Ever heard the phrase “know your numbers” and thought, okay…but what does that actually mean? In this episode, Danielle sits down with client and entrepreneur Serena Waller, founder of The Dande Agency, to talk about how truly understanding her numbers transformed the way she runs her business.
Serena gets real about the ups, downs, and unexpected turns of entrepreneurship—like losing a corporate job at seven months pregnant, launching her own agency, and growing it over the past ten years into a thriving business that now supports a full team.
Key Takeaways:
- Clarity Creates Confidence: Serena shares how shifting from confusion to clarity with her finances gave her the ability to make calm, strategic decisions in her business.
- The Right Support Team Matters: Finding a bookkeeping and accounting team who actually listened and provided her with timely numbers while communicating what they mean changed the game for her and her business.
- Numbers and Intuition Go Hand in Hand: Serena explains how she balances gut instincts with financial data to steer her business forward.
- Growth Requires a Mindset Shift: Hiring a team and stepping into the visionary role required Serena to let go of old ways of working and embrace new levels of leadership.
- Financial Knowledge Equals Freedom: Knowing her numbers didn’t just improve her bottom line, it gave Serena peace of mind and the confidence to make decisions and take calculated risks.
Topics Discussed:
(00:00) Intro: How Knowing Your Numbers Creates Calm and Clarity
(00:34) Serena’s Journey Into Entrepreneurship & Her Work Now
(04:35) Struggles with Early Financial Management & Finding the Right Money Team
(08:22) How Kickstart Helped Serena Understand and Know Her Numbers
(10:49) Balancing Gut Feelings with Data
(13:23) Building Confidence as a CEO
(14:23) Rate and Review Break
(14:36) Hiring Decisions & Leadership Growth and Mindset
(18:01) Using Your Numbers to Read Trends & Forecast for the Future
(22:17) Deciding Whether or Not to DIY Bookkeeping
(25:13) What’s Next for Serena and The Dande Agency
(28:26) Serena’s Major Piece of Business Advice for Entrepreneurs
(30:10) Outro: Like, share, and subscribe!
Connect with Serena:
The Dande Agency Website | https://www.dandeagency.com/
Follow The Dande Agency on Instagram | @dandeagency
Book a Call with Kickstart Accounting, Inc.:
https://kickstartaccountinginc.com/book-a-call/
Connect with Kickstart Accounting, Inc.:
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/Kickstartaccounting
YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@businessbythebooks
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/kickstartaccountinginc
Episode Transcript
00;00;00;00 - 00;00;29;12
Danielle Hayden
Have you heard the term air quote, “Know your numbers,” but not sure exactly what that even means. Our client, Serena Waller, is on the podcast today to show you how she went from feeling dismissed, ignored, and unsure about her numbers to running a business that supports a full team and making decisions with confidence. In this episode, we talk through the real shift that happens when you finally have a money team in your corner, and how clarity creates calm and why
00;00;29;12 - 00;00;37;03
Danielle Hayden
knowing your numbers is the foundation for freedom. Serena, welcome to a Business by The Books!
00;00;37;05 - 00;00;38;00
Serena Waller
Thanks for having me!
00;00;38;01 - 00;00;45;14
Danielle Hayden
Can you tell the audience a little bit about who you are, your business, and who you serve?
00;00;45;16 - 00;01;04;15
Serena Waller
Yeah, sure. So my name is Serena Waller, and I am the owner of a company called The Dande Agency, and we are mostly social media management for wedding pros. So we're obviously in a very niche space, but, I started the business, it'll be ten years ago in September. Wow, that is a huge
00;01;04;17 - 00;01;07;17
Danielle Hayden
milestone. We celebrated ten years last year, too. That's awesome.
00;01;07;18 - 00;01;34;23
Serena Waller
Yeah! It's a big one. And I started the business originally so that we could offer Instagram management to wedding professionals. And this is before we had things like Planoly and Later and even scheduling options within Meta, like it was all by hand. Everything was done in the notes app or on Dropbox, and it was really scrappy. I was once, I was once upon a time, a wedding planner and a catering sales manager.
00;01;34;25 - 00;01;55;04
Serena Waller
And when I started this business, Instagram management was kind of where I originated, and I was like, oh, I can do some blogging. I have a degree in journalism or, you know, do some of that. And here we are ten years later, still doing that. But we're also now doing marketing systems, a little bit more kind of in the automation space, and working more on kind of overall marketing strategies.
00;01;55;04 - 00;02;04;13
Serena Waller
So we dabble in a little bit of all things online marketing, but we are very much geared towards wedding pros and just anybody kind of in that creative space.
00;02;04;16 - 00;02;15;01
Danielle Hayden
I love that you have stayed niche and to your core. What made you become, go from wedding planner to this the side of the world?
00;02;15;03 - 00;02;38;20
Serena Waller
Yeah. So, I actually was in the wedding space for several years. Did hundreds of weddings. And then, I met my now husband and we started dating, and I was working for a wedding venue, and I was really thinking, you know, I'd like to get married one day. And I don't think if I continue doing weddings at the pace that I'm doing, then I'm ever going to even have time off to date.
00;02;38;22 - 00;02;58;02
Serena Waller
So, I ended up getting a job in kind of a more corporate space. It was still family run, but I was working more with fortune 500 companies, and I was doing business development program management, and I thought that I was like, in my career. I was like, I had, you know, left the wedding space. Then I started getting asked to do weddings on the side.
00;02;58;04 - 00;03;15;23
Serena Waller
Still did a couple, but I was like, no, this is my job. I'm going to do this corporate thing. This is how it's going to be. So my husband and I started planning to have a baby. I got pregnant, the plan was for him to potentially stay home. He was also a business owner at the time, so he was going to stay at home and I was going to do corporate.
00;03;15;26 - 00;03;42;02
Serena Waller
And then, at seven months pregnant, I lost that job. So they did a massive downsize. We lost, I think, 250 people in one day. And I was in the corporate office and they said, well, we're going to have to figure out what to do with you. And I was like, but I'm pregnant. No one's going to hire me seven months pregnant with me, knowing that I'm going to leave for three months, because that was a non-negotiable for me.
00;03;42;02 - 00;04;00;23
Serena Waller
I had planned so much for that maternity leave, and there was no way I was going to go to work before I was ready. So that was when the seed of the idea started, that I should eventually own my own business. But then I did some freelance, kind of part time work for a girlfriend who owned a wedding publication.
00;04;00;25 - 00;04;20;08
Serena Waller
And that was when I kind of realized, oh, social media is going to take over all of this stuff that we're doing with online directories, magazines, all of this, like, it's just going to be the next space. So I could see it coming. And, when my son was almost two, that's when I decided to start a business.
00;04;20;08 - 00;04;23;23
Danielle Hayden
Well, your son got to watch. You guys got to grow up alongside each other.
00;04;23;25 - 00;04;34;06
Serena Waller
Yes, very much so. Very much so. He's got so many great business ideas. It's insane. I'm like, he is like, yeah, he's going to be an entrepreneur straight out of high school.
00;04;34;09 - 00;04;56;05
Danielle Hayden
I love it. Well, I want to talk a little bit about how you use numbers to make your business decisions and how having your numbers has empowered you. But take let's rewind to the beginning. Yeah. A little bit of the before picture. Before you started working with Kickstart, what were some of your biggest challenges and frustrations when it came to managing your business finances?
00;04;56;12 - 00;05;21;24
Serena Waller
Yeah, so there are a couple. I think being a woman in business ownership, you work with a lot of at least, you know, ten years ago, there are a lot of accountants that were men, and there were a lot of those men who didn't understand online businesses. So those were two things that, I, I realized--It still exists--Like, yeah--It still exists--But it was it was something that I realized very early on.
00;05;21;24 - 00;05;41;29
Serena Waller
So the very first hire that I made in my business was bookkeeping and accounting. So I did that from the get-go. That was never a question for me. And that was advice that I happened to get from my husband. So I think maybe six months, 12 months, and I hired somebody and he was fine, but it was very, every time I would send him a question,
00;05;41;29 - 00;06;04;02
Serena Waller
it was a one word response. Or it was maybe if I got lucky, it was a five word response, and it was very dry. It felt very dismissive in a lot of ways. And it didn't really feel like, I mean, he’d send me reports. I’m like, I don't know what any of this necessarily means. But thanks, I think, like at least I've got some stuff.
00;06;04;02 - 00;06;25;06
Serena Waller
So when we went through, sold, we sold a house and then we, we were going through the process of buying a new one. And, this was probably seven years ago, and I at least at that point I was like, well, I need all these reports. And it was really great that I had gone through the process of having somebody help me with my books, because it was a lot easier to go through that process.
00;06;25;06 - 00;06;48;24
Serena Waller
So I was like, that is fantastic. So I was like, he was like really high on my list of somebody I was excited to work with because it made that process easy. But then, Covid hit and my husband got a real quote unquote job and wasn't working for himself anymore. I was working for myself. And during that time frame, that accountant never told me to pay quarterly taxes.
00;06;48;24 - 00;07;21;02
Serena Waller
I'd always paid quarterly taxes. That was something that I had done. But he was like, he kept sending me emails every quarter., “You don't need to pay anything. You don't need to pay anything. You don't need to pay anything.” And I was like, it's a little odd, but okay, and then the end of the year hit and I got a $7-8,000 tax bill that I was not expecting, and I was furious. I was livid, and of course, as a business owner, you're like, well, maybe I should have just done the thing that my gut told me to do, but I hired somebody to help me through this process.
00;07;21;02 - 00;07;42;25
Serena Waller
So he should have been looking out for me. And he's like, oh, well, you know, your husband's working now in a different, you know, space. I didn't factor in his income. And I'm like, but you used to do his books like you knew he wasn't working for himself anymore. So I don't understand why that disconnect happened. So, I looked for a new accountant.
00;07;42;25 - 00;08;05;01
Serena Waller
At that point, I found somebody else who happened to be local to me. That went equally as abysmal in terms of communication. There was no communication. I didn't get my P&L for maybe seven months. Even though I would ask for it, I wasn't getting any information. They were never giving me forecasts. I would say, what should be my quarterly tax?
00;08;05;01 - 00;08;20;13
Serena Waller
And they say, oh, we'll pay whatever you want. You can make it up at the end of the year. And I'm like, no, no, no, that's not how I operate. I can't do anything at the end of the year. Like I need to plan for it now. And it just felt very icky. Just felt all around icky. So that was the
00;08;20;13 - 00;08;44;01
Serena Waller
before, and then I think I had gotten a couple recommendations for Kickstart along the way. And then I think that I actually met one of your team members, two of your team members in Vegas at Wedding MBA. Oh, yes. Yeah, yeah. So we met in person and we hung out and we were talking and I was like, wow, there's a lot of women in this space.
00;08;44;01 - 00;08;58;05
Serena Waller
And that's amazing. And like, I would rather always be working with women in it, which is a funny thing because I came from a very like, when I was doing my corporate space, it's very male dominated. So maybe it was like that was part of when I started my business. I was like, I need to work with more women.
00;08;58;07 - 00;09;16;07
Serena Waller
And then even from the first intake call, it was like, oh, okay, you guys like get it. You get an online business, you get that I'm doing profit first. You get that I'm doing all of these things. But I just don't feel like I understand my numbers enough to be able to make any true decisions. Like, I'm looking at numbers and I'm like, what should I be putting aside for taxes?
00;09;16;07 - 00;09;33;26
Serena Waller
Because I'm just taking a guess from a book that I read or whatever it might be. So after that, it was super. I had so much more visibility and just the peace of mind of knowing, like my numbers were coming over every single month. And if I could jump on a call, I would. And, that was super helpful.
00;09;33;28 - 00;09;41;19
Serena Waller
And then my husband decided to start his own business again. And that's when it really made a huge difference.
00;09;41;21 - 00;09;43;15
Danielle Hayden
He's a serial entrepreneur.
00;09;43;18 - 00;10;06;08
Serena Waller
Yeah. Well, you know, it's one of those things COVID really threw a wrench in. You know, we're both in very creative spaces, so we're always kind of looking for, you know, do you do the stable thing or do you do, you know, the risky thing or which actually is more stable now? But when he was put back in a position to be able to start his own business, that was something where we needed to decide, like, what does this look like moving forward?
00;10;06;10 - 00;10;23;02
Serena Waller
Does he integrate into my business? What do the numbers tell us? So we were able to sit down and actually have that numbers conversation with the accounting team. And they were able to give us like numbered advice, like, if you do this, this is what it's going to look like. If you do this, this is what it's going to look like.
00;10;23;02 - 00;10;39;22
Serena Waller
And it was the same with retirement planning. What kind of like retirement plan do I need? Is a SEP okay? Do I need an IRA, like, you know, do I need to do a different kind of system there? So we were able to actually make decisions for our family and what was best for us based on that advice that was given.
00;10;39;24 - 00;10;48;15
Danielle Hayden
Yeah. What is it like being able to make business decisions based on data rather than just your gut? Because this is something people really struggle with.
00;10;48;18 - 00;11;15;14
Serena Waller
Yeah, yeah. Well, it's funny because I feel like I'm probably a little bit opposite in that. Like, I want to look at the numbers before I make the decision, and I'm actually trying to listen to my gut a little bit more these days. But, you know, for me it's super important because for years I just was like spending money on the things that like, the world was telling me to make, like I was investing in coaches probably before, financially, it made sense to do so.
00;11;15;21 - 00;11;40;10
Serena Waller
I was investing in courses or programs before financially it would have made sense because the money was there. So I just spent it without thinking like, oh, strategically like I actually need to hold on to that money because I need to be able to make this draw or this expense work 3 or 4 months from now. So now it's a little easier to look at that year-over-year data and say, okay, typically speaking, this is when I can expect a higher income or a lower income.
00;11;40;10 - 00;12;02;21
Serena Waller
These are the actual services that I sell that make money, and these are the ones that don't. So it is actually made me a lot more strategic with any investment I make in business. And now I tend to actually I will hire additional team members before I will make an investment in something like a course or a mastermind program or even a business trip.
00;12;02;21 - 00;12;05;11
Serena Waller
Like all of like the team comes first now.
00;12;05;14 - 00;12;14;01
Danielle Hayden
So you made the comment that you want to use more of your gut and that you tend to rely more on data. What does that process look like for you right now?
00;12;14;03 - 00;12;28;28
Serena Waller
Yeah. So, I now that I have the data, it's easier for me to be like, well, my gut tells me that this is the decision I should make. I should either take this client or not take this client, or I should go to this event, or I should not go to this event, or I want to get rid of this particular thing.
00;12;28;28 - 00;12;56;21
Serena Waller
So it's like I do a gut check first and then I can just go by and like verify it through the numbers. Like, does this make sense? Is this not, is it risky? Because inherently there's going to be risky business. And sometimes I'm going to make an investment that's not good. I've made lots of bad investments, but now I’m so much more careful about them because I know, okay, well, the numbers tell me I can do this or the numbers tell me if I do this, that it's going to be a struggle for a little while and I have to be prepared for that.
00;12;56;28 - 00;13;04;25
Danielle Hayden
And just because it's a struggle doesn't mean to not do it. It just means that you can be aware of it and know that it's coming. Right?
00;13;04;28 - 00;13;21;00
Serena Waller
Yeah, exactly. I can say, okay, well, I need to be in a sales season right now. Like I need to be selling more to be able to, you know, like make this investment make sense for me or this is a strategic decision that I know might not pay off right now, but 6 to 12 months now from here, like this is what I can expect.
00;13;21;00 - 00;13;23;07
Serena Waller
So that has been really helpful.
00;13;23;14 - 00;13;34;27
Danielle Hayden
How does confidence in your numbers, how does that show up in other areas of the business, like how is that affecting who you are as a CEO and an overall business owner?
00;13;34;29 - 00;13;56;24
Serena Waller
Yeah. So, I think it's a two tier thing. Like now I just really kind of want to be stepping out of the business more and more, which has been really trippy in my brain because after ten years of working in it so much, to want to get out of it feels wrong sometimes. But at the same time, I'm looking at the numbers going, wow, a huge
00;13;56;24 - 00;14;18;07
Serena Waller
percentage of my income is used to support other people and living the life that they want to live. Now I have a team of five that I'm paying and they're able to, you know, work part-time from home or they're able to work with their own hours or, you know, they're able to do all of these things because of the way that my business shows up and supports them as well.
00;14;18;10 - 00;14;36;04
Danielle Hayden
Before we continue a quick favor, if you found value in this show and want us to keep growing with bigger guests and more strategies, please rate and review on Apple or Spotify. It really helps. Thanks for listening!
00;14;36;06 - 00;14;58;00
Danielle Hayden
How did you decide when it was time to start hiring a team? And you're growing a team to 5 people. That's incredible. And so, there's a lot of mindset work that needs to be done every time we hire a new team member. So walk us through what data, what gut decisions had to go into making that.
00;14;58;06 - 00;15;19;08
Serena Waller
Yeah. So one of the big data points with growing the team, for me, that was always important and it's a question that I will always ask the accounting team is how much is this going to cost me per hour? Just on the number, you know, like if I want to pay somebody $25 an hour I’m paying as a contractor where it's a straight $25 an hour, or are they an employee?
00;15;19;08 - 00;15;38;16
Serena Waller
And how much is that person actually going to cost me by the time the year is over? How many hours can I afford from that? So it's really great to be able to look at those numbers just from the financial aspect and say, okay, I can afford to pay this person X number of hours or, you know, on a project rate, because I know it's predictable.
00;15;38;22 - 00;16;01;27
Serena Waller
And that has also really helped me. I automatically draft money every single week into a variety of different accounts based on what I need that money to do for me. So, that's kind of on like the data side, like, okay, I'm going to put this amount of weight in the payroll account every single week, and this now is going to go into the general expenses, and this is going to go into tax or whatever it may be.
00;16;01;29 - 00;16;21;11
Serena Waller
So that's been great. But also on the mindset side, I actually have had to work a lot with my coaches. I actually had, was in a mastermind group that was just dedicated to what it's like to grow a team. It's called the Abundance Group with Ashley Ebert. She's in the wedding space as well. So I did her mastermind, and then I had my business coach as well.
00;16;21;11 - 00;16;45;14
Serena Waller
Both really kind of talking me through the process of letting go. I do not like to ask for help. I'm terrible at it. I was raised mostly as an only child, so very independent, very self-sufficient. Everything is just what's happening in my little world. So for every new team member, it's been this new, like, oh, okay, like I actually have to talk to this person.
00;16;45;14 - 00;16;53;00
Serena Waller
I have to communicate, have to tell them what I need. I have to let them kind of do their own thing and not be meddling. But it's the-
00;16;54;08 - 00;16;54;21
Danielle Hayden
It's a lot! It’s a growth
00;16;54;25 - 00;17;16;25
Serena Waller
journey, right there. It is! But, you know, as I have grown my team, I've seen more of the struggles that other business owners have that don't have a team yet or have a small team. Or maybe we are one of their first hires. I recognize a lot of those like symptoms of like anxiety that come with hiring people and like that need to constantly be like, let me justify this expense.
00;17;16;25 - 00;17;33;22
Serena Waller
I'm spending money like, is this person paying off? And then I've really had to say, like, what am I trying to get with every new hire? Do I want more freedom? I want more money. I want both, you know? So what does that look like? Look at the numbers. Like, here's the income. Like, how can I do exponential?
00;17;33;22 - 00;17;52;22
Serena Waller
And instead of looking necessarily now so granularly every single month, I look more at the quarter like how's the quarter looking? I get these numbers now and I can say like, this percentage higher or lower than last year or whatever it may be. And that's super helpful. And kind of being able to say, like what, anticipating those needs.
00;17;52;22 - 00;18;01;14
Serena Waller
And for every new client that I bring on, my hope is always to like, then let the team grow even more with each of those hires.
00;18;01;16 - 00;18;17;06
Danielle Hayden
You just made the comment looking at prior year, looking at last quarter, talk to me a little bit more about that because that is, that's like the golden little nugget where people, you know hear air quote, “know your numbers,” and you're like, what does that mystery phrase even mean?
00;18;17;09 - 00;18;18;05
Serena Waller
So what does it mean to
00;18;18;05 - 00;18;22;22
Danielle Hayden
you to know your numbers and look at it monthly, quarterly? And tell me about that.
00;18;22;24 - 00;18;40;08
Serena Waller
Yeah. So, you know, I think there's always like you get that feeling as a business owner sometimes like, oh, I'm really having a slow month. But then you look at the numbers and you're like, oh, my numbers are super consistent with what they've been in previous months, or the numbers are consistent for this month and all of my previous years.
00;18;40;15 - 00;18;58;04
Serena Waller
So after having like years of data, for me, I can go back and say, well, it's pretty typical in the month of July that it's we see a dip and it's pretty typical in the month of October that we see a spike in our numbers. And that has been the same for ten years. So you kind of don't anticipate that to change.
00;18;58;04 - 00;19;20;16
Serena Waller
And if it does go in a negative way, then often I realize, oh, a new strategy has to happen here for the income. What's going on? Is it, you know, we're messing something up. Do we not have enough leads? You know, what's going on? So for me, it's very much just being able to compare previous time periods as well as just starting to identify more trends that are happening.
00;19;20;18 - 00;19;38;29
Serena Waller
Because I think a lot of times, especially in this kind of like post-COVID world, there was predictability for me. I started the business in, like five years before COVID. So I had five years of data there and then the data looks totally different post COVID. And that's because my industry that I started--It’s crazy to think it could even
00;19;38;29 - 00;19;40;26
Danielle Hayden
be that long after COVID
00;19;40;26 - 00;20;02;20
Serena Waller
right now. I know! It is, it very much is, and you know, it's like my, the industry that I serve had a very tough 2020. And then 21 was like busy and then 22 and 23 were bananas and everyone's like, oh my gosh, we're so slow. And I'm like, but are you really so slow? Or is this just what it looked like pre-COVID?
00;20;02;20 - 00;20;20;17
Serena Waller
And we've just forgotten. So I think there's so much power in having that data and actually being able to do year-over-year comparisons and notice those anomalies like, oh wow, that was a really busy month. Why? And then you can look into not just like the income numbers, but like look at your leads, look at all of these other things.
00;20;20;17 - 00;20;23;05
Serena Waller
So I'm a big fan of those data points.
00;20;23;05 - 00;20;35;10
Danielle Hayden
How do you know when you look at your financials--you know, one of the reports that we give is the top five operating expenses and the healthy percentages--How do you use that to determine if you're spending enough money in your business?
00;20;35;10 - 00;20;56;22
Serena Waller
Yeah. So I actually let you all tell me if I need to spend more money. So I actually--I love that, though!-- Yeah! I think Stacy sent me a, an email a couple of months ago. She's like, you can spend some more money on this area. And I was like, oh, okay, that's good to know, because most of our expenses, like, this is my most expensive payroll year that I've ever had.
00;20;56;23 - 00;21;24;09
Serena Waller
And last year was, you know, we were creeping up there. So my percentages are very, very high on employee, contractor, you know, on our payroll, all of that. So that for me was alarming. But at the same time I'm like, no, this is actually the trend that it should be going because I do want to be paying my people more, and I want to be paying less for all this other stuff, like the random office expenses or the random business trips, or like these, you know, random programs or courses or education.
00;21;24;09 - 00;21;48;05
Serena Waller
I'm like, I don't want to do both. Yeah. Like that's not where I want to go now. So, that's how I can kind of look at them. If certain things are trending upwards, I can accept that in a way that if other things are trending downwards, like I can also accept that. But that is definitely our highest growing expense and the one that I feel the best about, because for years it was pretty low in comparison to all the output.
00;21;48;05 - 00;21;55;06
Serena Waller
Oh my gosh, I really wish that in those early years I had just paid myself more instead of bad people.
00;21;55;09 - 00;22;07;02
Danielle Hayden
But as you want to be able to step away from the business, knowing that you have your people and that that is where your money is going, it’s a fulfilling place to spend your most important dollars.
00;22;07;04 - 00;22;17;07
Serena Waller
Yeah, absolutely. I feel like I've streamlined my expenses so much because I know those percentages now. Like, I just I cut ruthlessly now on the areas where it doesn't make sense to have it.
00;22;17;10 - 00;22;29;26
Danielle Hayden
If somebody was on the fence like, ugh, could I kind of do DIY bookkeeping? They're wondering if working with a money team is the right move. What would you want them to know based on the experience that you've had as a business owner?
00;22;30;02 - 00;22;44;25
Serena Waller
I just feel like it's a non-negotiable. I feel like if you want to be a legitimate business owner that actually makes money versus when it's kind of just doing something for a hobby or just to make a little bit, like if you're just doing something for fun, just to make a little bit of money, you know, that's fine.
00;22;44;25 - 00;23;12;03
Serena Waller
That's not a business. You know, like a side hustle. And I feel like there are some side hustles that can make a lot of money, but a lot of people just truly want to, like, not make it a big deal. And that's, that's fine. But for anybody who really, truly wants to grow a business, make a real income, and know that they've got, you know, all their paperwork in order, if nothing else, like you need to have somebody in your corner for this because running a business is really hard.
00;23;12;03 - 00;23;29;22
Serena Waller
And then also running a business and trying to buy anything anymore is really hard. Like you need to get a loan, you need to get a car, you need to buy a house, you need to do anything with your life. If you don't have your numbers in your books in order, it can be so detrimental and it can hold you back from doing all the big things in your life you want to dream of.
00;23;29;22 - 00;23;51;20
Serena Waller
Like owning a business still has to be approached like having a job to a certain degree. That doesn't mean you have to work it the same way. You don't have to be in it 24/7. You don't have to report 9 to 5, but you do need to kind of look at it as like, well, how is a normal business structured and what hires can I make to help me legitimize that a little bit?
00;23;51;23 - 00;24;11;10
Serena Waller
Yeah. Because, you know, a lot of people that go into business are doing it for the creativity of it or, you know, the flexibility, but you can't have flexibility and freedom if you don't know what you've got to work with. And money is obviously why so many people run a business, even if it's like, oh, I just want to make an extra thousand dollars.
00;24;11;10 - 00;24;16;27
Serena Waller
Like cool. Like you still need to know, like if you can spend that thousand dollars a month.
00;24;16;29 - 00;24;38;13
Danielle Hayden
Yeah, yeah. You make a really good point. We're creatives. A lot of us are creatives, and we want the time, freedom, but it actually comes with a lot of responsibility. And I appreciate you making that link to there is a portion of this that is still a job and that we need to treat with responsibility. I always tell people, you know, we love doing the bookkeeping, like we do.
00;24;38;16 - 00;25;01;10
Danielle Hayden
We love working in--it sounds crazy, I know--we love working QuickBooks. We love doing this work. There's just this part of it that we can't do for you. Like we can't actually make a business decision. Yeah. And we can't use your gut. And we can't say if this is right or wrong for you and your business and where you're at.
00;25;01;13 - 00;25;16;17
Danielle Hayden
Only you can do that, and only you can take that data and say, all right, now I'm going to, I'm going to know my numbers, and I'm going to go make strong business decisions so that I'm living a business and a life that I want to live. Yeah. What's next for you? What is the most exciting thing that you're working on?
00;25;16;17 - 00;25;18;10
Danielle Hayden
Where are you going next?
00;25;18;13 - 00;25;40;25
Serena Waller
That's always, always the question of the day. I am in this really interesting era of my life now that I'm ten years in, where I do spend a lot of time thinking what's next? Because, AI is here and it is very scary for my industry. It's very scary for my family. Because I am in a creative space that AI could technically replace
00;25;40;25 - 00;26;06;09
Serena Waller
and my husband is too. We have been spending countless hours brainstorming what is next? Are we in businesses that are sustainable or are we in businesses that need to be replaced with something else? Do we, is this the time of our lives that we're going to have to pivot? Or is this the time where we really lean into what's happening with AI and find ways to still make it personable for people?
00;26;06;09 - 00;26;26;00
Serena Waller
Because at the heart, I am a service industry person. I started working, you know, straight out of college at a hotel. Like it is very much ingrained with me. Obviously did the weddings, you know, there was a lot of that. But now that I work from home, it's, it's a very different space. So I'm always looking at what is the next business that I want to start.
00;26;26;02 - 00;26;47;11
Serena Waller
I think I've always felt like there will be multiple businesses for me that I don't know what that looks like yet. And then we definitely want to add more services to our suite, especially in the systems and AI side. I just, again, don't know what that looks like. So I think I'll be spending so much of this year just continually doing that research and pulling myself out of the day-to-day so my team can do that
00;26;47;11 - 00;27;03;15
Serena Waller
and I can be thinking bigger picture because I think as business owners, a lot of us do think big picture a lot, but I am such an implementer as well. Like, I like to think the thing and then do the thing and test it and do it messy and do it imperfect and just see if it works out
00;27;03;17 - 00;27;19;13
Serena Waller
and kind of like hop around a little. So I have this weird left brain, right brain thing that happens to me. And, you know, I'm, I'm very artistic, but I'm also very analytical. So it's it's just kind of interesting to see where, where it will go. I don't know what's next.
00;27;19;15 - 00;27;23;05
Danielle Hayden
I get, I get it, and I love that. I do think it's maturing in
00;27;23;05 - 00;27;23;29
Serena Waller
business.
00;27;24;01 - 00;27;39;26
Danielle Hayden
Where you can say I am the visionary, I don't need to be the one to do everything. I can let my team do what they're best at so that I can focus on where we're going. And I think that's the maturity. I can see that you're at your ten years.
00;27;39;29 - 00;27;56;11
Serena Waller
Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's definitely, it's definitely been crazy to think about that because I remember how scary it was in those first couple years and like how much of a hustle space you get yourself into because you're trying to grow something. And I just feel like I've never gotten myself to a place where I haven't felt that hustle, drive.
00;27;56;11 - 00;28;11;01
Serena Waller
And now that it's here, you know, at this point, I'm like, I don't even know what to do with this new direction my brain wants to pull me in because it just feels so foreign. But it's time to, you know, kind of play a little bit.
00;28;11;04 - 00;28;15;29
Danielle Hayden
Is there anything I haven't asked you today that you wish I would have?
00;28;16;01 - 00;28;47;18
Serena Waller
Oh, goodness. I ask this question on my podcast all the time, too. Oh, that's so hard. It's like such a put you on the spot. I don't think so. I do think, though, you know, kind of going back to how important it has it is to have like people in your corner. I think that a lot of times when we're thinking about having people help us in our business, sometimes we're not thinking about the intangibles of having certain securities in our business and certain people who kind of like, have our back and are just working in the background.
00;28;47;21 - 00;29;23;04
Serena Waller
And I feel like that is definitely like having somebody help you with your books is just one less thing to think about, because we all just have so many like, money blocks and money mindset things and just like all kinds of things around that. So I think it's so powerful to be thinking about as you're growing your team, as you're thinking about the big picture for your business, just what are those roles that maybe don't show up visibly for you every single day, or don't feel like they're in your business every single day, but are still making big moves for you or helping you make those big moves.
00;29;23;06 - 00;29;43;24
Serena Waller
And that's, you know, very much how I feel like when I hired somebody to help me with my rebrand. Like that was huge when I had an attorney in my back pocket. Huge. Like just knowing those resources, just setting those foundational, like behind the scenes roles in your business are so important, like having people in your corner, even if you are still the main face or solopreneur, like you still can't do it alone.
00;29;43;24 - 00;29;46;22
Serena Waller
So find the people who can help you do it quicker.
00;29;46;24 - 00;30;06;04
Danielle Hayden
Thank you for sharing that. It is wisdom. Well, we are so excited to partner with you and to be here. Our favorite thing to do as your money team is to cheer you on, celebrate your wins, be there for you when things are feeling scary, and we're just really excited to continue to partner with you on that. So thank you for allowing us to be part of your journey.
00;30;06;07 - 00;30;10;19
Serena Waller
Of course. Thank you so much! It's been game changing.
00;30;10;21 - 00;31;01;26
Danielle Hayden
I hope you enjoyed today's episode of Business by The Books. Don't forget to hit like and subscribe! This is the number one way we can help other entrepreneurs find this podcast, because here at Kickstart Accounting, Inc., it is our mission to help entrepreneurs understand their numbers, get access to this information, and grow and thrive in their business. So please help me, help other entrepreneurs understand their numbers so they can finally grow and thrive.