Well hey there! Welcome to this episode of the Biz Balance Podcast! I’m your host, Karen Greenoe and today, we are chatting with Jamie Trull of the Balance CFO. Jamie started out her career in the very traditional corporate way by getting a degree in finance and then working for one of the biggest brands in the world. As her family grew, it became clear to her and her husband that a full time, traditional career was not the best fit for their family. And that is where Balance CFO was born! Jamie saw that there was a gap in financial literacy and confidence in female entrepreneurs and she wanted to help. But enough from me, let’s hear it from her! Welcome to the show, Jamie!

Now fun fact, Jamie and I both attended Wake Forest University at the same time but we did not know each other. It wasn’t until we both enrolled in Amy Porterfield’s course, Digital Course Academy, that our paths crossed! Amazing how the universe works, isn’t it? So Jamie, tell us all about your journey and how Balance CFO took off!

Jamie: I definitely started my career in a more traditional path. I majored in finance and got my masters in accounting. I went that route because it was safe, you know, I could easily get a job! But I was good at those things too. I really was fine with the long hours required to work up the ranks for many years buuuuut as I’m sure many of you moms out there know, when you start having kids, things change! I began to think to myself “Do I really want to work 80 hour weeks anymore? And to what end goal?

I think I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur, but I just didn’t know what that would look like yet. I actually looked a bunch of different small business ideas, but nothing clicked. I’m too left brained for that.

“If I give it enough though and I sit here with a piece of paper for long enough, I’ll find the answer.”

I saw that people were moved by their passion to start their businesses, but they didn’t have the back end knowledge to back it up. And that’s where I came in!

And that’s where Balance CFO was born! I started offering remote CFO services to female entrepreneurs and it grew quickly. I wanted to be a voice of reason to women who were overwhelmed by all of the jargon and confusion that is surrounding finance.

“(The business) grew in reality but also grew in my heart.”

Balance CFO started as remote bookkeeping and accounting, but it shifted and grew. I found myself having many bosses instead of just one! It made it feel very similar to having a corporate job. I had to fight against that stress and I could see burnout on the horizon because I was putting just as many hours in as I had when I worked corporate. So I did a bit of soul searching and have been making some changes this year. I’m planning to do less one to one work and shifting more into a teaching model with groups and courses. It’s expanding my impact and that is incredible!

Karen: What is one of the biggest pitfalls you see for entrepreneurs?

Jamie: Putting the finances on the shelf and refusing to tackle them head on. This makes the concept grow bigger and scarier. It can cause you to go down a bit of a shame spiral when it comes to money. Instead, flip your mindset and be consistent with your financial habits!

Freebie Download: www.balancecfo.com/habits

Your Financial Habits Checklist!

Karen: Talk to me about your social media strategy. Evvvveryone seems to be talking about Instagram right now, but you are KILLING it in Facebook groups! In just over six months, you’ve grown your group to over 4,000 entrepreneurs! That is INCREDIBLE!

Jamie: With social media, I always say to start with the platform you know. You’ll be more likely to stick with it. For me, that was Facebook groups. So that is where I started my presence. It also helps that Facebook favors groups in the algorithm right now so it shows that content first in people’s feeds. I kept seeing in other groups I was a part of that people were comfortable sharing information and ideas so I jumped in! Every time there was a question about finance, I jumped in and tried to help. Eventually, it got to the point where people started tagging me when there were finance or accounting questions. So I decided to start my own group! That way I could share value in a community that I could moderate. I was consistent with the one platform and that is what made the difference. I show up once a week with a mini training to add even more value to my members.

“You have to lead with value. It’s not about what I get.”

I live by the “Go Giver Philosophy” which, in a nutshell, is all about giving and giving from the right place. If you do that, it will come back and it will come back in unexpected ways and times, but it always comes back.

Karen: What are you most excited about for your business right now?

Jamie: I am about to launch my first digital course! It’s called “Financial Fitness Formula”

It will show small business owners how to gain control of their business finances without the overwhelm and the freakout! It’s launching on January 23rd and enrollment will only be open for a short time! To learn more about this course, click here!