IAM114 – Financial Expert Helps Organizations Get Control of Finances Taxes

Christine Searle, owner of Searle Business Solutions, LLC, is a financial control expert with more than 30 years of experience helping businesses and non-profits understand and get control over their finances and taxes. She provides tax preparation and planning services and financial process consulting. Christine is a Certified Internal Auditor, Certified in Risk Management Assurance, and an Enrolled Agent. She also volunteers with and supports several Arlington-based social safety net nonprofits.

• CEO Hack: Keeping really organized / Firing on all cylinders regardless of the time of year
• CEO Nugget: (1) Make sure you have information for the decisions that need to be made (2) Know when to say no
• CEO Defined: Being accountable and responsible for everything in the business

Website: http://www.searlebzllc.com
Twitter – http://twitter.com/SearleInfo
LinkedIn – http://bit.ly/22dhOdF

Full Interview:

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Transcription:

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Intro 0:02

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.

Gresham Harkless 0:27

Hello, hello, hello, this is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today. I've Christine Searle of Searle Business Solutions. Christine is great to have you on the show.

Christine Searle 0:36

Thank you so much, Gresh. It's a real pleasure.

Gresham Harkless 0:39
Awesome. And what I wanted to do was just read a little bit more about Christine so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. Christine Searle the owner of Searle Business Solutions, LLC, is a financial control expert with more than 30 years of experience helping businesses and non-profits understand and get control over their finances and taxes.

She provides tax preparation and planning services and financial process consulting. Christine is a Certified Internal Auditor, Certified in Risk Management Assurance, and an Enrolled Agent. She also volunteers with and supports several Arlington-based social safety net nonprofits.. Christine, are you ready to speak to the AM CEO community?

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Christine Searle 1:20

Sure. I can't wait.

Gresham Harkless 1:22

So let's do it. So the first question I had was just to hear a little bit more about your CEO story. And what led you to start your business?

Christine Searle 1:28

Well, it's interesting. You mentioned the social safety net nonprofits, my volunteer work actually inspired me to take all my decades of experience and instead of working for a large corporation, recognize that there are smaller nonprofits, smaller businesses, startups, and individuals that are entrepreneurs that need help too.

So if I were to write the story or the screenplay of my life, you think, Oh, she was planning this the whole time? No, I just have accumulated a lot of knowledge that I think entrepreneurs and small business owners, and nonprofit leaders can benefit from it. So I quit my job about four years ago and that's what I've been doing ever since and things are turning out exactly the way I want them to.

Gresham Harkless 2:16

Awesome. It's just like you had it all planned, it seems.

Christine Searle 2:19

Almost. But it really was an accident. I just really was inspired and I felt that if my volunteer work was getting me out of bed in the morning, and my job really wasn't anymore, I should change what I was doing.

Gresham Harkless 2:33

Yeah, and it takes a lot of courage to be able to do that. If you know you're not feeling exactly where you feel like you should be and to be able to just pass so to speak, and definitely, a lot of courage for you knowing that. So I wanted to drill a little bit deeper and hear how you're helping out these entrepreneurs, these nonprofit organizations, and associations.

Christine Searle 2:50

Well, nonprofit leaders, people that start a business, finances and financial controls, and taxes are not areas where they have expertise. And when they're starting off, they don't have all the information they need and if they can find a trusted adviser like me, to help them navigate through all the parts and pieces, budgeting, and financial reporting, they can manage their business know where you are, forecasts of the how things are going and then be up to date with your taxes. All that takes a lot of information that people just cannot learn and keep up with on their own.

So I find that my best clients, my favorite clients are individuals that own a business. They also certainly have personal tax needs and I can help them understand all the interdependencies and then help them work on some tax returns. We have extensions due in a couple of weeks. So those are just some of the things that people can not have to focus on how to do all that because they haven't made, then they can focus on growing their business, and when they're ready to get to the next level, they can seek my advice on how to do that. If they're not pricing their product, or they don't feel like they're making enough margin, we can look at their costs, their underlying costs, and see if they're really priced right in relation to the market and the value proposition that they bring to the table.

Gresham Harkless 4:15

That makes perfect sense. And that's definitely huge. You always hear that you have to know your finances to understand how much money you're making, from a certain amount of things that you're buying or you're selling so you have to make sure that you're always aware of all those nuances, so as you said, you can not only continue to run your business but even be in a business which is important to do.

Christine Searle 4:35

Absolutely. So being aware also that you might just be timing some people's cash flows are seasonal. I mean, my business is a great example of my tax practice. I'm really slammed to the wall about three months out of the year and that's usually when I make most of my money. I have to know how there's still going to be work but it's not going to be the same cash flow coming in.

So I need to make that money last or make sure that I'm also working on developing new business so that I have revenue streams coming in and I also advise my clients on that. It's not just the numbers, sometimes when we're talking things through, I have clients that can really get a breakthrough and understand that spending money on that now might not be necessary, or figuring out when it's the good point to quit their day job and spend more time building a business because they are about to turn the corner, but they're just not able to invest the time that they need, and just help him through those decisions and the return on investment of their time and their money.

Gresham Harkless 5:40

Which makes perfect sense. Yeah, that helps out of time, there's trying to understand that and you're making those decisions with, the data and information not just on a whim, so to speak, because you actually know like, if I do x, y, and z, then I can get to that level or this is holding me back for whatever reason, but you're able to do it with ability to forecast according to all the information that you help people out with.

Christine Searle 6:00

Right, right. That's exactly right. Because you can't know everything. Like I said earlier, you can't keep up with all the tax laws, it's not possible to have all the experience to recognize some of the interdependencies and the unintended consequences that might result from taking a particular course, that is one of the things that is great about working with someone with a lot of experience like me because I've seen a lot of different scenarios and a lot of the challenges that can come up so I can offer some perspective.

Gresham Harkless 6:32

Makes perfect sense. And now I wanted to ask you for what I call your secret sauce. You might have already touched on this but is there something that you feel distinguishes you and set you apart?

Christine Searle 6:40

Well, I think it is my experience, not only the length of time, but the variety, again, looking back on starting out working in financial institutions and then working in the financial planning industry from that I learned how to do taxes. Then I took a veer became a bank auditor, and then an auditor at a large nonprofit. So all of those different types of experiences, give me a lot of arrows in my quiver, so to speak.

So even when you're talking about taxes, I've seen different scenarios where different tax situations have come up, I even have had, because of my financial planning background and some of the clients and situations I worked in, I'm able to recognize, for example, if you've got a great idea, and you're trying to fund it with private investors, oh, you might be talking about a private placement that is going to spark the interest of the Securities Exchange Commission.

I mean, it gets a little bit esoteric sometimes, but I'm not one-stop shopping. And then I'm also good at knowing what I don't know and I've built a great partnership team of referral partners that I feel are trusted advisors in other areas that I don't really cover like legal and other transactional work that bookkeeping, things to keep all the parts and pieces together. And just we can't be everything to everyone.

Gresham Harkless 7:58

Yeah, absolutely.

Christine Searle 7:59

So I think my secret sauce is just the depth and breadth of knowledge.

Gresham Harkless 8:05

Yeah, absolutely. And, I was just going to reiterate, that is like you can't know everything but it's always good to know the person that you can ask. So it's good to have that trusted advisors like you spoke to and the experts that you know, and even though you've had the vast experience that helps out a ton, you also know that you can turn to people as well, too.

Christine Searle 8:22

Yeah. And then we can work in a partnership. There's no sense in asking the client to translate the legal advice, and then the financial information. So if the client agrees, then the different consultants can have conversations that are very efficient and can cut out some of the things that get dropped in translation.

Gresham Harkless 8:43

Right, right, when you have somebody that's already working together and has that synergy, I guess you can say

Christine Searle 8:47

Exactly.

Gresham Harkless 8:48

Awesome, awesome, awesome. So now I wanted to switch gears a little bit and ask you for what I call a CEO hack, this might be an app or book, or habit that you have, but it's something that makes you more effective and efficient as a business owner.

Christine Searle 8:59

Well, it's more discipline or practice and it's something that I've developed over time, and I think works really well in my business. I make sure that I keep really organized and that even during my business times of the season, I don't let any aspect of my business fall apart. I always keep up with my own financial record keeping no matter how busy I am. I'm always networking, I'm always planning, and I even write a blog every week, that does not stop when I'm really busy.

So I'm always keeping my name out there and I cut back a little bit of my volunteer work during tax season, but I also volunteer. So I think that firing on all cylinders at all times, you might need to throttle a couple of cylinders back at different times but keeping all that going, I think is key to my success. And I've seen some other people forget that they've got a few things and they keep going even when they're really busy serving their clients.

Gresham Harkless 9:55

Yeah, that makes sense. And I think that's a great CEO hack, especially because a lot of times consistency is such a big part of being in business and being able to do that blog post, do that networking event and always continue to be active, even when you're extremely busy, can help you out three, four months down the line. So you always have to make sure you have that consistency.

Christine Searle 10:14

Well, I really think, and I've noticed every year because I keep records, I know that my business has grown every year. And last year, I really noticed it, but this year has been amazing. I have constant referrals. Now I am doing business with people, and everyone that comes to me now has been referred by a client or a networking partner, someone that trusts me, so many of those referrals end up being clients.

Gresham Harkless 10:41

Nice, nice. And that's, to me, that a show and proof of you providing great service, if somebody wants to, of course, pass it on and say, hey, I know this great person that can help out. So I think that's an awesome example. And now I want to ask you, for a CEO nugget and this might be a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. It could be around advice that you have for entrepreneurs and business owners, or it could be something that you might tell your younger business self.

Christine Searle 11:03

Well, I think, two small ones, because I think they go hand in hand. First of all, make sure that you have information for the decisions that you make, I see not too many, often and it's a little painful to see new entrepreneurs especially react to the newest shiny object without delving into whether or not they are really going to be gather whatever information you can about the return on investment of that activity, or building that relationship. It could be a networking group, it could be investing in marketing, or it could be a new tool or software or something.

But really understand that because one thing like that is not going to save your business or keep your business going, and also knowing when to say no. So that bright shiny object, somebody thinks it's a really cool idea to work for somebody else, assess it, is it going to work for you? And don't be afraid to say no. Saying no is going to open the door for some other things that are good yeses.

Gresham Harkless 11:47

Absolutely. Yeah, that makes perfect sense. And like you said you have to be able to create that space. And sometimes by having that space, you have to say no to certain opportunities, or maybe even certain, shiny objects that come up in their fantasy that are going to be the end all be all to everything you need to do and perfect solution. A lot of times that's not the case. So you have to be able to say no or not now, maybe later on, and then start to figure out as you said, if there is some ROI by adding that on later on.

Christine Searle 11:47

Exactly. Because we only have so many resources, time, money energy, you have to focus on where it's going to really do the best for you. And what your plans are there your plans?

Gresham Harkless 11:47

Absolutely, absolutely. 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 I wanted to ask you, Christine, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Christine Searle 11:47

Well, it's being ultimately accountable and responsible for everything in your business, even if you're not the one that's actually performing the activities. So the work really does start with you. So making the decisions that you know, are good for your business, and then maintaining your reputation, and all the other things that it takes to succeed because you are your business when you're out there. That is you.

So I really think that even when I wasn't just working for myself, I made really good choices for the organizations that I worked for. And now I get the opportunity to benefit from or work through the challenges of every single thing that happens in my business, and I love it.

Gresham Harkless 11:47

Here you go. Yeah, you have made the decisions, and you get you bear the fruits of whatever it is that you do, or sometimes they're not yet ripe fruits, I should say or sometimes you have to wait around a little bit longer.

Christine Searle 13:50

Yeah, absolutely. But even if I have something that's challenging, I think, is this better than what used to be my life? Yes, absolutely, absolutely, no question. I have never, for one moment regretted my choice to start my business and become my own CEO.

Gresham Harkless 14:07

Well, I love to hear that. And, Christine, I truly appreciate you taking some time out of your schedule, what I wanted to do his passion to the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional, you want to let our readers and our listeners know and then how best people can get a hold of you.

Christine Searle 14:19

Well, I just encourage people to take the leap. If you've figured out that this is what you really want to do and get somebody to help you if you can't figure out the numbers and how to make a business plan doesn't have to be formal, but you do need to plan a vision, energy to execute it, and then be able to be adaptable because you're always going to get more information that you need to make adjustments and make everything better. So just be confident and you can do it. You really can.

So the best way to reach me is through my website, www.searlebzllc.com and there's plenty of information about me, that's what my blog post is. And then you can also contact me through the website and put in a service request or just a request for a phone call so that we can get acquainted, and I can find out more about how I can help you.

Gresham Harkless 15:17

Awesome, awesome. Well, that sounds like a plan. And I appreciate you so much again, Christine, I'm glad you made the decision that you made. I'm sure there are a lot of other people that are happy as well. And we'll make sure to have all those links in the show notes. So again, I appreciate you and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Christine Searle 15:30

You too Gresh, Thank you.

Outro 15:33

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

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