Janel Sykora is on a mission to help accounting firms grow profitably. She works with a lot of accounting firms. She builds sales funnels and helps them tell their brand story.

She teaches firms how to create and implement marketing and sales strategies that drive profitable growth without adding resources.

Business leaders can choose to grow or be comfortable, but not both. Comfort leads to falling behind, and growth requires change. Janel works with accounting firms that have a vision for growth and are willing to embrace change to achieve it.

So you're basically helping your clients evolve?

100 percent. For a while, I worked for a large software company. What we were selling wasn't necessarily solving the biggest problems those accounting firms had. So, I found myself talking to these firms about, where is your pain? Where are your bottlenecks? I realized this is a profession in a middle of a massive transition right now.

How long were you in that stage before you said, "Wait a minute, I've got to branch out and talk to people because I just need to get different perspectives?"

I never hesitate to get second opinions. Not only with businesses that I've owned and been involved with, but really my entire professional journey. But I'm also a doer, so I'll get an idea, and then I run with it. If I fall down and scrape my knee, I get back up and I'm going to look at people around me and say, "OK, what did I do? Help me figure out what I did wrong or what I did right?"

Have you been able to have a mentor throughout this entire process? Or maybe during that pivoting time?

I've had a lot of mentors throughout my career. I had a mentor throughout that particular pivotal time who was just a fantastic person. He was very high up at another software company that was very successful and kind of took me under his wing. He was brutally honest and just was there for me. He provided a completely "no judgment zone" and really did help me. But part of it was I had to get over myself and get out of my own way,

What is your superpower?

I believe my superpower is being able to take a company's vision and be able to translate that into their brand story and the message that attracts the clients that they want. I want to be the part that helps communicate the brand story of these firms who are ready and willing to make that shift.

You will want to find out more about Janel on her website. Want to learn more about working with Janel? Fill out the quick form on her website, and she'll be in touch!

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Glenn:

Well, good morning, everybody, we're here again to talk with another fellow entrepreneur

Glenn:

and try to figure out how to make this, what makes entrepreneurs tick and how do we roll?

Glenn:

So I'm here. Glenn Harper Harper and company with Julie Smith.

Glenn:

Hi, Julie.

Julie:

Hi, Glenn.

Glenn:

So we had a problem with the coffee this morning.

Glenn:

Espresso machine was down.

Glenn:

That's Julie. Secondary job to be the barista.

Glenn:

And that just didn't work.

Glenn:

So I didn't get mine.

Glenn:

She didn't get hers so we can do the best we can today.

Glenn:

We're joined with Janel Sikora.

Glenn:

She is a consultant from all things marketing.

Glenn:

She's joining us from sunny Florida, and we're happy to have her, and we're really

Glenn:

excited to hear what she has to say today.

Glenn:

Hi, Janel, how are you?

Janel:

Hey, Glenn. Hey, Julie.

Janel:

Thank you so much for having me on.

Janel:

This is going to be fun.

Speaker1:

Well, that's the goal.

Speaker1:

That's the goal. So we came across Janel.

Speaker1:

Gosh, it's been what six months ago?

Speaker1:

Give or take,

Julie:

Maybe a little bit more.

Glenn:

Oh my. And you know, sometimes when you meet people, you have a you're like, OK, I think

Glenn:

we can work with this person. It'll be fine.

Glenn:

And sometimes it just hits you and you're like, Wow, this person's got things going on.

Glenn:

And I felt Janelle was that way.

Glenn:

I suspect you felt the same thing.

Julie:

Glenn, I think I told you that, but you can take the thunder for that one.

Glenn:

Hey, I do the best I can.

Glenn:

But it was just an amazing to hear a fresh perspective on how things work.

Glenn:

So, Janelle, tell us, you know, what is your company and what do you do?

Janel:

Yeah. So you know what?

Janel:

I don't I think I've always been an entrepreneur, so I love marketing.

Janel:

I, you know, I guess by trade, if you will.

Janel:

I've been a sales person for twenty eight years, but I've always been really drawn to

Janel:

content and I've never been that salesperson, right?

Janel:

That person, it's really salesy, pushy.

Janel:

And what I've been a lot more successful doing is being able to build a story and to

Janel:

really understand what a client's.

Janel:

Problem is and to be able to draw them into a store.

Janel:

What I do is I I work on building sales funnels for specifically accounting firms, I work

Janel:

with a lot of accounting firms.

Janel:

I build sales funnels and I help them tell their brand story.

Janel:

I also see oversee marketing for a software startup.

Janel:

So I'm all things marketing, and the core of that is being able to tell a story and draw

Janel:

your your prospective clients into that story.

Glenn:

Is there a difference between selling a product or a service?

Glenn:

Or is it the same kind of story thing or how does that work for you?

Glenn:

It sounds like you just chose the service side, but does that work the same?

Janel:

I think it does. I don't think it matters really what you're selling.

Janel:

I think it matters the problem that you're solving, to be honest.

Speaker1:

So is it is is the problem generally when you're trying to sell.

Speaker1:

A product or service for someone is trying to define from that person, what is it they're

Speaker1:

really trying to sell because what they think they're trying to sell is generally not

Speaker1:

what they're selling, right?

Janel:

Yeah, but I think it goes a little bit further than that.

Janel:

I think you really have to understand your your customers and what they're you know, what

Janel:

problems do they have that you're trying to solve?

Janel:

And are you listening to them and do you do have the right solution and even a step

Janel:

beyond that, if you're listening to a client you think is a great prospect and you don't

Janel:

have the solution for them?

Janel:

How can you still serve them and add value?

Janel:

Because someday they might need what you're selling, whether that's a product or service?

Speaker1:

Does that mean that you're basically having to help the client evolve?

Speaker1:

Because again, it seems like most people want to start out selling a and all of a sudden

Speaker1:

they find out that clients really didn't want a they wanted bcd.

Speaker1:

And F, is that what?

Speaker1:

You see that evolution?

Janel:

100 percent. Yeah.

Janel:

So what's really interesting?

Janel:

So I've been an entrepreneur for many years.

Janel:

I've had my share of falling down and scraping my knee and getting up.

Janel:

And, you know, for for a while, I worked for a large software company.

Janel:

And what was really interesting to your point there, Glenn, is every day I was out

Janel:

working with accounting firms and they were midsize accounting firms.

Janel:

And what we were, you know, what we were selling wasn't necessarily solving the biggest

Janel:

problems those accounting firms had.

Janel:

So, you know, I found myself talking to these firms about, you know, where is your pain?

Janel:

Where are your bottlenecks?

Janel:

What this is?

Janel:

This is a profession in a middle of a massive transition right now.

Janel:

Where's your pain? And I think I kind of had to not reinvent myself but really pivot what

Janel:

my own professional brand was about.

Janel:

And it really kind of catapulted my entrepreneurial journey as well to go out and really

Janel:

solve some of these critical business issues that were out there that, you know, I was

Janel:

working for a company that I didn't feel was necessarily solving the issues.

Janel:

I could add value to solve accountants.

Speaker1:

That sounds horrible to deal with them.

Speaker1:

I don't know how you found motivation from that, but guys, God love you.

Speaker1:

That's great, because that's a tough nut to crack.

Speaker1:

When you started talking to accountants, was it more like, Well, these people just can't

Speaker1:

get out of their own way? Or was it more like, Hey, these people only need help?

Speaker1:

Or did you just kind of like, get what they needed and they couldn't articulate?

Janel:

Well, you know what, I've been I've been working with accountants for years, and so I

Janel:

think what fascinates me about the profession is that it's in the middle of this massive

Janel:

transition, right? So you've got a lot of firms that have been doing things the same way

Janel:

over and over again for the last 30, 40 years.

Janel:

I actually went to school to be an accountant.

Janel:

That's what I thought I was, the path I thought I was going to go down.

Janel:

That's a whole other story.

Speaker2:

Quitter. That's a great story, by the way.

Speaker2:

Someday, someday you have to listen to that.

Janel:

Yeah, it's there's a resistance to change, but at the same time, there are these big

Janel:

holes. The same things were happening at every firm.

Janel:

And you know, that kind of a long answer to your question there.

Janel:

There's so much opportunity there to help them, I guess, evolve as entrepreneurs

Janel:

themselves.

Speaker1:

But accountants know everything.

Speaker1:

I'm not sure what you value could bring to them because we are so smart.

Janel:

Well, yes.

Janel:

So I guess you are.

Speaker1:

I'm just joking, but that's how we think, right?

Speaker1:

How do you how do you get how do you crack that nut to get in there and make them do

Speaker1:

that? What's what's your little skill set or secret that you do to give them that aha

Speaker1:

moment?

Janel:

I don't think everyone, every accounting firm is ready for that, Glenn, to be honest, I

Janel:

think some there are some that still just feel like compliance is the end all, be all.

Janel:

Unfortunately, there are a lot of them that still think that way.

Janel:

But I think where the AHA moment comes is when someone has finally seen the light that

Janel:

the firm is bigger than them and that they need to to collect and surround themselves

Janel:

with people who have other skill sets to bring to the table.

Janel:

And that that's what's really going to get that firm to the next level.

Janel:

Those are the accounting firms that I love to work with and where we can make a big

Janel:

difference.

Speaker2:

And Janelle, do you think that that probably holds true across many industries?

Speaker2:

It's not just the accounting industry.

Janel:

Absolutely. One hundred percent.

Janel:

I mean, one of the things that you guys talk about to and so resonates with me, it's so

Janel:

easy for any entrepreneur, no matter what your business is to to you.

Janel:

Start with this spark because you know there's something in your DNA that's driving you

Janel:

and you get into it and you've got this passion on.

Janel:

All of a sudden you're doing business right, as you guys say, and you're doing business

Janel:

and you're in a grind and you're in a grind and you don't stop to be strategic, you

Janel:

cannot get out of your own way and you burn out.

Janel:

So I don't think it's just the accounting profession.

Janel:

I think it's any entrepreneurial venture kind of a cautionary tale.

Speaker1:

I think that's. Probably the key to this thing is, you know, accountants.

Speaker1:

Cpa firms, you know, EY firms, whatever they're advising, all their, you know, you have

Speaker1:

one firm that will represent, you know, a few hundred clients, that part where they're

Speaker1:

just sitting there, going, watching their clients be successful, helping their clients be

Speaker1:

successful and they're not able to figure that out themselves.

Speaker1:

And in the cool part about it is when you realize, you know.

Speaker1:

The relationships that you have as an entrepreneur, whether they be, you know, family,

Speaker1:

friends, centers of influence, clients, whomever, but those relationships, if you be a

Speaker1:

really good friend, you'll be surprised what people will tell you.

Speaker1:

And they all want to help in your line of work and in your journey.

Speaker1:

How how much were those relationships helpful for you?

Speaker1:

Or were you just a prodigy and you just knew it all on your own?

Janel:

Like Glen, well, you know, it's funny because I'm the oldest child in my family, so of

Janel:

course I know everything and I all I have to figure it all out on my own right and I have

Janel:

to fall down and get back up ninety seven times.

Janel:

And that's how I learned. I always learned the hard way, so always been that way.

Janel:

But at the same time, you're right.

Janel:

I mean, there are I think it's really important to surround yourself always with

Janel:

positivity and to be able to separate anybody out who's toxic or who doesn't believe in

Janel:

you. But I think it's really important to surround yourself with friends, with family

Janel:

that and with a good peer network that you can bounce ideas off of and that will help

Janel:

guide you and shape you and not be afraid to tell you when you do need to get out of your

Janel:

own way. So, yeah, that network you surround yourself with is a huge part of your journey

Janel:

and your success.

Speaker1:

How how long did it take you to or even did you have like a show where you're just like,

Speaker1:

OK, I'm in the quantum of solace, and I got to figure this thing out.

Speaker1:

How long were you in that stage before you said, Wait a minute, I've got to branch out

Speaker1:

and talk to people because I just need to get different perspectives.

Speaker1:

Was that right away?

Speaker1:

Did you jump right in and do that?

Speaker1:

Or did that take a while for you to figure that out?

Janel:

You know, that's kind of a that's kind of a tough question to answer for that.

Janel:

So as far as.

Janel:

Got, you know, people, I've always needed to validate ideas and things like that for

Janel:

people around me, I never hesitate to get second opinions, et cetera, with.

Janel:

Not only, you know, businesses that I've owned and been involved with, but really my

Janel:

entire professional journey.

Janel:

But I'm also a doer, so I'll get an idea and then I run with it, and then I might.

Janel:

If I fall down and scraped my knee, I get back up and I'm going to, you know, really kind

Janel:

of look at people around me and say, OK, what did I do?

Janel:

Help me figure out what I did wrong or what I did right?

Janel:

So I think that just kind of depends on the part of the journey that I've that I've been

Janel:

in, if that makes sense.

Speaker1:

Well, you know, some people are outgoing and they'll talk about anything to anything or

Speaker1:

anyone, they'll talk to a wall.

Speaker1:

You seem like you're very reserved, quiet, introverted type person.

Speaker1:

So it's probably hard for you to go out and find that information.

Speaker1:

But you know, it's a lot easier for people that are, you know, external and and and can

Speaker1:

communicate well.

Speaker1:

Do you feel like then and on that particular point that you kind of just naturally did

Speaker1:

that right off the top? You didn't have to have an aha moment or you were just

Speaker1:

communicating with everybody the whole time?

Janel:

No, I think there there does have to be a bit of an aha moment.

Janel:

I think back to back in twenty ten I was I was newly divorced single mom, single parent.

Janel:

My kids were young and that was my first big entrepreneurial venture.

Janel:

And it was a huge venture.

Janel:

I raised a lot of money to start a software company.

Janel:

And it was a big failure after about four years and no longer than that, actually.

Janel:

But anyhow, you know, my ego is so bruised by that, and I think hindsight's always 20 20,

Janel:

but I think sometimes it takes something like that to go back and ask people that maybe

Janel:

you just kind of, you know, or to go back and collect, what did I do wrong and to really

Janel:

get some outside opinions.

Janel:

Some people that were on the outside looking in versus me, who is so on the inside,

Janel:

looking out to really kind of help me understand what didn't go right and how to pivot to

Janel:

not. You know, have that experience again,

Speaker1:

If that makes sense, totally, so you're suggesting that you have to literally fall on your

Speaker1:

face to recognize that point in life where you have to make the pivot to do something

Speaker1:

different? And you know, you just said a very dirty word that we don't use an

Speaker1:

entrepreneur where we never say failure, ever.

Speaker1:

We say setback.

Speaker1:

We say a new opportunity.

Speaker1:

We say a changing direction.

Speaker1:

We say pivot. So we're not allowed to use that word anymore.

Speaker1:

It scares people because you like

Janel:

To say fail

Speaker1:

Forward. Well.

Speaker1:

But even that's not good because we can.

Speaker1:

We never fail because we're just trying to figure it out.

Speaker1:

And as you're trying to figure it out as an entrepreneur, you never if you think you're

Speaker1:

going to fail well, then you're never going to try.

Speaker1:

So it has to be like, Hey, well, this might didn't work out.

Speaker1:

Let's try something else.

Speaker1:

But you think probably that that experience probably gave you the savvy and the

Speaker1:

understanding and the context, probably to nuke your new next adventure?

Janel:

Correct? Absolutely.

Janel:

Yeah, yeah, for sure.

Janel:

I mean, definitely shaped me.

Speaker1:

Is that horrible? You have to go through that, but that's just life, right?

Speaker1:

Life's hard. If it was easier, I would do it now.

Speaker2:

Yeah, Julie. Sorry.

Speaker2:

Have you had a mentor through the whole like?

Speaker2:

Have you been able to have a mentor throughout the entire process or maybe during that

Speaker2:

pivoting time?

Speaker2:

Was it did it really come to fruition who maybe some of those important influences and

Speaker2:

relationships were?

Janel:

That's such a good question.

Janel:

I've had a lot of mentors, actually, you know, throughout my career.

Janel:

And yeah, I did.

Janel:

I had a mentor throughout that particular pivotal time who was just a fantastic person.

Janel:

He was very high up at another software company that was very successful and kind of took

Janel:

me under his wing and, you know, was brutally honest and just was there for me.

Janel:

And, you know, completely no judgment zone and really did help me.

Janel:

But part of it was, I mean, yes, from a mentor perspective.

Janel:

But part of it was I had to get over myself and get out of my own way, as you would say,

Janel:

and pick myself up and go, OK, there's still that big entrepreneurial spark in me.

Janel:

What did I learn from this experience that will shape how I move forward in my future and

Janel:

help me enjoy this journey a little bit differently?

Janel:

So mentors have always been a big part of my world for sure.

Speaker2:

And do you still have that relationship today

Janel:

With that person? No, I have not.

Janel:

He's moved on from his company.

Janel:

And so I haven't.

Janel:

I wouldn't say that we've got that type of a mentor relationship today,

Speaker1:

One on that mentor.

Speaker1:

You know, it's it's funny how people can come in and out of your life as you go through

Speaker1:

go through life when you this mentor person that we all probably have had one.

Speaker1:

The onus to start that conversation, to start that mentoring process, was it for you with

Speaker1:

this person is it's something they saw you struggle and they asked you if you needed

Speaker1:

help? Or is it a point in time where you just like, I just need to talk to somebody in

Speaker1:

that person was available?

Speaker1:

Which way was that for you?

Janel:

Such a great question.

Janel:

So this was kind of a weird scenario.

Janel:

So I was starting to gain some traction in the city that I used to live in.

Janel:

I used to live in St.

Janel:

Louis, Missouri, and I was starting to gain some traction, get out there and become the

Janel:

company was becoming known.

Janel:

And he just found me on LinkedIn and really took me under his wing.

Janel:

It was it's a very good entrepreneurial community in St.

Janel:

Louis. And and just by the grace of God, he found me online in on LinkedIn and said, Hey,

Janel:

I see what you're doing. I like what you're doing.

Janel:

I think it's cool. I want to learn more about it.

Janel:

Been there, done that.

Janel:

Let's go to lunch. And I thought, Well, this is kind of strange.

Janel:

This person out of the blue.

Janel:

I don't know you. I very much know who you are and I know your company.

Janel:

But what? That's crazy.

Janel:

And it was very crazy, and it really started a good, you know, we met regularly and he

Janel:

was a great mentor to me.

Janel:

And because there's a lot of challenges when you're when you're starting up.

Speaker1:

Well, I think that the crazy thing is something that I learned in in something we try to

Speaker1:

talk to all our clients on is that at some point it goes against human nature to trust

Speaker1:

somebody and to trust, especially somebody you don't know.

Speaker1:

But gosh darn it, sometimes when you do it, it's awesome, right?

Speaker1:

And you could have just said ignored that request and say, I'm not going to do it.

Speaker1:

But for some reason you just said, What have I got to lose?

Speaker1:

I mean, that's a that's a big deal because it's hard, especially for a chick to do that.

Speaker1:

Some random guy on LinkedIn, that's hard to do.

Speaker1:

And then all of a sudden you're like, Hey, let's see what happens.

Speaker1:

And then next thing you know, turns out to be a noble guy helping out.

Speaker1:

And was that person that you probably needed because you just didn't have anybody else?

Speaker1:

Because do you find as an entrepreneur that it's hard to find people that you can,

Speaker1:

you know, commiserate and lament with because you can't go around and telling, you know,

Speaker1:

kids and close friends and family that you know, you made a million dollars and you can't

Speaker1:

go tell them that you lost a million dollars, right?

Speaker1:

How do you how do you find who's that person for you that you have in that tree of trust

Speaker1:

that you get to kind of share those ups and downs where that's your highest of highs and

Speaker1:

lows of lows, but you don't.

Speaker1:

It's you can't let other people see that because they'll judge you in a certain way.

Speaker1:

And it gets awkward, right?

Speaker1:

Who does that for you?

Janel:

Yeah. Well, honestly, I mean, it's it's truly this is going to sound so cheesy, but it's

Janel:

my husband, like he's my no judgment zone, and he's also the one that, you know,

Janel:

sometimes when you have to have those moments that he's like, OK, get over yourself, it's

Janel:

gonna be fine, you're going to be fine.

Janel:

But I think, you know, kind of back to your statement about the people that kind of come

Janel:

in and out in those seasons in your life, that kind of really kind of helps shape your

Janel:

journey. And I think ultimately those people are so critical.

Janel:

But you know what you really want to get to as an entrepreneur is is kind of being able

Janel:

to recognize and understand what your own individual superpower is.

Janel:

Because even if you're an entrepreneur and your you go down the path of one business or

Janel:

another business and you're just doing business versus growing a business, you know that

Janel:

there's a spark there. You know that you own.

Janel:

You want to own and build something, but you don't always know like what your gift is.

Janel:

And I think that a lot of times the importance of having a mentor kind of comes down to

Janel:

that because they do kind of help you over time, discover what your superpower is and

Janel:

what your gift is. You have to offer.

Janel:

And at that point, that's when you can really begin to enjoy the journey.

Janel:

And, you know, that's kind of that's where I'm at right now.

Speaker1:

What is your superpower?

Janel:

Well, my I believe my superpower is being able to take a company's vision and be able to

Janel:

translate that into their brand story and the message that attracts the clients that they

Janel:

want. And I think that's that is what I've identified as my superpower.

Speaker1:

Joe, would you agree with that assessment?

Speaker2:

I think that's a good superpower, Janelle.

Speaker1:

It is. And the reason I know that is because we brought Julie in on our Janelle and on our

Speaker1:

team a few months ago, and it has been just a wonderful experience to be able to take all

Speaker1:

this stuff that's in in our head kind of vomit that up over onto the table here.

Speaker1:

And Jenna goes, Oh yeah, I got that.

Speaker1:

And next thing, you know, she puts it back and it's like, you get it.

Speaker1:

That's exactly what we're trying to say and that it is a really good superpower.

Speaker1:

So we thank you for that because that that is a that is a skill set because there's a lot

Speaker1:

in our heads to say as entrepreneurs and it's hard for somebody to be the decoder ring

Speaker1:

for that. So so yes, I would agree with that.

Speaker1:

I'm not sure my superpower is.

Speaker1:

It's probably running the 10 key.

Speaker1:

I don't know. Julie, what's your superpower?

Janel:

I think Julie does the 10 key, right?

Speaker2:

Yeah, mine's definitely the 10 key to use to like prop up something.

Speaker2:

It's like the different uses for the 10 key, not the actual actual use of it.

Speaker2:

I think, Janelle, so as you've went through this entire journey and you think about where

Speaker2:

you're going and you've been able to identify, you know, what your superpower is, what is

Speaker2:

your dream from taking that superpower?

Speaker2:

Is it to really focus in on an industry or do you just want to open the whole thing up?

Speaker2:

What do you what do you see in your future?

Janel:

A really great question, Julie, because I think about that a lot, and, you know, I think

Janel:

right now and I think that could evolve to right, but right now I am so just passionate

Janel:

about this fire in me about what is happening in the accounting profession.

Janel:

It's, you know, I see firms out there that are just stuck, they're stuck.

Janel:

And they know that there has to be a transition to becoming business advisors because

Janel:

there are so many small businesses out there that need firms.

Janel:

And I think that they're stuck because they don't know how to communicate their vision

Janel:

and how to create a brand that makes them a little bit different and how to attract the

Janel:

clients. Because automatically firms think I'm not a salesperson.

Janel:

I'm not. I don't want to be a salesperson.

Janel:

They don't have to be. They need a sales skill set.

Janel:

That doesn't mean they have to be salesy.

Janel:

And so, you know, I think my dream too is, you know, I really like to be able to help

Janel:

businesses grow in that respect.

Janel:

You know, the software company that I work with, TaxAct, I love being able to create the

Janel:

messaging and the marketing strategy to help them evolve and grow.

Janel:

And I want to be able to do that for, you know, in the accounting profession to really

Janel:

ultimately change the accounting profession so that it's attracting more people so that

Janel:

there isn't a talent shortage so that accounting firms feel like, Hey, I can go out and

Janel:

hire someone who has a business background or a marketing background or an engineering

Janel:

background. I see the profession shifting, and I just I want to be the part of that that

Janel:

helps communicate the brand story of these firms who are ready and willing to make that

Janel:

shift.

Speaker2:

That's a great answer. You said a key word multiple times, and I kind of wanted to throw

Speaker2:

that word back at you because it's a word that you and I have thrown around to its

Speaker2:

evolve. And I think, do you think being able to evolve as an entrepreneur has really led

Speaker2:

you to be able to be successful and see that vision, understand your superpower and even

Speaker2:

be able to have those dreams?

Janel:

Absolutely. Because, you know, I think that a lot of companies that are stuck in their

Janel:

ways, it's because it comes from a place of fear, right?

Janel:

It's a place of, OK, I've always done it this way and it's worked.

Janel:

I've never really fallen on my face and I'm scared to death to do that.

Janel:

But I've been there.

Janel:

I have, you know, made mistakes and fallen on my face, and I've picked myself back up and

Janel:

recreated something awesome.

Janel:

And so, yeah, one hundred percent.

Janel:

I agree that that adds a lot of perspective.

Speaker1:

So one of the traits that we that I guess I get to see a lot of entrepreneurs is they're

Speaker1:

they're very stubborn, but they're very resilient because they are doggedly going to

Speaker1:

pursue their passion, whether it's right or wrong, they dig in and that's they're they're

Speaker1:

a pit bull grabbing onto it.

Speaker1:

And literally the key with an entrepreneur is to get into them before they grab onto the

Speaker1:

sinking ship.

Speaker1:

If they just did a little pivot, it could change.

Speaker1:

Do you feel like for you that that pivot had to happen where you had to watch that kind

Speaker1:

of go down? Or do you feel like you would have been better if you'd have got it earlier?

Speaker1:

Would you even listened on your last endeavor that you had?

Speaker1:

What do you think?

Speaker1:

You know, because there's different stages when people have that moment, right?

Speaker1:

They have to hit rock bottom.

Speaker1:

They have to hit partway, they get nervous, but they're very resilient and they'll try

Speaker1:

something else but it.

Speaker1:

What? What point was that for you?

Speaker1:

That like, what stage was that was like burning in effigies of hell?

Speaker1:

Or was it like hanging out at the beginning?

Janel:

Yeah. You know, I think probably maybe I developed that relationship with my mentor a

Janel:

little too late in the game.

Janel:

Hmm. Is that kind of what you're asking about?

Speaker1:

Yeah, I guess the it's never too late, right?

Speaker1:

It's just at what stage did you go, Oh, wait a minute.

Speaker1:

Oh, that's not the right way.

Speaker1:

Now I got to do it this way.

Speaker1:

Do you feel like you were at the very, you know, like how did you pull yourself back up

Speaker1:

or you're like, OK, I still got some energy left.

Speaker1:

I still got some gas in the tank.

Speaker1:

Where about where you were in that?

Janel:

Yeah. Well, with that particular venture, I ran out of gas.

Janel:

My ego was bruised.

Janel:

You know, my main investor was like, Look, we're done.

Janel:

And I was.

Janel:

It was. And he was also my business partner, and I didn't have a lot of say in that

Janel:

because I wasn't the one writing the checks.

Janel:

I had raised all the money.

Janel:

And I think I gave away too much say in what was happening, and I didn't realize that

Janel:

until the ship had really already sunk, to be honest.

Janel:

So that was a really tough lesson.

Janel:

But like you said, you there.

Janel:

I think maybe early on in that venture, if there could have been some more intervention

Janel:

like a business coach early on into something that big because that was a huge venture to

Janel:

get into that could have made a big difference.

Janel:

I mean, I'm a huge advocate for entrepreneurs.

Janel:

If they're at all feeling like, Oh my gosh, this could get away from me or I'm scared.

Janel:

Get a business coach. And I think that could make a big difference or find out a really

Janel:

good mentor who can kind of be that coach.

Janel:

Because, like you said, if you if you intervene at the beginning, right when you jump in

Janel:

as an entrepreneur, you get your feet wet, you're starting to go.

Janel:

If you've got that coach or a business mentor at that point that can guide you, I think

Janel:

you're going to have a much better level of success than if you go great guns.

Janel:

I'm out here. I'm doing this by myself and know what I'm doing.

Janel:

I'm going to make it happen.

Janel:

And then all of a sudden it doesn't.

Speaker1:

It seems like, you know, as an entrepreneur, the the biggest question we ask ourselves

Speaker1:

every day is should we say yes to anything?

Speaker1:

And the answer is always say yes, say yes to the meeting.

Speaker1:

Say yes to new thing.

Speaker1:

Figure it out later. But I feel like if you're going fish and if you use a big old net,

Speaker1:

you're going to catch a lot more things.

Speaker1:

You may not want them all, but you're going to catch a lot of things.

Speaker1:

You can always say no after you catch it, but trying to catch it that big, yes, is is the

Speaker1:

thing. And you know, whether it's it's rehab or it's, you know, retooling or whatever you

Speaker1:

want to call it or the AHA moments.

Speaker1:

But I think it seems like an entrepreneur.

Speaker1:

They they will say no a lot because they're scared and they're not sure, and they don't

Speaker1:

know if they can deliver what they're going to say yes to.

Speaker1:

But you know my mentality and I think Julius is like, Always say yes, we'll figure it out

Speaker1:

later. I mean, how bad can it be?

Speaker1:

Do you feel that same way? Is that something that you've evolved with or you had that

Speaker1:

from the beginning?

Janel:

Totally evolved with that.

Janel:

So again, back to like being the oldest child, I'm a pleaser, right?

Janel:

So it was always my tendency, right?

Janel:

I'll say yes to anything. I'll do anything.

Janel:

But I've learned over the years you can't do that.

Janel:

And I think what that really comes down to is if you have a really laser focused view of

Janel:

who the ideal client is that you can serve and how you're going to serve them, that stops

Janel:

you from saying yes to everything.

Janel:

You don't want all those fish.

Janel:

You know, you don't want to go out and catch a bunch of minnows.

Janel:

You want the ones who you're going to really enjoy working with, and they fit within a

Janel:

certain persona and anything that relates to you pulling in those clients and working

Janel:

with them, you can say yes to everything else.

Janel:

It's empowering to say no.

Speaker2:

So Janell, are you suggesting it's quality over quantity?

Speaker1:

Yes. All right.

Speaker1:

So I think my my point, Julie, is is the point that when you first start out, most

Speaker1:

entrepreneurs really don't know what that all is yet they haven't defined it.

Speaker1:

There is a definitely a point when the entrepreneur has that moment where they will say

Speaker1:

no, but up until that point, they I feel like you kind of have to say yes because you

Speaker1:

have to meet as many people as possible, get exposed to many things as possible.

Speaker1:

So you finally can gravitate to that thing and go, OK, that's the thing.

Speaker1:

Finally, because you might not know, like you might like you, you said you want to do

Speaker1:

marketing, and that's great.

Speaker1:

Well, how in the heck did you all of a sudden get on accountants, right?

Speaker1:

But you had to go through a bunch of different companies in different industries because

Speaker1:

you said yes, but then you figure it out.

Speaker1:

And I think that's, you know, there is definitely a point where you define it.

Speaker1:

And I think that's your role for clients like ourselves who who hire you or to be

Speaker1:

partnering with you. I think I'd rather stay and be part of the team to for you to

Speaker1:

understand who we want and what we want to go for.

Speaker1:

And all entrepreneurs need to know that because would you agree or disagree?

Speaker1:

Trick question. But everybody who's an entrepreneur thinks a.

Speaker1:

Actually, accounts that were not in sales.

Speaker1:

Is that a true or false statement?

Janel:

Um, I say it's a true statement, but it's one that I disagree with.

Speaker1:

Ok. Elaborate.

Janel:

So I think that especially accountants, you know, they're like, Oh no way, I'm not a sales

Janel:

pitch, I don't want to be a salesperson sales.

Janel:

No, that's bad.

Janel:

I don't even want to talk to salespeople, let alone be one.

Janel:

They're terrible. But I I think that anyone who is an entrepreneur is first and foremost

Janel:

a salesperson. But I think unfortunately, there's this stereotypical persona around what

Janel:

a salesperson is, and that's not sure.

Janel:

There's some out there like that, but I've never been that and I've been, you know, in

Janel:

sales for, like I said, twenty eight years.

Janel:

And but I think when you own a business, you that is your role.

Janel:

You are bringing in the business and you've got to figure out how to do that.

Janel:

That doesn't mean you have to be cheesy or pushy or anything like that.

Janel:

That just means you have to be really crisp on who am I serving?

Janel:

How can I serve them?

Janel:

How can I first go out there and add value to who I think my audience is?

Janel:

And then how can I solve their problems?

Janel:

And that's really what it comes down to.

Janel:

So, yeah, they absolutely 100 percent have to have a sales skill set.

Speaker1:

Agreed, and it's weird the that sales skill set can only really be utilized when you

Speaker1:

finally figure out what the heck it is you're selling, right?

Speaker1:

Yes, because again, I like a flashy sport coat.

Speaker1:

It's fun, slick. The hair back go out and you know where the ring is on the fingers and

Speaker1:

point around a lot that who doesn't like to be a flashy salesperson, but that doesn't

Speaker1:

resonate with people, right?

Speaker1:

The message? It's got to be crisp and clean, like you said, and the one liner elevator

Speaker1:

things that you showed us.

Speaker1:

So talking about those kind of things are really where it's at.

Speaker1:

And I think the biggest thing that I think we're all saying here that maybe we all just

Speaker1:

kind of circle it back and put it together is the on an entrepreneurial journey.

Speaker1:

The sooner you can surround yourself with the key people, you know how to run a business,

Speaker1:

how to market your business, how to form a business, how to believe in yourself, who's

Speaker1:

going to be your mentor?

Speaker1:

The quicker you can put that group of people together, the more successful you'll be and

Speaker1:

the quicker you'll be successful.

Speaker1:

Would you agree with that thousand percent?

Janel:

And, you know, thinking about that and listening to you just say that that is probably the

Janel:

biggest missing link that I had in my large software venture that I had.

Janel:

I didn't surround myself with all of those people and had I early on in the journey, I

Janel:

think there would have been potentially more success.

Janel:

It wasn't meant to happen, and that's that's fine.

Janel:

But one hundred percent, I think entrepreneurs also have to be willing.

Janel:

Sometimes there's an investment to make in those people, in those resources.

Janel:

And but it's not spending money, right?

Janel:

It's an investment.

Janel:

If that investment is going to help you grow your business, I think that's another piece

Janel:

of the realization that has to happen.

Speaker1:

It seems to me to these days, there's a lot more the ability to connect with people.

Speaker1:

You know, it used to do it over, you know, a bar.

Speaker1:

Then it was a coffee shop and it was the golf course and then everything got kind of

Speaker1:

different. And now, you know, the ability to reach out to people and find people in the

Speaker1:

on the online community, whether it be in LinkedIn or Facebook or whatever.

Speaker1:

It's just an amazing thing.

Speaker1:

There's it seems to me that today there are more people that are willing to help that

Speaker1:

want to be part of it because they already did it and they're so happy and passionate

Speaker1:

about what they did.

Speaker1:

They just want to help other people do it.

Speaker1:

And that is, I think, probably the coolest thing that, you know, business owners,

Speaker1:

entrepreneurs, we always get the, you know, evil company.

Speaker1:

You're rich and sticking it to everybody.

Speaker1:

And that's just not the case.

Speaker1:

We're just trying to make a difference and to have the ability to go in and help another

Speaker1:

fellow entrepreneur achieve their successes is kind of be it's the coolest thing ever.

Speaker1:

And I just I see more people wanting to do that and maybe even volunteer their time more

Speaker1:

than they want to get paid.

Janel:

Mm hmm. Absolutely.

Janel:

I would 100 percent agree with you, and it's crazy because it has opened up.

Janel:

You don't, I mean, with Zoom and all of the technology that we have now.

Janel:

And you know, I think there are so many good people in this world and smart business

Janel:

people and entrepreneurs who are at the point where they're like, Yeah, you know what?

Janel:

I'm doing great. I'm really enjoying what I'm doing.

Janel:

Let me I'd like to give back, let me help somebody else figure it out.

Janel:

To your point, Glenn, I think that there's a lot of people out there like that.

Janel:

And, you know, as if anyone is listening to this who's fairly new in their business, that

Janel:

would be probably the number one tip would be surround yourself with people who don't

Janel:

have there are people who have skills that you don't and, you know, find them, reach out

Janel:

to them, network, meet people.

Janel:

They're everyone's willing to help another human being.

Speaker1:

That's the goal. And there's another thing would you you know when you talk about the

Speaker1:

entrepreneur's superpower?

Speaker1:

For me, I feel like.

Speaker1:

There's a point in time where as an entrepreneur, we want to we keep our cards close to

Speaker1:

our chest because we feel like we have this idea, this thought, this whatever it is, we

Speaker1:

this invention and we feel like we're always going to steal it right?

Speaker1:

And they're all everybody's out to get me, so I can't talk about it and share it.

Speaker1:

Once you realize that nobody can steal your superpower, right, like Superman can't take

Speaker1:

Ironman, can't take, you know, Ant-Man, everybody has their own power so they can talk

Speaker1:

about it, but they're never going to be you.

Speaker1:

So as an entrepreneur, once you recognize that your superpower is unique to you, you

Speaker1:

really you can talk about it all day long because they can't take it from you.

Speaker1:

They just can't because they're not you.

Speaker1:

You've got the ability.

Speaker1:

Is that a fair statement?

Janel:

I would agree I would agree absolutely 100 percent, but I think you have to kind of get to

Janel:

that point where you do recognize that you do have a unique superpower and you have to

Janel:

also not be afraid of competition.

Janel:

You know, everybody offers something slightly different.

Janel:

And so, yeah, I would agree with that statement.

Speaker1:

To heck, with the competition, we're the best and you're the best.

Speaker1:

It doesn't matter with everybody else does, right?

Speaker1:

Right. So, you know, one of the questions we get a lot, you know, we we deal with

Speaker1:

entrepreneurs primarily, but we also have people that have we call them real jobs where

Speaker1:

they get a paycheck, right?

Speaker1:

And there's different mindsets on both sides of those are neither right or wrong.

Speaker1:

Everybody has their thing.

Speaker1:

But for people that some people are born entrepreneurs and they just know it from the age

Speaker1:

of two, and that's what they do.

Speaker1:

They're hustling everywhere all the time, and they just do it.

Speaker1:

And then the other people, they have this epiphany when they're working for the man and

Speaker1:

they're like, You know what, I can do this better.

Speaker1:

I'm out of here for you.

Speaker1:

When did you have that?

Speaker1:

When you said, All right, I'm going to be an entrepreneur?

Speaker1:

When was that?

Janel:

Oh my God. So this is a funny story.

Janel:

So I told you I went to college to be an accounting major, and after two summer

Janel:

internships with what was Deloitte Touche at the time, now I'm really dating myself.

Janel:

I was in an auditing internship and, you know, auditing for state agencies, so you can

Janel:

imagine how exciting that was.

Janel:

That's the best, right?

Janel:

And I was like, Whoa, I can't.

Janel:

This is not for me, although, you know, I wanted it to be for me, but that's what I

Janel:

thought accounting was. That's all I knew, and I'm like, Well, I can't do this for the

Janel:

rest of my life. I cannot sit in a cinderblock room with a 10 key and green bar, and no

Janel:

one talks to me and it's not going to work.

Janel:

So at that point is when I'm like, You know what?

Janel:

I'm going to start my own business.

Janel:

I can do anything.

Janel:

So I changed my major last year in college to international business and went overseas

Janel:

and studied and my best friend at the time, well, for a long time, she was very

Janel:

independent, fiercely independent.

Janel:

She was the oldest of eight.

Janel:

I was the oldest of three.

Janel:

We were going to start a business together and rule the world.

Janel:

But again, being the oldest, I still had to seek approval, right?

Janel:

So I went to my parents and I'm like, OK, here's what I'm going to do.

Janel:

I'm not going to be an accountant. I'm going to start my own business.

Janel:

Both of them being boomers were like, Are you on drugs?

Janel:

No, you're not going to start your own business.

Janel:

You're going to get a job like normal people do when they get out of college, you're going

Janel:

to go to work for the man. So what we do is what you're going to do.

Janel:

So that's what I did.

Janel:

And but I always had that fire and I did.

Janel:

I went and I did the corporate thing and I climbed the ladder and I did that for nine

Janel:

years. And I just even during that time, I still I've always loved writing, and so I

Janel:

always did a little side hustle for an advertising agency writing copy for ads and things

Janel:

like that. So I've always had that entrepreneurial itch.

Janel:

Always. And then I think it really hit in 2010 based on my daughter.

Janel:

I have two daughters and they were 11 and seven at the time.

Janel:

And, you know, Instagram was just becoming a thing and one of them has something happened

Janel:

to her on Instagram that was really scary from a parent standpoint.

Janel:

And that's what sparked my idea for, you know, to really become a full blown

Janel:

entrepreneur. And so I think, you know, I've always had it.

Janel:

It wasn't like working for the man, and I came up with this idea and I'm going to make it

Janel:

better. It's more it's always been there, but I've had to take a few breaks in between to

Janel:

work for.

Janel:

Have a real job while I'm while my journey is continuing to evolve, if you will.

Speaker2:

Janell, can you tell us the real reason you didn't want to be an accountant?

Speaker2:

There a dress code thing that maybe maybe deterred you as well.

Janel:

Ok, so that's the other thing.

Janel:

So this is kind of funny.

Janel:

So my parents were like, OK, I just don't think your CPA material.

Janel:

Well, again, if you're a teenage girl, that translates to if I didn't want to be a CPA

Janel:

before this conversation, I'm absolutely going to be a CPA now.

Janel:

And so what happened was this was back in the early nineties and and you were still

Janel:

required to wear pantyhose.

Janel:

And so while I'm in this internship and I'm having to wear pantyhose all day, I'm so

Janel:

beyond miserable. I'm not sure if it was worse being stuck in a cinderblock room with

Janel:

people who didn't talk to me or having to wear pantyhose, which at five o'clock I would

Janel:

go into the bathroom and rip those suckers off and be done.

Janel:

And so to kind of save face when I decided that I wasn't going to go down the path

Janel:

instead of my parents being able to say, I told you so, I said, I can't do it.

Janel:

I just I can't wear pantyhose for the rest of my life and my mom, like, you can't choose

Janel:

your career based on whether or not you have to wear pantyhose.

Janel:

And I'm like, I just did.

Speaker2:

And that's how Janelle and I get along very well because I think that's that's perfect.

Speaker1:

Well, somebody on the outside listening to this would be like, what is wrong with this

Speaker1:

accounting people?

Speaker1:

And and there there was a lot of things wrong with it.

Speaker1:

But there is a certain proclivity type type of person that wants me to count in.

Speaker1:

And there's there's the tasks part of it that is really soothing for people that have

Speaker1:

that. You might have saw the movie the accountant I was.

Speaker1:

I tried out for that with Ben Affleck, but he won because he's a little taller than me.

Speaker1:

But I mean, that is a real thing.

Speaker1:

The typical account really likes the numbers, but that position or that that industry has

Speaker1:

changed to not more of just running numbers, it's really about everything else.

Speaker1:

And that's why when you're saying at the beginning, it's not all about talking about the

Speaker1:

numbers, it's about the idea, it's about the experience, about the wisdom.

Speaker1:

It's all that the how the why the where the shortcut, all those things.

Speaker1:

And I think that's what you're probably trying to do as you have adopted the accounting

Speaker1:

industry. I mean, we thank you very much, but you could stop already because with all the

Speaker1:

people don't need to know about this.

Speaker1:

But no, it's it's a well needed change because we don't all wear POC protectors,

Speaker1:

pantyhose and visors.

Janel:

That's right. Just Glenn,

Speaker1:

Right? Well, I feel like I want to be a team player here.

Speaker1:

So I think the the next piece that I want to question is always a fun one for me.

Speaker1:

So you you've nailed down your dream industry because you just feel like you can resonate

Speaker1:

because you can speak both sides because you were one and then you don't want to be one

Speaker1:

and you want to change it. But if you could pick your.

Speaker1:

Who out there as a company or an individual would you just love to take and show them how

Speaker1:

to do what they need to do to be when you're your dream client?

Speaker1:

Who would that

Speaker2:

Be? And it's OK if you don't say us, we understand

Speaker1:

You're not going to say us.

Speaker1:

What I love

Janel:

Taking off the list is that, yeah, so I don't know that I can say a who, but more just

Janel:

describe them because you know it's.

Janel:

I think that it has to be somebody who's who's ready to evolve, right?

Janel:

I think it has to be someone who you know of a firm who is, look, I know I've got to get

Janel:

from point A to point B.

Janel:

I know what I know, but I also know that I don't know how to get to point B without some

Janel:

assistance, some help.

Janel:

And so I need someone who can take my vision and my ideas and translate them into a brand

Janel:

message and a strategy and sales funnel that's going to help drive clients to me that are

Janel:

within my ideal client persona.

Janel:

That's energizing.

Speaker1:

Are you suggesting that you don't troll LinkedIn and look for these particular individuals

Speaker1:

that you would want to do?

Speaker1:

Are you suggesting that you don't do that?

Janel:

Oh, you know, I love LinkedIn.

Janel:

Yeah, I love it.

Janel:

I love it. Yeah.

Speaker1:

All right. Well, I appreciate you spending some time with us today.

Speaker1:

Is there any other message that you'd like to put out there before?

Speaker1:

Give yourself a little plug of how people can get a hold of you.

Janel:

Yeah. You know what?

Janel:

I just thinking about something, you know, kind of an actionable tip that would help

Janel:

other people listening to this, that are entrepreneurs.

Janel:

I think that often it's easy to fall into a grind and to do what you do every day and

Janel:

you're constantly competing with yourself.

Janel:

But I think that one of the most important things that you can do is give yourself grace

Janel:

and. Book time with yourself on your calendar to be strategic.

Janel:

So whether that's once a week, whether that's however often it is, I think that it's

Janel:

super important to step away from that daily grind and be strategic about the journey

Janel:

that you're on. And also to really evaluate where you need help and what your resources

Janel:

might be out there to fill those gaps where you don't that you have in your company.

Speaker1:

Nice, and how does anybody get a hold of you've got a website or a flyer you send out or

Janel:

Yeah, yeah, flyer I send out, yeah, I mail out postcards.

Janel:

No, I'm. So if you can find me on LinkedIn, Janelle Sikora at its Ja'nel S.Y.

Janel:

Kayo Gray.

Janel:

And that's also my website.

Janel:

Janelle Sikora. Yeah, and they can find me on my website and reach out directly to me, of

Janel:

course. Anytime.

Speaker1:

Well, Janelle, thanks again for taking some time out of your busy day, and I know you've

Speaker1:

got a lot of stuff going on and we do are very appreciative for you coming out and saying

Speaker1:

Hello and Joe, thank

Janel:

You so much.

Janel:

You too as well. I appreciate the time and I love working with you guys.

Speaker1:

Thank you. We'll see you well.

Speaker1:

Glenn Harper and Julie Smith signing off for another entrepreneurial tale.