Build to Enough

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Keila Hill-Trawick: Hello. You're listening to Build to Enough, a podcast for entrepreneurs who want to scale at their own pace. I'm your host, Keila Hill-Trawick, and I'll be your chief storyteller and cheerleader in a world that glorifies endless expansion. We're tuning out the noise and discussing the beauty of enough. Each episode will dive into inspiring stories, practical insights, and strategies to cultivate sustainable success on your [00:00:30] own terms. So whether you're a solopreneur, small business owner, or aspiring entrepreneur, get ready for a refreshing take on the entrepreneurial journey. This is build to enough.

Keila Hill-Trawick: Hello and welcome back to Build to Enough. So if you haven't listened to our last episode, we started this month by talking about how to navigate an inevitable slowdown. We already know that there are going to be points of the year that just are not flowing, as well as other months. If you haven't listened to [00:01:00] that and this is the period that you're in, definitely go back and take a listen. And today I want to talk about the opposite side when you are in the busy periods. Because the thing based on the title that we want to pay attention to is when you are busy, it feels great. There's so much revenue. You have full calendars, there's new clients, there is always something happening. But if you're not careful, they can also create blind spots. You got so much money that you might overspend over, hire or invest in things that you wouldn't have otherwise [00:01:30] just because the money is available.

Keila Hill-Trawick: It's also a time that our systems and processes slide. You're so busy being in the throes of delivery that you might miss, that you already set something in place to make sure that this could feel more streamlined. And so the thing to remember is that these are times that we can strengthen our foundations. So a thriving business doesn't just use the lows to prepare, we're also using those highs to get ready for those lows. And that means building reserves, locking in systems, and staying [00:02:00] strategic so that we can create some sense of consistent steadiness throughout the year, even if our revenue and client acquisition doesn't reflect that. The thing is, financial stability means making good decisions in the good times so that you are prepared and avoiding reactive decisions that we tend to make in the leaner months. When things slow down, it can get easy to panic. We start thinking, I need to let some people go. I need to adjust some things. I need to throw everything [00:02:30] at the wall to make it better. And really, the foundation that you're building through a boom is really is what carries you through the lull. Right? You have enough money to take that space that we talked about and really think about how to improve processes without feeling like you're wasting billable hours.

Keila Hill-Trawick: So what do I recommend as some strategies? The first one is to build cash reserves. It's the same thing that we tell our clients while revenue is high, you want to intentionally put money to the side. I typically tell people [00:03:00] to save 3 to 6 months, depending on how much risk you have and what your personal life looks like. But what you want to ask is if no money came in next month or if I lost a big client. How much longer could I keep my business running? And that's everything from payroll to recurring expenses to rent that might be on your office. What would need to happen in a savings account for you to feel comfortable when things go down, even though you're at a high period? And to the extent that you can save as much [00:03:30] as possible, building those cash reserves is really what's going to prepare you for when things inevitably go a little bit slower. The next thing is smart team management. You really want to hire based on consistent needs, not just temporary spikes. And this is especially important when you're hiring employees. So make sure that you're spending just enough to deliver while still maintaining your savings goals. And as you're thinking about what that next hire is going to look like, be careful that you don't over hire employees in a period of [00:04:00] rise and then potentially have to let a bunch of them go when things are going to slow down.

Keila Hill-Trawick: So I think about this in like a project sense, right. Tax season. The beginning of the year when you're getting new bookkeeping clients. Maybe the middle of the year where you see a spurt of people who just had a bad experience with their accountant and are moving on to you. Generally, by the time you realize you need to hire someone, it is too late. But the opposite is true too. You can bring on so many people that at the end, you're [00:04:30] trying to figure out what work you actually have for them. So consider your long term needs, not just what's happening in the moment. To determine whether it's time for you to hire a contractor or an employee, and whether that employee should be full time or part time. So you don't have to make a bunch of adjustments after the fact. Don't wait until you're underwater to think about your team needs, because then you're making decisions out of desperation. So if we balance those decisions that we're making, when we're slow to what we're able to decide on, when things are moving fast, we have a much more balanced team [00:05:00] than we might otherwise. Also, secure access to capital early. In addition to building your cash reserves, you also want to get access to things like line of a line of credit or a credit card, even a small business loan when your books look strong? Not when you're in a bind.

Keila Hill-Trawick: Banks want to know that you can pay them back. And so to the extent that when you're making a bunch of money and you can show year to date financials that show that you're in a strong position, this is actually the best time for you to solicit money whether you need it or [00:05:30] not. I always like to have a line of credit on the back burner that I typically don't have to use, but it's available to me if the time came to it. Also, remember the next thing, which is that consistent marketing is really about having a long term funnel. One of the biggest mistakes that people make when things feel hard or fast, or all of those things, is to cut marketing. And you don't want to make that mistake. You want leads coming in consistently, not just so that [00:06:00] you're scrambling to drum up business when things slow down, but also so you're taking the right clients at the right time. I have found that a lot of firms end up in this super, super busy season. Um, because they said yes to more people than they should have. They did not consider their capacity, they did not consider who they wanted to serve and how much they could pay.

Keila Hill-Trawick: And instead, anybody who was willing to give them money, they took. You want to look beyond the phase that you're currently in. So when things are really busy, start thinking about who are your best clients, who do [00:06:30] you want to market to when it's slow? Who do you want to make sure that you keep as a client? And what are clients that you already see may need another accounting solution? Things will slow down, and you want to make sure that you've been nurturing who you need to, so that you are giving them the experience that you promised when things are busy, so that they will stay with you when things are slow. The next thing is kind of something that all of us need to think about, and I think we think about for our clients, but we don't think about for us. You got to [00:07:00] stay on top of your books and your financials. You can make better decisions when you have clean books. We know this for our clients, but it also reminds us that we can watch for trends early so that we're not blindsided. Generally, it is not an all in one onslaught of people. You kind of saw it coming. You could see in the discovery calls, you could see in the applications online, you could see how many people were coming through, and you didn't stop to see if you should put a stopper on that earlier on.

Keila Hill-Trawick: And so if [00:07:30] you can look at your financials, if you can look at your metrics, your bookkeeping to make sure that it's up to date. So you always know a real time view of what's happening. You can also not make as panicked decisions when things are moving really quickly. And speaking of panic decisions, as I said earlier, don't overhire or overextend your team future. You will thank you, but so will your team. If you stretch them to their limits constantly, it will be hard for them to keep taking you as the decision [00:08:00] that they make in terms of who they work for. You don't want anybody to feel overworked constantly. We know that there are busy periods, but you want to check in on a regular basis to see how they're doing when it is a rush. Make sure you're seeing those early burnout signs, and identify systems or workflows that are breaking under pressure because if you can fix them on the early end, they won't carry through the entire busy season and breaking people along the way. So check in. Is your team overwhelmed [00:08:30] or nearing burnout? Are you noticing not just more complaints, but that more mistakes are happening more often than usual? Nip that in the bud.

Keila Hill-Trawick: Figure out what is going wrong so that you can correct for it. In the midst of everything already happening so that it doesn't have to continue that way for the rest of the time. Now, when we talk about little fish specifically, I have definitely fallen into the trap of overextending through through high revenue months. I have overhired, I have overextended myself. I have said yes too many times. [00:09:00] I have learned the stress of trying to hire and on board both clients and team members in the midst of our busiest season, and so now we don't do that anymore. I'm not saying that it never happens, but we plan differently. We save more aggressively during times when we are making all of the money. When I feel rich at the top of the year, we hold as much money as possible. We stay lean on expenses, and we focus on systems that can scale without adding people every time things get busy. This also gives us [00:09:30] some space to really be reflective on. Like, is this time when we need a person? What are those triggers or milestones when we know that we need to make another decision? We also keep marketing consistent even when we feel full, so that future leads are grown today. That means that when it's slow, we're always nurturing people. And when it's fast, we're not turning off the hose.

Keila Hill-Trawick: We want to make sure that we have a balance of who we bring in. And I know that that is a reflection, really, of us saying yes to the right people [00:10:00] and not how long the doors are open. The last thing is that we've instituted some automations to help with administrative tasks, so that team members can focus their time and energy on the things that matter and delivery that provides value to our clients and not the basic data entry. Everybody on the Little Fish team is in a role of client experience, regardless of what they do here. And what that means is that we've got to be in a position to be able to say, some of this is not going to be on your plate to do, because we've [00:10:30] made that part of your job easier. Now, on the flip side, how we handle this for clients is one, we remind clients to save when it's easy, so they're ready when it's not. It is hard to keep money in the bank when you already feel like you're drowning in other ways. And so when you've got extra, this is the perfect time to keep money in your savings accounts. We also forecast cash flow with clients. So while you're in the midst of money coming in, we can already tell you where that's going to look like for taxes, team expenses, [00:11:00] and seasonal dips that are coming down the line.

Keila Hill-Trawick: We take the time to advise on how to set up lines of credit or access funding before they're in a crisis, the same thing that I recommend for us, I recommend for clients, which is to say, how can you get money before you need it so that when you need to have access to it, it's not the time to be asking out of desperation. We also help clients sustain their marketing efforts and track their ROI on growth activities. We look at whether or not there actually is a return on investment, given all of the money that they're pouring [00:11:30] into marketing, PR and advertising to ensure that it's money well spent if they're not going to be saving it. And then, of course, financial reports, if we're giving accurate financial reports on a regular basis, we can ensure that our clients are seeing the trends before they become problems. And anytime we can identify those earlier, we're putting our clients in a better position to be able to handle those dips when they come after the rush. So the time to build your foundation is when things are [00:12:00] already going well. This is really a time for you to kind of tweak. You probably can't make the major changes that you can make in slowdowns, but you can make sure that it doesn't have to feel miserable just because it's a rush of a bunch of good and probably a bunch of broken things at the same time.

Keila Hill-Trawick: Every busy season is an opportunity to prepare for a slow season, and every slow season is an opportunity to prepare for a busy season. So don't waste those times. These are reaping and sowing seasons, and you want to make sure that you're performing the [00:12:30] right activities during those periods. So one thing that you can be thinking of is check how many months of expenses you have saved. Look at how much money is in your savings account that is not already allocated to operating expenses and taxes. And then ask yourself, am I building or am I just riding the wave? The answer to that question helps you to understand what actions you need to take while all the money is coming in. To prepare yourself for times when it won't be very cool to talk to you today. [00:13:00] We'll talk to you again in a couple of weeks.

Keila Hill-Trawick: Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Build to Enough. If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to subscribe, rate and share the love with your fellow entrepreneur friends, and make sure to sign up for the Build to Enough newsletter. The link is in the show notes. Stay tuned for more episodes as we continue to redefine success one intentional step at a time.