcome of that is really when you start seeing their little brains think the world is my oyster I can do anything and they deserve a seat at the table of anyone of leaders and whatever they start to think and believe that that's true.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_01: And if you can start from a young age tash you're gonna create a pretty dynamic young lady there.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_01: So it's awesome she will be yeah I love it I love it.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: All right um now that you've gone through all of this and you're at this stage where you're starting to feel really positive and confident about what you can achieve and what you can build in your business what do you see other bookkeepers doing that keeps them stuck?
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_01: So now you're kind of on the other side and you're starting to see what's possible for you and your business and and being a obviously we catch up every fortnight with a group of people that are on the same path.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_01: What do you see in our community where people are stuck and what would you what sort of advice would you give them to help them break through that bottleneck?
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_02: I think I've seen one of the most common things I've seen is probably that we stay stuck with the the clients who probably aren't serving us well.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_02: And and and even myself not um not uh personally held back or is it no like I I am stuck with that kind of situation at times too where we're I think if we can identify ourselves and our clients and how we gel and make sure we communicate.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_02: So uh talking about you know understanding the the personalities and needs wants and needs of your client if they aren't going to serve you well then learning how to disengage and be comfortable doing that as well or move them on to someone else is probably something where I do see a lot of of bookkeepers get stuck.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_01: I think it has because not sorry.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_01: No no you're right I think it has more impact than what we actually realise because I know you know that thing about where in corporate if you know if there's a whole bunch of people working together and the one that is you know the the least productive and the the biggest troublemaker who leaves the that situation?
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_01: The good staff always they're the ones that leave straight away right because they don't want to be around that kind of environment.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_01: And I know for me certainly in my past in corporate it's like how does that happen?
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_01: How's the how do the good ones go and the ones that are the pains that stay so if you think about that like in in our world understanding the impact that people have on us that perhaps might question a an invoice or you know haggle over pricing or not not be respectful around getting back with paperwork and and invoices and whatever that actually has an effect on us and what we believe that we are worth.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_01: Worth what yes and that's that again not just with our business that creeps into every part of our life.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_01: So I think it's really important Tash to to recognize what you're saying is you know what if there are D class clients that aren't respectful of you and and value your work they're actually having more impact than just on your bank account.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_02: And it's okay to let them go and it's okay for yourself to say hey look I can recommend someone to you who will actually really suit you.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_02: Oh look I've I've got um some clients that it's taken a bit of a time to like educate them and push them along and I've got one beautiful client like she's terrible with paperwork but she gets to me every three months but she's gotten there and she's great and I love her to pieces.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_02: If we can educate and they're willing to learn great yeah but if they aren't suiting you it's okay to let them go.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah and we know about the law of vacuum you remember we talked about the law of vacuum so the law of vacuum is that if you say clean out your garage or your your bedroom wardrobe what happens in a few weeks usually you just bring more crap in.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_01: Well does it fill so and the reason for that for our listeners because obviously Tasha's in my program so she understands this but the law of vacuum is that nature aborts a vacuum it doesn't like a vacuum.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_01: So as soon as you create that vacuum it gets filled like when you clean out the garage and a couple of weeks later your garage is a mess again or you know in my case a couple of days later.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_01: But um but the thing is we know exactly but have you noticed Tash um in your client base if you have moved on clients what happens does that have you seen that law of vacuum I mean everyone that I talk to oh yeah you know within weeks or months there's somebody that I've signed up straight better than the last one that I you know that left or you know that I moved on.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_01: Have you found that in your business?
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_02: Yes I have definitely and I've also still bring about clients that I think are kind of big big thing in the law of attraction right to attract what you are putting out there.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_02: And I always sit there and talk about how I love fixing problems.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_02: It's probably it's probably not great.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_02: But I always but I always um I always do have these clients that need those problems fixed or they need them done fast.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that's that is what I'm putting out in that attraction and then I keep bringing it back in.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_02: But then I'm getting these people that yeah I I've got clients that have been with me for a few years now and uh and that's great.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm bringing more of those people in now too which are long term.
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_01: So in short long winded answer there but in short yes yeah yeah that's great awesome all right for the last question what's one piece of advice you would give the listeners based on what you've built so far create good systems from the start yeah have a business plan you can know what you want create a vision board write it down and create processes and systems so that you've always got something to work with.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah I love that because you know we often talk about businesses rise and fall to the level of their systems and when we're bringing people on and we've got people working for us we say it's never a people problem.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_01: If there's something that's gone wrong we point to the system not the individual now it's a whole different yarn if the individual hasn't followed the system so then it's again our role as a business owner to ensure that they understand that there is a system to run or to to follow but I love that advice Tash systems are the answers always uh setting up a good solid system and you know I'm pretty I'm pretty open with that but right at the beginning when I start working with people it's like if you haven't and the reason why, you know there's a whole bunch of different reasons but I think one of the main reasons why people don't do it is because it's takes a long time.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_01: There's so many choices out there of what systems to to use and sometimes we get a little bit dizzy in the head like with which way do we do this one do we do that one?
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_01: You know what at the end of the day just make a decision and do it.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_02: There's no that's right and they and and even if you create those systems and those systems aren't 100% working for you you can modify you can change and you can create better.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_02: And and you just have to have that base starting point to to move forward and and run with it.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah that's awesome.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_01: It's been so lovely to chat with you Tash.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_01: I really enjoyed this conversation and of course we'll probably probably have lots more to talk about in the future I know that you're only part way through the program so it'll be really great to get you back at the end and to see where you're at you've obviously you've been moving mountains Tash and I've really loved watching your growth and the confidence that you've stepped up into so it's awesome.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you thank you so much for being on the San Francisco show Tash and talk next time we'll see you soon.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks Sharon great to be here bye