Kendra James-Anderson is a Virtual CFO & Business Manager who helps women entrepreneurs in all aspects of their business finances & accounting. After graduating from Clemson University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Corporate Finance and 10+ years climbing the corporate ladder, Kendra ditched her six-figure corporate salary and built her brand & business to serve as a full-time money manager for boss women. With a growing and active tribe of 20,000+ on social media, many entrepreneurs follow to learn what it really takes to go from an overwhelmed entrepreneur to a profitable business owner. Additionally, Kendra offers private coaching to other women in the finance & accounting industry to help them build their businesses & brands and is the host of The Level Up Podcast.

• CEO Hack: Time management for success
• CEO Nugget: Pivot
• CEO Defined: Being a decisive leader

Website: http://www.thefinancefemme.com/

Instagram: http://www.Instagram.com/TheFinanceFemme
Podcast: http://www.TheFinanceFemme.com/Podcast

FULL INTERVIEW

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Transcription

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[00:00:02.20] – Intro

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

[00:00:29.89] – Gresham Harkless

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast, and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Kendra James Anderson of the finance fem dot com. Kendra, it's awesome to have you on the show.

[00:00:40.00] – Kendra James-Anderson

I so glad to be here, Gresh. Thanks for inviting me.

[00:00:44.20] – Gresham Harkless

No problem. Super excited to have you on. Before we jump in, I wanted to read a little bit more about Kendra so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. And Kendra is a virtual CFO and business manager that helps women entrepreneurs in all aspects of their business, finances, and accounting. After graduating from Clemson University with a bachelor's degree in corporate finance, after ten-plus years climbing the corporate ladder, Kendra ditched her six-figure corporate salary and built her brand and business to serve as a full-time money manager for Boss Women. With a growing and active tribe of twenty thousand plus on social media, many entrepreneurs follow to learn what it really takes to go from an overwhelmed entrepreneur to a profitable business owner. Additionally, Kendra offers private coaching to other women in the finance and accounting industry to help them build their businesses and brands, and she is also the host of the Level Up podcast. Kendra, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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[00:01:37.09] – Kendra James-Anderson

Oh, I am so ready. Absolutely.

[00:01:39.29] – Gresham Harkless

Alright. Let's do it. Let's make it happen. So to jump right in, I wanted to, I guess, rewind the clock a little bit here. Your beginning CEO story will let you get started with all the awesome things you're working on.

[00:01:50.40] – Kendra James-Anderson

Yeah. Absolutely. So, I mean, a lot of of which you kinda mentioned there in the bio, but, like, I, you know, I started off, you know, I went to Clemson University. I've always been interested in business and in, like, economics. So even when I was at Clemson, I knew from the start that I wanted to be in finance in some capacity. And so once I graduated there, I went straight into the corporate world, moved to New York City, which is like, of course, you get a finance degree, you move to New York. Right? Right. Climb that corporate ladder for about ten years, and I was very, very blessed in that during the ten years that I was in corporate, I was directly supporting CFOs, at companies like DE and these other major companies.

So I was able to directly see what a a CFO does. So not, like, just how the finance department works, but what a CFO does and how crucial they are to a business. And so that ten years in corporate was literally, like, ten years of paid training for what I'm doing now. It was perfect. Then I branched out on my own about six years ago. I retired from corporate in December of twenty sixteen, and I've been full-time ever since. And, started you know, I grew my business right now. We're like a multi-six-figure firm. I have my eyes on seven figures, and, you know, my goal is really to just help women entrepreneurs of all types, whether they are service-based like a lawyer or whether they are product-based and out there selling, you know, different products. That's just that's really what my goal and my passion is.

[00:03:15.30] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. That makes so much sense, and I love how you kind of talked about you you get that opportunity to have that ten years of internship, so to speak, where you got the opportunity to really work and be able to help out so many people. Because I think whenever you start a business, you know, people have different goals or aspirations, but knowing that you know firsthand from those larger companies exactly what that looks like and what success looks like, it definitely probably helps to direct those people that are maybe just getting started or taking the steps, trying to take that next level exactly how they're gonna do that.

[00:03:43.19] – Kendra James-Anderson

Yeah. Absolutely. And within finance, probably all industries, but this is really the only industry I'm familiar with. But there are so many levels and steps. Right? So you can, you know, there's a financial analyst, there's a finance manager, there's financial directors. But being able to directly support CFOs is really when I was able to see, like, it's not just the the, you know, the the data. It's the analysis of the data. It's how we use that data and think about metrics and KPIs to improve business models. Like so tying that in also with, like, economics, it was just it was fascinating to be able to sit back and get that experience, and literally, I'm directly using that now in in in my firm.

[00:04:22.00] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Absolutely. And I guess as the saying goes, you know, you don't know your business till you know your numbers and are aware of all those different aspects and what they do, not just having them. But as you said, being able to kinda read that book, so to speak, from your financial aspect and understand what to do or not to do based on that is entirely huge. So, I know I touched on it a little bit and you did as well. Could you take us through, a lot of the different things that you have and ways that you are serving the clients that you have as well too?

[00:04:48.19] – Kendra James-Anderson

Yeah. Absolutely. So finance, there are really two legs to the business. So we have to consult that's done to women entrepreneurs of all And in the coaching, that's where I just help other, like, fellow industry professionals build their six or multi six figure firm by teaching them my signature six-figure firms framework, and that's done through, like, a six-month group coaching program. But my main bread and butter, my main love within my business is the consulting side, and that's where we offer full-service accounting and virtual CFO services. I have a team of accountants that are maintaining their financial records, and then I serve as a CFO. So that's where I'm coming in. I'm helping with everything from business strategy and growth to investor relations. And then we also handle all things related to your taxes because we have on-staff CPAs and EAs as well. So it's a full-service accounting, finance, and tax firm.

[00:05:47.60] – Gresham Harkless

Nice. I definitely appreciate the kind of different ways in which you can, you know, help out so many clients because, and I don't know if you find this yourself, that it's maybe sometimes difficult to understand when is the right time to have a CFO or I'm sure it's something that you always should know about, but I'm sure you probably have that same kind of question that comes up with clients.

[00:06:08.80] – Kendra James-Anderson

Yeah. All the time. And that's a good question. And the way I kind of like to break it apart is because we do have an executive accounting service and then we have our full CFO service. Everyone doesn't need to have a full CFO service from the jump. Right? So everyone should at least be aware of their accounting records. And so that's where that executive accounting service comes in, where maybe you don't need to focus on strategy and investor relations and, you know, ten times in your company so that you can sell in five years. Maybe that's not your focus right now. Maybe your focus is just getting you that first six figures or getting from six figures to multi-six figures. And so, you know, I always like to say there's stabilization and there's scaling.

Like, everyone likes to think about scaling, like, oh, I wanna grow, grow, grow. Sometimes it's just I need to stabilize. Like, I need to understand why I'm making so much money, but I don't feel it. It's not in my bank account. What's going on? That's when you're in that stabilization phase, and that's when you really need to understand your accounting. Forget the strategy and all of that. That's too far ahead right now. We need to slow it down and get an understanding of your numbers. So that accounting service is really for stabilization, and that CFO service is really for strategy work. And so if you're not already really comfortable and clear on what your average income is, your expenses, your what your balance sheet looks like, then first, go into that accounting side.

[00:07:27.19] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. That makes so much sense. And like I even said, you know, it tells a story. Your numbers often tell a story, and I think you're right where if you don't know what your numbers are, you know, where the expenses are going, things like that. You haven't looked at that. It's really hard to scale and scale successfully, especially too if you don't understand and get a grasp and handle on that foundation.

[00:07:45.30] – Kendra James-Anderson

Absolutely. There's definitely a thing as scaling too fast. Mhmm. And, you know, if, and a lot of times, the scaling too fast happens because there's no preparation or there's not an understanding of the numbers. So you can completely understand your numbers and be great and be a product-based business. And Oprah can say you have a great product, and all of a sudden you're scaling too fast. So that can happen too, right, where you do know your numbers, but you're just overwhelmed by the demand. But a lot of times what happens is the is not where Oprah backs our product, but where we just don't know our numbers, and we're trying to add another product line and then another product line, and it's just overwhelming. The cash flow takes us under. And so, yeah, understanding your numbers is key before we focus on the strategy, stabilization over strategy.

[00:08:32.50] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. That makes so much sense, and I definitely appreciate you for sharing that. And are these I know I touched on, you know, your podcast. Are these some of the things that you cover on your podcast and stuff?

[00:08:41.10] – Kendra James-Anderson

Yeah. So the podcast is all things business finance. Like, I talk about product-based businesses, to service-based businesses, everything regarding your accounting or finances and also operations because operations is another component that we do here at, the finance firm if we're also tackling your accounting and finances because it all ties together. Right? Your team, your payroll, your processes, understanding your product, all of that ties in together when it comes to your numbers and building up your business. So, yeah, on the podcast, we go through all of that.

[00:09:11.50] – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. So I wanted to ask you now for what I call your secret sauce. It could be for yourself or your business, but what do you feel kinda sets you apart and makes you unique?

[00:09:20.50] – Kendra James-Anderson

I would say for the firm, it's the fact that we have a very high touch and high-quality service. So a lot of accounting and finance firms out there, and I know this because I coach a lot of them, come to me for coaching, a lot of the accounting and finance firms out there focus too much on the quantity of clients that they have and not the quality. And they're overloaded with work. They're complaining about working sixty-hour weeks because they have too many clients, and they're not able to be attentive or pay attention to the details, which when you're managing money is crucial, where our clients can contact us anytime for questions, which is key.

Because if you have a business big, like, business decision coming up or you have an investor standing in front of you ready to offer you a deal and you have to analyze your numbers now, then you need that professional available to help you run those numbers now, not scheduling a meeting five weeks from now. So that's our, our secret sauce is the fact that we have those really high touch and high-quality service. This means we have a lower amount of client base, but we can focus and give more love to them.

[00:10:34.39] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Truly appreciate that, that secret sauce. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit, and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an Apple book or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

[00:10:47.89] – Kendra James-Anderson

So to me, in general, in entrepreneurship, but even outside of entrepreneurship, success lies in how you manage your time.

[00:10:55.29] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Absolutely. And, you know, as you said, check in with yourself and make sure and measure to see how things are going and what success looks like and how that how you are in alignment with that, I should say. So, I wanted to ask you now for what I call a CEO nugget. So it could be a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. It might be something you would tell yourself if you were to hop into a time machine.

[00:11:13.89] – Kendra James-Anderson

Yeah. I love this. So for me, it's gonna be one single word, and it's gonna be pivot. And pivot is something I talk about all the time and it's like one of my favorite words particularly within entrepreneurship and why I think this is a CEO nugget is because you're gonna come across things in business that are gonna make you wanna be like, WTF. Like, am I supposed to stop this whole business? Is this not the right thing for me? And it's not that it is that you need to shut things down. Sometimes it is, you know, whatever. But the majority of the time, it's just that you need to pivot.

[00:11:47.00] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. That makes so much sense. So now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different quote-unquote CEOs on this show. So, Kendra, what does being a CEO mean to you?

[00:11:57.29] – Kendra James-Anderson

Being a CEO to me is being decisive So, you know, you can't be a CEO or a chief executive officer and not be a leader. So leadership is a key trait, for me. And then also the decisiveness piece that matters a lot because in entrepreneurship, ship, you have to make a lot of decisions, and a lot of times you have to make them relatively quickly, so you have to be confident in that. An indecisive leader isn't much of a leader. So being a CEO to me is having those two traits, being decisive and being a leader.

[00:12:31.60] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Absolutely. I think that that's huge, especially, you know, with the things that, you know, happen, you know, in the world or life. You never know, you know, exactly what is the right decision to make. But first of all, by being a leader and having that opportunity to kinda lead people or lead yourself even to that matter to where you wanna be, that's a huge thing. But we have to make decisions and, you know, no better person than CEO, quote, unquote, to make those decisions and to make them and not just have no decision be made overall.

[00:12:59.00] – Kendra James-Anderson

Absolutely. You to progress in business and life and anything, you got it's a series of decisions. Right? And so the longer you take to make those decisions, the longer it's gonna take you to get to where you're trying to go. And of course again to your point measure data, look at the data, analyze it, think about it, don't just kind of you know, haphazardly go into something, but, but make a decision. Like that's just one of my pet peeves in life period. Just indecisive people. I'm like, oh my gosh, just decide. We'll figure it out later. Just make a decision.

[00:13:27.20] – Gresham Harkless

Exactly.

[00:13:31.20] – Kendra James-Anderson

So, yeah, it's, it's just really important.

[00:13:33.20] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. That makes so much sense. So you don't have to worry about where you're going to dinner or anything like that because you know exactly how to make a decision and just go from there. So, Kendra, truly appreciate that, that perspective, and your time, of course. So what I wanted to do is pass the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional. You can let our readers and listeners know, and, of course, how best they can get a hold of you. Subscribe to the podcast, to find out about all the awesome things you're working on.

[00:13:55.60] – Kendra James-Anderson

Yeah. Well, first, I just wanna thank you again for having me on. I love this format that you have of, like, kind of quick and dirty, getting the information, getting, you know, sharing the knowledge. And you know, one thing that I did just think of is like for your listeners, for every piece of, like, content and data that you take in from, like, a guru or, like, a business master or whatever, always pause to check-in with your yourself because we always do we all do things differently, and we all need things in our unique way. So don't ever think that, like, someone else's blueprint is going to be your blueprint. And the quicker that you realize that and start checking in with yourself and doing that often, the quicker you'll reach where you're trying to go.

And I just point that out because, in this world of, like, so many entrepreneurs and gurus and all this kind of stuff, we can, in an attempt to make a decision, we can listen to everyone's opinions and try to then create what we're doing. But a lot of times it's already there. Like you got to just kind of sit down and kind of just think about what's working for you. So that's the only additional thing I would add is just kind of make sure that when you're taking in any content or anything, you're also checking in with yourself and seeing what fits right for you. Because at the end of the day, you have to execute whatever you're coming up with.

Not that guru who said to wake up at 6 AM every morning and stretch for an hour and a half. Like if you can't do that, don't, you know, find what works for you. So that's the only thing I would add to that now as far as how to get in contact, so the best way is the our website. So the finance femme dot com. I'm also very active on Instagram. To, get in contact with me. You can also check out the podcast, which is available on all podcast platforms, and it's called the Level Up podcast. So you can just search for Level Up Kendra, and that's probably the easiest way to get to it.

[00:15:51.20] – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. We will have those links and information and then show us as well too so that everybody can follow up with you. But truly appreciate that reminder as well because I think so many times there's a fire hose of information and you can really be, I guess, completely thrown off by following everybody's key to success. So the most important thing is that when we're looking outside, for instance, a lot of times the answer is within us. So we also have to check in with ourselves as you said too. So I appreciate that. Kendra, appreciate your time again, and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

[00:16:20.70] – Kendra James-Anderson

Thank you. You as well.

[00:16:22.79] – Outro

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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