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About the Guest:

Natalia Zacharin is an experienced professional in the field of finance and technology, adept at providing Chief Financial Officer (CFO) services and running a comprehensive accounting firm. Her firm specializes in bookkeeping, payroll, and a suite of other critical financial operations. Having started her business around five years ago, Zacharin brings valuable insights from a journey that began as a single mother reaching out for financial stability after corporate challenges. Her success story includes moving from poverty levels to the aspiration of growing a multi-million-dollar enterprise. Currently, Natalia provides mentorship and guidance through her consulting services and shares her knowledge about navigating the intricacies of finance, technology, and entrepreneurship.

Episode Summary:

In the latest episode of "Building the Abundant Woman," host Sam welcomes guest Natalia Zacharin, an accomplished provider of CFO services and owner of an accounting firm specializing in financial operations crucial for business success. The conversation dives deep into the entwining of finance and technology as two primary areas of challenge for modern business owners—highlighting how Natalia's expertise stands to guide and enlighten listeners on these crucial topics.

Natalia Zacharin shares her remarkable journey from facing diminishing salaries and financial insecurity to embracing entrepreneurship creating a thriving accounting business. The episode intricately details the transformative impact that mentorship and consistent action can have on business growth. Besides, Natalia's personal narrative as a single mother and entrepreneur provides a relatable and empowering story for many listeners aspiring to elevate their financial status. Her insights into sales methodology, the importance of knowing your numbers, and dreaming big offer not only inspiration but also practical steps for scaling a business.

Key Takeaways:

• Entrepreneurship requires consistent action, often facing challenges head-on and learning from each step towards building momentum.
• Lead generation and sales should be central ongoing efforts, even during success spells, to ensure business sustainability.
• Understanding the numbers, specifically through regular reviews of profit and loss statements, is vital for informed business decision-making.
• Aiming for lofty business goals and increasing them progressively can lead to tremendous growth. It's essential to normalize bigger dreams and aspirations.
• Surrounding oneself with mentors and being in rooms with individuals who share and support your expanded vision can accelerate business success.

Quotes:

• "Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. Like, it is gonna be harder than anything you've ever done. You're gonna get kicked in the teeth daily, and that's just the way it is." - Natalia
• "Every action step that you take, you can learn from it and get better and better, but you won't learn if you just don't take the action." - Natalia
• "You actually can never stop sales or lead generation even if you're doing well." – Natalia
• "If someone doesn't have that (mentorship), that's really very valuable to have because it will help you to springboard from where you are now to where you want to be a lot faster." - Natalia
• "We don't dream big enough, especially as women, and I feel like we don't dream big enough or we don't allow for the work." - Natalia

Resources:

• LinkedIn Profile: Natalia Zacharin
• Company Website: zacharinconsulting.com
• Instagram: @growyourbottomline
• Facebook: Zacharin Consulting

Tune in to the full episode for an in-depth exploration of the challenges and victories of entrepreneurship, particularly within finance and technology. Gain valuable insights from Natalia Zacharin on how to enhance your business and join us for more empowering discussions in upcoming installments of "Building the Abundant Woman."

[TRANSCRIPT]

0:00:38 - (Natalia): Thank you so much, Samantha. I'm really excited to be here and yeah, very excited to chat with you about finance and technology. And now finance and technology are completely intertwined. And you're right, most people are terrified or not interested or don't have the time to take care of either of those.

0:01:02 - (Natalia): Sure. So I started this business about five years ago. I was turning 50 that year. I was working for someone. I'm a single mom. I've been single for, since 2012. So that's been twelve years now that I've been a single mom and I was working for somebody else. I was making pretty good money at first. And then in the fourth, fifth, and 6th year of being there, my salary started plummeting and they were pivoting and making changes and we'just like, looking in another direction and didn't see me as a valuable resource in order to keep growing in the company.

0:02:14 - (Natalia): And I thought, well, maybe I'll just start on the side and it'll help me to make a little bit of extra income, because by the time we hit 2019, they had decreased my salary so much so that I was actually considered to be on poverty levels for a family in my state. And so we were on Medicare. Yeah, it was bad. So I could barely afford anything. And crazy. It is crazy. They wanted me to leave. They were trying to encourage me to leave, but there was nowhere for me to leave, too, so it was stuck.

0:02:59 - (Sam): Well, and I think that's such a true thing, is a lot of us don't start these businesses because we're like, ooh, I am so passionate about this. Like, we have a skill. We're really good at that skill, and we know there's a need for it. We know somewhere there's a need for what we do. And I think that's such a true, like, testament to, you know, whether people are in our lives for a lifetime or a season, but they come in just at the right time to tell us, like, hey, this is.

0:03:58 - (Natalia): So it was really interesting. There's no way that I would have been as successful at this without help. So my boyfriend owns his own business. This is his third or fourth business that he owns. So he had a lot of great knowledge of how to run businesses. So I I did use him a little bit as a mentor. I tried not to. Cause I didn't wan. To ruin the relationship.

0:04:24 - (Natalia): Yeah, he was a great resource, but I also. He introduced me to a mastermind, and he actually sent me some sales, like, a little, what is it called? Like, a little sales training that they had together years ago that they weren't even using anymore. And I was like, okay, well, I'll just start this process. I'll go through the training. I'll do what it says. And I actually didn't know any better, which was helpful, because sometimes if you know better, you don't do the things that it says because you're like, no, that wouldn't work, or no, that doesn't feel comfortable.

0:05:25 - (Natalia): So I was completely unprepared. I had no idea what I was doing, but I was very committed to make things right, to learn things, and to be better at it than anybody else. And so I think that really helped me is just to have the resource of a mastermind and mentorship right from the onset. And if someone doesn't have that, that's really very valuable to have because it will help you to springboard from where you are now to where you want to be a lot faster.

0:06:27 - (Sam): I did exactly what it said. And that's, like, one of the best things is, like, really taking that action is such a huge, I think that's where a lot of people get stuck. They're, like, scared to take that action as well.

0:06:41 - (Sam): And that's, I mean, look, look what it turned into. You just taking action. Even when it felt, like, really scary, it felt really messy. And that's just, that seems like it just launched your business.

0:07:16 - (Natalia): But I was very nervous and very scared. I had no idea what I was doing. I didn't want to have to do this. I was, there was a lot of misalignment in the beginning where every week I'd just be exhausted and feel sorry for myself a little bit, you know, it was like, this is terrible. But it was, the first year was super hard, so if anybody feels discouraged, it is not easy. Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. Like, it is gonna be harder than anything you've ever done. You're gonna get kicked in the teeth daily, and that's just the way it is.

0:08:21 - (Natalia): It's terrible. But it doesn't matter, because you can action every action step that you take, you can learn from it and get better and better, but you won't learn if you just don't take the action.

0:09:06 - (Sam): So, you know, like, that's where I've come back into this space. And, yeah, you're like, it is going to kick your butt. Because I, like, went off the bat, close two people, and then it was like, nothing. It was, like, dead for months, and then I'd have a really good month. It'd be dead for months, and I'd have a really good month. And I think that's the honest truth of it, is, like, the months that we do really well is like, okay, what did I do? Where can I improve? And I think that's what a lot of mine has been, even when you're talking about, is, like, still can take.

0:10:12 - (Sam): All of them are gonna get done.

0:10:15 - (Sam): Even if nothing else works out. Like, this is where I want to be, and it's, like, so cool to watch you five years down the road. Like, what a transformation.

0:10:55 - (Natalia): You actually can never stop because you'either lose clients through natural attrition that's gonna happen. And if you stop the momentum, it just, it takes time to build that backup, no matter how good you are. So you actually can never stop, at least not for a long time. And sales, especially in the beginning of a business, that's something. Sales and lead generation, that's something you need to work on every day.

0:11:29 - (Sam): Yeah, well, and you take all that, that's like, you're not just a business owner, but you're seeing that yourself, of, like, you're seeing that in your clients that you're working with on their financials. And it's like, hey, I know in order for these numbers to happen the way they should, you need sales and lead generation. And I think that's one thing that a lot of people don't see is, like, your lead generation in the beginning may look a little different than it will five years from now.

0:12:21 - (Natalia): Yeah, it definitely does change. And I really recommend that people don't just jump in right away and hire sales. They have to know, a business owner has to know how to sell themselves. They have to be the best salesperson on the team.

0:12:53 - (Natalia): There's a lot you can outsource, but I think sales, especially in the beginning, you have to know how to sell your own product or service. And then once you know, like, probably, like, if you're at half a million in gross revenue or something, that's a good time to start looking at hiring a salesperson or a sales team, like, especially if you're getting close to a million in gross revenue. But before that, it's all you.

0:13:34 - (Sam): Oh, girl, I love this. I could talk about this all day. Cause this is my favorite thing. It's like, that is always one thing. Especially, like, I'm like, if you can't do it, like, and I think that's the best thing, is when you go to hire someone and you go to try to train them or think about, like, oh, if I was to hire somebody, could I explain this to them well enough to do it the way that I do it?

0:14:33 - (Sam): And you notice when, like, if you. I mean, if, like, we offload our training to another team member, and it's maybe not the, like, the thing they're the absolute best at. They, like, the people following them will be like, you'll end up just so much more frustrated if you walk in that room and you're like, hey, I'm gonna teach you how to close, because I'm the best closer in the room. Then that's like, oh, yeah, it's so different.

0:15:28 - (Natalia): Those goals should be a lot bigger. I feel like we don't dream big enough, especially as women, and I feel like we don't dream big enough or we don't. We're afraid of the work. Honestly, to get to hundred thousand dollars, it's not that much more difficult. And you keep learning. If you get to a million, the first 100,000, I think, is probably harder to hon because you're figuring things out. But when I started, I just wanted to make ends meet, and then my first year, just wanted to make my first six figures, and then I just wanted to get to a quarter of a million at one point. And then I was like, I got to a quarter million. I was like, well, that wasn't so bad. I want to get the business to half a million.

0:16:27 - (Sam): Everyone'renn do it, girl. I like, she'snna post that one day. It's gonn be like, we hit the goal, and I'm gonna be like, all over. Like, ye.

0:17:02 - (Natalia): And you, that's been a journey for me to get used to, and I feel like we really need to get used to those numbers.

0:17:39 - (Sam): And she was like, girl, everybody would have said, I'm buying a purse. I'm getting a new. And I'm like, but those things don't get me in better rooms. Those things don't get me results. And that's. And look at you, like, look at the growth you've had. Like, I think we underestimate or we overestimate what we can do in a year and underestimate what we can do in five. And you're totally right's, like, we can't. Most women can't see that, like, five year mark.

0:18:37 - (Natalia): Yeah. Yeah. I think a good goal, especially for service based businesses, a good goal is to double every year.

0:18:45 - (Natalia): You have to really know your numbers. You have to understand, you have to have a good accounting software. I recommend quickbooks. For most businesses. That's really the best accounting software. And I think in the United States, there are others that. That are pretty good, but that's our favorite specifically. And you, you really need to have, your accounting has to be clean, has to be accurate. That's a great thing to outsource.

0:19:34 - (Natalia): So we're in April. I'm still talking to people and prospecting because I still do my own sales, and they're saying, oh, yeah, 2023 isn't done yet. I'm like, it's April, right? What that means, they don't know. They have no idea what's going on. So just be really mindful that even though it's unpleasant or it's scary or it's something that you're not familiar with. First of all, there's a ton of information out there. YouTube is your friend.

0:20:24 - (Sam): Yeah, well, I think all that was amazing. And I had one more question, but you actually answered it. Cause I just gave you, like, a little bit instead of interrupting you, but you actually answered it. It was like, the things that we need to see, you know, like, that profit and loss statement is huge. I think that's even just being able to understand that really is a huge driver of your business. So, Natalia, where can we find you? Where do you hang out?

0:21:05 - (Sam): Awesome. And we'll have everything linked up in the show notes. Guys, this is a great resource. Make sure and give her a follow. Reach out to her. If she's your gal for all that information, just hit her up and talk to her soon, and we will see you guys next time. Don'there. We go. Oh, not. Oops. I just want to stop recording. There we go.