Booksmarts and Ice Cream: How Jenny Groberg Built an All-Female Powerhouse Company

Jenny Groberg never intended to build a company. As a young mom with two small children and a husband in medical school, she simply needed income that allowed her to work from home. Nearly two decades later, she's the CEO of Booksmarts, a thriving fractional accounting firm with almost 30 remote employees—all women, many of them mothers.

What makes Jenny's leadership journey remarkable isn't just her business growth but how she's intentionally created flexible opportunities for women at every stage of motherhood. When clients tell her "this would go faster if you just did it," she turns those moments into hiring opportunities. When an employee with six children, including young twins, can only work a few hours, Jenny matches the work to her capacity. This people-first approach hasn't limited growth—it's accelerated it.

Perhaps most compelling is Jenny's comeback story after suffering a traumatic brain injury six years ago. Unable to read, process information, or even braid her daughter's hair, she temporarily stepped away from leadership. When she gradually returned, she navigated the leadership transition with transparency and partnership rather than competition. 

Her advice for women entering or returning to the workforce? "Focus on what you can do. Don't overexplain, don't apologize." Every award and recognition—from being featured in Forbes to Inc's Female Founders list—comes from simply showing up, even imperfectly.

Ready to learn how numbers can transform your business decisions? Jenny explains how her "Final Five" financial reports help entrepreneurs make strategic choices based on data rather than emotion. Listen now and discover why women in leadership truly benefit the whole world.

https://booksmartspro.com

https://www.utahbusiness.com/awards-and-rankings/2024/03/19/jenny-groberg-2024-ceo-of-the-year/

www.wliut.com
@utwomenleaders

Transcript

Welcome to Jenny Groberg's Story

Speaker 1 0:04

Welcome to the Elevate podcast . Belinda Gates has said when women are in leadership , the whole world benefits . Today's conversation showcases the truth of that statement . Hello and welcome to another episode of Elevate , a Women's Leadership Institute podcast . We are here to discuss the intersection of the modern workplace and gender , and today we have Jenny Groberg with us , who is the CEO and founder of Booksmarts . We're excited to have you here . I've waited a long time for you to come on the podcast , so I'm excited for our conversation today . Thanks for having me . Yeah , so I would love you to just kind of flush out who you are , what you do , and then share something personal and fun with us .

Speaker 2 0:48

Okay , so I'm Jenny Groberg . I have five kids been married for I don't even know how long 23 years almost 22 and a half Congratulations , Thank you . I live in Fruit Heights and I have . Booksmarts is my company . We started probably about 18 years ago .

Speaker 1 1:07

Okay .

Speaker 2 1:08

And the purpose was to give myself some kind of an income while my husband was in med school . Ah yes , so I couldn't work outside of the home because I had two little kids and I just had to figure something out from home . So I started consulting . A lot of times that would lead to people just saying , Jenny , this is so

Building Booksmarts from Home

Speaker 2 1:27

much faster if you do this for me .

Speaker 2 1:29

So yes , it is yeah , so it started to grow , and then , when I had such a heavy workload , I was staying up till two in the morning every night , after the kids were in bed , after the kids were in bed , nap times it was impossible , and so I hired my first employee , and then from there I just continued to try to Was that scary ?

Speaker 1 1:49

Because for many women like that first step to hire is a big decision .

Speaker 2 1:54

I didn't know it was an option . I was so exhausted that I told my husband I have to sell . In my mind's eye , that was the only option was to sell . Either burn myself out or sell . Yeah .

Speaker 2 2:06

And be done , I'm done , yeah . And that didn't work out . And then I pivoted and I thought , hey , this person's great , maybe she can help me . And I trained her and hired her . She was fresh out of school and it was phenomenal , she was incredible , so awesome . Yeah , she felt guilty Jenny , I don't have full-time work and I said that's okay , as long as I'm not doing it , I'll keep getting more work and we'll get you to full-time . So then I'm motivated to get her more work , yes , and then it just started to grow . We just started hiring more and more and yeah , so that's kind of how it started . Yeah , did you go to school for accounting and finance ? Okay , so you kind of had a background . I have a degree in finance , yeah . But then I got a job as a CFO . I did that when we went out of state for med school . Because of patent issues and lawsuits , the company dissolved and then I came back to Utah and started consulting and so I had a background in finance and CFO work .

Speaker 1 3:07

So yeah , that's how it started , so .

Speaker 2 3:08

I love adventure . I love to ski , I love to be outside and hike I used to be able to trail run that was my favorite Still working on getting back there and I love cheering my kids on at all their sports events .

Speaker 1 3:24

So outdoors is a great thing about Utah for you . Yeah , I love that and I love cheering my kids on at all their sports events , so outdoors is a great thing about .

Speaker 2 3:28

Utah for you . Yeah , I love that and I love ice cream . I love sugar and Diet Coke and all the things Skiing and ice cream .

Speaker 1 3:34

I love that .

Speaker 2 3:35

That's a great pairing yes , it's my favorite .

Speaker 1 3:37

What's your favorite flavor ? I love .

Speaker 2 3:40

Nilsson's frozen custard Ah shout out to Nilsson .

Speaker 1 3:42

That's my favorite Second I love .

Speaker 2 3:44

Nilsson's frozen custard . Ah , shout out to Nilsson , that's my favorite . Second , if I have to buy it at the grocery store , it's probably going to be Ben Jerry's everything but the kitchen sink .

Speaker 1 3:50

Oh , I've not tried that . Yeah , there's lots of it's a party .

Speaker 2 3:54

I can relate to that . Lots of things in it .

Speaker 1 3:57

Okay , very good , okay , so one of the reasons that I was so excited to talk to you today is even just recently , you've had all these awards Like I'm going to read these , so I get these right . So 2024 CEO of the Year , female Founder , 500 Honoree , featured in Entrepreneur Magazine and just recently with Inc right .

Speaker 2 4:22

So Inc came out with their female founders list .

Speaker 1 4:25

Yes , female founders list . And guess who was ?

Speaker 2 4:28

on it . That was super fun . Up until this point , there have only been two women in Utah on the list . Ok , and in 2025 , there were five of us . Yay , I think Shay McGee and Elise from Beehive Mills . And there are two other people that I don't know , but I feel like the women are really representing and it's awesome . Yes , it's growing .

Speaker 1 4:47

Yeah , women . One thing that we see is that sometimes corporate structures don't aren't as flexible as women might need , especially after transition , like kids or aging parents or whatever so they tend to start their own businesses .

Speaker 1 5:02

they're doing really well in that space , so I love to hear that they're growing Okay . So so many recognitions . How is that with you ? Like , sometimes women have a hard time claiming their story or being the face of their brand or whatever . How did you find yourself coming into that ? Has it always been really easy ? Has it gotten easier as you've gotten older ?

Awards and Recognition Journey

Speaker 2 5:32

No , in fact , it's actually gotten harder for me . Okay , and we've talked about this briefly , but I got a traumatic brain injury six years ago and four years ago , four and a half , I started to feel better , started to pull my laptop out to work , and there was this thing called the international stevie awards and I had a client that applied and got one are those communication awards ?

Speaker 2 5:52

there's different categories , okay . So I thought I'm just gonna see , I'm just gonna apply . I've got an all female team . There's a business or a women's category . This is how she rolls like .

Speaker 1 6:04

This is how it started . There's a chance , so why ?

Speaker 2 6:07

not , why not ? And I thought , okay , I don't want to pay to apply in one category and I don't get it . So I'm going to diversify , increase my chances over a few different categories . So I applied um for woman of the year , woman run workplace of the year . I can't even remember the other two categories .

Speaker 1 6:28

But I love that you diversified . Yeah , yeah , I applied in five different categories . Yeah , you're like why ?

Speaker 2 6:33

not . Yeah , and if I'm going to do the work , let's just apply in five categories . And we won four of the five . And I thought I'm up against the Museum of Ice Cream , new York and Coca-Cola , and the category is 25 employees to 5,000 . I'm in this huge category . That's totally out of my league , right . But you have to put the metrics and your growth percentages and all these things and I thought there's no chance and there's a chance , and so we got four of the five and that kind of put us on the board a little bit . And then , you know , ksl is like hey , can we speak with you ? It's terrified , so scared . I hate doing videos .

Speaker 1 7:23

I absolutely hate it . Right . Public speaking is next to death for many people and their fears and I don't mind public speaking .

Speaker 2 7:30

There's something about being filmed . Having it be live , yes , no redos , so having it last forever .

Speaker 2 7:37

Yes , yeah , yes , it's out there , yep , and I was worried that I would you know , with my brain injury , that I would forget my thought or I would stumble or not be as eloquent as I once was . And then that happened . And then there's another thing and another thing , and and I always think , okay , yeah , that probably won't happen . You know , there was a study that came out in a university . There was a photography class , and they split the class in half and they said half the class , we want you to submit the very best photograph you can . You can only submit one .

Speaker 2 8:16

This is college , uh huh . So the criteria , I don't know all the things with photography , but the lighting , the artistic elements , all the things . But you can only submit one , so you better make it perfect . Then the other half of the class was told take as many photos as you can . Just take a ton , anything , everything . And let's see how the photographs stack up . The photographs stack up and what they found is the group that took a ton of photos ended up with the best photos , versus the students who were only focused on the perfection .

Speaker 1 8:52

And I've such a lesson in that . Isn't that neat .

Speaker 2 8:55

And I've only I only came across that in the last couple of months , but that really resonates with me . You know , am I going to be perfect ? Am I the perfect speaker ? Am I going to say everything perfectly ? No , but there's something to be said about just showing up every single day , even if it hurts , even if you're scared , and look what happened . It's crazy , Patty , it's totally crazy .

Speaker 1 9:21

I love that you said that for so many reasons

Creating a Culture for Working Mothers

Speaker 1 9:24

, because the best things in life are when you show up . But you have to show up for those things and also with perfection . I think that many of us in the state are perfectionistic or recovering perfectionists . The question is , when is it enough ? But on this other hand , you know it's enough just because you showed up . Yeah , like there has there's no other qualifier . You showed up , you did your best .

Speaker 2 9:54

Right .

Speaker 1 9:54

If you show up in another week and do something different , that was your best . Yeah , yeah , I love that that you shared that .

Speaker 2 10:03

So in the last year , year and a half , I've been in forbes four or five times . I did I did this interview . I'm scared to death , scared to death and I'm , you know , often when you do an interview with a journalist , they take maybe one , a few sentences maybe a paragraph .

Speaker 1 10:20

Which one are they gonna ?

Speaker 2 10:21

and that's it . This was four pages of my content and I thought what is happening ? This is the coolest thing ever . And then , since then , we've done more work together , but I think that was the first time that I'm like I have there's , I have something to share , I have something to help small businesses , I can be a voice for women . But then I do this interview with fox news yeah , it's live . It's on Christmas Eve . Okay , I'm like why am I doing this ? This is totally ruining my Christmas Eve . I hate my life . We do the interview .

Speaker 2 10:54

Someone had an extra microphone and there was this . You know , I'm worried about content . I'm worried . Am I going to ? We're talking about student loan repayment , because that was the big thing . This has been almost two years ago . Do I go for it ? Do I say what I really think about student loans ? These are all my concerns . We get on the call on the Zoom and there was some kind of an echo I can't really hear . I hear myself going back and forth . She hears it . It was a total fiasco . Oh , no , it was a disaster , and sometimes there's a disaster , but luckily it wasn't content . It was a technical issue , yes , but there is something to be said about just showing up and speaking and trying and being adaptable .

Speaker 1 11:39

Yeah , so we run these cohorts of women . We've got four going on right now . So we run these cohorts of women . You know this , we've got four going on right now . And no matter how much we prepare , no matter how much we think we have all the things situated through communication and the AV and all the speakers , invariably something goes wrong , and it's always just like part of leadership is adaptability Absolutely .

Speaker 1 12:01

Letting it roll off your shoulders , being flexible and being okay , anyway , yeah , yeah , just being confident and just going with it . Yeah , and you're so unassuming .

Speaker 2 12:17

You're very unassuming , which is disarming , I think . Thank you , yeah , I would much rather be unassuming and underestimated and overperform any day .

Speaker 1 12:25

So your company I want to talk a little bit more about that . You have you've said that you wanted this company you have hired women who are mothers and you've created a really amazing culture for them . Tell me a little bit about that . Why that perspective ? What do you do to create culture that retains these women ?

Speaker 2 12:46

So I was in a really hard position where I needed employment from home and I couldn't find it . You know , 18 years ago there was no remote work , that wasn't a thing , and so I have a very strong feeling about only employing women , allowing them to work from home . We don't have an office . Everybody works remotely .

Speaker 1 13:06

Okay .

Speaker 2 13:07

And it's I'm . I'm the owner , emily's my partner . I've you know , um . After I got her and she moved up , you know , to COO , I said , hey , I'll give you profit sharing and ownership up to 10% and you can earn it . And this is what I need . And she's phenomenal . So it's women owned , operated and run . We have a team of almost 30 women hoping to just continue to get jobs . Some work full time , some are part time .

Speaker 1 13:38

But yeah , lots of flexibility , yeah .

Speaker 2 13:41

And and you know it's a beautiful thing Women are hustlers , they can multitask . You know it's a beautiful thing , women are hustlers , they can multitask . You know , sometimes that can be a challenge . It's a really hard demographic to employ , especially remotely . Women have so many things they're balancing . They have kids , they might have aging or sick parents , they might have community responsibilities or church responsibilities . If things start to fall apart with their family , their work falls apart .

Speaker 2 14:07

So to kind of keep your finger on the pulse of how is everyone doing yeah , so we have weekly meetings , we have manager check-ins , we have we have multiple women on every account . So what that was just going to say is across . Yeah , so what that looks like is is , if a client needs accounting help , I have data entry on it , usually one or two people . I have a bookkeeper , I have an accountant on it and then we have a CPA review . So if , at any point in time , one of those people needs to step away or has a maternity leave , I always have somebody that's pregnant or having a baby . I think we have five sets of twins Not a prerequisite , just so you know . I think we have five sets of twins amongst all of us , so I think there's a lot of support that needs to be given and received , and yeah , we're trying really hard though . And yeah , we're trying really hard though .

Speaker 1 15:03

That's interesting . You said that it can be hard , fully remote for this demographic . I think that's really honest , and I think sometimes corporations come up against that and then don't know what to do with it .

Speaker 2 15:17

And that's with a diverse group , yeah , men and women .

Speaker 1 15:21

Yeah , you know , I love that you talked about the cross promotion though . Men and women . Yeah , you know , I love that you talked about the cross promotion though . So if someone has to , you know , leave for whatever . There are other people who can help and shore that up , because we were talking before we started . How you know , for many women it's not a it's not a straight line .

Speaker 1 15:38

Right , right , it's different , like when you send your kids off to school , or with their two , or if they're 10 or 12 or whatever it is , so I love that you've created that culture and done it intentionally .

Speaker 2 15:49

Yeah , and every year in the fall we have a retreat . I fly everyone in . In the past we've gone to my parents' cabin it's just 100% to relax , recharge . We do some manager training with everyone . These are issues that we need to address . These are things we can do better . We do a lot of team building things . It's it's wonderful , Lots of prizes , but it's a hundred percent my opportunity to thank them for all of the things that they're doing , because they work tirelessly . They really do . That's very cool .

Speaker 1 16:19

That's very cool . That's a very great leader , yeah .

Speaker 2 16:23

We have a really good leadership team .

Speaker 1 16:27

You touched a little bit on . So when you got sick and you were in recovery , one of your employees , you said , would you like to help me do this ? And she stepped up and ran it for a while and then there's a time that you came back and took it over again . I'm interested in kind of that arc and that story because there could be a lot of resentment , conflict . I mean that could have gone really gnarly , but I don't think it did so would you share with us ?

Speaker 2 16:56

Yeah , so I at the time that I got hurt ,

Leadership Transition After Brain Injury

Speaker 2 17:01

I was really struggling to invoice . I couldn't be on my computer . Reading was really hard and I asked my manager at the time . I said , melissa , do you want to buy this from me ? Do you want my company ? And she said I finally got pregnant . I want to be a mom she's like no , yes .

Speaker 1 17:17

I couldn't believe it .

Speaker 2 17:18

And so she said but Emily's your girl . And I'm like , really , emily's kids were just about to leave for college , her youngest , she had the bandwidth that I didn't , because I'm juggling kids during the day . Yeah , I mean , for a long time I did not grow my company intentionally . I couldn't handle one more employee . I couldn't handle one more appointment . I was happy . I was happy with our growth . I was happy with my client load . I was content with the amount of women I had on staff . So I wouldn't go on new appointments . I wasn't growing it and that was okay . There's a time and a season . And then Emily said I want to make more money . And I said awesome , if you want to go on appointments , I'll pay you more for the appointments . And she's scrappy , she's a hustler .

Speaker 2 18:05

I love that she asked she did and what does this look like ? And then , when Melissa left , she said Emily's your girl . I'm like , I don't even know Emily . And she said no , she's your girl . And so I promoted Emily to manager . Now , funny story two years prior Emily had applied for a job , maybe three years prior and I I didn't hire her .

Speaker 1 18:29

Oh , a job with you , yeah .

Speaker 2 18:30

Oh , and then she went back and got some refresher courses and and you know , she'd been out of the workforce for 16 , 17 years . If she would have applied six months later , I probably would have hired her , because I just didn't have the right position at that time . So , she was a little offended , I think , but it wasn't her , it was just timing which can be huge yeah . And I think there's something to be said about just continually reapplying , just showing your face , connecting .

Speaker 1 18:59

Don't take it personally . Yeah , don't take it personally .

Speaker 2 19:09

So I promoted Emily to manager and then I said do you want to buy it ? And that didn't work out . And then I said well , I'll give you profit sharing and ownership if you run this for me , because I can't . And that was really empowering for her . She was highly motivated , she had the time and we grew at least a hundred percent every year .

Speaker 1 19:27

Yeah , oh , my goodness . Okay , I'm just going to stop and recap here for a minute . Okay , so she applies . You say no , she doesn't have the skills not to hire her . Okay , she goes back , she works on herself , she upskills , she does what she needs to do . Come back , applies again . Another lady in your company that you trust says I can't .

Speaker 1 19:48

But she's your girl yes , and so you're like okay , well , because there's that trust there , yeah , let's give her a try . And then , when you need her to , she steps in and runs a company for you . That is an amazing story with like so many principles that we teach Okay , okay .

Speaker 2 20:04

I love it . I try to tell my staff you guys , I want you to lead . Yeah , so many opportunities happening . So if you want to be a manager , tell me . If you love HR , tell me . If you want to do my social media Awesome , I hate social media , all these things you just tell me what you love and I will promote you . Wow , there is space at our table and there's quite a few . I have one woman with six kids . She has twins that are maybe a year and a half . Oh , wow . And I keep saying Robin , I would love for you to do x , y and z . Yeah , it's not the time and I'm like okay , tell me when you're ready and then we will find a place what a beautiful conversation .

Speaker 1 20:45

Yeah , beautiful that's okay , and it's okay . Yeah , and even your own life reflects that right , right . So the time where you're like , hey , I need you to take this over , and then okay , so sorry , interrupted , but I was just so giddy I had to like , yeah , it's a cool story . So then when you decided , hey , I'm ready , I've got more bandwidth now , what did that look like ?

Speaker 2 21:05

so we hadn't .

Speaker 1 21:08

We had not finalized our contract okay that you and her or the company and I okay I had .

Speaker 2 21:14

I had an attorney friend who was like , yeah , I'll draft it , it's not the biggest fire , he puts it on the back burner and I kept touching it and finally I was like I need someone else . So I found an attorney . We're maybe a year in . I draft it , send it to her . She wants to review it , have her brother-in-law , who's an attorney , review it , all the things . So there was a delay of probably two years oh , wow and I start to re-emerge and I think she could sense .

Speaker 2 21:45

Oh no , oh no , she's back , she's working we don't have that mean we don't have a contract finalized and it wasn't because of me , she hadn't signed it . Yeah , and I could , I could be wrong , but I could sense some tension . Yeah , and there were , there was a conference , and I'm like , em , let's go to this , come with me . And and it just felt a little weird and I said , emily , I've never reneged on anything . I promised you . I've always come through for you , regardless of when you get this signed , I will come through and I appreciate and value everything you're doing . So , with me working , that doesn't take away from what you're doing . I still want you to do what you're doing Operations , managing the team , handling incoming clients , all those things , growth , all those things . You , you , those things . You handle that . Not growth , but handling the incoming growth . Let me focus on community outreach , on growth , on client acquisition , on getting our name out .

Speaker 1 22:47

I love it . You showed value and then you clarified and were transparent .

Speaker 2 22:52

Yeah , and my role has changed . I've done every single position in my company I have , and then there's a time where I think , okay , I'm good , I want to do something different and I pivot into a different role , and this was kind of that . And after that she was like awesome , okay , I'm not going to get pushed out , I'm still COO , I'm still running things , I do whatever I can to support her and she is a priority . But it was really good to just clarify . I can sense that you might be uneasy .

Speaker 1 23:23

Absolutely .

Speaker 2 23:24

And just know that we can work together and we are way more powerful together and we are and we're doing awesome things . And I have an idea and I push it to her and I trust her to do it and I know that she can do it . You know we have this new deal happening . I reach out , get contacts . Emily , can you research this and vet it out and try to build it , and it's a really good partnership .

Speaker 1 23:50

Yeah Well , and you've created a culture where , if the women want to learn and grow and take on more , you're like great , let's find a place for you , instead of sorry , we can't do that . You know you'll have to go somewhere else , which I'm sure can happen sometimes , but I'm always about like retaining the people who are with you .

Speaker 2 24:10

Yeah , when they have twins or babies and they say I can work five hours , I tell Emily she's not coming back . She has six kids and twins . I know what this looks like . She's never coming back and that's okay . And after a few months we hear from her . I think I'm ready for a few hours and I'm thinking what , how . But she loves working and she wants to work and I get it . I'm the one in the hospital after I've just given birth answering emails because I love it . I love it .

Speaker 1 24:42

It's one thing when you do that by choice , right , Because you love it . We just heard a story where the I think it was anyway she told the story of how she was giving her third birth and she had to work because there was no leave policy and she had no time off either , and so that pressure of just having to get it done when really you should just be like you just created a life .

Speaker 2 25:09

Yes , yeah , have a good boundary , a work-life boundary . That is something I am not good at is this work-life boundary . My guess is that most founders don't have a good work-life boundary , and I excuse it , saying , oh , it's my company and I love it , but it is my hobby , it is , and I am passionate about it . Yeah , and I enjoy it , but with my employees , I definitely want them to have boundaries and a good work-life .

Speaker 1 25:33

Yeah , so you are growing . You know we talked about the awards . You've got a new partnership . I'd love you to tell the story about being in the boardroom . Okay , okay , I just think that's so great to know who you are .

Speaker 2 25:46

Okay , so all these crazy things have happened in the last year and a half . Yeah , like I've done work with accounting today and Forbes and entrepreneur and Inc today and Forbes and entrepreneur and Inc and success magazine , and it's just all the things . And I think what is actually happening ? Well , I go , I meet someone . She introduces me to the CEO of her company . She had heard of there , she had heard of me , and then met me and she's like I want you to meet the CEO of our company and I'm like okay . And then she preps me and says don't be surprised if he says he wants to buy you . Luckily she prepped me . I would have probably just my mouth probably would have hit the table .

Speaker 2 26:35

So I go down and meet with them and my husband asks are you nervous about this meeting ? I'm like no , because nothing is going to happen . Literally , nothing is going to happen . I'm just going to have a chat . So let's just go talk , you know whatever .

Speaker 2 26:44

So I go down and speak with them and he tells me his idea and he's like I want to buy you out . And I kind of laughed a little and thought , oh , she was right . He actually is saying that , laughed a little and thought , oh , she was right , he actually is saying that . And I said , no and no , I'm not interested . But let's , partner . And he says to me Jenny , read the room .

Speaker 2 27:09

You're in a boardroom with the CEO and vice president of this company I have . I'm a $30 billion company . I have 3 billion in equity . Just tell me your price and I'll write you a check . Sounds so intimidating . It's like , oh , that sounds great . And in my head I'm going through the numbers , thinking no way , I'm way too cheap right now . And I say to him I'm like I've only been working the last two years , I am just getting started . There's no , there's no , this doesn't make sense . And he said well , I want you to think about it . We had that conversation probably three more times and he could not figure out why I would not sell . And I just said , hey , let's For him . It was about numbers .

Speaker 1 27:51

Yeah .

Speaker 2 27:52

And the numbers are great and in my head I'm thinking kind of like I did after I got hurt .

Standing Strong in the Boardroom

Speaker 2 28:01

I could run this into the ground over the next two years and doing do better than what you're offering me , so I'll do that . So so I'm thinking , hey , I , this is not about the money for me , it's not . This is I'm competitive with myself . I just want to see can I do this ? Okay , well , if I did that . To see can I do this ? Okay , well , if I did that . Can we do this ? We hit seven figures . Can we hit eight ? Let's do it .

Speaker 2 28:23

You know , and I do have this , this mentality , this growth mentality of if I can come back from a literally incapacitating brain injury where I cannot even read or braid my daughter's hair or come up with one word other than I had a cognitive therapist say tell me all the words you can think of that start with an S , and the only word I could come up with was Sam . It was my brother-in-law at the time Couldn't even hardly process . If I can come back from this , who knows what we can do . So we had another conversation . I'm like , hey , let's do this . And he's like awesome . And then he's like send me your financials and I'm like , oh no .

Speaker 2 29:08

And he said that he's like I thought , I thought you were going to sell . I'm like no , I told you I wasn't going to sell , but let's partner Like no , I told you I wasn't going to sell , but let's partner , let's do this . So you never know , so just go for it . So you know , if I was maybe exhausted or maybe thought , yeah , I've done as much as I can do in this space , I might consider it .

Speaker 1 29:29

Yeah .

Speaker 2 29:29

But I'm not , and we are just getting started and I really do hope to employ more women and I really want to do more in the community , so I really do hope to employ more women and I really want to do more in the community .

Speaker 1 29:40

So , yeah , so the theme that I am sensing is timing matters . Yeah , it does Timing matters because , like , at a different time and place , maybe you would have said yeah . I love that you just said no , like I'm just getting started . Yeah , that's a beautiful thing and it was a claim and it was fun .

Speaker 2 29:58

I'm not intimidated , I'm not cowering , it's just this fun conversation of oh , you want to work with me ? Awesome , let's do this . There's always a chance . You know , yeah , and you don't know what relationships will lead to other relationships . So you just have to show , share your story , speak with people and you don't know , yeah , yeah , something will stick . It's like the photographs .

Speaker 1 30:25

You just put enough out there and , yeah , something will be really beautiful the other thing that I liked about what you said is it wasn't a no , although sometimes that's appropriate it was a yeah . Not this way , but let's consider this way . I think how I've seen people be really flexible and successful is because they find those ways right . They don't have to close the door , don't , but find the way that you can work with them . If you want to .

Speaker 2 30:54

Yeah , and that door is not closed . And you know , I'm not saying I would never sell , yeah , but I'm having fun and something's happening , yeah .

Speaker 1 31:03

You know lots of synergy around what you're doing , yeah .

Speaker 2 31:06

And everybody needs what we're offering . Everybody needs accounting .

Speaker 1 31:10

OK , so tell , tell us exactly what you do , because we didn't do that in the beginning .

Speaker 2 31:13

OK , so we offer fractional accounting and bookkeeping services . I have one client . He was paid based on the net income and whoever was in his office doing the books it was a total disaster . So he couldn't be paid because they didn't know the actual net income . Oh also , all the payroll filings were wrong , so they're getting irs notices .

Speaker 2 31:37

State of utah notices so he calls me and and I go down and kind of unwind everything and we had to go back a couple of years and clean everything up , true up his pay , and then , after working with them for about five , five-ish years , maybe eight , he sells and they sell for $30 million . They hire a CFO and the CFO calls me and says you're fired , I can do the accounting . Now I'm going to start hiring internally . We don't need you anymore . But we were their back office accounting yes , accounting department . And the benefit to the company is they're not paying for our cross training , they're not paying our taxes , any benefits , nothing . They are and they're there . It's a pay per piece , so it's not like having a salaried employee in house . But they also get the benefits of data entry , bookkeepers right , and CPAs they get that whole .

Speaker 1 32:41

Thing .

Speaker 2 32:41

Okay , right , so . So the CFO fires me . The CEO says what are you doing ? You need help . You don't have a fully trained accounting department yet , right ? So he calls me back . I'm really sorry , can we still work together ?

Speaker 1 32:54

I would love to .

Speaker 2 32:56

So we continue working and I'm thinking this account is probably going to dry up in six months . Okay , at the time it's 80% of my business . Oh it , it really hurt to lose them and I'm I said , yes , whatever's best for you , we will train . The accounts that you hire we will offload . I thought it would last six months . Yeah , we are still working with them .

Speaker 2 33:20

It's beauty industry company , beauty industry group big . It's beauty industry company , beauty industry group big . They just keep acquiring more and more beauty companies . They sold for just under a billion dollars in the last year and they still have us helping them . So I love that . I love that these relationships grow , that as they grow , we grow with them . I have another client who I started with him when he was running his dad's dealership and then he has an idea for a business . Then he decides that he'll franchise the business and now we have a contract with them that will service all the franchisees . There's hundreds of those . So it's this really fun . It's all about relationships , yeah , and you establish a good relationship , you show up and do good work and then , as these partnerships grow , we grow . So that can come in .

Speaker 1 34:11

And impossible , yeah , yeah , cause your foundation isn't solid , so you

The Final Five Financial Reports

Speaker 1 34:26

come in , make sure that that's all good , and then these companies can grow and you can grow with them , right ? So it is a win-win all the way along that journey . Yeah , yeah .

Speaker 2 34:37

I did a piece with entrepreneur about the final five and how , if , if entrepreneurs will review these five reports at the end of the day the last five minutes of the day then they can make strategic decisions based on numerical evidence rather than emotion , because entrepreneurs are often putting out their biggest fire . This is in my face . Okay , all right , I'll take care of you . I feel the same way . Whatever is the biggest fire in my face ? That's what I'm focusing on .

Speaker 1 35:06

I feel like a Stephen Covey rubric is happening here , right .

Speaker 2 35:10

Okay . So I say the last five minutes of the day . Review these final five reports , then you can see who is the number one client you should be focusing on . Where is your money coming from ? Look at your AR , look at your AP . It's so cool , Entrepreneur . We do the article and then a couple of weeks later , they've made this video of the content . Then this other video comes out , with the editor in chief of Entrepreneur Magazine talking about the final five . It's so cool , but that is fundamental for business owners to actually be reviewing their financials as often as they can , and if you know what your numbers are , you can make better decisions .

Speaker 2 35:50

You can change your pricing , you can change your target market , you can change manufacturing maybe , but if you can see the trends , then you can excuse me , you can look for outliers . Is something changing ? Is my payroll increasing significantly and my revenue is not ? If so , then maybe people are doing overtime and you need to be hiring more employees . Maybe that's the trigger for more employees or the marker . So so many reasons to be paying attention to your financials . So many reasons to pay someone to help you , like book smarts , because it's a very low spend , but the amount of money that you save in taxes , in payroll , in theft , in having all these checks and balances , it's it's a lot of awareness .

Speaker 1 36:38

Yeah , yeah , that's actually how Ken Garf came into the Elevate . Her Challenge , which we have for companies , is because they sat down with their numbers and there were three dealerships that were doing significantly better than others , and so they said , well , what , what are they doing ? And those three dealerships were led by women and more women than them , and so they're like , well , if that's true , what if we get leaders in these others and the numbers go up ? And so they're like , well , if that's true , what if we get leaders in these others ? Will the numbers go up ? So it really came from the data for them , because you know it's a number equation . Yes , if we plug in this variable , what will this happen ?

Speaker 2 37:14

And the numbers show you .

Speaker 1 37:15

And the numbers show you , they do .

Speaker 2 37:16

Yeah , and it is so important to have gender diversity in a company . It is a concrete fact that more women in leadership leads to better growth more ideas , all the things .

Speaker 1 37:41

It's a financial absolute truth that having more women in businesses lead to more success . I love that . I didn't even pay you for that . That was so great . That is what . Yes , yes , absolutely so , jenny , in our time as we wrap up , I have two more questions for you . The first one is wow , what does the next five to 10 years look like for your company and you ? And then the closing one is especially in terms of like being a business owner working with remote work , mothers , flexible things .

Speaker 1 38:11

What would you say to women who are just trying to figure it out , right In that space of you wanting to bring in some income ? And where do I go ? How do I figure this out ?

Speaker 2 38:20

OK , so to answer your first question , I didn't reenter the workforce for awards . I didn't do it because I like to be in the limelight . It's actually the exact opposite . But every time I do something and and more presence . But it is building the name and brand and I think that there is something to be said about just trying , and so I would like to encourage any woman listening you just try you just show up to apply for the award .

Speaker 1 39:02

Right yeah , why not ?

Speaker 2 39:03

Yeah , okay , so what do ?

Speaker 2 39:06

the next five to 10 years look like for me ? Yeah , I'm hoping to get to eight figures . Okay , I am hoping that I can employ 100 women . I am planning on a deal with this company . We are working on it . I speak with them on a weekly basis and I am trying to get my ducks in a row so that we can support it . It's going to be an issue scaling . We're going to pilot in Utah . They're a multi-state company , so we're going to pilot in Utah and I'm really excited to announce that . Good , I think they're really thrilled about the prospect of working with us because we are all women . I think we would add a lot to their brand and their company .

Speaker 2 39:50

I hope to give more money and resources to the community . That's I really want to do that . Currently , booksmarts does a scholarship for girls in business that are studying business . We give $4,000 in scholarships , so there's a first and second prize or award and we do that . We help with local sports teams , with education , with nonprofits . We actually do a lot of work with nonprofits , which I'm really proud of .

Speaker 2 40:22

So , anyways , that's my hope .

Speaker 1 40:24

I love that you had those metrics right off the top . You know where you're going , yeah .

Speaker 2 40:28

And I think we're giving about 8% of net income , which is not a diluted

Future Growth and Advice for Women

Speaker 2 40:34

net income .

Speaker 1 40:35

That's not before that is , says the money person .

Speaker 2 40:38

We are . We are really mindful and giving a lot to women too . That's a huge focus . Last Last year , I did quite a bit of charitable work with moms and women . So your second question was what would you tell those listening ? Oh , that's right , okay . So what I would say to them is you just keep trying .

Speaker 2 41:00

When I am looking to hire a woman , I am looking at what are you telling me that you're not telling me ? So they may send an application , they may send me a resume , but I'm looking at how often are you following up with me ? What does your email to me look like ? Is it spelled correctly ? Do you have ? Are you kind ? Can you work in a team ? Yeah , are you a hustler ?

Speaker 2 41:30

I love it when women like Emily just kept following up . Hey , can I do this , even as an employee ? Melissa could see it in her . Hey , can I do this ? Hey , I'll do this . Hey , can I make more money ? Can I support these people ? Those are things that you're telling me without telling me , and I can see it in my team . I can see when someone says oh , I spoke with this coworker and she encouraged me to do this and this coworker did this . Those are things that they think that I don't see . And I do see it . I do see when they don't do correct work and it's often based on , you know , issues from clients . If clients maybe have a problem , then they come to me and they say , hey , I have an issue here , and if it gets to me that's obviously not great . It usually goes to Emily , but so many of my clients are right or personal friends at this point Right .

Speaker 2 42:30

So so I would just say you have certain skill sets , you have a lot of professionalism . Even if you think you don't , even if you think I've been out of the workplace , I don't have those skills . I'm not always looking for those hard skills I'm looking at . Can you figure it out ?

Speaker 1 42:53

Can you multitask ? Everything's figureoutable ? Yes .

Speaker 2 42:56

So focus on what you can do . Don't over explain , don't apologize . Go into an interview . Always you can say hey , I know you're taking a little bit of a risk on me , but give me 60 days and if I show you how good I am , then bump , bump , my pay up .

Speaker 1 43:13

Love it .

Speaker 2 43:13

Do that . If I have somebody that's like hey , you , you might think you're taking a risk on me , but I'm awesome because of X , Y and Z and I'll show you . And at 90 days after I show you , will you bump my pay to this , I'd be like awesome , let's do it Because you're confident . You're showing me that you believe in yourself . So I would . I would like to offer that advice Believe in yourself , write down all of the things you're awesome at , and it may be that you can multitask . It may be that you're really great , a really great communicator , or all the things . And I would practice with your kids , practice with your husband .

Speaker 2 43:53

My teenagers are the honest , yeah , yeah , I mean pretty much . In an interview , the questions are going to be the same . Look on chat , gpt , for what are pretty standard interview questions . Focus on your strengths , don't really elaborate too much on your weaknesses , and practice with people , yeah , and then network ask around . I had a woman reach out to me . Jenny , I've been a mom for 17 years . You seem to know a lot of people . Is there anybody that you might be able to connect me with ? Here's what I'm good at .

Speaker 2 44:24

It probably would have been even better if then she called me and we could talk about it but I I think she would be great and I said , hey , let me put you in touch with this and this person . And so just reach out to people who who are working or who you think might be encouraging , and surround yourself by people who will encourage and lift you .

Speaker 1 44:45

I love that . That was golden . It was so good . Thank you so much for sharing for your life , for all that you're doing , the support you're giving women and the economy right and we are . We're rooting for you .

Speaker 2 44:56

I can't wait for the next five years . Thank you .