The Journey

Hey business friends! I think it's time I reintroduce myself.... My name is Jennifer and I am the owner of Business and Beyond. I love all things business and money. I help small business owners increase their profits by working smarter, not harder. In these blog posts I'll be discussing all things money, business finance, tools, systems and everything I know that will help you ultimately do business better.

I felt the need to give a closer look into who I am, my journey through entrepreneurship and how I got to where I am today. So, let's just get into it.

I have always been good with money and numbers. I began taking accounting classes in high school. I even placed in a state competition for Accounting. Yeah, I really liked accounting. I went on to get an accounting degree with big plans on working in the accounting field, moving up in corporate America and becoming a partner or something at an accounting firm. You know the vibes, we are all taught to go to school, get a good job and live happily ever after. Well things didn’t quite work out that way.

After graduation, I jumped right into my field and was hired as an accountant in the hospitality industry. I worked in accounting for local hotels, restaurants, retail shops,etc. After about 4 years, I transitioned to financial analysis at an accounting firm. At this point I’m like all is good, this is where I wanted to end up, things should be good here. I was there for four years until…..I was laid off! Ya’ll I was really shook. I was in the office like, I know y’all aren’t talking to me. But yes, they were and just like that I was unemployed.

Of course you hear of layoffs happening all the time but you never actually think it will happen to you. So what did I do, I pulled myself together and began the dreadful job search. Ya’ll know how it is, you update your resume, fill out countless applications until you get to the point where you are literally applying for any and everything. Go on interview after interview sitting there while the interviewer asks ‘Why should we hire you’… umm because I need a job, duh. (Isn’t that really what you want to say though?)

 So I did this dance for six months. It was exhausting! I have always been good with money so thank God I had savings which helped in a major way. I had some cushion to fall back on but it became extremely mentally stressful. Not knowing how long this era was going to last, not knowing when my savings was going to run out, not knowing what my livelihood was about to be.  Finally, I found another job, it wasn’t a top choice but at this point I didn’t have any more time to be picky, after all I have a mortgage to pay. It was in my field but.. I ended up having to take a substantial pay cut forcing me to implement some major lifestyle changes. I had to ask myself did I want to settle for a lower salary or continue with no salary for who knows how long.

This whole process just had me so frustrated. I’m getting frustrated all over again as I type this. The whole time I just kept thinking to myself, this is not ok. Being employed one day and unemployed the next is not ok. No notice, no time to prepare, nothing. Just being able to be let go literally at any time and have your livelihood ripped from under you is not ok. From that point on, I knew I needed more. I needed something else, a backup plan, a plan B so if this were to happen again I wouldn’t be caught like a deer in headlights, again.

I was never the entrepreneur type. It was never a goal of mine to be a business owner but this experience shifted something in me. I decided that I cannot put 100% of my livelihood in someone else's hands… period.

So, I decided I wanted to get into entrepreneurship but didn't really know how. All I knew was that I wanted to stay within the accounting and finance industry. As I thought about it, I decided I really wanted to help small business owners become more organized so they could do business better. After all, I have years of corporate experience looking at the behind the scenes business and financial operations of major corporations. I knew that I had knowledge to share that would be helpful. My ultimate goal was to bring big business experience to help the small business world, but I didn’t know exactly how to go about doing that. As I began figuring things out, a friend of mine randomly approached me about a network marketing opportunity. I had no idea what networking marketing was or anything about MLM companies but I figured it doesn't hurt to try. I ended up trying a bunch of different things and ended up getting into multiple MLMs simultaneously. If you aren’t familiar with MLMs, they are multi-level marketing companies that typically offer a product or service and also have a business opportunity available if you want to join the company and/or build a team.

So at this point I had my hand in several different pots. I offered insurance, credit repair, tax prep and was even involved in a few things that had nothing to do with finance. The longer I was involved, the more the network marketing aspect of my business began to take over. If you have ever been heavily involved in network marketing you know you can get caught up in the hustle and bustle of it all very quickly, especially when the checks start flowing. Ultimately, I was successful in it but it wasn't fulfilling. It began to feel like a hustle more than walking in my purpose. And, there are certain aspects of networking marketing that I didn’t like (don’t worry, I’ll tell ya’ll about that later). The initial reason for starting the business had taken a back seat. Even the services I offered outside of network marketing had me all over the place. So, I decided to stop. I mean stop everything. I needed to take a step back and really think about what I wanted to do, what I was really supposed to be doing and the best way to go about restructuring my business.

I took courses, went to conferences and learned a lot about entrepreneurship in general. If you are an entrepreneur do not underestimate the value of investing in yourself. It really is the best investment you will ever make.

I did a self assessment and realized that I needed to get back to what I initially set out to do when I first started, which is help small businesses do business better. So that's what I'm doing. It's my mission to help small business owners increase profits by working smarter, not harder.

I want to help you 

1. Implement financial strategies so you can better understand your cash flow

2. Input processes and systems that will help you do business more efficiently. 

3. Confidently put the right price on your products and services

So.. here we are. I look forward to connecting and helping you with your business needs. I can’t wait to share more info with you! Until then, all of my contact info is below, please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions.

xoxo,

Jenn

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