How to Start a CPA Firm

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Victoria Thayer – Novii CPA

Podcast Overview:

02:20 Relationship-based accounting and tax services with value.
06:04 Determining ideal package for different businesses.
06:42 Discovery call assesses client’s needs, gathers info.
12:23 Tax law changes require continuing education.
15:03 Paying self employment taxes: explore alternatives.
18:04 Key importance in evaluating discovery call; paperless, cloud-based, Quickbooks online, willingness to switch, hybrid firm.
19:49 Finding team members outside of posting job.
24:03 Becoming partner doesn’t guarantee happiness, freedom.
29:01 Hired more staff, but became a bottleneck.
30:30 Busy entrepreneur hires experienced CPA, finds success.
35:05 Transparent culture fosters teamwork and inclusivity.
37:42 Setting up workflows to maintain reputation.
39:42 Opportunity for growth attracts passionate team members.
44:36 Client coordinator found through UW job posting.
48:48 CPA firm provides continuous service, tax return.
52:33 Quit job, start own business, fears, preparations.

Podcast Transcription:

James [00:00:01]:

You have found authentic business adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle, stories and triumphs and successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link. Found@Drawincustomers.com Today we’re welcoming slash preparing to learn from Victoria Thayer of Novii CPA, which, you know, everybody loves taxes. So we figured we should talk to Victoria here. So, Victoria, how are you doing today?

Victoria Thayer [00:00:27]:

Amazing. Thank you so much for the invitation today, and it’s a pleasure to connect with all of you.

James [00:00:32]:

Yeah, this is exciting. You know, I guess my friend Jenna.

Victoria Thayer [00:00:35]:

Yes. And you were just talking to me.

James [00:00:38]:

I guess, off the air about a meeting that you had with her and that was a trigger or she just kicking the shin to start your own business. Tell me a story about how that happened.

Victoria Thayer [00:00:46]:

Yes. So I was talking to Jenna or a mutual friend, and I met her in a networking event. She’s amazing. You should follow her. And she started asking me about what my goals were in the future, and I started thinking, oh, yes, I want to do this and this. But then the way I thought it was the traditional way to get there was not exactly what I truly wanted. And sometimes it is hard to acknowledge that we want something and say it out loud.

James [00:01:15]:

Okay.

Victoria Thayer [00:01:16]:

I guess because sometimes we’re just scared, like, oh, maybe it’s too big. Maybe it’s too big for me. Can I really do that? Oh, who do I think I am to be able to do that? So those were the fears I had, and she helped me kind of uncover it and be like, I think you truly want to do this. You just are afraid to say it.

James [00:01:35]:

All right.

Victoria Thayer [00:01:36]:

So she really helped me see that. And it was only a couple of months after that coffee that we had together that quit my job and started my own adventure. For good or for bad. Yeah, right, exactly.

James [00:01:51]:

Some bad thrown in there, but that’s just nature of the beast.

Victoria Thayer [00:01:54]:

Yes.

James [00:01:54]:

So you own your own CPA firm.

Victoria Thayer [00:01:56]:

Correct.

James [00:01:57]:

So to me, that seems like a challenging first business. I don’t know anything about CPAs other than I have to pay them a lot of money once a year. But outside of that, for a first business, I feel like the knowledge that you have to have for that is just books upon books upon documents and all that kind of stuff. You’re tax CPA, is that right?

Victoria Thayer [00:02:19]:

Yes.

James [00:02:20]:

Okay.

Victoria Thayer [00:02:20]:

Correct. Yes. But you’re spot on. A lot of professional services are very hard to be, like, the first business to start because all we’re selling is hours, so there is a limit on how many hours we can do. And so my value proposition was based on creating a relationship with the client. So the services that I provide are accounting services, as well as tax services, tax planning. So what I try to bring to the table is create that relationship with the client so that we’re working with them every month, creating financial statements or every quarter, depending on their needs. But that allows me to bring something to the table that is now like an autopsy, that at the end of the year, you bring me your box of stuff and you’re like, here it is.

Victoria Thayer [00:03:07]:

This is what happened. That’s not what I want. I want to be able to have this ongoing communication with you about like, hey, what is your business doing now? How can we be proactive and actually Treat the patient when it’s sick instead of like, when it’s dead? And I cannot do anything at that point.

James [00:03:23]:

So prevent the cancer.

Victoria Thayer [00:03:24]:

Exactly. Prevent the cancer. No, let’s not treat the sickness. So that was my value proposition. And you were spot on with professional services, and selling hours can be very challenging. So that’s why I created this bundle of services. And I use a subscription model because for me, from the beginning, I knew I didn’t want to be self employed. I always wanted to become a business.

James [00:03:47]:

Owner instead of owning the job.

Victoria Thayer [00:03:51]:

Yes, Exactly. So for me that was very clear. So I knew that I wanted to use value pricing and have a subscription base which allowed me to kind of bring on team members more easily because I’m not just kind of like at the mercy of like, am I going to have a couple of clients? Are they going to need me next month? I have a constant cash flow every month that I can use projections to see the health of my own business.

James [00:04:16]:

Okay.

Victoria Thayer [00:04:16]:

Yeah.

James [00:04:17]:

So when you put together your business plan, how did you figure that out?

Victoria Thayer [00:04:21]:

Or.

James [00:04:22]:

Let me back up a step before we answer that. You were working as a CPA before?

Victoria Thayer [00:04:26]:

Correct.

James [00:04:26]:

Was the firm you were working for, were they doing this?

Victoria Thayer [00:04:29]:

They were using mostly hourly.

James [00:04:31]:

Okay.

Victoria Thayer [00:04:32]:

And when they use fixed fee, it was only for financial statements, not for the whole bundle of services. And with hourly, the issue is that either the client gets an extra bill that they’re never happy about, and that stopped. This is something that I experienced with all my prior jobs. Clients will be scared of, like, oh, I don’t want to ask them something because they’re going to get a bill. Yeah, they’re afraid, and I don’t blame them. And it’s like nothing against the law. Sometimes you give a call. I was thinking the exact same thing.

Victoria Thayer [00:05:05]:

You’re charged per like the half an hour or things like that. So I was noticing that there was that need in the market from my prior experiences. So I want to do things a little bit different. So that’s why I decided to take this approach a little bit different. But I have followed a couple other CPA firms in California and in other states that are really moving forward with this kind of value pricing and kind of subscription model. So I was okay, like, I haven’t seen that many here in Madison. So I wanted to bring this kind of, like, relationship subscription approach to the accounting and tax industry.

James [00:05:45]:

All right, so it’s interesting you mentioned the attorney thing. I had a call with an attorney, this was a few years ago, and he’s like, hey, James, beautiful day. And I’m like, we don’t have time to talk about the weather, buddy. Not at your rates. Yeah, we got to get down to business.

Victoria Thayer [00:06:03]:

Don’t ask about anything.

James [00:06:04]:

Yeah, just strict black and white. Let’s go. We don’t need to talk about the birds or anything. So you have a subscription model. So how do you figure out with a small business or a client that you’re working with, what is their ideal package or something of that nature, since some businesses are organized and others are space cadets, and I imagine even if you went on revenue, a retail business is going to have thousands of transactions where a service based business, like a business like yours, I imagine, is going to have dozens or hundreds of transactions, which should be, in theory, simpler. So how do you figure that out?

Victoria Thayer [00:06:42]:

Right when we are connecting with a new client, with a new prospect, we have a discovery call. During that discovery call, we kind of see what are the pain points, what the industry, they have, what accounting software they’re using. And after that, we can tell if we can actually add value to them or not. After that becomes a second kind of like, step. If we find that, okay, we believe we can add value to them, then we require them to send us their last two years prior, two years of tax returns, their financial statements, and that gives us an information. And if we’re going to be doing payroll, like, same thing, payroll information. If we’re doing, like, the sales tax, same information, how many states are they filing at? And with that information, then we can take a guess on how much time it will take to prepare those. So again, it’s like a betting game.

James [00:07:36]:

All right?

Victoria Thayer [00:07:36]:

So it’s like a betting game that, okay, we think that this is how much it’s going to take. This is what we’re going to give them the value proposition for. And the other thing that we do is we create a tier structure as well. So not only is a subscription, but we also have packages. So we have a basic plus and a pro. And the basic package will always meet the needs of the business owner, but the plus package will have some extra additional services, like, let’s say, like budgeting, forecasting. And then the pro package will have things more constant. Like, instead of having a quarterly meeting, we’ll have a monthly meeting.

Victoria Thayer [00:08:15]:

But again, we try to really tailor. No one package will look the same from one prospect to the other.

James [00:08:21]:

GOt you.

Victoria Thayer [00:08:22]:

Because like you mentioned, some clients are just like a sole proprietor. They work as a consultant. They don’t really need all these monthly financial statements and all these other ongoing support. They only need, like, quarterly or semiannual plus their tax returns. They just need someone that they can call on if they are thinking of like, hey, I’m doing a presentation this date. Does that create nexus, things like that, or someone that can be proactive about like, hey, this tax law is coming on. We think it’s going to affect you. This is how.

Victoria Thayer [00:08:52]:

So that they don’t feel like they’re just, like, in the darkness, but they know that they have us in their corner. So that’s kind of how we evaluate how to create those packages.

James [00:09:03]:

All right, so how long ago did you start this business?

Victoria Thayer [00:09:06]:

Five months ago.

James [00:09:07]:

Five months ago?

Victoria Thayer [00:09:08]:

Yes.

James [00:09:08]:

All right. And has business been going well?

Victoria Thayer [00:09:10]:

Yes, has been going well. Has been blessingly busy. Yes, has been very exciting, but, yeah, no, has been going great. The Madison community has been amazing as a startup. Yes. A lot of people from networking. That’s why I always said networking, connecting truly with people, has been so important. Like, people that I met from years ago, once they knew that I started my own firm, they kind of became like, ambassadors.

James [00:09:39]:

Oh, really? Cool.

Victoria Thayer [00:09:40]:

Yeah. So just connecting me with opportunities where we can add value. Unsurprisingly. Also, LinkedIn has been a great resource for clients.

James [00:09:49]:

Okay.

Victoria Thayer [00:09:50]:

Yeah. So we have clients that are not even in Wisconsin, and they found us through LinkedIn.

James [00:09:55]:

Wow.

Victoria Thayer [00:09:56]:

Yeah. So definitely do not underestimate LinkedIn.

James [00:09:59]:

So is this paid marketing? No, just organic.

Victoria Thayer [00:10:02]:

Organic? Yes, organic. So, yes, I have been very happy with that. That’s also why I try to keep being constant on it.

James [00:10:10]:

Okay.

Victoria Thayer [00:10:10]:

Yes.

James [00:10:11]:

So tell me, let’s just dig down the LinkedIn road a little bit here, because there’s, I don’t know, thousands of CPAs, I imagine. I don’t know, maybe not as prolific as mortgage brokers, but quite a few. So how do people find you on LinkedIn? And are they actively looking for a CPA? And they’re just digging around? There’s something they like about you or your firm. How are they finding you?

Victoria Thayer [00:10:33]:

Yeah. So what they have said is people have liked my posts in my personal LinkedIn. Okay, so not the firm’s one, because the firm trying to be a little bit more focused on taxes or things like that for me, since I have started to kind of share my own journey, people give it a, like, repost them, and that’s how they have find it. And then they’re always like, oh, I was just trying to find a new CPA, and then you just showed up. And we really enjoy how you approach the CPA industry.

James [00:11:05]:

All right, interesting. That’s cool. Tell me about tax code and how this is.

Victoria Thayer [00:11:16]:

But it gives me excitement.

James [00:11:18]:

That is crazy.

Victoria Thayer [00:11:19]:

Okay.

James [00:11:20]:

This is one of those things that blows my mind, because the tax code is so long that it seems like it would be impossible for any one person to know it.

Victoria Thayer [00:11:30]:

Right.

James [00:11:30]:

Yet every time you do your taxes every year, you’re supposed to just know it. So how does that work? I guess from we, me, the little peons of the world that hand our stuff to professionals and just say, take care of this. Let me know what I owe, or hopefully I get a refund, but let me know what I owe kind of thing. We just expect that the people that you hand it to know what they’re doing. And I have had accountants that I guess I’ve had accountants after accountants that said, oh, my gosh, why’d this guy do this? And I’m like, you’re asking the wrong guy. I know why they did that. They told me they knew what they were doing, so I paid them and whatever.

Victoria Thayer [00:12:13]:

Yes.

James [00:12:13]:

So how, as CPA world, right. You and all the other people that are CPAs, how do they keep track of all the stuff, the rules, the changes, just the game?

Victoria Thayer [00:12:23]:

Yes. No, absolutely. So, as you know, the tax law changes every single year, so they try always to keep us on our toes. But as a license holder, you’re supposed to take CPE, which is continuing education. So we have to take certain amount of hours every single year to keep up with the new changes. And as well, that I think that just because we are professionals and we’re bringing this value to the table, it’s like, yes, we may not remember exactly what is the percentage of mileage for, how is it changing this year, but we know where to find the information as well as we have the resources to be able to find them more easily than it will be to a person that is not as well versed on that. And then, of course, there are some areas that we definitely need to have the continuing education, like research and development credits, for example. Those keep changing.

Victoria Thayer [00:13:15]:

Those are very complex that if we don’t spend the time on doing them, it is almost like negligent of ours to take on those clients if we don’t feel like we have enough knowledge. Definitely.

James [00:13:27]:

So there’s some industries where you’re just like, hey, right.

Victoria Thayer [00:13:29]:

Absolutely. Yes. And there is some industries where it can be more complex that is better to give it to a bigger client, like a bigger firm that has more knowledge base. Okay, absolutely.

James [00:13:41]:

So when I look at a form like a 1040 or schedule C or K or whatever, when the rules change, do those forms always change or do they expect you to just know the rules and fill in the blank?

Victoria Thayer [00:13:53]:

Oh, no, all those forms change. And nowadays all the tax software get updates every single tax season with a new law. So they should be getting all the updates. I mean, once in a while you will find out that, like, oh my God, they didn’t make the update, but then they will let you know and that they will let you resubmit it as an amendment. Okay. But they should be all be updating with all the tax laws.

James [00:14:17]:

Interesting. What are some of the stakes that you’ve seen people, business owners make in regards to taxes, working with their CPA?

Victoria Thayer [00:14:24]:

Yeah. So I think that the main one is staying as a schedule C forever and ever. So I always tell people like, no, because you did something last year means that it’s the right thing to do for this year. We need to look at things with fresh eyes every single year, so we cannot just continue on with lives. Oh, because that’s what I did last year. What happens is a lot of times an entrepreneur will start a schedule C because they didn’t have much income. They said like, okay, it’s simple, let’s just stay like that. They continue growing and never change the way that they’re reporting their taxes.

Victoria Thayer [00:15:03]:

And what happens is that in a Schedule C, they’re paying self employment taxes in the entire net income because they’re not paying themselves a salary, they’re paying self employment taxes, which is like the FICA taxes, Medicare and Social Security. Both ends, both sides, right? Employer and employee side. That’s what they’re paying on top of net income, like on the actual ordinary income tax as well. So what happens is that some entrepreneurs will stay in this way, until they’re making like, $300,000 net income. And it’s like you’re paying so much in self employment taxes that it will make more sense for you to switch to an S corporation, for example, and pay yourself a reasonable salary, and then only pay your FICA on that amount. The employer portion becomes a deduction for the business, and then you’re only paying the actual ordinary income tax on the net income after you take out your wages. All right, so that’s another way that to save money, that some people just stay in the same way forever and ever. But again, you have to look at your specific situation, and that’s why having your tax professional look at your situation is great and also doing it in a proactive way so that you’re not just, like, at the end, like, scrambling on April 14, like, okay, let’s just get the information and let’s just get it done.

Victoria Thayer [00:16:25]:

No, but actually thinking through it.

James [00:16:27]:

All right, interesting. So the clients that you’ve worked with before, when you’re at the firm, firms, I don’t know how many you’re at before firms, the firms that you’re at before, compared to the clients that you have now, what has been the major difference between the two?

Victoria Thayer [00:16:42]:

I think, see, this is a big difference. And also a pro, I think, is that now that I have my own firm, I get to decide who I work with. And I’m not being handed down like clients, but actually, I’m attracting the clients that also have the same energy levels per se. Usually the clients that I’m working with now, they all want to grow. They all want a proactive advisor. Some of my clients before used to be more like a compliance. They were like, just give me my information. Like, bye.

James [00:17:18]:

That sounds exciting.

Victoria Thayer [00:17:20]:

So that’s not really rewarding for me either. Okay, so I’m attracting those type of clients that are like, and we have from solopreneurs to big biotech companies, but all of them have that mentality of like, hey, we want you to become an extension of our own team. And that has been the main difference that I have noticed with our current clients.

James [00:17:41]:

All right, so when you’re working with clients, what are the types of clients that they come to you? And you’re like, oh, my gosh, this is awesome. Because they got whatever stuff in order. Or what are the clients that are not so great because they just come to you with a shoebox? How do you tell if they’re going to be a good client or not at that point or before you get to that point.

Victoria Thayer [00:18:04]:

Right. So that’s the key importance in the discovery call of evaluating. So we have questions like that. We’re paperless, we have a client portal, everything is cloud based. So we require all of our clients to be Quickbooks online, and if they’re not, to be willing to switch into it, same thing. And we have these conversations during the discovery call to understand how willing are they to be paperless? We don’t do shoebox, have done my first share of shoeboxes. And since we’re like a hybrid firm, it is easier for all of us to be able to work and keep going, getting things done. If everything is paperless, everything is submitted through the client portal.

Victoria Thayer [00:18:47]:

The not so ideal clients are the people that are very based on paper, people that are like, this is how I have been doing it for the last 20 years, so I will keep doing it the same way. Those are not our ideal clients. In the other hand, the ideal Clients are the ones that are very forward thinking. They want that advice. They’re very tech savvy in the way that they can do things, everything through the web. And. Yes, and that they’re just wonderful and amazing people that just want to keep growing. Those are like our key and our favorite type of prospects.

James [00:19:22]:

All right, tell me about employees. You mentioned that you have five employees.

Victoria Thayer [00:19:26]:

Now, is that correct? Yes.

James [00:19:27]:

All right, one, how do you find them? Because it’s not just like you’re trying to find somebody that’s flipping burgers or something like that. You’re trying to find somebody that’s doing a lot of stuff with numbers that could cost or help make a client a lot of money either direction. And that comes down to you, because you don’t want an employee to mess that up, right.

Victoria Thayer [00:19:49]:

Because they become an extension of your own. Yeah. So I have gotten a little bit lucky, and I may not have this luck moving forward, but all the current team members met me outside of me posting for a job. So one of them, I worked with her before the others, they actually were working at a bank, and they met me there outside of me posting a job. And once they figure out I was looking for team members, they kind of jumped into the idea. And again, because I’m competing with big firms, so for me, it’s like what I’m trying to sell in the same way that I’m trying to sell my value proposition to clients, I’m trying to sell it to the team members, because again, I’m a startup business. I mean, it’s very risky still. And it’s kind of like selling them in the idea of, why are we here? Why are we doing what we’re doing? And kind of like, selling them in the idea, like, hey, this is the vision, you bet, that I’m going to work super hard on this, and I will do whatever it takes to get us going and get us where we want to get.

Victoria Thayer [00:21:04]:

And kind of because they knew that kind of, like, persistency about me outside of the job posting, they kind of knew like, oh, yes, I kind of buy in that idea. I want to join the team now because they see the potential that we have of becoming something bigger.

James [00:21:20]:

All right.

Victoria Thayer [00:21:20]:

Yes.

James [00:21:21]:

So that goes back to the goals. When you and Jenna met, you were talking about your goals.

Victoria Thayer [00:21:26]:

Yes.

James [00:21:26]:

So what are the goals that you were after that led to this? You starting your own?

Victoria Thayer [00:21:31]:

So. So I wanted to create, start, like, something from scratch. This is why as well. When I was thinking back, I’m like, why did I ever think of following a partner track if I always wanted to create something out of nowhere? That’s something that I admire about entrepreneurs. It’s like they have, like, a vision. There is nothing. It’s like a white canvas, and they get to create something. So I always admire that, and I wanted to do that.

Victoria Thayer [00:21:56]:

And I knew in a bigger ship, it is harder to move the ship because it’s already super big. But in my tiny boat right now, I get to, like, if I’m trying something new, if it does not work out, oh, I can just turn around. It’s not that big of a deal in that point that I try new things, see, if they work out, they don’t, then I move to the other. So that has been kind of like, the interesting thing that when we had that conversation with Jenna, I realized, hey, no, I want to create something from scratch. All right. I think that was the main reason. My overall vision is to create a firm, like a 40 team member firm. I kind of tried to visualize it, and I’m going after that, being able to provide that relationship based CPA service and here in the Madison community.

Victoria Thayer [00:22:53]:

And, yes, so that’s what we’re going after, and one day at a time and, yes, right on.

James [00:22:59]:

That’s very cool. So does that make you the salesperson right now?

Victoria Thayer [00:23:06]:

A couple of months ago, this was the salesperson, the marketing person, the CPA person, the everything person. But right now, I’m still the yes. But hopefully, as we keep growing, we have more salespeople. Because I don’t want to be a sole proprietor. My goal is to eventually have partners so that we can serve a bigger audience. Because again, at the end of the day, right now, I’m signing all the tax returns. I’m overseeing everything because it’s me, pretty much like the only owner. But eventually, I would love to have partners to be able to serve more and not become this bottleneck.

James [00:23:44]:

Sure. Yeah. Build one rung at a time. Tell me, you mentioned the partner thing with CPA firms, and I never, I guess I take that back. I vaguely understand how that works. So if you’re a CPA, you join a firm. Tell me about how you become partner. And what does that even mean?

Victoria Thayer [00:24:03]:

Yeah, so we were kind of in the dark, you and I, until a couple of months ago, because I always used to think that once you become partner, you walk in clouds and everything is just rainbows and hearts. And I used to think that after that, there was just like pretty much like whiteness. It was death, pretty much. That was like the top. I saw someone going through that process and nothing really changed on the way that bigger firms, you have a lot of different partners, so your opinions are very diluted. You get to buy in in a percentage that the other partners agree. Usually there is someone like retiring that you’re buying into their shares, but again, there’s always going to be a managing partner who makes usually most of the decisions, and then it’s just like a big group making decisions. So it’s like if you have ideas and you want to try new things, it’s like any other bigger organizations.

Victoria Thayer [00:25:03]:

It is a lot of bureaucracy. It takes more time to get things moving. So for me, I understand why that works for a lot of people, but for me, because I wanted to try so many different things, it was not going to work out for what my vision was. Got you.

James [00:25:19]:

So the partnership, the partner owns a chunk of the business.

Victoria Thayer [00:25:24]:

Correct.

James [00:25:24]:

Okay. So does that make them more difficult to get rid of?

Victoria Thayer [00:25:28]:

A little bit, yes.

James [00:25:30]:

Because I imagine sooner or later there’s going to be a partner that drops the ball or does something wrong or something like that.

Victoria Thayer [00:25:36]:

You can still get out, but it’s more difficult. Yes. It’s not like a W two. That you’re just two week notice. Bye. Okay.

James [00:25:43]:

And then with the partnership, is there some big roundtable where they meet once a month and try to make all the decisions and partners that have been there longer have more clout with, or get more voting power or something like that? Or is it based on percentage?

Victoria Thayer [00:25:58]:

Yeah. So it would depend on each firm it does. Okay.

James [00:26:02]:

There’s not some universal.

Victoria Thayer [00:26:03]:

No, there’s not something universal. It would depend on each firm and who has voting rights and who doesn’t. And usually the managing partner will make any final decisions, so kind of can override everyone else.

James [00:26:13]:

Oh, gotcha. Veto.

Victoria Thayer [00:26:15]:

Okay.

James [00:26:17]:

All right.

Victoria Thayer [00:26:18]:

Yes.

James [00:26:19]:

Interesting. Okay. Because I see, I guess in law firms and CPA firms and marketing, a lot of places you see partner. And I always wondered, what does that mean? Is that, like, vice president on a bank business card? Because it seems like everybody’s vice president, but I never knew, because the businesses that I worked for before I started my own were either tiny or weren’t. They didn’t have partners or anything like that. They were way too corporate. And now it’s small business. If you have a partner, it’s a person that you said, hey, do you want to start a business?

Victoria Thayer [00:26:53]:

Exactly.

James [00:26:54]:

It was not some bigger thing like that, right?

Victoria Thayer [00:26:58]:

No. So, here in the CPA world, that’s what it means. But the bigger the firm is, the more partners they have, and it almost becomes the same thing, as you’re mentioning, like, kind of the BP business card, so it becomes more diluted.

James [00:27:13]:

So is the idea, from the firm’s point of view, that they’ll end up keeping these people. They won’t jump ship kind of thing, because, hey, you have partial ownership, right. You own one 10th of 1% of this business, so why would you be.

Victoria Thayer [00:27:25]:

Exactly. And then from the partner, like, the oncoming partner perspective, then they get, like, a profit sharing. Got you.

James [00:27:32]:

Okay.

Victoria Thayer [00:27:32]:

Yeah.

James [00:27:32]:

Interesting. Tell me your business. You had five employees over the course of five months.

Victoria Thayer [00:27:38]:

Yeah.

James [00:27:39]:

Tell me about your first employee.

Victoria Thayer [00:27:40]:

So, my first employee was a staff accountant. And again, for me, was thinking, okay, as I kept getting busier and busier, I was starting to work, like, Monday to Monday, I was waking up at 02:30 a.m. To start doing some work. All the way to pretty much 11:00 p.m. Started being a lot that I knew that I needed more help. So for me, and kind of, like, the safest choice, too, financially, was to. Okay, let’s bring someone in the kind of entry level. So I brought a staff accountant then.

Victoria Thayer [00:28:15]:

That went well. And then I brought the second one. A staff accountant.

James [00:28:18]:

Tell me about timing.

Victoria Thayer [00:28:19]:

Yes. So, in between the two, probably there was, like, 15 days.

James [00:28:23]:

Between 15 days. Holy cow.

Victoria Thayer [00:28:26]:

Yeah. So those were the first two, but at the same time, Kulai, at that point, it’s so interesting, because every time that I think about bringing a team member, I think in a perspective that not only what I need right now, but what I will need, like, I’m always projecting ahead. So I’m like, what will I need by fall? Because I’m about to enter tax season.

James [00:28:48]:

Sure.

Victoria Thayer [00:28:49]:

Every time. Yes. Anticipating, because it’s so hard to find employees that I always have had that mind of, like, I need to anticipate and if I find the right person, then I’m going to jump into it.

James [00:29:01]:

All right.

Victoria Thayer [00:29:01]:

So when I had the second staff, probably I could have just kept one. But again, I was thinking ahead, was able to onboard a lot more clients doing that. But then what happened after probably a couple other months, probably like a month after that, I noticed like, oh, I need help with the administrative side. Then I brought on a client experience coordinator, and she has been amazing. She does the social media, she does kind of like the client portal, all of that administrative side, and she has been amazing. She came along, she was more like on her own per se because she was just amazing at everything. But for the staff accountants, they needed my support to be able to get the work going. So I started noticing like, hey, I’m a bottleneck.

Victoria Thayer [00:29:51]:

So I noticed probably about a month ago that, hey, even though we have these two staff accountants, work is still kind of like piling up at the top because I’m still the bottleneck.

James [00:30:04]:

Oh, got you.

Victoria Thayer [00:30:05]:

And I was a big bottleneck. So then the next thing was like, oh, I need to get someone with more experience that can help me get the work moving. Because again, I was doing the sales, I was doing all the prospecting calls, all the client meetings, and on top of that, training the staff accountants, and on top of that, reviewing all their work. So you can see how at the beginning it started getting darker before it was brighter.

James [00:30:29]:

Yeah.

Victoria Thayer [00:30:30]:

So I was like, oh, man, I’m so busy right now. And I really think that the next movement for the firm to continue to grow is to bring someone with more experience. So I hire a manager who is also CPA. And again, I think about the business ownership. When I started it, I felt like I was like, in a little cliff and I was about to jump. And I’m like, oh, praise the Lord that there is hopefully water down there and it’s no rocks that I’m not going to just die. That’s the same feeling I had when I hired the other CPA, because again, it was financially, even though I was already comfortable with the two staff account and we were doing well, going and hiring a CPA was going to be again, like, oh, man, just when I was comfortable again here I go a little bit under the water because I’m thinking ahead. So I decided to jump into it and hire her, and she has been wonderful.

Victoria Thayer [00:31:27]:

Now I’m not a bottleneck. We have been able to take on more clients, and she has been able to spend more time training the staff account and growing the team so that they feel more comfortable. And now I have been able to sleep more, which I’m very appreciative.

James [00:31:41]:

Night. More than 3 hours.

Victoria Thayer [00:31:42]:

Yeah, exactly. Yes. See? One victory at a time. And I have been able to also do more prospecting and kind of like finding the ideal clients for us. That has been wonderful. And that’s kind of like the process that I have used with hiring.

James [00:32:00]:

Okay.

Victoria Thayer [00:32:00]:

Kind of like at the moment, thinking ahead, and then almost a couple of weeks later, I will be like, oh, yeah, I don’t know what I would have done if I did not hire this person a couple of weeks ago. All right. And again, same thing. Like you mentioned, it’s hard to find the right team members. So whenever I see one, I’m always like, yes, I need to move. Got you ahead. Get them. Yes, exactly.

Victoria Thayer [00:32:28]:

And the world will come.

James [00:32:30]:

Yeah. Fair. Totally fair. So the challenging part for me has been finding a manager that has the same. I guess there’s the whole speed, there’s the whole awareness, there’s the whole intelligence thing. I don’t mean it to my own horn or anything, but it’s hard to find good help, right?

Victoria Thayer [00:32:51]:

Yeah, it is.

James [00:32:51]:

And I feel like it’s even harder to find someone to manage that help, even when you find the good help, because otherwise, I find myself trying to keep up managing the crew, and I’m not the most personable when it comes to that, because. Get her done.

Victoria Thayer [00:33:05]:

Get it done. Move fast.

James [00:33:07]:

So if you’re getting it done slow, it’s not a help. So how do you find a manager or train them to be what you want them to be, regardless? They may have the skill set, but do they have the drive or the personality or the. I’ll even call it tolerance in my tolerance of me, let alone tolerance of the employees.

Victoria Thayer [00:33:27]:

Yeah.

James [00:33:28]:

How do you find, and then once you find them, how do you train that person?

Victoria Thayer [00:33:31]:

Yeah, so I think that you find them through. Well, I found the person that I brought as a manager from my own network, so I already knew her, her quality of work and her drive. I knew that eventually she wanted to become also CPA, firm owner, or partner. So I knew that she was pursuing something bigger.

James [00:33:55]:

All right.

Victoria Thayer [00:33:56]:

So I had that advantage, but I already knew personally this person, and I knew that her mentality and mine align. But then, of course, to your point, I’m also more like, this may be bad, I know it’s a popular opinion, but this manager is more about work life balance and a little bit more about that. Me, on the other hand, I’m like, give it 110% or not give anything at all. For me, it’s like I’m like, full speed or nothing.

James [00:34:23]:

No, this is place. We’re all entrepreneurs here, so we get it. Yeah, you got to push.

Victoria Thayer [00:34:27]:

Yes, exactly. So for me, it’s like, for me to be able to also train her and show her like, hey, that’s important. But we need a balance, because as a starter, we cannot just be like, it’s five and we’re out. We need to do whatever it takes to give the service, because we’re just starting out. It’s not like we have this huge overhead to just burn. Right. For me to be able to train her, first of all, has been through showing by my own kind of leading by example, and also having the conversations with her directly. Hey, I’m being very transparent.

Victoria Thayer [00:35:05]:

I feel like we’re being very transparent. I am transparent with my manager as well as with the whole team. It’s like, hey, this is how many clients we have. This is how much the firm is making. This is what we have to work on and the possibilities that we have to grow. And with that, people tend to be more like, oh, I’m part of the team. So I think that with that, I kind of bring them along in my journey, and it’s like, man, this is not myself in the boat. It’s like, all of us are in the boat, and we’re not all paddling in the same way.

Victoria Thayer [00:35:34]:

This boat is going to sink, and we don’t want that. I think kind of bringing that ownership to them, too, about the firm and our future, that has really allowed me to show her, as well as the team members, to kind of like, or mentality at this point. And it has been going great. And again, if I have any feedback for her, I give it to her immediately. But otherwise, I try to don’t micromanage too much, because, again, oh, that’s so tough.

James [00:36:07]:

That is so tough.

Victoria Thayer [00:36:09]:

I know, because I feel like we always want things done one way, and then sometimes things make perfect sense in my head, and I’m like, why is it not making sense to you? This is this.

James [00:36:19]:

Yeah, well, I’ve had the challenge of just knowing that the stuff is done. I just want to know that it’s done. And so I’ll check in. And sometimes people are just like, why are you checking in? I got this right. And other times I check in and they’re like, no, we didn’t do that. No way to do that. We didn’t know to do thAt. And I’m like, okay, you can’t have it both ways.

Victoria Thayer [00:36:37]:

I know.

James [00:36:38]:

So I got to check in to make sure that it’s done right.

Victoria Thayer [00:36:40]:

Yeah. The trust has to be earned. Yeah, absolutely.

James [00:36:43]:

You try to put systems in place and then get people in place to follow the systems and that doesn’t always happen. Or you have to manage to make sure that they know the systems are there. Oh, my gosh. The whole micromanaged thing. There are times that I’ll apologize to the crew and say, hey, I’m checking in on this thing. It was taken care of. Sorry for asking, but I’m thinking 40, 60 shot that it has not been taken care of. And a lot of times I’m right.

James [00:37:13]:

And so it’s one of those like, hey, if you do your stuff, I don’t have to check in, but you’re not all doing your stuff, right?

Victoria Thayer [00:37:19]:

No, absolutely. And I think that that is something that the team members have to earn. Absolutely. And that’s something that we have put in places like workflows so that, hey, at the end of every day you have this to do. We use teams tasks in our computer, so all of their tasks are in there. So at the end of the day, we ask everyone to just check off everything they did so that we can all see what items are still outstanding.

James [00:37:42]:

Oh, sure.

Victoria Thayer [00:37:42]:

So I guess we’re setting up in place different workflows that allow us to have an overview of, like, hey, what’s open so that we don’t drop the ball. Because again, we are a startup CPA firm. All we have is a reputation. All we have is this value proposition that we’re bringing. And if we’re dropping the ball now, once we get a bad reputation, no one’s going to want to do business with us. So as a business owner, I completely understand you that we have to have those kind of sense of control because at the end of the day, it’s our baby and I feel like it’s an extension of ourselves and we want.

James [00:38:21]:

To ensure it’s your reputation.

Victoria Thayer [00:38:23]:

Yeah.

James [00:38:24]:

Because if you mess up or the business messes up and employee messes up on behalf of your business, that all comes down to the top.

Victoria Thayer [00:38:30]:

Right.

James [00:38:30]:

So it’s you and so then you’re the guy that messed up whatever and you want to be like, no, it wasn’t me. It was the employee that I hired and trained, and I didn’t micromanage.

Victoria Thayer [00:38:43]:

It wasn’t me.

James [00:38:45]:

So it’s totally you.

Victoria Thayer [00:38:46]:

Yeah, absolutely.

James [00:38:48]:

But I feel like not every employee necessarily cares or is aware, if they are aware. The point that we are now with employees, they know they can get a job just about anywhere else within hours.

Victoria Thayer [00:39:03]:

Right.

James [00:39:04]:

It’s different market than it was a decade ago.

Victoria Thayer [00:39:07]:

Yeah, I know. So that’s why finding the key people is very important. Kind of attracting those people that are looking for something more than just a paycheck. Right now, I cannot afford those people that just want a paycheck. No, I need someone that is willing to give the extra mile because of the. Again, in a bigger firm, you’re not going to be able to be exposed to all the things that our team members right now are exposed to. You don’t get to talk to a client until you are already, like a manager in a client meeting.

James [00:39:39]:

They don’t even talk to the clients?

Victoria Thayer [00:39:41]:

No.

James [00:39:41]:

Oh, wow.

Victoria Thayer [00:39:42]:

Yeah. They’re very kind of like, behind the curtains, but here it’s like we allow them to just start learning by. Of course, I will be the one doing the conversation in the meeting, but they will be there learning. So I feel like that’s kind of like the importance of bringing the right team members because they want to learn. They see that, hey, this is a great opportunity for me to learn all these things that I wouldn’t be able to do otherwise in a bigger firm and the potential of growth. We are in the state that, hey, if you do well and you want to grow in here, hey, the possibilities are endless to become partner sooner than you would in a huge firm. So I think that I’m trying to use all those things to attract the right people that are not just, like, in and out, but the people that really want to do more with their lives.

James [00:40:33]:

Yeah, I was listening to Robert Green talk. He’s the guy that wrote the 48 laws of power, and he was talking about. He was essentially giving advice to younger group of kids, 20 somethings, whatever. And he said, if you have the choice between going to a larger firm and being stuck in that cubicle, whatever, or a smaller firm. He might have even said flower shop as the example. I don’t remember. But he said, you want to work with the smaller one, even if you get paid less, you’re going to learn so much more than if you get stuck in the bigger place where you’re just like, your job is this, versus a smaller place, your job is this. And you have to learn to adapt, and you’re going to be so much more well prepared for everything else in the future than if you’re just stuck in that little thing in that little cubicle doing like this.

James [00:41:22]:

The one task, this is your vertical. Stay there. Don’t talk to the client. Don’t look up from your computer.

Victoria Thayer [00:41:29]:

Stay focused.

James [00:41:30]:

Yeah. Here’s your stack of paper. Get to work kind of thing. Yeah, it was interesting, I guess, because from an employer’s point of view, I think that we offer that a lot of variety for our employees. I’m like, yay. But I don’t know that every employee is like, I love learning all this stuff. I love being a smarter, more well rounded person instead of making a couple more bucks an hour.

Victoria Thayer [00:41:51]:

Right, but those are not the right people then, right? Yeah. Going back to the recruiting part, it’s just attracting those right people.

James [00:41:59]:

Yeah. I guess the assumption is that there’s enough people around that are interested in being smarter that you can find them.

Victoria Thayer [00:42:06]:

I think they’re out there.

James [00:42:07]:

Well, I certainly hope so. Sometimes you talk to people and you’re like, oh, what happened?

Victoria Thayer [00:42:16]:

No, I have had the same realization, too, but I believe in abundance, and I think that there must be a lot of them out there. Sure. Just a thing to find them.

James [00:42:27]:

Tell me, so you hired people that you knew.

Victoria Thayer [00:42:30]:

Yes.

James [00:42:30]:

Would you consider those people pre hiring them? Were they acquaintances, friends, business associates? Where were they at?

Victoria Thayer [00:42:37]:

Like business associates.

James [00:42:38]:

Okay.

Victoria Thayer [00:42:39]:

Yeah.

James [00:42:39]:

So people you knew, but it was.

Victoria Thayer [00:42:40]:

Just whatever they were. No. Like, oh, my best friend. No. Okay.

James [00:42:46]:

So you went through an interview process, and there was a point There when you were thinking to yourself, there’s a chance this person won’t get the job because they may say something or they may have some quality that I don’t like, whatever that is. Okay. It wasn’t like they were a shoe in. Hey, I know you. I saw you once at the train. Whatever. Come on.

Victoria Thayer [00:43:06]:

Have a job. No. Okay. And none of them, all of them, they reached out after they knew that I was looking for people. They reached out saying, hey, I’m actually interested in learning more. All right. And I kind of knew their background stories, too. And they align with my stories, too.

Victoria Thayer [00:43:27]:

Of kind of like, I am the first my family, my mom was a maid. So for me, I came here to United States, and through education, I’ve been able to kind of improve my life. So for me, those people that are looking for doing something different, improving their lives. And I knew all of them were all about that. I was like, oh, they have the soft skills. Going back to that, I’m like, the staff accountant may not be like, does he know the tax code? No. But can that be teached? Yes. Soft skills cannot.

Victoria Thayer [00:43:59]:

Being able to be totally true, to be able to be ambitious, to be able to be disciplined, consistent with their work, those are things that cannot really be taught. Either they’re in there or they’re not, which that’s what I try to see on someone on those kind of interview questions. It’s a soft skills. I really don’t care if you don’t know the tax code. We can work on teaching you that. But the other way around, you can be super smart. But if you are in and out and you don’t really care, and you are like, at the moment that someone else gives me, like, one more dollar per hour, I’m out. I don’t really want that.

James [00:44:34]:

No, not at all.

Victoria Thayer [00:44:36]:

For me was that. However, I do have to say, the client experience coordinator that we have, Novii, found her through a UW job posting, and I did not know her. Okay. But sometimes I feel like somehow everything works out because I put the job posting, I love her resume, went for a coffee with her, and again, she was like, yes. After talking to you, I’m just so intrigued about being in a startup and that entrepreneurship kind of like vibe and working side by side. It’s kind of like one of those shows where you see those very startup businesses. That’s how our office is set up. We’re five desks, all of us sitting right next in a circle.

Victoria Thayer [00:45:19]:

Right next to each other in a circle. Yeah. It’s like a square circle type thing. And then we’re all working in their.

James [00:45:25]:

Side by side, facing each other.

Victoria Thayer [00:45:27]:

We’re not facing each other. Facing the other way, but we’re there. It’s very much like that type, like whiteboard. Let’s write ideas that kind of feel like you would never get in a big CPA.

James [00:45:42]:

No.

Victoria Thayer [00:45:43]:

So, for her, she told me that that really sold her, and she’s currently doing her masters. I did not know her beforehand, but when we met, we really clicked because of that eagerness to grow in a team.

James [00:46:01]:

All right.

Victoria Thayer [00:46:01]:

Yeah. And they’re kind of like, hey, we get to build this plane together as we fly it. Now we need windows. Let’s grab the windows, because we’re about to be gone through the windows.

James [00:46:12]:

That is cool. It’s interesting because my crew everyone’s remote across the country. And I missed that. Having the office where you could walk in there and there was just the energy, good energy, and you could ask somebody something and the team could banter about it, whatever. I missed that. Now we’re using slack and Zoom, and not the same. Not the same.

Victoria Thayer [00:46:40]:

Yeah, that. I will eventually get used to it, because right now we’re in person pretty much every day because we’re trying to figure out our own systems, our own workflow, but eventually we’re shooting to be like a hybrid firm.

James [00:46:52]:

Okay.

Victoria Thayer [00:46:53]:

So that we don’t always have to be in person. We can work from home. So I’m sure I’m going to miss it then, because I just love that energy. Like you’re saying, bouncing ideas with each other, or if you hear some of them struggling with something and you know it, then you can just help them out. Definitely. I hope we stay in person as long as we can.

James [00:47:17]:

Yeah, right. That’s super cool.

Victoria Thayer [00:47:18]:

Yeah, super Cool.

James [00:47:20]:

So tell me, you’re five months in, you have five employees. Things at this point, would you consider them stable, growing, chaotic?

Victoria Thayer [00:47:30]:

A little bit of both of the three of them stable in the way that now we have workflows in place, we have a system of how we do discovery calls, how we board a client, how we do everything as a firm. Definitely more stable.

James [00:47:47]:

All right.

Victoria Thayer [00:47:48]:

Growing in the way that we’re still accepting new clients. Yes. We’re still growing. We’re being a little bit more kind of like, not. I wouldn’t say selective, but trying to be more focused on who our ideal clients are and not going by any after any shining object.

James [00:48:04]:

Got you.

Victoria Thayer [00:48:05]:

Making sure that it’s a right fit. So I would say we’re still growing and chaotic. Yes, for sure. We’re still five months in. I’m still trying to figure out a lot of other things, too. As we keep growing, it’s like every time we face a new challenge, like, for example, when I had more team members, I got some pushback from some clients being like, oh, I thought you were going to be the one doing everything.

James [00:48:32]:

Oh, yeah, I remember those days.

Victoria Thayer [00:48:33]:

Yeah. And I’m like, oh, no, this is actually for the staff account is going to help you with your day to day. The accounting manager is just to make sure everything goes along, keeps moving, and in case something like a boss hits me, you’re left in the dark.

James [00:48:48]:

Yeah.

Victoria Thayer [00:48:48]:

You have someone there that will continue to serve you. And of course, I’m here doing your tax return, like, reviewing everything. And I’m going to be having the meetings for you. But yeah, that was a learning experience because people thought that I was going to be a self employed person forever, even though I tried to always. That’s also why I call it Novii, didn’t call it Victoria Thai or CPA. Like, no, like, I always knew I wanted a firm, and every time I referred to the businesses, it’s a firm, it’s a firm. And I have always tried to keep that in all the social media. And whenever I talk to prospects, it’s like, it’s a CPA firm.

Victoria Thayer [00:49:29]:

So that they know that, hey, it’s not me, we’re A team. That was, for example, a new learning opportunity for me to be able to kind of manage how to change that mentality for some clients. But again, just like that, every single week I get some other learning opportunities. So every single week I feel like a little bit in chaos. I’m like, oh my God, I know what to do.

James [00:49:56]:

A little new education here.

Victoria Thayer [00:49:57]:

Yes, exactly. So, yes, the highs are highs and the lows sometimes are lows.

James [00:50:02]:

Fair, totally fair. Yeah, I can remember I had my printer repair company that I started way back when and it was just me, and then eventually I added technicians and man, it was pretty quick after I got that first technician that the client calls me up and they’re like, I thought I was getting you. And I’m like, yeah, you couldn’t get me forever. I could, just can’t. Right? Sooner or later I’m going to die. And if this is going to make any money, we have to grow. In the end, it’s just a printer, it doesn’t matter who fixes it. Yeah, it was interesting because I totally did not expect that call.

Victoria Thayer [00:50:40]:

Right, same thing.

James [00:50:41]:

Yeah, it was kind of interesting because part of your mind is like, well that’s weird, but the other part is like, I kind of get it, right, you got your guy, I know a guy, right? This is the guy. And then some other person shows up. So it’s interesting. So I kind of get it from their side, but on the flip side, I thought, shouldn’t you be proud of me for growing this thing? But they didn’t care, they just wanted printer fixed and they wanted it by the person that they knew, whatever. So just had to adapt. But I totally understand.

Victoria Thayer [00:51:11]:

Yes.

James [00:51:11]:

Tell me about the name though, Novi, because I don’t know what that means.

Victoria Thayer [00:51:14]:

Yes, no. So again, going back to, I didn’t want it to be my last name because I just wanted to kind of remove myself and that’s the goal eventually. Right now, I’m like, the do it all, the face, the everything. But eventually, I want to remove myself from the business and kind of shine the spotlight on all the other team members. So I found two Latin words, Novus and vision, and I combined both of them. So no comes from Novus and V from, like, vision. And then I just added another eye because I thought it would look just like, I don’t know, more. All right, so, yeah, so that’s how NoviI came about.

James [00:51:55]:

Very cool.

Victoria Thayer [00:51:58]:

I hope so, because I take to.

James [00:52:00]:

Find or come up with a name. Was this whole whiteboard thing, or were you just like, I had a vision in my head when I was dreaming?

Victoria Thayer [00:52:06]:

Yeah. No. So it was pretty quick because honestly, when I quit my job, I did not have a business plan. I did not have anything.

James [00:52:15]:

So you knew you were going to start your own business?

Victoria Thayer [00:52:17]:

I kind of knew internally that I was going to, but I didn’t have anything concrete.

James [00:52:23]:

Okay. So kind of knew.

Victoria Thayer [00:52:25]:

Kind of knew. I knew in my heart, but I did not know for sure that I was going to do it.

James [00:52:31]:

Okay.

Victoria Thayer [00:52:33]:

So when I quit, I was like, okay, what do I do? Do I want to go back and start over in another firm? And it was like, well, I don’t really think that that’s what my calling is, because again, I want to create something from scratch. And then after that, once I internally realized, I think, past, like, I don’t know, probably a couple of days after quitting that I was like, oh, no, I’m going to start my own thing. Because again, I was scared, like, man, am I ever going to get one client? And it comes impostor syndrome, too, about who do I think I am that I can find clients on my own? Then when I decided to go that route, for sure, even though I internally kind of knew, I immediately started like, okay, I need to register the business ASAP. I need to get a permit to be able to file taxes for this new entity. I need to do all these things that will take time. And I also need a website. I also need all this stuff. And I knew that all was going to take time.

Victoria Thayer [00:53:34]:

And I’m like, I’m unemployed. I’m unemployed. I need to keep moving if I want to be able to turn on the lights in this shop.

James [00:53:44]:

All right?

Victoria Thayer [00:53:44]:

So once, probably like two days after quitting, then I was like, oh, I figure out the name. Like, in one day, I did everything. I got the name, I did the registration, and I applied for all of my permit, professional liability, everything. I could get done right away. I started moving that thing.

James [00:54:03]:

Oh, that’s awesome.

Victoria Thayer [00:54:04]:

Yes. So once I knew, I was like, I’m going full speed at it. I remember that by the first month, I pretty much had everything done. Yes.

James [00:54:12]:

Wow.

Victoria Thayer [00:54:13]:

Like logo, branding, website, everything.

James [00:54:15]:

That is impressive.

Victoria Thayer [00:54:16]:

Yeah, I go full speed again, going back to how I feel like entrepreneurs tend to be. It’s like I was solely focused and I’m like, I have that one goal and I’m going to do whatever it takes to get there and give it my best shot.

James [00:54:31]:

That is awesome. Yeah, that is super impressive. So, Victoria, how can people find you?

Victoria Thayer [00:54:36]:

So people can find me in LinkedIn. I’m very active, so connect with me. Love to grab a cup of coffee with you. Also, follow our firm, Novii CPA. We have amazing tips on accounting and other things tax related, so always fun. I’m sure that you’re going to enjoy reading those tips.

James [00:54:54]:

What’s the website?

Victoria Thayer [00:54:55]:

Novicecpa.com. Okay, so no V I. Cpa.com. Yes.

James [00:55:01]:

Awesome.

Victoria Thayer [00:55:02]:

Remember the two eyes for being cool.

James [00:55:05]:

That’s awesome. That’s just the world we live in now, especially the biotech and all this stuff.

Victoria Thayer [00:55:10]:

You got to add a. I get.

James [00:55:13]:

It, I get it. This has been authentic business adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle, stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. We are locally underwritten by the bank of Sunbury. My name is James Cateman. Authentic Business Adventures is brought to you by calls on call offering call answering services for service businesses across the country. Found on the Web@Callsoncall.com as well as the bold Business Book, a book for the entrepreneur and all of us available wherever find books are sold. We’d like to thank you, our wonderful listeners, as well as our guest, Victoria Sayer, owner, founder, chief Cook and Bottle Washer, Novii CPA. So Victoria, can you tell us that website one more time?

Victoria Thayer [00:55:54]:

Yes. Novii. Novi CPa.com.

James [00:55:59]:

Awesome. Past episodes can be found morning, noon and night. The podcast link Found@drawincustoms.com thank you for listening. We will see you next week. I want you to stay awesome. And if you do nothing else, enjoy your business.