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Honey Do List · Divas That Care Network

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's Divas That Care Radio.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: Stories, strategies, and ideas to inspire positive change.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Divas That Care, a network of women committed to making our world a better place for everyone.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: This is a global movement for women, by women, engaged in a collaborative effort to create a better world for future generations.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: To find out more about the movement, visit DivasThatCare.com after the show.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Right now, though, stay tuned for another jolt of inspiration.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_01: A strong, positive sense of self-esteem is your first step to anything you wish to accomplish.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yet too often, when we attempt to leave our comfort zone, we have the chorus of inner critics inside our heads, the itty-bitty shitty committee, as I like to call mine, which brings self-sabotaging doubt and untrue trash talk in our ear.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: This podcast celebrates women who rise above and move beyond any self-doubt and old outmoded limiting beliefs.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_01: Women who have reconnected with who they truly are, that gorgeous, talented, fabulous gift to the world who deserves recognition and unconditional love.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: My hope is that their insights inspire all of you to do the same.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: You know the most beautiful thing any woman can wear is confidence.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_01: Here on Confidence in Bloom with the Divas That Care Network, I, Tina Spoletini, speak with women now secure in their own self-confidence so we can learn from their stories of how they found themselves and became the magnificent role models they are to us all now.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: Today I'm talking with Mendy Applegate.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: Mendy owns two companies that support small businesses throughout the country and her local community.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_01: She owns the Honeydew Tech List, a virtual assistant agency that specializes in bookkeeping and Bloom Coworking in Yukon, Oklahoma.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: Corporate America has put Mendy in various roles that required her to have a vast knowledge of different industries, able to build relationships, and provide accurate and detailed information for staff and management.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: Mendy has been blessed with the knowledge, drive, vision, and heart to serve others, work with amazing people throughout the community, and build a business that supports other small businesses.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome, Mendy.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so glad to be here.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: Excellent, excellent.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: So explain first what your Honeydew checklist is and bloom co-working business are so the honeydew checklist um i got laid off in 2020 with the um i was in the oil and gas industry and in oklahoma that is our top profession basically in town and unfortunately just due to covet and the market downturn um i was laid off and among a ton of other people here in town and that's basically when i started the honeydew checklist and it At this point, I'm about four years in and it has been quite the ride, as you can imagine.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_01: But basically what we do is we really focus on those small businesses, usually entrepreneurs.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe they're primarily solo entrepreneurs, you know, under five employees if they do have employees.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: But at the end of the day, just as a small business owner, we want to support people.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: But in that, we're doing this to make money.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we are looking to own our own companies and have the freedom to live the lives that we want.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: Well, being a small business owner as there are so many different hats that we're required to wear, and most of us don't understand when we first start a business all the pieces that go into that.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: So what we have figured out in the niche that I am currently in is we provide all of your back office support, including your accounting services, so that you can be in front of clients or potential clients so that you can drive revenue in your company.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: So that's what we focus on here.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_01: So we do a lot of accounting services, email marketing, text marketing, a ton of Excel work, research.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: We write standard operating procedures, employee handbooks.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we do the whole gamut.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: I have been in various industries in my career.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I have gotten very comfortable with how a business needs to be ran.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: I have started many departments.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: I have managed many departments.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_01: And being efficient and using your time wisely is imperative for us to continue you know, to be successful, especially when it comes to owning a small business.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: So that is how that business started.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_01: I also have a webinar that I have taught.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: I've worked with over 75 companies over the last four years.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: And I have a class that just focuses on some of the pain points that a lot of our companies see.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: Again, when you first start, you don't know what you don't know.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: So that webinar is primarily the things that we see consistently and, you know, just some things for newer businesses to really think about and consider.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_01: But I've also had some older businesses come in because, you know, We need refreshers.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: You know, when was the last time you looked at your contracts?
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: When was the last time you looked at your branding and your logo?
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_01: So just some things to kind of think about how to make sure that you're continuing to grow, and that is the projectile of the business.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_01: So, yeah.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: I also own Bloom Coworking, which is a coworking space.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: Most of my people are remote workers or they work from home, and they need to get out of the house.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, especially during COVID, we learned the value, right, of, you know, that work-life balance, and we lost that being at home.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: And for a lot of us business owners who work from home, that was imperative, and they're not getting the amount of work done– That, you know, you really need that separation.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: So we have a lot of, you know, we have people who come in, co-work during the day, and, you know, and then we have a conference room.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: So if they need to have meetings or classes, and we have a lot of community events, a lot of networking events.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: You know, for me, it's about building community.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that is why I do what I do.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: I love to serve.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: I love to serve small businesses, but I also want to provide a space for that.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: So, yeah, so that is kind of what we do over here in UConn, Oklahoma.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: The co-working business, I'm surprised.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: I'm in Canada.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: I'm in Alberta.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_01: I know there are a few businesses like Bloom Co-Working here.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_01: I have yet to join any of them.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: I haven't actually been to them.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: I like to go to a coffee shop.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: We have lots of little independent shops, but sometimes they're busy.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_01: I went on Monday and I couldn't find a table at one of the I had to go to a different location.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I love the whole idea.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_01: And you're right.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: After COVID, you know, and being in our houses for, you know, day after day after day, I got to the point where I'm like, I need to force myself to get out.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: And that's when I started working out of the house.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I usually go one day a week, right?
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I...
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_01: My daughter sometimes comes because she's on her day off.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: And so she'll like, okay, mom, I'm joining you for coffee.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: And with those days, I don't get very much done.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: But, you know, at the same time, I kind of schedule myself that time.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: Well, who doesn't want to spend time with their adult children?
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, I love it.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_01: I really, really love it.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: You know, she talks about the stuff that is no longer important to me, right?
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_01: You know, when you're young and single, like, you know, as a married woman, I'm like, yeah, whatever, you know, but as a mother, you know, I want to know what they're doing.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_01: But, you know, that's a whole new conversation.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: So you worked in the oil and gas industry before getting into like a virtual assistant.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_01: Like I'm, I'm thinking I don't know much about either one of those industries, but I'm thinking they're completely different.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: How did you manage?
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: You must have obviously done a lot of work with a computer system in order for you to take on a virtual assistant agency.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_01: So in oil and gas, my responsibility was billing wells.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: So I basically, in my 15-year career, did everything from working on leases before the wells were ever built all the way to plug and abandon.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: So all the paperwork that is involved in that billing process.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you have the leases.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_01: You have all the government regulation documents that you have to fill out.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: You know, when someone...
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_01: opt in to be part of a well, you know, they receive a certain amount of revenue based on what that well generates, and then they have to pay a percentage of those expenses based off their interest in the well.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: So my entire career has been based on doing calculations, billing all those services out, being able to manage services, all the changes that go involved in all of those processes.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: Every part of that well, there's a different aspect of how you have to manage the expenses and the owners that participate in those billings.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: And saying that, oil and gas, we have a ton of softwares that we have to use.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, we monitor a lot of different aspects.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: There's, again, a lot of government regulations.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: So all of that has to be, you know, caught up on.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: You have to make sure you're reading COPAS.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: You have to make sure you understand all the rules and laws and regulations.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: And because of being able to do all of those different things at different stages in the well, there's different requirements of, you know, what you have to do.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_01: So...
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: It just, it has put me in a position where I am a big picture person.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: I am an umbrella person.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: I see the big picture.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_01: I see where we're trying to get.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_01: And what is the most cost effective and efficient way to get there?
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: And so that is what I have done.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_01: I have gone into companies and set up the entire department.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: So I've set up the building, I've set up the structure, how everything's gonna look.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: And so that is what my background's in.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: That is my position has always been usually a leadership management role.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: And so when it came to deciding to start my own company, I already have all of these things that I've been doing for years made me successful in my business is because I've already been doing this for years.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_01: So, no, not saying that.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_01: There are millions of things that I never even thought about.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: But, you know, that's the learning curve.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: That's the learning curve of, you know, doing it yourself and, you know, trying to understand And for me, financial management, that is the number one reason companies close is financials.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: They're not making enough money.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_01: They're not monitoring their money.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: But because that was my background, I already knew more than most people do.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: I already knew how I needed to set up my company structure.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_01: I already knew I needed to be an S-Corp.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: So I already had advantages that a lot of people don't do when they first start.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_01: So another reason why I started that webinar class that I did.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: So, yeah, you just, you know, it's just kind of one of those things.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_01: And I have always felt pretty comfortable, you know, because I have been in those roles.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_01: So it's definitely been a learning curve, but yet probably some of the funnest times I've had in my life, for
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_02: sure.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_01: So now you're in the US and up here in Canada, I know we have different regulations as far as government and legal and all that stuff.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_01: Would you be able to help clients here in Canada or would you have to be restricted mainly in the US?
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: I would say probably when it comes to accounting services, I would probably say in the U.S.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think I'd be comfortable doing that.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: But if there's other services people need, you know, Excel, any kind of email, text marketing, research, I mean, that stuff is going to be the same probably globally.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: So there are services we could still provide.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_01: But when it comes probably to accounting services, that's a whole different scenario, and I would recommend you get someone where you're located.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_01: Right, because they know all the legal stuff that they need to have on hand.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: When you say financial management, I'm just curious as to what kinds of things do you recommend your clients to have in place?
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_01: It must be some kind of a system that you have created in order for them to really know how their management is.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_01: There are just a few things that we ask clients to do when I onboard.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_01: So some of the key things, just right off the top, I would tell you, we do most of our stuff as bookkeeping.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_01: So we kind of specialize in the bookkeeping.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_01: you know, under$500,000 a year target market.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_01: So I work with smaller companies, you know, who are pulling, eh,$500,000 to a million dollars a year.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: When you start kind of getting above that, you usually start having a lot of intercompany stuff.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_01: You start having a lot more assets, you know, depreciation, all kinds of things.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_01: That's just not where I want to spend my time.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_01: But I do have, you know, referrals for any type of those companies that are a little bit bigger.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_01: You know, which is some of the few basic things that I always tell people.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_01: You know, one, you need to absolutely keep all your receipts.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, we go down to Walmart for$9 and you can buy an accordion file for$13.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_01: It has 13 slots in there.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_01: And anytime you purchase something for your business, put it in that month.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_01: Your bank statements and credit card statements are not sufficient.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: If you were to ever get audited, you need a copy of the actual receipt.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I have implemented that with all of my clients.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_01: You know, make sure you're doing this starting from the beginning of the year.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: Some other things, just cash flow is everything for a small business.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_01: I personally highly recommend and have implemented ACH for most of my clients and their services that they're providing.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: The biggest– you know, we go, we provide a service, and if you're working with small businesses, sometimes they struggle, and that's kind of part of what we do.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_01: But saying that, as a small business owner, I cannot have clients not pay their bills.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_01: So I make my clients– they are required to be on ACH, and I draft them once a month.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_01: So it's just little things like that where– Cash flow is everything to us, and that is how we survive.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_01: So making sure that you're setting yourself up for that.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: You know, are we monitoring outstanding payments?
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_01: You know, how are you managing your cash flow?
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_01: You know, when are your bills getting paid?
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_01: So there's a lot of different steps.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_01: But, I mean, those are two primary things we automatically set up from the go anytime we onboard clients.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: And I would think that that's kind of, yeah, the first thing to get set up, right?
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: Because without the money, you can't really continue on.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: No, no.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_01: And again, you know, we want to help people, but That's our livelihood.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_01: That's how I pay my mortgage and how I pay this facility, you know.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_01: And I have staff.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_01: I have people I need to take care of, and I have salaries to pay.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_01: And, again, financial management is the number one killer in a small business.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_01: So if you can get control of that aspect of the business, then it's going to put you in a position where you're going to be able to do more and succeed further.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: I have sit down and have conversations with a lot of business owners, and we do budgets.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: Most people are not taught how to do a budget.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: So we sit down.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_01: You know, how much are you truly spending?
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: Bottom line, right, I call them the high items.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_01: So mortgage, right, mortgage insurance utilities.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_01: You know, what is that number that you have to generate?
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_01: Same for the business.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: What is the number that you have to generate?
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm not talking food or entertainment or fuel.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I'm talking high item, mortgage, utilities, cell phone, insurance.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: What is your base number?
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_01: Because most people don't even know what that is, and then they go and they start a business, and the problem is they don't even understand what number they need to charge, even cover the base.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_01: So...
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we have those calls all the time because that is imperative for you to grow.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: You have to be at this number to start, but if you're ever going to make a profit, you need to be 20% above that in order to bring money in the door for you to survive.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: And that's after they pay themselves, right?
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_01: And most small business owners don't pay themselves.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_01: That is normally one of the very last things they do.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: But, yes, that absolutely needs to be on the radar.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I would assume most of your clients are women?
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: Actually, no, they're probably half and half, actually.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, really?
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we do have a lot of men.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's great.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_01: I expected to hear more that you dealt more with women.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_01: So what would you say, like when they come to start working with you, are they usually already sort of into their business and a little stuck?
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: Or are they coming to you because they're starting their business and they don't want to do all that stuff?
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_01: It's a little of both.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_01: So here we are, right?
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_01: We're in February.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_01: I have already closed out financials for 2023 for all but one of my clients.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: And it's only because I'm waiting on something from them.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_01: So when you're at this time of year, you know, we are now in 1099 season.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_01: We are now in tax season.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_01: And we, I mean, I have, I think I ran it.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_01: I think I have seven calls over the next two weeks of people who either, A, have never had a bookkeeper and have no idea where they're at financially, and in that same breath, they have no idea where they're at for their taxes.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: So it depends.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I get a lot of people who they don't talk to their bookkeepers or they don't get financials monthly, so they have no idea where they're at financially.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_01: and that's never a good position to be in, you know, for a small business.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_01: So a little bit of both.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's a little bit of I have never done it and I really need to because I know if I– because knowledge is power, and if I had that information, how could I make better decisions for my business?
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_01: Then I have those that they don't hear from the people that they have hired, so they want to hire out.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_01: And then I just have some people who– You know, they're not happy with who they're with or, you know, so it kind of ranges.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_01: It's all over the place.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_01: But for me, at the end of the day, you know, this is, again, the highest level of stresses when it comes to people.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I have people who come in here terrified.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_01: You know, but I can sit down with them for that hour or sit down with them on a Zoom call and walk through that with them.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, I have people hugging me.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like it's not so complicated.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_01: And it's really not.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_01: People don't understand it.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_01: They just don't touch it.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, we can't do that either, you know, when you own a business.
• 21:13
  UNKNOWN: Yeah.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you have to be in your business and on your business, right?
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: Like you can't do just one side of it, right, which is why people like you exist.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and it's okay.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I tell people that all the time.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: It's okay if you don't want to do it.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_01: It's okay if you don't understand how to do it.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: You know, for me, but you also have to build that network and build that community where people I get calls all the time, Mindy, hey, who do you recommend for this?
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I have been incredibly blessed, and I have a large market.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I can send you to three people that I absolutely trust to take care of you.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_01: And that is important when it comes to small businesses.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_01: Building your network organically is imperative to succeeding.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_01: So, I mean, so there's all of that, too.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, so you just have to, you know, I want to give people power.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_01: You don't have to understand it, but we do need to sit down, and I want to show it to you.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_01: But then if you don't want to touch it every month because it's, you know...
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_01: you it's you know that's just not your strength which is completely fine then you just just make sure that you have built that network where you're hiring good people who will take care of you you know like me I can do accounting all day long but when it comes to social media or building websites or like that is not my jam like I don't want anything to do with it I do not like social media so that is the piece that I hire out for myself you know so you have to make sure that you procrastinating or just completely not doing something or putting it off is never going to be a good fit.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_01: But once you're in a position financially to make that decision, hire out those services that you find absolutely no joy in.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_01: That's a great idea.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_01: I thought of something that you said, and now it totally flipped my brain.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_01: So we're going to just move on to our next question.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_01: Now, obviously, as a VA, you don't have, you know, you're not doing just financials, right?
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_01: You're doing other things.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: What are those other things?
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: I know, like, now with AI, we have a lot of, you know, automation, and, like, you're probably not doing as much of that anymore if we can set up it up ourselves.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_01: Am I right?
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_01: We do help.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's a lot of everything.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I use AI all the time, actually, to write papers.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I write business plans for businesses, you know, and so I will use AI to assist me in that process.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_01: So I There are some things that are, you know, we do a lot of standard operating procedures, employee handbooks.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_01: So any kind of writing, I do use chat GPTs to assist with the social media posts if I deal with them, you know, or trying to find content.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, there's a lot of different maneuvers.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_01: When I opened Bloom Coworking, I didn't know anything about, I mean, I knew of it, but, you know, I didn't know how to market it, you know.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_01: So I went and started using AI to kind of get a better consensus of what that looks like and how can I market that, you know, to those specific industries and, you know, to the people I want to get in the door.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_01: But, yeah, I mean, again, we do a ton of different services.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_01: You know, email marketing, customer onboarding.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_01: You know, for example, we have an attorney, and we collect all the medical records and medical billing for him for his car accidents.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, that gives him time to do other things.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_01: So we have a health insurance agent.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_01: We handle all her back office for her.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, all the paperwork.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_01: So there's a lot of different things that we do, and, you know, You know, so it just varies.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_01: Every day is a little bit different.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_01: And at the end of the day, if we can take someone on as a client to help them and to relieve their stress, then that's what we're going to do.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_01: But if not, then I have a, you know, some amazing people I can refer to.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_01: Do you have a family, Mandy?
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: Actually, no.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_01: I am single.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I didn't know that.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so how do you balance your personal life with your business?
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want you to, I'm hoping I don't hear you say that I bury myself in my business and I'm here 24-7.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_01: How do you balance your personal life with your work life?
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_01: Balance is a very difficult thing for all of us.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_01: But I have actually gotten to the point, you know, and I'm very happy about that.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_01: It's taken me about three and a half years.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_01: But, I mean, at this point, you know, I work, you know, so for example, our office hours are 7 to 3.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_01: Normal business hours here, you know, in America are 8 to 5.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_01: And that is not what we work.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_01: I am a morning person.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_01: I love working.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_01: Mornings, I'm most productive in the mornings.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I do that, which allows me to leave the office at 3 o'clock and allows me to be involved in the community.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_01: So I volunteer heavily in our community.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_01: I'm very involved in the chamber.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_01: I'm very involved in the Main Street Association because my business is on Main Street in town or in the Main Street District.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_01: So You know, I do a lot of volunteering.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_01: I do have immediate family that lives close to me.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_01: But, yeah, so I am heavily involved in the community.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_01: I travel a lot.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_01: I say I travel.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_01: basically work to travel.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_01: So, yeah.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_01: So, I mean, but you do.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_01: It takes time to find that balance.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_01: But there's also that position where we go and we start a business and we will take every single thing that's thrown at us.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_01: We will take every single client that's thrown at us.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_01: And unfortunately, we as a business, we can't support that.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_01: So, again, as you get more comfortable and as you get further involved in your business, you're going to start letting clients go that aren't a good fit.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, you will find that balance eventually.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_01: But, yes, I mean, at this point, I get to leave at 3 o'clock.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: I get to go do what I want to do.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_01: I get to go volunteer.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_01: You know, again, I'm heavily involved in the community.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: So, no, it's very much a very happy work-life balance at this point.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome, right?
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, in the end you are looking for your happy, right?
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_01: You're not looking for just to pay the bills or just to go on vacation.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_01: You also need to enjoy what it is you're doing.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_02: Mm-hmm.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_01: But, you know, being involved in that community, like, you know, these are some of my best friends now.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_01: You know, until I opened this business, the people that I know now, I mean, they're my best friends.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_01: I hang out with them all the time.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_01: So there's that benefit to it also, you know.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's great.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because they become your family, right?
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_01: Because we do spend more time with the people we work with than we do with our own family.
• 29:04
  UNKNOWN: Right.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_01: That's great.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_01: So do you have a big team?
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry?
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_01: Do you have a big team?
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_01: Actually, it's just me and Carrie.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_01: But then I work with several other business owners throughout the community.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_01: So I think at the end of the day, it's just business owners understand business owners.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and I hear it all the time with me and my friends.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_01: It's like if they– you know, I have friends, but they don't understand me, you know, or they don't understand the pressure I'm under or they don't understand how maybe losing a client has hurt me financially or any other way, you know, because this is a living, breathing child for most of us every day.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_01: having those connections to be able to talk to someone who truly understands, you know, that this is a 24-7 thing for most of us.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we think about it.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_01: We're thinking about how to market it, how to get in front of more people.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_01: We live and breathe this every day.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_01: And for people who don't own a business, they just don't get that side of it, which is fine.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_01: But you have to have that community.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_01: that can help you with that.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_01: And that's why I have so many networking events.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_01: for that reason is getting those people together where we can sit down and have those hard conversations, you know, this isn't working.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_01: What would you do?
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_01: Or this is working.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_01: How do you think I should pivot?
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_01: Or, you know, having those people in your life is imperative for success.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_01: That's so true.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_01: And the thing is, like you said, if you've never owned a business, you don't really know what goes into it, right?
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_01: Like when people looking into your, or like, you know, outsiders looking into in, they see that you might have a thriving business and you're able to, you know, leave the office at 3 o'clock and, oh, you must, you know, charge a million dollars for this and, you know, but they don't see all the hard work that you have to put in because let's face it, it doesn't matter whether you've created a business with zero money or with lots of money, there's still lots of work and lots of mental capacity that goes into any business, right?
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_01: Did you always know that you wanted to own your own business, or did you sort of get into the oil business and say, this is going to be my life?
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_01: I never thought I would own my own business.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_01: That was not on my to-do list.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_01: So, I mean, it just– after everything had kind of happened, you know, it was– You get up and you go to this job, but there's no joy there.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's a great paycheck.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_01: Great.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_01: But there's no joy.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it's an age thing, too.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, there comes a point, I think, where you're trying to figure out your why.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_01: And why am I getting up every day trying to do this?
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, if there's no joy in what you're doing, what's the point?
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_01: And that's where I finally was when I got laid off.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_01: It was, you know, what makes your heart happy?
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_01: And what sets your soul on fire?
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and there were these five things that I'm really, really good at and I absolutely love to do.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I knew that if I could just start there, I could figure out a way, right, to help others because I'm a servant at heart.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_01: I always have been.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_01: And I can help others while also making my heart happy.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's the balance.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, all of us, whether we own a business or not, at the end of the day, that is what it comes down to for me.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_01: It's what sparks joy.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_01: What makes me happy to get up out of bed every day and to enjoy this beautiful life that I've been given.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_01: And I think...
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_01: Owning a business was never part of that structure.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_01: But now I can't imagine it any other way because it has provided me a community.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_01: And I get to see so many different things, not just with my clients, but with the community I'm in.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_01: And I can't imagine ever going back to that life again, to corporate America again.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_01: Because I get to see what it's like to truly feel free and to not be locked down to a corporate America type structure that isn't ideal to me and what makes me thrive as a person.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_01: I love that answer.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_01: I really do.
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_01: I think, and I've learned this over the years, right?
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_01: Like I kind of got into my marriage thinking I'm going to raise my kids and I'm going to, you know, teach them to find themselves like a good job, like maybe a doctor, lawyer, you know, something like that.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_01: And then as I watched my kids grow, I was like, oh my God, he would never make it as a doctor, right?
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_01: Like he needs 14 hours of sleep now, right?
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_01: What's he going to do?
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_01: when he's got a stressful job, right?
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I remember thinking, you know what?
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_01: I know that that's not what my kids are meant here to do, right?
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_01: And then it became about...
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I felt like I wasn't happy.
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I was working.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_01: I had stopped working when I had my family.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, now I'm just focusing on my kids.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, you know, this isn't quite enough for me.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I love that I was home with my kids.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_01: I don't regret it one bit.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_01: But it just didn't fill me up enough, right?
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_01: And so then to me it became about when I work, I'm going to do something that I love.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't have to bring in a ton of money, but it has to be something that I enjoy getting out of bed for.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what I've taught my kids now.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't matter what you do, but do something that's going to make you happy and make you want to go.
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_01: And now my youngest is still in high school, but my older two, they both get out of bed with no problem to go to work.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_01: And that makes me happy.
• 35:51
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 35:51
  SPEAKER_01: Because I think, see, whatever I taught them.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_01: Whether I was right or wrong, I at least succeeded there.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_01: They look forward to going to work in the day.
• 36:02
  SPEAKER_01: I don't ever hear them say, oh, I didn't have to go to work or, you know, I hate my job.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_01: Now they are young.
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_01: And so that might change as they get older.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_01: But I think we're living in a world today that we can change our careers.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_01: with really no hesitation, right?
• 36:20
  SPEAKER_01: Like people are changing their jobs all the time now, right?
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_01: And nobody's suffering
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_02: from
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_01: that.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm hoping that that's where they're going to go.
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_01: And it sounds to me like, you know, what you just said is the same thing, right?
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_01: Find joy, find the reason that you need to go, right?
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_01: And like you said, you're a servant, right?
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_01: I think to some degree we all are.
• 36:44
  SPEAKER_01: We all are here to serve for one reason or another and we just have to find what that serve means in our own world.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for joining me today.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_01: Is there anything you would like to add to mention to our listeners?
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_01: Anything about confidence or running your own business or a service that you may provide for them?
• 37:11
  SPEAKER_01: I would just like to say that, first of all, thank you so much for having me.
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_01: I just completely adore you, and it's been so fun to spend a little bit of time with you today.
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_01: I think for me, it's just, I think when, you know, we go and we're born, and I think society puts this expectation of what a life is supposed to look like.
• 37:33
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you go to, you know, the whole, you know, graduate high school and go to college and get married and have babies and all this stuff.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_01: And I think for me it's just, you know, throw it out the window because that is not what life looks like for anybody that I know.
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_01: That is not the norm.
• 37:53
  SPEAKER_01: And I think the sooner that we can get out of that brainwash that we all get put into, you know, happier we'll become because for me, my confidence and, you know, growing up, my expectation was, oh, I'm single, so what's wrong with me?
• 38:13
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, here's this job, but I'm not happy.
• 38:15
  SPEAKER_01: What's wrong with me?
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_01: You know, so I think it's put all these expectations on myself.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_01: And the thing is, none of those for me.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_01: But because of how we are taught that this is what success looks like, That is what we end up doing.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_01: It's like if we don't do these five things, then we are not successful as people.
• 38:37
  SPEAKER_01: And I wish now if someone would have been like, you know what, if that's really what you want to go do, that's what you should go do.
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_01: If someone would have done that for me and encouraged me like that versus making sure that I hit the five boxes that society tells us is success, that's I think that would be a game changer in the world that we live in, especially for women.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I am in my 40s.
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_01: I have never been married.
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_01: I do not have children, unfortunately, due to some medical issues.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_01: And I always felt less than.
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_01: I always felt like I can't have babies.
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_01: And so there's something wrong with me.
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_01: I'm single.
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_01: There's something wrong with me.
• 39:23
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and I can now sit here and go, this is exactly where I'm supposed to be.
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_01: I am able to be happy and encourage people and travel and support companies and support myself.
• 39:38
  SPEAKER_01: And I mean, so if we can get rid of that expectation and the rules that we put on our lives, honestly, I think that is what makes people confident and what makes people beautiful and what people see.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_01: because they see that light and that joy.
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I think we lose that as we try to, you know, be something that we're not.
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_01: I agree with you 100%.
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_01: And I believe...
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_01: Not every woman has children, right?
• 40:12
  SPEAKER_01: Some of them have problems, and that's why they don't have children.
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_01: Some of them just don't want children.
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_01: But I truly believe that God has a plan for all of us.
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you're truly religious, but I think you are.
• 40:25
  SPEAKER_01: I think in our past conversations you have mentioned God.
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_01: But I believe that God has a path for us.
• 40:33
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_01: And some of us are meant to have children and some of us are not.
• 40:38
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 40:39
  SPEAKER_02: Some
• 40:39
  SPEAKER_01: of us are to have good jobs and some of us are not.
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I really believe that it's in God's hands.
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I agree with you on the expectations of society.
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_01: That is not God.
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_01: That is human.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_01: We have to live up to God's expectations, not society's.
• 40:56
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_01: That's totally what I agree with.
• 40:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, 100%.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
• 41:02
  SPEAKER_01: It was great having you again today and chatting with you.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_01: I love visiting with you when we're on our, you know, networking meetings, and you're just a pleasure.
• 41:10
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, you are too.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so glad I got to spend time with you.
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, thank you.
• 41:17
  SPEAKER_01: Confidence in Bloom is a celebration of self-love, a confirmation that even though you may not look like a screen star or a supermodel, they don't even look like that.
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_01: You are an amazing, desirable, brilliant, gorgeous, talented woman.
• 41:29
  SPEAKER_01: We offer unconditional love to our partners, our children, our extended family, even our pets.
• 41:35
  SPEAKER_01: It's high time we got out of our own way and learned to unconditionally love ourselves.
• 41:39
  SPEAKER_01: My business, In Full Bloom Styling, offers an online course combined with one-to-one coaching and and in confidence building, personal branding, and creating your signature fashion look.
• 41:51
  SPEAKER_01: Chic definitely does come in every shape, so if you want something to believe in, start with yourself.
• 41:57
  SPEAKER_01: If you'd like to be a guest here on Confidence in Bloom, contact me through Instagram at infobloomstyling or by email at tina at infobloomstyling.com or through the Divas That Care website.
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening.
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_00: This show was brought to you by Divas That Care.
• 42:14
  SPEAKER_00: Connect with us on Facebook, on Instagram, and of course on DivasThatCare.com where you can subscribe to our newsletter so you don't miss a thing.