Episode 26 Frederick Dudek (Freddy D)
Cultivating Superfans: Tyler Stillman's Strategy for Financial Revival Through Relationship Building
In this episode of the Business Superfans podcast, Tyler Stillman , an accounting consultant, shares his journey from high school to earning an accounting degree and his transformative work with a language communications company. He emphasizes the importance of treating contractors well and the positive impact this has on productivity and profitability. Tyler discusses turning contractors into superfans by changing their pay structure, which led to increased productivity and the company's first positive net income in 2023 after several years in negative net income. His strategies positioned the company for a successful sale in 2024. The episode underscores the significance of relationship-building, accurate financial data, and proper invoicing in business success.
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Business Accelerator Collective
Business Superfans Accelerator
Attention business owners, are you looking to transform your employees, customers, and business allies relationships and elevate your brand to new heights? Join the Business Superfans Accelerator today. Led by me, Freddie D, this dynamic mentorship program empowers you to turn your stakeholders into passionate superfans. The ultimate brand advocates who actively promote your business. Imagine a community of dedicated supporters promoting your products or services, not just through word of mouth, but as proud champions of your brand. With exclusive access to monthly Q& A sessions, brainstorming opportunities, and valuable resources like online courses, playbooks, and much more. This program is designed to provide you with the tools you need for sustainable, profitable growth. Don't wait. Every moment you delay allows your competition to get ahead. Sign up now at bizsuperfans. community and start unleashing the potential of your superfans today. Your brand's transformation awaits. Let's make business growth your reality.
Tyler Stillman is a dedicated professional with a background
2
:in accounting and consulting.
3
:Starting his career in high school under
the guidance of an inspiring teacher, he
4
:excelled in future business leadership
and went on to pursue a Bachelor's
5
:degree in Accounting from A.S.U.
6
:Tyler's journey led him to a company
specializing in communications,
7
:where he encountered challenges
with contractor relations.
8
:Through his initiative and leadership,
Tyler transformed the company's approach
9
:to contractor management, prioritizing
fair treatment and timely payments.
10
:His strategic changes not only
improved contractor satisfaction
11
:but also contributed to a positive
impact on the company's bottom line.
12
:Tyler's focus on building strong
relationships with contractors and
13
:customers alike has been key to his
success in turning around businesses
14
:and positioning them for growth.
15
:Good morning, Tyler Stillman.
16
:Welcome to the business superfans podcast!
17
:How are you today?
18
:Tyler Stllman: Hey, I'm doing fine.
19
:How about you?
20
:Freddy D: I'm doing excellent.
21
:I'm doing excellent.
22
:Tell us a little bit about yourself,
how you got started into accounting
23
:and moved into accounting consulting.
24
:Tyler Stllman: Yes.
25
:So as I'm an accountant and
a accounting consultant.
26
:Basically, I started all the
way back in high school where
27
:I had an amazing teacher.
28
:His name was Mr.
29
:Giddings really brought out myself
and really helped me start my career.
30
:So basically along with that
in high school, I was a part of
31
:future business leaders of America.
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:Really?
33
:Wow.
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:And I ended up going to the
national competition that.
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:For FBLA.
36
:Freddy D: Wow.
37
:That's amazing.
38
:Tyler Stllman: Needless to say I
had huge aspirations after that.
39
:So I went and got my Bachelor's of Science
in Accounting from ASU, and pretty much
40
:almost immediately after I got my degree,
I got hired by a company that uses
41
:specialized contractors in communications.
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:Freddy D: Really?
43
:So tell us about that.
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:Tyler Stllman: It was very
rough to say the least.
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:When I got in there there
was a lot of weird stuff with
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:the books, just, it was off.
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:Freddy D: Okay.
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:Tyler Stllman: And I noticed
that these contractors weren't
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:the happiest with the company.
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:Freddy D: Really?
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:So let's talk about that.
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:Because as
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:Tyler Stllman: independent contractors
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:Freddy D: are also the face of a
business and if they're not happy,
55
:they're not really promoting the
business and in fact, it's the opposite.
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:They're, probably talking neutral
at best of that particular business.
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:So let's talk about, what did you do to,
get that turned around at that company?
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:Tyler Stllman: Yes.
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:So in terms of the contractors,
what I didn't really start
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:initiating until around a year in.
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:To start treating them better because
the owners were very steadfast in
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:their approach and I was completely
brand new to the accounting world.
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:But then I started growing a
backbone and I created a a document
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:to at least put into writing how
we should treat our contractors.
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:Freddy D: I think that's important.
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:I don't think that, having that organized
and put into a process, a systemized
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:process is very important because
otherwise you're just winging it.
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:And winging it doesn't work in the long
time, in the long game, I should say.
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:Tyler Stllman: Also, word gets
around because these are very
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:specialized contractors, word gets
around in their community that
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:you aren't doing good by them.
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:So one of the very first things that I
needed to realize to make their lives
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:better is to give them a little leeway.
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:Freddy D: Okay.
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:Tyler Stllman: Basically, if something
is out of everyone's control, the
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:way that the company used to do it is
that contractor would take the hit.
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:Freddy D: that's a short view of the
business because you're not creating
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:superfans out of those contractors.
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:More importantly, you've got the mindset
that you're doing them a favor versus
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:them helping build your business.
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:Tyler Stllman: Exactly, and when I
realized that, I realized we need to
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:give these contractors a little grace.
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:Freddy D: That's huge because these
people are going, one to contributing
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:to the business because if you didn't
have these particular contractors
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:providing the services that they
provide because of their uniqueness,
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:that business is out of business.
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:Tyler Stllman: Exactly.
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:Freddy D: So the contractors is really
the front of the business and is the
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:business, so they should be number one in
the business's eyes as we got to take care
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:of our team because no team, no business,
especially in that type of a business,
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:which is language communications.
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:Tyler Stllman: Yes, very much
beforehand It was always company
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:first, contractors, second.
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:The viewpoint was we would always try
to pay ourselves before we paid them,
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:and I realized after half a year to
a year after I created the documents
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:that things needed to change even more.
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:They need it because the documents were a
step in the right direction, but then we
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:needed to actually make even more changes.
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:Freddy D: And what were
some of those changes?
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:What were the outcomes of
implementing those changes?
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:Tyler Stllman: One of the very first
things that we did was we started
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:to pay the interpreters more.
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:Freddy D: Okay.
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:Tyler Stllman: It originally started
it originally started out in a weird
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:way where we would pay them a month
after the assignment essentially.
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:Freddy D: Okay.
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:Tyler Stllman: So essentially you
do the first two weeks of the month,
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:you'll get paid in the first week of
the next month, that kind of thing
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:and while people enjoyed getting paid
more, but there were still contractors
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:that we didn't use often that were
still waiting a month to get paid.
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:Freddy D: Yeah that's a long time
when, you know, especially independent
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:contractors, a few hundred dollars in
today's economy is really important.
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:Tyler Stllman: Absolutely.
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:Absolutely.
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:Freddy D: So how did you start converting
these guys into superfans of you, and
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:the services that you were providing to
those contractors, and in turn changing
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:the bottom line for that company?
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:Tyler Stllman: I became much more involved
and talked to the interpreters myself.
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:I subsequently, also started
to do some tech stuff.
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:To actually get in the
field with interpreters.
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:One of the very last things that I did
for the company before I left was I went
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:to a interpretation function and actually
got to see interpretation being done live.
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:Freddy D: Okay.
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:So you started building relationships
with those contractors that
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:started to build trust in, in you
in being able to take care of them.
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:And so in turn, they became superfans
of not necessarily the company, but
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:of you because you had their back.
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:Tyler Stllman: Yes, and I always made
sure to let the independent contractors
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:know, I know that things were done
differently in the past, but I am
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:stopping the bad stuff now going forward.
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:I have your back.
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:I'm doing my best for you.
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:Freddy D: That made a big transformation
into how the contractors related to you
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:and started transforming the image that
the contractors had about the company.
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:Because now, the company was more
pro contractors and making , and
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:had the mind, and the mindset was
changing that this is our front line.
137
:We need to take care of the front line
versus be grateful we're giving you a job.
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:Tyler Stllman: Exactly, and very
much that improved our bottom line,
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:because we had more people willing
to do work, and we had more people
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:that wanted to do work with us.
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:Freddy D: That's huge right there,
that's monster, because again, they're
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:independent contractors, so they
don't have to work for that particular
143
:company because they can sell their
services to anybody else, but if you
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:start treating them like you did.
145
:With respect and appreciation, if they
get two calls and this is company A and
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:this is your company, they're going to
say, you know what, Tyler takes care
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:of me, he's got my back, I'm going
to do Tyler, I'm going to go for the
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:project that his company's requesting.
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:Tyler Stllman: Yes, and one thing I
actually did realize after we made the
150
:change in pay is we needed to be better.
151
:We needed to break the mold of
the type of business we was in.
152
:I decided, you know what these contractors
need to be paid every two weeks and that
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:affected our bottom line for a little
bit, because when I decided that we needed
154
:to make this change, I made it pretty
much immediately with the approval of
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:my manager, of course, because we needed
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:Freddy D: Sure, and how was that received
by the, these independent contractors?
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:Tyler Stllman: We had an independent
contractor actually leave us
158
:when she found out she would have
to wait a month for her money.
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:I got in contact with her saying,
Hey, we actually changed everything.
160
:Would you be willing to come back to us?
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:She said yes, of course I would.
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:Essentially you're treating
me like a human now, and so
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:she came back to work with us.
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:Freddy D: That's important.
165
:So kudos to you for, bringing
back an independent contractor
166
:back to that company.
167
:It's right because employees
were paid bi weekly.
168
:But you're, you had these independent
contractors, That are dependent
169
:upon being paid timely, because
again, they're not getting a salary.
170
:They're getting hourly
wage but, for assignment.
171
:It's paramount that they get paid timely.
172
:Tyler Stllman: Exactly, and, of course,
along with that, I made a few minor
173
:changes, like just changing everyone
to be paid at a minimum of two hours.
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:Even if their previous stuff was an hour
minimum for on site stuff, and everyone
175
:started getting happier with the company.
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:Freddy D: You started changing the
culture of the independent contractors.
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:In the sense that you were, turning
them into superfans for the company
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:because now the company was in turn
respecting them and showing appreciation
179
:and gratitude by, at a minimum, paying
them timely on a regular basis and
180
:creating a regularness for the payments.
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:Tyler Stllman: Absolutely.
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:Freddy D: So how did that affect
the bottom line of the company?
183
:Let's talk about that.
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:Those payments to those independent
contractors affect the bottom
185
:line compared to when you started
working with that company?
186
:Where was the bottom line at?
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:Tyler Stllman: When I started working at
the company, the bottom line was through
188
:the floor we had really bad years.
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:The prior like three years.
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:Freddy D: Negative income,
not positive income.
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:Tyler Stllman: Yes.
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:Freddy D: Okay.
193
:Tyler Stllman: When we started making
these changes with our workforce,
194
:our contractors one of the very
first noticeable changes was one, we
195
:were getting more assignments done.
196
:So more assignments meant more money
and more money meant more profit and
197
:more profit It means, went straight up.
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:Freddy D: So, let me rephrase that in a
sense that, because now that you started
199
:paying the contractors on a regular basis,
the contractors were more willing to do
200
:assignments versus saying, Oh no, I'm not
available and whatever the excuses that
201
:they had to say, yeah, I'm willing to do
this and the company was able to fulfill
202
:more assignments, which in turn started
to affect the bottom line from a negative
203
:net income to, in the time that you were
there to becoming a positive net income.
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:Tyler Stllman: Absolutely.
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:Freddy D: Okay.
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:Now, what are the other things that you
did that you found in the books that, also
207
:affected the income because of the fact
that things were not properly categorized?
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:Tyler Stllman: Yes.
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:So stuff wasn't properly
categorized, stuff wasn't properly
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:done in the proper months.
211
:So basically we were working
on information that was
212
:false during, 2022, 2023.
213
:I made the decision to go through the
books and change as much as I could to
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:be more accurate to the proper timelines.
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:Freddy D: So by doing that, that
also revealed what the company
216
:was really doing in revenue.
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:In some cases, it was negative, but
overall, once it got fixed, the efforts
218
:that you put in to fix the books, that's
when all of a sudden you could tell
219
:and track the income starting to go up.
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:Because of the fact of the things that
you put into place, the relationships
221
:you were building with the contractors,
and more importantly, having
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:accurate data, and so how important
is accurate data in tracking that?
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:Tyler Stllman: Oh, goodness.
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:Accurate data is very important.
225
:Essentially, you want the books
to tell a story, and when I got
226
:in there, the books were a choose
your own adventure book backwards.
227
:Freddy D: Okay.
228
:Tyler Stllman: Essentially and basically,
I went in and edited the books.
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:Freddy D: Okay.
230
:So talk about that.
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:So what were some of the things that you
did as a accounting consultant ? What
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:are some of the things that you found?
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:You don't have to get into all the
details, but what's some of the things
234
:that you found that were miscategorized
that a small business may do because
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:they don't know any better, and that in
turn affects their bottom line, their
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:financial statements and everything else.
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:And what is it that you would
do or recommend a small business
238
:to do to make sure that their
financials are properly classified?
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:Tyler Stllman: I would review invoices,
mostly invoices and bills, one of the
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:main sticking points that I found when
doing my review process, is this bill,
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:it was dated, say, February 15th, or
something that was done back in January.
242
:Basically, a simple way to fix that, so
that it could be categorized properly,
243
:is to change the date of the invoice
to be in January, while also keeping
244
:the original due date for the invoice.
245
:Freddy D: So Tyler, tell us how a
small or entrepreneur type business
246
:can make sure that their books are
correct and provide a clear picture
247
:of where their business is at?
248
:Tyler Stllman: When I was fixing the books
for this company one of the major things
249
:that I found was that 80 to 90 percent of
the problems were in invoices and billing,
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:mostly with having to do with dates.
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:Freddy D: So help us understand dates.
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:I don't get it.
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:What's so important about dates?
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:Tyler Stllman: So when, especially in
accrual basis, which is how you track how
255
:your business is doing one of the major
things is if you accrue your income in
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:January, but your say accounting software
recognizes the income being done in
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:February, that's not being accurate to
when you realistically got the revenue.
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:Of the things that you can
do is backdate an invoice.
259
:Freddy D: Okay.
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:And talk more about that.
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:And how does that impact the books?
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:Tyler Stllman: Basically, let's say that
you have a thousand dollar invoice that
263
:you originally recognized in February.
264
:For income that was generated in
Jan, by backdating the invoice, what
265
:you accomplish is you recognize that
income in January rather than February.
266
:What that does is it helps with
the accuracy of your business.
267
:It helps you recognize this
is when I gained this revenue.
268
:This is when I gained this bill.
269
:This is when I gained everything.
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:All in the same month.
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:Freddy D: So, in turn, properly invoicing
and making sure that the dates match
272
:when the service was provided, the
books are going to present a much more
273
:accurate picture of where the business
is at, where it's going, and that can
274
:have a profound impact for the business.
275
:Knowing that the data.
276
:Is accurate, and then it gives them an
idea of, okay I'm doing really good,
277
:or, wow, I need to make some changes
because I'm going in the wrong direction.
278
:Tyler Stllman: Absolutely.
279
:Freddy D: Let's discuss other things that
you did to turned that company from a
280
:negative income to a positive net income.
281
:Tyler Stllman: Another thing that I
did was get to know our customers,
282
:at the very least, their accounting
departments because one, one of the
283
:major things that the company wasn't
doing correctly was collections.
284
:Freddy D: Did they have any invoices
that were beyond 30, 60 days?
285
:Tyler Stllman: They had many invoices.
286
:Freddy D: So how far, what was the
furthest one that was out there?
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:Tyler Stllman: I think that there
was, when I joined, one from:
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:Freddy D: Wow.
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:So you're talking several years.
290
:Tyler Stllman: Yes.
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:Freddy D: So how'd you rectify that?
292
:Tyler Stllman: Unfortunately, the
reality of the situation is if it
293
:is 90 days or over, you're most
likely not getting that money.
294
:It is entirely possible that you can,
but a lot changes in a year to begin
295
:with, not to mention three years.
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:You need to thoroughly examine
your AR aging and determine
297
:what's collectible, what's not.
298
:And then you just need to write it off.
299
:Because if you're not going, if a lot
of stuff over 90 days is uncollectible,
300
:not to mention stuff over three years
old, you don't want to carry that,
301
:you don't want to carry that weight.
302
:Freddy D: So from a tax basis, it
probably would be better off to just
303
:write off the stuff that it's okay.
304
:Anything beyond, let's just say,
six months and there's no chance
305
:of getting collections after
you've reached out to the company,
306
:sent letters and everything else.
307
:You're probably better off from a tax
perspective to write that as bad debt.
308
:Tyler Stllman: Absolutely.
309
:Freddy D: So that in turn
makes your books look better.
310
:Tyler Stllman: Yeah, absolutely.
311
:Freddy D: Not immediately, but, over
time, it clears them up, I would think.
312
:Tyler Stllman: Yeah.
313
:The main issue is, essentially,
you have a blemish, and
314
:you're not getting rid of it..
315
:Get rid of the blemishes.
316
:Freddy D: So what would be a cutoff
time for a small business to say,
317
:okay, this isn't gonna go on?
318
:Would you say six months is a fair number?
319
:Tyler Stllman: Yeah, absolutely.
320
:Of course it is on a case by case basis
because you can have some customers
321
:that, that are contractually obligated,
that are still paying different stuff..
322
:They can pay this one, it's
just that they haven't gone
323
:through their processes properly.
324
:So it depends.
325
:But six months is a good cutoff.
326
:Freddy D: Okay, now let's go back to,
creating superfans from customers.
327
:How does that, how does
accounting play into that role?
328
:Tyler Stllman: Like I said, with
contractors need to be willing to extend
329
:a little grace to your customers as well.
330
:Everyone you are dealing with
is human and they make mistakes.
331
:Freddy D: Okay.
332
:Tyler Stllman: You need to be willing
to let late fees go, away and you need
333
:to be willing to let bygones be bygones.
334
:What that in turn does Is it
shows that your company is
335
:willing to work with the customer,
336
:Freddy D: Right.
337
:That's the important statement right
there because customers can have
338
:things come up unexpectedly issues that
they've got and they get sidetracked.
339
:And the fact that you're willing to
work with them because you understand,
340
:they're a business and you have as
a business have things that come up.
341
:So the fact that you're
willing to work with them.
342
:Creates a partnership, which in turn leads
them to start becoming, a brand advocate
343
:or, as I call them business superfans.
344
:These guys are okay.
345
:They're willing to work with us while
we're going through this challenge.
346
:They start telling other businesses
that, this is a great company and
347
:you should deal with this company.
348
:And that's how you start
getting word of mouth going.
349
:Tyler Stllman: Yes, basically, every
single department needs to work together
350
:to give the customer the best experience.
351
:That includes the accounting department.
352
:Freddy D: It's the same
thing with the contractors.
353
:If the contractor is being well taken
care of and they're being paid timely,
354
:as we talked earlier, they start telling
other contractors within that industry,
355
:that, Hey, this is a great company.
356
:They take They really take care of us and
so they, that company starts attracting
357
:more contractors willing to provide their
services for that particular company.
358
:Tyler Stllman: I, on that same thought,
I do remember hearing a story of
359
:how we use specialized contractors,
but even within those specialized
360
:contractors, there is a more like
specialized version of those contractors.
361
:And the more specialized contractors we
treated the exact same way originally.
362
:When those changes were made, one
of the big things I remember hearing
363
:is, hey you guys were originally in
bad faith with these specialized
364
:contractors, but I've been advocating.
365
:To let those, to let everyone
know that you have changed.
366
:There is new management and we
are being treated properly now.
367
:Freddy D: And that's huge because
that, that in turn is a super fan.
368
:That's starting to get everybody
else to change the mindset and their
369
:Thoughts about that particular company.
370
:And so they start looking at being
more open to dealing with that company.
371
:It's same thing with a contractor
going to do a particular project
372
:and they're happy with the company.
373
:So they're becoming a super fan
saying, Oh yes, I'm with this company.
374
:It's a great company.
375
:It provided great service and I'm excited.
376
:So now they're promoting the company.
377
:So you've got the independent
contractors becoming your sales force.
378
:Because they're out there telling, the
client that they're dealing with, oh
379
:yeah, I love the company, great company
and so now the client feels even better
380
:that they picked the right company to
provide them the service, and it starts
381
:to snowball and that's what, as you,
as you alluded to, is that changed the
382
:net income from a negative income to a
much more positive income, which in turn
383
:change the whole dynamics of the business.
384
:Tyler Stllman: Yes, absolutely,
385
:Freddy D: So Tyler, we've talked
about, how you changed the contractors
386
:pay to in turn, to create them into
superfans, which got them to be willing
387
:to do more projects for the company.
388
:More importantly talk positively to
customers, which then reinforced customers
389
:that they made the right decisions
to request that company services.
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:And you've also talked about building
relationship with existing customers to
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:turn them into superfans in the sense that
you're willing to work with them through
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:their challenges and being flexible.
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:So how did this impact the overall
bottom line for the company?
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:And what was, where did that lead to?
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:Tyler Stllman: So, we ended up
positioning the company in:
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:a positive net income for the first
time in three years, which ended up
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:positioning the company for sale.
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:In 2024, the company was bought
and subsequently my job was done.
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:We met our goals, and so I have
gone on to a new venture with
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:a new company to help them.
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:Freddy D: So that's pretty powerful
statement there that you basically in a
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:three year period you turned around a
company with negative income into having
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:positive income, which in turn positioned
it to be bought by another company.
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:That's, it doesn't happen every day.
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:So that's a great accomplishment on
your part, of being able to take a mess,
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:in a sense, from what you described,
and turning it into something that was
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:attractive to somebody else to acquire.
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:Tyler Stllman: What can I say?
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:I used to work as a
janitor at a grocery store.
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:I'm used to turning messes
into attractiveness.
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:Freddy D: That's a great way
to end the show, man, Tyler.
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:Pleasure having you on the
Business Superfans Podcast.
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:Great advice to businesses.
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:So to sum it up, basically a making
sure that your invoices are properly
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:invoiced and on the dates paying attention
with billing, same thing with billing,
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:making sure that you're billing timely.
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:More importantly, making sure that
if you got contractors, you take care
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:of them as part of your team, because
they are your team, as well as your
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:customers, because no customers,
no business, no team, no business.
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:Tyler, Thank you very much for being on
the show, and we'll look forward to having
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:you on another episode down the road.
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:Tyler Stllman: Hey, thank
you for having me on.