From Employee to Founder with Small Business Accounting Expert Khristine Valdez

Speaker 1

00:00

 Hey everyone, this is Jamie. I just chatted with Christine Valdez. She is the founder of Haven financial, and they are a company that provides outsourced Bookkeeping on steroids, it's more than just bookkeeping, and we actually use Christine's company now for all of our books and it's a really good episode is very relatable for anyone who wears multiple hats in. Life such as being a wife, mother, entrepreneur w22 entrepreneur, and who's dealt with ups and downs. And challenges of all kinds of things. We talk about, why she left her, W2, how she was. Let go at one job, and then building her business starting her business and then kind of having to rebuild it a couple of more times based on losing a big client, as.

Speaker 2

01:00

 Well.

Speaker 1

01:01

 As the pandemic and in covid, having essentially shut things down almost. So she's had to kind of Rebrand remarket recreate the business. Several times success to her is not all about having lots of money in your bank account. It's more about time, freedom and control of your schedule, and she's definitely reached that. It hasn't been easy. But one of the big takeaways was about how she's learned to be patient and take a Long-term approach, take the big picture of you two things, and not put so much pressure on herself to get things done immediately and create success overnight, it's definitely not. You know, entrepreneurship is not for everyone and I think this will be a great episode for any budding entrepreneur. Any small business owner, really? Not to mention Christine's. Firm offers bookkeeping services that I have been very happy with thus far. We have been working with them for over 6 months at this point and the reporting has been great. So I highly recommend you listen to this episode. Listen to Christine story really focuses on financial hardship and the ups and downs of creating and running a small business, but also reach out to Christine. If you have any questions about bookkeeping or financial reporting and the services that Haven L can provide to you. Thanks everyone.

Speaker 2

02:33

 Welcome to the form adversity. To abundance podcast. Are you an entrepreneur or aspiring entrepreneur? Then this show is for you. Each week, we bring you in Paxil stories of real people who have overcome painful human adversity, to create a life of abundance. You are not alone in your struggle, join us and you will experience the power of Truth. Stories and gain practical Knowledge, from Founders, who have turned poverty into prosperity and weakness into wealth. This podcast will encourage you through your health relationship and financial challenges, so you can become the hero in your quest for freedom. Take ownership of the life, you are destined to live turn your adversity into abundance.

Speaker 1

03:26

 Welcome everybody, to another episode of the, from adversity, to abundance podcast. I am your host Jamie Bateman, and I am thrilled today to have with us. Christine Valdez, Christine is the founder of Haven financial, and we're going to get into what she does and what the business does. But Christine, how are you doing today? I am great. Great, thank you for having me. Absolutely. Yeah, I am excited to dive in the interest of full disclosure. We do work with Christine's company, We ourselves and Haven, does a lot of provides, a lot of support to our businesses. So thrilled to have you on Christine for The Listener out there who's unfamiliar with you, who are you? And what are you? What are you up to today? Map too today. So hi, I am Christine Valdez. I don't even Financial. We do outsourced accounting services for small business owners. Who I am today. I am a business owner. I am a wife. I am a mom. I am a daughter. I am a lot of things. So, you know, trying to do good and all those directions. They are like we briefly touched on before we hit record. It's being an entrepreneur and especially with a start-up is not easy as you last I checked you don't have to put down your mom hat and your daughter hat and white hat, Etc. Well on. So now just before we jump into your backstory Christine what is who is Haven? I know you already, you touched on it, but more. Specifically, what exactly does your business do and who's your ideal client? Yeah, yeah. So what we typically do is we offer accounting services, outsourced accounting services, just imagine Bookkeeping on steroids. A lot of what we do is day-to-day work but also provide really good reporting, so that business owners can look up the numbers and make some decisions are Avatar. Is typically it ranges. It's a lot of what we do now is like the business owner and may have had some success in the past. Now, they're on their second or third business. They're investing their seasoned. So they know what they're looking for. We have got a lot of real estate agents. We kind of have gone away from the, the business owner that's at that six to ten million dollars. Scaling, fast type company, and really focus on the individual entrepreneur that really has a lot of things going on, right? And their goal is to get organized the Our goal is to understand where everything's at, because they have got things in different places and that's why we're trying to bring that organization to them. Sure got it. Well, I can say that the reporting that you have provided to us, is really fantastic. So we will dive into that in a little bit, but the title of the show is from adversity, to abundance. We're obviously going to talk about some adversity that you have been through for the listener. Let us jump into your backstory. And kind of how did you, you know, how did you get started in this space and let us focus on that? That piece of adversity that you and I briefly spoke about before we hit record. Yeah. So just a quick background. You know, I got an accounting degree, it was not my first choice. I had dreams of being a designer and all these different things, and I am Filipino. So you're either going to be a nurse or accountant and that was driven home and so, you know, I ended up with a kind of green and I went into the corporate world and luckily, it worked out right? I was good enough at it and then, you know, when I decided to leave the corporate world and started On my own. I saw some challenges that I didn't know that people don't really know until they're really in it and really understanding how hard it is to start and run a business puts challenges on your marriage. It puts challenges on your own personal stress and mental health and it's heavily challenges on your finances. So that's kind of where we're going. Yeah, so give us some contacts with regard to how long were you in the, the kind of corporate world and a little more context as to what your, what Your Life looked like, what your family looked like at that point, you know, you don't have to tell us exactly how much you were making or anything. But just what are your life look like before you decided to make the leap? Yeah. I was asked, you know, for the most part pretty happy, you know, I love what I was doing. I like being challenged by was a CPA at first and then went to private climb, the corporate ladder. The CFO for tell us properties. That's where I met strong. Our friendship. Friend and Foe for a private Equity Firm and it was good. It was stable, but I did feel a little burnt out. I think that's the come with the territory and you're doing a lot of work as a CFO helping to make decisions on behalf of the company. But you're not able to make those decisions yourself but you're just giving them the tools, giving them that analysis, giving them a data for them too. Make these decisions and sometimes you don't even agree with the final decisions. So you know, came to a point where we become an entrepreneur. You're in full control over decisions, right or wrong. Mistakes. Sure everything right. Yeah. So it was really great. I can't say that it was, it was awful but I think philosophically in terms of what I really wanted in life, it didn't really hit the mark there, so we don't have to go too far down that path. But as far as you know where their decisions being made that, That you that were you didn't you thought maybe were unethical or that type thing? Or was it more that you just you wanted that influence in that control over your own destiny? It was never anything. Unethical. You know. I think I really am an accountant by trade. I think if that thing was an ethical I would have to believe it wouldn't be okay. But, you know, I think when, you know, plan situations where you know, you know, cash is going to be this and that and, and here's why advisor machine. You and it still things are still being done anyways, and I am not pointing to any one owner, sure, right? But it's hard to watch right? It's hard to watch things that way. Absolutely. Yeah. So now how long what did this? Because the same of our listeners haven't left their W2, and we're not saying they should necessarily leave their W2 but speak to that listener. Who is either brand-new entrepreneur or they're just thinking about it, you know what was going through your mind And at that time and how did you come to the conclusion that I definitely want to leave and start my own thing. I think, I think also inherently. I have a bit of an entrepreneurial Spirit. My dad had his own business growing up. When I saw that growing up and I think I just wanted some Freedom. Sure that I nail it down in one word and freedom to make my own decisions freedom to design my day freedom to you know anything right? Anything I choose to do in my life and when I was contemplating, if I can get into this more, I was at a Crossroads where I even needed to find other corporate job or start something new and I thought, well I can just go get to see if our job and that will be that and I thought I am not gonna do that. And, um, but I am gonna try this out and it was scary and there was it was hard and but it was rewarding, right? It was just all a me. And now there was no one else to blame. No one else. You know it was what success or fail. It was going to be on me. Sure. Which can be scary but also liberating at the same time because you do have some influence and control over how the outcome what the outcomes are. So was it a, you know, five-year process in thinking this through or was it? No five-day. What did this look? Oh so if oh I did some Consulting work, I was Director of Finance for publicly traded company and it was just going to I will just try it out, right? It was literally thrown an agency and while I was there, I was poached within, within a week, right? And so, the person that was there was also saying, hey, I am going to start an accounting company. I think you'd be great. No, I was experience and I thought was kind of cool to be part of a start-up and yeah, so I was brought on other Executives managers were brought on all across the country and within six months, we were all at go. Yeah. Wow, there was no forecast. This was an accounting startup that had right. Forecast, anything and within six months, like several of us were like, oh, and I was like, what the hell? Like, you know, how did you not see this coming? This is what we're having that's when I said, okay, well, do I go get other CFO job and throw my resume out there? And I am sure I can find something sure and I thought, no, I am going to do that, right? I am done that. Start your own thing? Great. That was it, that was the birth of it. Got it. And you probably mean I don't know about you, but I don't want this to sound like cocky, but it's like, I think I could get another job if I needed to and so say you start your own business and it fails in 12 months, 12 months home early. Yeah, I mean, go get a job and I kind of knew that right. And, and my husband, he was a part of his like, doesn't work out. You get a job, right? And the mortgage was good right there, you know, and I have got all sure, and some accountant by trade, there's, there's always going to be something So that it wasn't like I was jumping off this cliff and there was no safety net. I got anything at all like on, right. So many things I could do. Right. So okay, so you decide to start your own business. And I think we're about to get into some of the real adversity that you faced. So what did, what did that look like for you that time? Well, it was definitely scary. I hadn't worked. I had support my family and my mom, my husband, you know, everybody was believed. In me. So that was similar to begin with. That was helpful and I had started something in the middle of the Great Recession somewhere like that Consulting, it was I was tired of an old job, I just saw something. So it wasn't my first stint as starting something new, but what I did this time around is that my only goal is going to climb. Hmm, I knew I needed to get a website up. I knew, I needed to do some marketing. I knew I had it, but I was not going to drop hours and hours into website. I just needed to reclaim. Yeah. So, I went and networked and, and back then, you know, pretty covid. It was events. And it was fun, and all this good stuff. And I was, you know, eleven here in Orange County, and I was walking through. Kind of strip mall and there's this woman. She was a Pilates Studio owner. So I start talking to her about what we do and you know, how we could help her and give her some insight and is my first pitch, right? So I can help you. It's going to be great. And, you know, whatever I could think of just to help her because I knew we could, you know? And then she said, okay. So then I put a proposal together for her. And I just remember the phone call when she said yes. Like, I got my first client. That's awesome. And I was lying. That was like, okay, that's it. That's good. That's huge. And I know this is gonna work and it was small, but it was just my first. Yes, I know. It's a proof of concept and it confirms for you that this kind of work. Alright. Alright. You do it. Once you can do it again, right? Yeah, right. But I am still living off nothing, right? It's nice to hear. I think, I think the contract was like, you know, maybe like a thousand bucks a month or something. So, my first one, right? I got a family. I have got a warning at all these things, right? And I have got this just one Right? But it was just enough to like, okay, this is going to work. Its now was your, you know, get us personal as you want, but was your, it was your husband working or, and he's always, yeah. He's, he's had a few stands. An entrepreneur as well, but he's always, you know, work for big companies. Sure. So he's always had a lot of stability. So it wasn't like we're both kind of figuring things out here and stable and then starting out, it's like, okay great. I have this. Client. And now became, you know, the hunt for the second and the third, but at the same time, I still had to do the work. So it was trying to find the balance between growing the business as a start-up and providing good Services. Yeah, it's I can very much relate. It's a you know you got to deliver on the promise that you made during your first pitch, right? You said on these wonderful things and are you actually going to deliver? But Hey, you can't only do that because you will sink your business. If you don't focus on Business Development and marketing scaling. But I do love that. You know, I Mentor some people a little bit here and there and mortgage note investing. It's not my main focus but I do enjoy it. But sometimes, you know, people are. So they have never bought a mortgage note. They might have a lot of experience in other areas, but, you know, they're so focused on creating a website and getting there, getting all this stuff. That's like for marketing. What do you need the website for? Let us get like you did. Christina's proof of concept. Let us get a client first. Let us do a deal and then let us start to build out your presence online. And all of this is industry dependent and it's just it doesn't. It's not a one size fits all but I love the approach is just like starts start small and away and get a client and that way you're getting some income. Um, and then you can kind of focus on how to scale because you can't do everything at once. So okay, so you got first client. So, I mean, how long did it go? Where your business was really, you know where you were on some, I guess shaky Financial footing, if you will? Wow, all right. Well, you know, along those same lines, you know, I think this is 2014 when I started and, and You know, I was, and I was sky isn't prospects and try to get some really good. Good prospects, I was going to do some, you know, work, do some Consulting work for tell us again, I was going to start doing bigger projects and to two big things that happened and within the first four years is that my dad passed away? So it's, you know, it started in like September by January, it was really sudden and it just grew everything else, right? So imagine so it was fast. It wasn't like, I am, and I was sick for a long time and it was like it was fast. It was like he went in the hospital. He had then we found out really quickly. It was stage four lung cancer and it was, he's intubated with in 11 days and, you know, he passed away. So it was really traumatic experience, like six months into starting a start-up. So I have got to start up, trying to bring in clients. I am trying to provide services. I have got this thing happening in my life and my, my dad, right? And they're like, Me out of that fog. All right, has forgotten how to build this thing all over again. So, I step back into building all over again and then, you know, then we had a pretty as cut second kid. And so the now I am like back into like, you know, I am pregnant. I am sleeping four hours a night. I am trying to do all these things I ever go to a proposal, and I was literally some of us pregnant, and they were just like mmmm, but I had to like show up. I was like, well yeah I can meet. But so, how does on challenges? So The first three years were pretty Rocky, which translated financially as well, right? Can't build, Nikki can you can Spy Service, but you can't really build and, you know, it's tough that Financial strain is like, I mentioned. It's tough on you. It's tough on your relationships and it doesn't allow you to make decisions. Consciously, which is why I want to get into is that you're just repeating, you're reacting to what's happening around you. You're spending money here, whatever you have left over. You're taking it for yourself. You're trying to pay your bills and that happened for about four years. I would say, well no, I know there's a lot to dive into, and I am glad you put some actual quantity of time on it because, you know, it's very easy for us to say, oh, that must have been a couple of rough, couple of weeks, you had their, you know. And I mean, four years is a long time and so, and it's not like after four years, it was just rainbows and butterflies, but So looking back before we get into kind of what you touched on with regard to being more intentional about and I think, you know, maybe your calendar Etc. But looking back and this isn't really fair, but looking back. What would you have? What should you have done differently? I mean, what could you have done differently? It's almost an unanswerable question because it's so much to juggle and maybe it's nothing, but what would you, what was it? Lesson learned or what would you do differently during that four-year time? Period. Yeah, it's something that I kind of just even just now are starting to, like, really sink in with is Going to be patient. Hmm. And learning and understanding that it's a marathon, right? As business owners were like any. Now I need to get this down. If it wasn't done and now I need to go new client, I have to get this as a good, everything is now and that Usher is so much that you we put on ourselves because we're trying to succeed right now. Sure. And what we need to learn is that okay that success takes time Yeah, and if I had is I can go back and tell myself that back then it might have just taken the pressure. All right. To the just a pain. It's going to take some time, do I have to push, you know, a thousand percent every waking moment, you know, surgeons to relax a little bit sure. That's really good. And I have heard people say kind of use the reframe, your the way you look at things instead of, what if this happens, what if I don't have a successful. Business in six months, right? No. Just say, even if I don't, then I will be okay or even if this like we said earlier, even if this fails right, even if I can go to get another job and that might help provide a little more of that patients because I get the same way. I mean I, you know, it's just I may be quoted unquote laid-back, but you seem really laid back. I am laid back but I tend to be pretty impatient and you know, results-oriented as well. Well I think for most entrepreneurs just tends to be you know their type A they want to see because it is a lot of pressure but yeah being patient taking the long-term view, I think that's a big takeaway for me. As far as just that what you just said and holding that long-term, having a long-term approach and that helps with both successes and failures. Not just yeah, because Keeping everything in context, I think is critical. But so as you navigate through those and again I am saying for years, we know it wasn't exactly four years but that time period where it was kind of Rocky. Walk us through sort of the end of that time period if you will and how things started to get more stable or more abundant in your, in your business. But what did that look like question? I went back to Biz do right? And I feel like when I can get out of the work and get into the world, good things happen. Hmm. We landed a very large client, this is as good and bad situation. We landed a real large client just literally on LinkedIn. Like, I built this whole thing on LinkedIn. I just had coffee a coffee, but everybody. And, so I thought, well, we need to get out there. Let us go back LinkedIn and I did the same thing and then ended up meeting with great. Great guy. He was a CFO of a fast-growing, very large, Med Spa and, you know who brought them in and that was our first big retainer, right? So we went from these, you know, ones and twos and three thousand dollar, Tanner's to look a 15,000 lot of teens and it was like a big one now. But sure. But we didn't even, and we did even price it, right? We were having so much time in that would probably could have faced differently, but it's still our biggest one and then, you know, part of covid, word, team of 10, we were growing, we were just We're on our way. Finally, on our way, we have got an office in Irvine, beautiful, nice little space. Okay, got team, I am not, I am just doing business Dubai, got an accounting manager, she's got staff. We have got at. We got the whole setup and cop, it happens. And March, 14 the lockdown happened here by March. 17th are large Med, Spa that had 15 locations. Shut them all down. Wow, and they everything came crashing down. It was like, oh my God. Do I get a job? What do I do? You know what? And I had a staph and get a five people on that team. And just for that client, just like death. And they were doing some other small work with other clients. Better by people on this client. Wow. And we did have to let some people go. Some people went on their own because their home life was just crazy with the kids at home and everything. And then I thought, oh my God, I gotta start over again, I am going to start all over again. It literally I felt like, like, wow, there goes that. Yeah, that's good. It's like, you know, I have had a guy named Nate Kosta on the show, he gyms and spas and things. And he's a good friend of mine and great guy. And we talked about the impact that the pandemic had in the shutdown had on his business. But we didn't talk about the vendors that he works with, you know, or the his yeah. We don't think about the ancillary effects, you know, you know, of the, the bookkeeping vendor or, you know, other had some pretty wide reaching effects for sure. But so man that's yeah. And so, I mean, there's not much, I mean, most it sounds like most of your business was coming from one client. Aunt, which I guess you could say, I don't mess and that's a mistake. You got to teach me how to do that, right? But yeah, there is some risk, their right concentration and I knew it to I knew we had a lot in this class, and we haven't at that point, we had, you know, many clients that we have had for three or four years. So we had a nice base, but we just had this one big one that which is resources into, right? So luckily all of our other clients and I do mean like I had full right They nice a thriving. So it was down to me and a few other people that were, and we got lean, and we got yeah good, and we got better up. Your brought up your sleeves and every single process we do. Let us make it faster. Let us make it better and sure did. And we went crazy on marketing. We just marketed like we were going to go out of business. Tomorrow we just and I worked you know, it's like the universe here is you if you're putting it out there. Sure. It's, and we have the promotions and was slowly, but surely, you know, one after another. We started building back up again, but it was, it was slow. Slow climb back up. No, it's appreciate that the vulnerability because it's, you know, again, success is not a straight line up into the right, you know, it's entrepreneurship has its ups and downs and obviously like we have said that bleeds over into your personal life, your family, life excetera, So what did what was that rebuilding was that a two-month timeframe? Or what did that look like? It was long. And the reason why I say it's long as I think it's because of the nature of what we do. Our services aren't like super easy to sell, I think because it's really very specific. It's very sensitive. People aren't sure what kind of poll that thing goes to themselves and right, even if they're a business owner, if it's a personal finances, it really takes some mint. It will make getting a ready to say. I need some help me with this, right? So we have always had challenges getting past that so slowly did come back and then you know, I will talk about, you know, I start working with Chevron on a stronger level. Right? So you and I know both strands are outside. Yeah, him and I met when we were at Telus properties together and over the years, he had just referred business, talk to Christine called ever seen. She's gonna help you out. And then we kind of made it real, you know, we talked about it for a while, and then we shipped this business model and you're a part of this part of the shift where we were going to talk to the entrepreneurs that had a lot of going on versus the companies that were just really big. And the reason being is that because I will get tapped out. I could only handle certain amount of clients for me, you know, process Improvement. But if we can build a service, That's attainable for everybody. Yeah, without me and just build something strong, that's the goal. So him, and I did that for the last probably 18 months and that's another, you know, another's, okay, change the business model, you know, it's going to be fixing parent and then now this is where we're at. I think that without me part is critical. There's so much I could comment on there and as Chiron, very well knows the value of the business, the more your In the business, the less value the business has when you go to sell it really fit if that is I said that correctly but you know so yeah sure on is awesome and I do recommend the listener, go check him out, he's got his own podcast, he's got a lot more than a podcast. He's the passive income Mastermind that I am a part of. He is a one of the founding members, and we don't he and I don't have any kind of real formal relationship. He's helped me quite a bit, whether he knows it or not so very smart with marketing and business development and just business in general. But so did you have is what was your was it? Is it a? He is it a formal coaching relationship? You have with him? It's a Porsche. Yeah, and it was, you know, I will be honest, like really scary. Yeah, yeah before yeah. But you know, he's had been referring but Sry for a long time. And he said, let us talk about this. Let us talk about making us realize like, I don't know, sure, you know, and he was like hey, there's no pressure and it just like knowing Charan is like, why wouldn't you, you know? I mean, you know, sure. So smart. And, so I had to go and get over that piece and now that he is in my corner, he's just yeah. He's like Yoda, I mean he's just like Yoda, he can break things down very quickly, he can, you know, see where things should go very fast Graham. I think he even like, does it would baby's house with me? Like I think he's just like, okay now do this. So not try this, you know, and right. It doesn't give you too much to everyone. Yeah, right. Yeah, I am going to see him next week and the Scrub Island. But yeah. Looking forward to that. Any chance I get to pick his brain? To try to get him value somehow. But it's he's a really, really smart. But so now, what does that look like with him though, like on a regular basis? Not, you know, the business structure but just do you have a call with him every week or how does that work? So I think human are similar where we don't like to be tied to a lot of like weekly calls and all these different things that we were doing it if I need him. Hey, I need, you know, to demo something. He like sure. I will you know, but right now we're what we're doing is just trading boxers every week and yep. And it's just so that's an audio message that you're right. It was audio messages, an app, you write. And then, so I will do like a Monday and Tuesday. I am and then I will just Bowl, right? Here's what I did last week. Here's what bad last week. Here's what I am focusing on. Here's what's going on. Well, wha and sometimes I will It will be like six minutes and sometimes I will go on for like 13 minutes and then a couple days later I will get his responses to things. He's like that's good. That's good, that's good. Okay, why don't you try this and it's I get off its lyrics, seven minutes of him talking to me, and I am like gold, right? It's just like, you're right. Okay. And like and that's all it takes. Right? That's all we're doing right now and it's so powerful, even just like having that little like conversation every single. Yeah, I have had a little bit of that with Chiron and it is just, yeah, even 10 minutes or five minutes, you know, of him sending me a WhatsApp voice memos, like I listened to it like five times fast, take notes, and so that's really good. And, and to be clear, this is someone who has had a ton of success in business. And he's, I think, one company he took from 3.4 million to 3.4 billion in something like that. I don't write. In five years. So he obviously he would push back and say wasn't all him. Which yeah, it's true but it was a lot of him when he was there when he was brought on by was that Russia was brought on. Got it then went to Charlotte. Come on. Who is this guy? Like you know like he came like golden or something he's like yeah so my tennis pro or something you know and right. And, but he was so like humble and cool about it, right? But you can see where he was going and then I left because I was my first child. That was him, you know, he got it. Well, I watched his speech, he gave at his alma mater, the commencement speech the end, and he did say Transformations don't happen in isolation, so I guess he would say that he had some support, but he did and the owners there. I know them to their fantastic and just the group that he was leading, you know, were strong. Sure. So, how did that, did he see something in you later that? I mean, why did he yeah, I guess so. I don't mean it in a negative way. Once he got out of that space, and he was now this sought-after business coach, he would go into these companies and Blackwell was your dashboard. What were your financials? Well, what do you got going on here? Like friends. You would just be like a whole clove or scene and people would call me and say and I would do my pitch like okay? Yeah. When we start, I mean, it's wrong. Transcend me, you don't know, you can skip the bed, and I am like, okay, okay, sure, sure, you know, it's just the started. Yeah, that's what had I kind of how it just kept happening. Yeah, well, I think it speaks to the power of relationships and, you know, I don't think he would have sent you business if you didn't see that, you were capable and did a good job when he worked with you before. So I think it also speaks to doing the having producing quality work in the moment, right? And because a lot of people Think, oh, this is worthless as I hate this job or, you know, it's like yeah you might be frustrated, but do a good job because you never know who's watching right now has a. So, I mean, there's no way sure on would have helped you build this business. If you really suck at your job before, I mean, let us be honest. So, but so, okay. So then So this was the kind of rebuilt for a second, or third time rebuilt for a second time. I guess, if we sow and how of the last three years, looked You know, covid-19 interestingly a blessing for us even though it's painful. It's like one of those right? You know. Sure to break to get better and it really has changed how we were doing things. We were solving problems with just bodies like, okay, there's too much work. That's got a body in here, let us get this. Yeah. And then it was a time-consuming to train. And then there was, you know, they don't work out these good things, but we got really lean and thought. All right, how do you stay lean? Like how do We keep these margins super high? Yeah, you know, awesome service and just be great and that was really well what came out of cover for us. So in Shelton, overseas team, I don't know if you probably work with some of them, Vanessa, starting to more amazing. I mean, just amazing. We prior to having them, we hired and fired four, people involved covid. We had so many issues with Staffing. These are people in the US that you can kind of hard. Yeah. So they say they can do the job, could be the job. I said, they want a room. He didn't have and there's so many different things that we were dealing with, and we had out a little bit overseas and I wasn't really for it. And I came across this company, and we gave it a shot, they work hours which was rare nice, and they're from the Philippines, which is, you know, that's great. I am Filipino. Yeah, yeah. And they're just so, Emitted, there's no sense of entitlement there so devoted. They yeah, their work product, like, blows you away. You see some of our analysis and me, and, you know, making our controller were like, yeah, well, this is, yeah, it's awesome. Build an overseas team, and then we're able to, you know, find the efficiencies there and then pass that down with this new model. So now the pricing has come down. It wasn't always like minimum thirty-five hundred dollar retainer. We're able Develop a program, but they hit the mainstream. Yeah, it's awesome. I have got three virtual assistants Filipino virtual assistants on my team. Yeah. And they're fantastic, it can be some work in depending on how your kind of sourcing that Talent. If you will. We, I have had my ups and downs with hiring va's as well. Right now, I have got three Rockstar va's on my team and so, and, and they are, they're really good. So, yeah. Yeah. Did you have any, do you have any tips for the entrepreneur who might be thinking of hiring a virtual assistant for their business and how to approach that? Yeah, you know we did things a few different ways. Ultimately, it's like a standard higher. You got to go through the process. We have been at first tried a few, and we're just like, all right let us give it a shot and it was just kind of loose. Yeah. And then we started doing the full process like going through the resumes, you know, doing this. Doing multiple interviews really kind of understanding who they were and going that way. And just treating it like there are here. Sure. Because you think, oh, they're over there by want you to anyone. I want you to in mind, but you already invested all this time and training them, right? Yeah, just wanted to succeed. So I would have just tread carefully. I am all for it. I think you, you know, I think there's not just from the economic standpoint but there is there's a different mentality when you're dealing with, you know, People overseas. Right? There's just a higher level of commitment. There seems to be a high level of dedication. Yeah, I mean, right. I mean, it's a there's a lot of competition for those jobs over in the Philippines in particular. And, you know, let us face it. A lot of people in the US are pretty entitled and the spoiled and pretty demanding. So that's it. We have special to it. It meets like in her robe. I was like, what is happening right now? Well, how I know. Yeah, that's pretty cool. Yeah. Yeah. So now I mean we have had and I don't plan to move away from the VA model at all. It's been great. And the other thing to mention is, you know, because you have this I have seen as criticism, it's more on Twitter with, you know where you have People trying to stir up controversy, but do you pay these people five dollars an hour, you know? And well, first of all, I know I am paying more than that, but, but secondly, these are really good jobs for them, you know, for them. And so to me I just see it as a win-win all the way around. I mean, you do the exchange rate, you understand, you know what they're getting. And, you know, I am a big believer in compensating. Well, right, if you're doing good for you, you want to take care of them and you get bonuses just like our team gets bonuses, are no? He got, they have got a, you know, allowance for, you know, our team lunch. They get the same thing, they get everything that happens here. And so, they're grateful right there. Getting not just their salary, but any perk their anniversary, their birthdays, we're sending them money. All, you know, because we're so grateful for what you do. Sure. I love it. And so, as we start to wrap up here, I do have some rapid fire questions, but before we get there, but you have any kind of overall overarching kind of Lessons Learned, or we have talked about several, but anything else come to mind? As far as you know, that the listener could take with regard to becoming an entrepreneur scaling, your business wearing multiple hats, what's one or two things that kind of comes to mind when I say anything? But that also, the first thing is, is the me All right. Yeah it's not a Sprint understanding that it's going to take time and not putting so much pressure on yourself. I think is a big thing and then the second thing, which is a big thing for me is, is understanding what you really want out of being entrepreneur. Yeah, from me. I am not someone that's really driven by a lot of money. I am driven right time and balance. And I didn't want to have to ask permission to take my kids to the pumpkin patch. And I really ever Really wanted time I really want to bounce and that was important to me. Sure. So really understanding. What is it that you want out of being an entrepreneur? Yeah. And making that happen. No, that's really good. And I am very similar, you know, I am not afraid of hard works at all. But yeah if I, you know, my daughter has a graduation Hangin On Friday and taking the morning off right as I because I want to thank you. So Yeah, that's, that's awesome. And I know you have been kind of intentional about creating some boundaries with regard to your own, your own work schedule. Can you speak to that briefly? Yeah. When I first started, I was like, I am not working Friday's ever. And that didn't happen. It was okay all the time. Yeah, but now we have got to the point where Mondays and Fridays are just no client meeting. So nice. And at, also, a lot of that's planning and sure and compliment, right? Right. Some coffee and walking through what I need to do, maybe a personal stuff, but those two bookends of the week are mine, nice to use in a way that's helpful for me as you see fit. Yeah, Tuesday, Wednesday Thursday, our clients and staff, whatever the clients needed, one of Staff. Need love it. That's really good. All right. You ready for some rapid. Fire questions ready? Let us do it. Let us what is something that people misunderstand about you? Oh, See, I don't give you all the questions ahead of time. I got it. I am not really like an accountant and accountants, you know, I okay, it's growing up, you know about it. You know. I love playing sports. I have a lot of hobbies. I play the piano and paying at the goal by the boys things. I am just not so good you can do, you can do the accounting stuff. Yeah, but it's not your passion per se. Azar. Oh yeah. Well, to be honest, I was gonna say, I mean, I think most if I can generalize I think Most accountants and CPAs don't make good business owners. And so for the most part, this is a broad generalization. I am not putting anyone down. But yeah, you know if you're really into spreadsheets and numbers all day long, you might not be the best. At The Human Side of hiring firing scaling marketing, Etc. What's one of your biggest regrets or failures doesn't have to be anything Monumental but just looking back. Whether personal or business related, what's something you would do differently? I will do business and it probably the biggest regret I had we had, and he was a friend of mine, and we were handling his books for a long time but it just wasn't getting the right tension. And I think as why that kind of my friends since up anymore and this is ages ago but you know it just wasn't getting a lot of attention and then when he went to like really look at things to sell, we really have to do some adjusting and clean up and it really kind of shine the light on Hey, nobody can be neglected, right? And I think, I think it's it wasn't. And I think it because it was a friend, right? It was like, oh he's very thing. You think everybody wants a deal you know, and he's successfully stable or law, and we kind of just you know I had a staff person on doing it and it just gets what we need. And, so I think for me, I really try and stay away from water friends and family type deals. Sure because that's one thing that I wished happened to going. Got it understood? Yeah. If you were given 10 million dollars tomorrow whether it's sure on who writes, you a check or someone else? I am just kidding. But if you were given ten million dollars tomorrow, what would you do with it? I have got a passion project that I am just catching. All right, what's that? It's you can talk about it. It's a non-profit. I know we're running out of time, so I won't get into but it's a non-profit for girls basketball. Okay. Yeah, I asked the quick and dirty is that I grew up playing basketball. I run a woman's basketball league in college, because there was a there was none to be had and it was great, it was successful. And my 11 year olds playing now, and she wants to play and there're no girls Lee's enter. Softball. There's massive volleyball. There's, there's a gaping hole, right? I had 10 million dollars. I would create a national or International Lisa and Jim just so cool. I have so many lessons. I mean team sports were a huge part of my life before. There's so many life lessons that you can apply from much so much huge. So you may have touched on this already but what's one challenge? That you're facing in your business right now. The marketing is not something that's easy for me. Hmm, so that's why you call your here. We're going to get this out to a million listeners. We did hire new marketing coordinator and unfortunately, over the years, I probably have signed and let go so many different working people, and it's just been a challenge for someone to understand financial services. But sure. Hire somebody, she's Great. She's eager, she's going to call it with a business degree. She loves marketing, she's got the energy, so I am really excited about doing that. Yeah. And I imagine it is like you said its people don't want to part ways. It's very, it's very personal type of business, you know, with the books. So converting that marketing to sales is just I imagine is a challenge like you and what we're going to say and then vitamins, always changing right now sure. It's the email marketing and it's the Sun. It's right and it's, you know who's you know what's the engagement? And it's always changing. Whereas, back in the day, I will add, you know, events coffee, and all this good stuff and it was just grow like that but right now it's all different. Yeah, that's why you got sure, Ron will keep you up-to-date. So if you had to, if you are able to have coffee with any historical figure, who would it be and why? It doesn't have to be your favorite. It could just be one of 10 that you would like to have coffee with historical figure. They could be alive today. Someone that, that's not sure on that. You'd like to have a coffee with Probably all of the Dalai Lama. Nice. Okay. Yeah. I found, you know, I grew up Catholic, and, and pray and all that good stuff, but Holly found meditation in like, 2019. I think and changed a lot. Nice and housing. You, perhaps a lot of places in my life. An awesome. What is one piece of advice you would give to someone just starting out in your career field in my career field? Yeah, as an accounting career field. I would take the time pretend you're signing on a new client and walk them through every single step of the process and as if you were that client from beginning to end and then look at every single piece, and he's been developed along the way. Hmm. That's really good. Whether it's accounting or not. I mean that's really that's just a matter of empathy and putting yourself in the clients shoes trying to understand their perspective. That's awesome. So how about a book or two that you could recommend for my listener Atomic habits, love that James crier, so good fiction side, Fountains of silence and a half Stars. Okay, awesome. Yeah, perfect. We're about to wrap up. What have I thought you alluded to it but what is financial abundance mean to you? Or what goes having that allow you to do in your life? Yeah, it's not necessarily A I have got millions of dollars in my account. Yes, it's really Being able to make conscious decisions around spending and. And we spend as an entrepreneur you spend so much of your time worrying about payroll or worrying about the expenses and then I get to make it. And that the feeling where that is, like gone, no matter what size your rat. Because I know Tenley all the companies that struggle to make parallel, so the middle size that you can have control and be conscious of your finances. Just shifts all together and then that freedom that we talked about earlier of framing decision. Freedom in your finances, just not having that pressure on, you go away. Fantastic that's great. Christine, Valdez. Where can our listeners find you online on our website, my financial Haven.com website on Instagram? I am just Christine dot Valdez. And I will LinkedIn. I am just about this perfect and her The Listener who's looking for potentially a new bookkeeping service, or Bookkeeping on steroids because it is really more than bookkeeping briefly. Speak about the kind of the solutions that you offer. Yeah, absolutely. So we have a few packages, bronze, silver, and gold, and they're kind of geared around what the entrepreneur needs. I would say. The majority of our clients are at that bronze level, which is perfect there. They're getting their books reconciled on a regular basis. Getting reporting at every month without fail. And then we're still there. And then our silver packages, same Services, both quarterly meetings, and then gold is monthly meetings, and then, you know, so you're somewhere around there. I think we see a lot more. Yeah, yeah, you're trying to push me away but now I am kidding. I am kidding. Yeah, experience as well. You all Kind of Project based work as well to maybe clean something up just you know, asking for a friend. No, but maybe even if it's not on going. Yeah, I know that haven can take on a big project to you know, maybe clean up one year's books so to speak. It's very common, it's super, super common. I think 90% of our clients start with a cleanup project. Some are six months. One year we have had one that we just finished a four-year cleanup. So Well that goes as gonna clean up and then you go into a package or you, don't right back, at least you don't have that then. Like I said earlier, the reporting is not something I am used to. I have had I have worked with bookkeeping services before and I have never had the same level of reporting before I was having to dive through you know sort through all kinds of spreadsheets and yes they're there if I can is I need them but it's awesome. To have that monthly snapshot of the pl and balance sheet kind of all together to see where our business is. Is so that's been fantastic. So Christine, thank you so much for spending your time with us today. That's great. Thank you so much. Absolutely. And to The Listener out there, don't forget to check out our website adversity to abundance.com the number to adversity to abundance.com, and thank you for spending your most valuable resource with us and that is your time. Thanks everyone. Take care. Investors. Have you ever experienced challenging communication or the headache of tracking taxes and insurance meet by Phi a Loan Servicing Company founded by investors for investors with an expert team and best-in-class vendors by Phi will partner with you to service your loan from start to exit, visit by Phi, L s.com to see how you can get started today. That's bi fil s.com.

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