1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,810 Hannah Smolinski: One of the things that helped when I was thinking 2 00:00:03,810 --> 00:00:09,060 about my business was really trying to identify what does the 3 00:00:09,060 --> 00:00:11,190 client really need every month? 4 00:00:19,020 --> 00:00:21,480 David Shriner-Cahn: Welcome to Smashing the Plateau. 5 00:00:21,780 --> 00:00:25,680 We help consultants, coaches, entrepreneurs, and small business 6 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:30,330 owners build their business after a long career as an employed professional. 7 00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:34,110 We believe you should be able to do what you love and get paid 8 00:00:34,110 --> 00:00:36,180 what you're worth, consistently. 9 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:39,290 I'm your host, David Shriner-Cahn. 10 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:43,440 Today on Smashing the Plateau, I'm speaking with the president of 11 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:45,840 Clara CFO group, Hannah Smolinski. 12 00:00:46,710 --> 00:00:52,080 In today's episode, you will learn how to turn your expertise into multiple, 13 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:54,180 active and passive revenue streams. 14 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:56,760 Stay with us to hear all the details. 15 00:00:57,450 --> 00:00:58,980 Are you building a community? 16 00:00:59,550 --> 00:01:04,500 Check out Circle, the all in one community platform for creators and brands. 17 00:01:04,980 --> 00:01:09,360 Bring together engaging discussions, members, live streams, chat, 18 00:01:09,390 --> 00:01:13,910 events, and memberships, all in one place, all under your own brand. 19 00:01:14,670 --> 00:01:18,630 Circle is the platform we use in the Smashing the Plateau Community. 20 00:01:19,230 --> 00:01:24,270 I love the way Circle puts your people, discussions and content all in one place. 21 00:01:24,960 --> 00:01:31,029 Get a free 14 day trial of Circle at smashingtheplateau.com/circle. 22 00:01:31,830 --> 00:01:35,510 That's smashingthetplateau.com/circle. 23 00:01:36,060 --> 00:01:38,479 Now let's welcome, Hannah Smolinski. 24 00:01:38,910 --> 00:01:40,480 Welcome Hannah Smolinski. 25 00:01:40,619 --> 00:01:47,160 Hannah is a CPA and the founder of Clara CFO group, a virtual CFO agency providing 26 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:52,050 small businesses with financial clarity and profit maximization strategies. 27 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:56,009 Her experience working for one of the world's largest accounting firms 28 00:01:56,340 --> 00:02:00,870 inspired her to make corporate expertise accessible to small business owners 29 00:02:01,229 --> 00:02:03,420 through fractional CFO services. 30 00:02:03,985 --> 00:02:09,085 She also hosts a YouTube channel with over 36,000 subscribers, and 31 00:02:09,085 --> 00:02:13,225 uses the platform to help small businesses achieve financial success. 32 00:02:13,585 --> 00:02:14,785 Hannah, welcome to the show. 33 00:02:15,175 --> 00:02:15,505 Hannah Smolinski: David. 34 00:02:15,505 --> 00:02:16,705 Thank you so much for having me. 35 00:02:16,705 --> 00:02:17,845 I'm excited to chat today. 36 00:02:18,055 --> 00:02:18,595 David Shriner-Cahn: Me too. 37 00:02:18,655 --> 00:02:22,725 Tell me a little bit about your career and what led you to become a fractional CFO. 38 00:02:23,700 --> 00:02:24,090 Hannah Smolinski: Yeah. 39 00:02:24,090 --> 00:02:27,017 So I, started off at Big Four accounting. 40 00:02:27,017 --> 00:02:30,939 I did the whole very traditional, started out getting my accounting degree. 41 00:02:31,029 --> 00:02:33,969 Didn't really ever think I was going to do accounting, but I landed in accounting. 42 00:02:34,269 --> 00:02:37,209 I liked business and numbers seemed to work well for me. 43 00:02:37,209 --> 00:02:40,599 So I ended up in accounting and then did the, when you need to 44 00:02:40,604 --> 00:02:44,140 sit for your CPA exam, sometimes you go, and do a master's degree. 45 00:02:44,140 --> 00:02:47,140 So I did that as well, also in accounting, very exciting stuff. 46 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:52,720 But it did allow me the education to sit for my CPA exam, and it also allowed me 47 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:57,184 opportunities to, get a great internship with a Big Four accounting firm. 48 00:02:57,514 --> 00:02:59,642 And then I started on that path in the Big Four. 49 00:02:59,642 --> 00:03:03,887 And I'm sure some of, a lot of your, people who have been in corporate kind of 50 00:03:04,037 --> 00:03:07,987 understand the Big Four, either whether it's in consulting services or it's in 51 00:03:07,987 --> 00:03:09,805 accounting, it's a churn and burn model. 52 00:03:09,805 --> 00:03:13,443 You work there, they, hire tons of staff when you first start 53 00:03:13,443 --> 00:03:16,233 and then they hope that there's going to be attrition over time. 54 00:03:16,233 --> 00:03:20,853 So I ended up kind of being spit out of the system where I actually opted out 55 00:03:21,093 --> 00:03:27,156 about five years in because I needed more work life balance, surprise . So 56 00:03:27,161 --> 00:03:29,286 it was time to do something different. 57 00:03:29,286 --> 00:03:31,304 And, I loved working in public accounting. 58 00:03:31,304 --> 00:03:35,384 I loved my coworkers and everything, but I just needed more balance. 59 00:03:35,474 --> 00:03:39,404 So I ended up working for a small engineering firm when I left. 60 00:03:39,404 --> 00:03:44,624 And that's where I really started to get really aware of everything 61 00:03:44,624 --> 00:03:47,204 that small business owners really needed with their finance. 62 00:03:47,204 --> 00:03:50,893 And it was actually really different from a corporate, background. 63 00:03:50,893 --> 00:03:55,521 And, it was, yes, you need, you need finance, but in small business, 64 00:03:55,521 --> 00:03:59,869 there was more, I wouldn't say more nuance, but there's just, different 65 00:03:59,869 --> 00:04:02,149 needs and much more focus on cash. 66 00:04:02,509 --> 00:04:05,749 And I just realized that there was an opportunity there to start 67 00:04:05,754 --> 00:04:10,099 consulting after I was working for a small business for a while I 68 00:04:10,099 --> 00:04:13,579 realized, hey, I could probably do this for some other companies too. 69 00:04:14,119 --> 00:04:17,749 So about five years into that business, I was like, maybe it's 70 00:04:17,749 --> 00:04:19,279 time to start something on my own. 71 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:21,109 And that's where Clara CFO group was. 72 00:04:21,834 --> 00:04:24,534 David Shriner-Cahn: And did you go fulltime right away in your 73 00:04:24,534 --> 00:04:25,524 own, into your own business? 74 00:04:25,524 --> 00:04:27,234 Or did you start something on the side? 75 00:04:27,834 --> 00:04:30,144 Build it up a little bit and then leave your job. 76 00:04:30,684 --> 00:04:32,904 Hannah Smolinski: I did the side by side, so I was definitely 77 00:04:32,909 --> 00:04:34,854 working for the other company. 78 00:04:35,094 --> 00:04:36,684 I was actually about 32 hours. 79 00:04:36,684 --> 00:04:38,844 I wasn't quite full time with them. 80 00:04:38,844 --> 00:04:40,674 And so it gave me a little bit of free time. 81 00:04:40,674 --> 00:04:44,545 And then my evenings were spent developing my business and on the side. 82 00:04:44,545 --> 00:04:49,857 So I probably did them side by side for a good year and started to build 83 00:04:49,857 --> 00:04:52,617 up a client base for my business. 84 00:04:52,947 --> 00:04:57,657 And then I ended up transitioning out of my role with the small business 85 00:04:57,657 --> 00:04:59,517 and kept them on as a client actually. 86 00:04:59,817 --> 00:05:03,922 So that was actually a nice kind of soft landing into, full-time 87 00:05:03,922 --> 00:05:07,777 consulting is when I had a healthy client base at that point in time. 88 00:05:08,017 --> 00:05:09,957 David Shriner-Cahn: So how do you have a conversation with an employer 89 00:05:09,957 --> 00:05:12,947 and say I want to leave, but I also still want to work for you. 90 00:05:13,054 --> 00:05:19,669 Hannah Smolinski: Really it came down to, value and the skills I was bringing were, 91 00:05:19,879 --> 00:05:25,699 what I was really best at was the finance and the advisory side on the finances. 92 00:05:25,729 --> 00:05:31,999 And what I had the conversation was actually, my skillset was more expensive 93 00:05:32,234 --> 00:05:34,664 for doing that type of consulting work. 94 00:05:35,054 --> 00:05:39,284 But they were basically under utilizing my skills and they could have hired in 95 00:05:39,284 --> 00:05:45,854 a less experienced and honestly cheaper person to come in and do everything else 96 00:05:45,859 --> 00:05:49,244 I was doing in the business at the time, because I was doing administrative work 97 00:05:49,244 --> 00:05:52,886 and I was helping with sales and I was the person who was like, running errands, 98 00:05:52,886 --> 00:05:54,446 if someone needed to have an errand run. 99 00:05:54,446 --> 00:05:58,736 So we actually were able to bring in an administrative, more administrative 100 00:05:58,736 --> 00:06:03,594 focused person, and then it allowed me to sit more in that higher 101 00:06:03,594 --> 00:06:06,414 level, strategic advisory type role. 102 00:06:06,414 --> 00:06:11,034 And, it cost them less overall kind of with the whole package after doing that. 103 00:06:11,034 --> 00:06:15,154 So I sold it based on, you're going to be getting more time from 104 00:06:15,154 --> 00:06:19,334 somebody else and it's going to cost you less in the long run. 105 00:06:19,363 --> 00:06:22,813 David Shriner-Cahn: So it was actually a solution that was a win-win. 106 00:06:22,903 --> 00:06:23,443 Hannah Smolinski: Yes. 107 00:06:23,503 --> 00:06:23,773 Yeah. 108 00:06:23,953 --> 00:06:26,683 And I try to do that wherever I can, because I, I believe that 109 00:06:26,683 --> 00:06:28,363 there's, win-wins all over the place. 110 00:06:28,363 --> 00:06:32,023 So you just kinda need to work and find the angle and usually 111 00:06:32,023 --> 00:06:33,313 we can find something to work. 112 00:06:33,943 --> 00:06:35,083 David Shriner-Cahn: Yeah, no, that's really good. 113 00:06:35,473 --> 00:06:38,653 So then you went into your own business and tell me a little bit about how 114 00:06:38,653 --> 00:06:41,848 you landed on your business model. 115 00:06:42,238 --> 00:06:42,628 Hannah Smolinski: Yeah. 116 00:06:42,628 --> 00:06:46,558 So I definitely tested out a number of things for a while because I wasn't 117 00:06:46,558 --> 00:06:48,508 exactly sure how to sell my services. 118 00:06:48,508 --> 00:06:51,898 I think when we all start, we're all trying to figure out what does the 119 00:06:51,898 --> 00:06:56,745 market really need and what are we selling and where do I fit in all of it? 120 00:06:56,750 --> 00:07:01,525 And I knew the market needed CFO services, but I had a hard time 121 00:07:01,525 --> 00:07:04,375 selling them at first because I didn't know how to talk about it. 122 00:07:04,825 --> 00:07:10,995 And then I also had a really, challenging point, of trying to make sure that I 123 00:07:10,995 --> 00:07:15,975 didn't get myself roped into bookkeeping engagements, because when people hear, 124 00:07:15,975 --> 00:07:19,386 Hey, you're doing accounting on the side, everybody thinks that means that you're 125 00:07:19,416 --> 00:07:21,046 going to do their accounting for them. 126 00:07:21,436 --> 00:07:25,442 And, really identifying that we weren't doing the accounting and 127 00:07:25,442 --> 00:07:29,462 actually like sitting in a more higher level strategic advisory, 128 00:07:29,466 --> 00:07:31,234 type service took a little while. 129 00:07:31,294 --> 00:07:32,854 So that took a while to suss it out. 130 00:07:32,854 --> 00:07:35,529 But I knew, that the role would be ongoing. 131 00:07:35,529 --> 00:07:40,164 So it lent itself really well to a recurring revenue model where, 132 00:07:40,164 --> 00:07:42,386 a client hires us on a retainer. 133 00:07:42,716 --> 00:07:44,906 And we have a set amount of work. 134 00:07:44,906 --> 00:07:48,536 We do every single month because with accounting things change every 135 00:07:48,536 --> 00:07:51,266 single month, you get a new set of financials every single month. 136 00:07:51,296 --> 00:07:55,520 And so that ended up working really well with that recurring revenue model. 137 00:07:56,210 --> 00:07:59,840 David Shriner-Cahn: Yeah, one of the things that I hear a lot from 138 00:08:00,970 --> 00:08:04,750 professionals in their own business, when they're trying to shift into 139 00:08:04,750 --> 00:08:09,180 a recurring revenue model is how do I know how much time is actually 140 00:08:09,180 --> 00:08:11,140 going to take me to do this? 141 00:08:11,470 --> 00:08:15,125 How do I know what kinds of deliverables I'm actually going 142 00:08:15,125 --> 00:08:17,020 to be able to produce each month? 143 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:18,730 How do I price it? 144 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:22,600 How do I price it in a way that it's not too low? 145 00:08:22,930 --> 00:08:25,353 And also how do I price it in a way that's not too high and I'm 146 00:08:25,353 --> 00:08:27,573 over promising what I can deliver. 147 00:08:28,023 --> 00:08:32,631 So there's often a lot of fear around changing a business model or pricing model 148 00:08:32,631 --> 00:08:39,661 from one that might be project based or time based into a recurring revenue model. 149 00:08:39,705 --> 00:08:43,455 Hannah Smolinski: One of the things that helped when I was thinking 150 00:08:43,460 --> 00:08:48,675 about my business was really trying to identify what does the 151 00:08:48,675 --> 00:08:50,985 client really need every month? 152 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:52,620 What do they need? 153 00:08:52,680 --> 00:08:57,870 And if I broke that down, I started to see trends where I knew that 154 00:08:57,900 --> 00:09:02,130 every single client would need, for example, a budget every single year. 155 00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:03,840 So we're always going to do an annual budget. 156 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:07,380 And then we know, Hey, a forecast needs to be updated pretty much 157 00:09:07,380 --> 00:09:11,880 every month because assumptions change decisions are being made. 158 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:15,540 New clients are being brought on and you know, revenue 159 00:09:15,585 --> 00:09:17,085 forecast can definitely change. 160 00:09:17,655 --> 00:09:23,177 So when I noticed at that point, I understand what does the client need 161 00:09:23,177 --> 00:09:27,285 every single month then I could back into, what does a package look like 162 00:09:27,285 --> 00:09:30,313 that I can really sell that I know I can deliver over and over again. 163 00:09:30,703 --> 00:09:35,593 So it ended up for us that when with a client that's typically under a 164 00:09:35,593 --> 00:09:39,808 million dollars, we can start to see, we know what we need to do 165 00:09:39,808 --> 00:09:41,158 at the beginning of the project. 166 00:09:41,488 --> 00:09:44,878 And then we know that on a monthly basis, once we get that first bit 167 00:09:44,878 --> 00:09:49,798 established on a monthly basis, we have a really good sense of what that's 168 00:09:49,798 --> 00:09:51,928 going to, be on an ongoing basis. 169 00:09:51,928 --> 00:09:55,168 So I was just talking with my staff earlier today and I was like, for 170 00:09:55,173 --> 00:09:59,608 this type of client, we know that we can spend four to six hours every 171 00:09:59,608 --> 00:10:01,738 single month on this type of client. 172 00:10:01,828 --> 00:10:07,393 And that always, almost always is, going to work out just fine. 173 00:10:07,513 --> 00:10:10,843 Now at the beginning of the project, that's where we have the most uncertainty. 174 00:10:11,503 --> 00:10:14,443 So for us, we actually do a recurring revenue model, but 175 00:10:14,443 --> 00:10:16,123 we also have a setup fee. 176 00:10:16,573 --> 00:10:20,257 So we charge that at the very beginning, which helps offset any 177 00:10:20,767 --> 00:10:23,756 up, really, wild swings and hours. 178 00:10:24,476 --> 00:10:27,776 And then we also very specifically say these things are out of scope. 179 00:10:27,776 --> 00:10:31,063 So if we get into your books and they're way messier than we ever 180 00:10:31,183 --> 00:10:35,763 expected, then we're going to like, put that back to a bookkeeper, or we're 181 00:10:35,763 --> 00:10:37,333 going to bring some money on that. 182 00:10:37,393 --> 00:10:41,083 That's not our responsibility to absorb, but it's their responsibility to absorb. 183 00:10:41,623 --> 00:10:45,283 And so I think once we started to identify, we know you need these 184 00:10:45,283 --> 00:10:48,643 things because people are coming to us because they don't know what's 185 00:10:48,643 --> 00:10:51,703 going on in their financials and they're looking for an expert. 186 00:10:51,813 --> 00:10:56,753 And so as the expert, we can say, we know you need these things, and 187 00:10:56,753 --> 00:10:59,333 we're going to deliver on these things for you every single month. 188 00:10:59,693 --> 00:11:02,663 So it lends itself really well in the recurring revenue model. 189 00:11:02,873 --> 00:11:03,113 Yeah. 190 00:11:03,113 --> 00:11:05,333 David Shriner-Cahn: So I think what you've raised a really important point, 191 00:11:05,333 --> 00:11:08,655 which is you've gotta know your scope for what's included and what's ex 192 00:11:08,745 --> 00:11:11,445 excluded from a particular offering. 193 00:11:12,310 --> 00:11:16,080 And I think that's also hard for people in the beginning to figure that out. 194 00:11:16,089 --> 00:11:17,769 Hannah Smolinski: Oh, and I've made tons of mistakes. 195 00:11:17,769 --> 00:11:22,619 Let's not, , let's not pretend like I didn't get burned a number of times from, 196 00:11:22,646 --> 00:11:28,316 a way under bidding, a project or way underestimate the amount of time it took. 197 00:11:28,316 --> 00:11:33,349 So I do think there, it does take a number of tries to really get it right. 198 00:11:33,349 --> 00:11:37,605 And, I think the more you do something, the better you get at knowing the time 199 00:11:37,665 --> 00:11:42,825 that it's going to take, and you can put your best estimates out there. 200 00:11:43,305 --> 00:11:47,579 I would always say if you're going to set some estimates, add 50%, and 201 00:11:47,579 --> 00:11:50,729 then maybe charge your hours from there, because there's always 202 00:11:50,729 --> 00:11:52,019 going to be learning along the way. 203 00:11:52,579 --> 00:11:52,759 Yeah, 204 00:11:52,829 --> 00:11:56,151 David Shriner-Cahn: so what did you do when it turns out that you weigh 205 00:11:56,151 --> 00:12:01,551 under bid in terms of how much value you provided or how long it took you? 206 00:12:02,181 --> 00:12:04,101 What you do in those situations in the beginning? 207 00:12:04,881 --> 00:12:05,151 Hannah Smolinski: Yeah. 208 00:12:05,191 --> 00:12:08,686 I definitely underbid a couple of my very first clients. 209 00:12:08,686 --> 00:12:12,424 And this was when I was still doing some accounting for clients as well. 210 00:12:12,694 --> 00:12:17,284 I just would come back to them with conversations and say, Hey, like I had 211 00:12:17,284 --> 00:12:21,899 bid this project based on assuming your monthly close was going to take 10 hours. 212 00:12:22,259 --> 00:12:23,849 It actually took 20 hours. 213 00:12:23,849 --> 00:12:26,759 And I don't anticipate that changing because of efficiencies. 214 00:12:26,759 --> 00:12:28,559 Like I'm as efficient as I can get. 215 00:12:28,949 --> 00:12:32,466 And where we need to change the scope of what this is. 216 00:12:32,826 --> 00:12:35,996 And I think part of that is also understanding, you always have to 217 00:12:35,996 --> 00:12:39,476 be a little bit, if you're going to increase your prices, you have to 218 00:12:39,481 --> 00:12:41,606 hold your client with an open hand. 219 00:12:42,256 --> 00:12:46,141 Because you have to be willing for them to walk away when you increase 220 00:12:46,141 --> 00:12:49,711 your prices, but you also need to know like that you need to be true 221 00:12:49,711 --> 00:12:51,821 to yourself and what your value is. 222 00:12:51,871 --> 00:12:56,341 If you're going to have a price increase discussion, you also need to be aware 223 00:12:56,701 --> 00:13:00,121 that maybe they won't like it and maybe they'll think, Hey, we can go 224 00:13:00,121 --> 00:13:01,841 and find services cheaper elsewhere. 225 00:13:01,841 --> 00:13:04,218 At the end of the day, that's not a bad thing. 226 00:13:04,218 --> 00:13:06,288 because then you could go out and find a client and price it 227 00:13:06,288 --> 00:13:08,208 correctly the next time around. 228 00:13:08,388 --> 00:13:13,368 So I think you have to just be, you have to be willing to, with the consequences 229 00:13:13,518 --> 00:13:15,498 of what happens on a price increase. 230 00:13:15,738 --> 00:13:17,268 David Shriner-Cahn: Yeah, no, that's very wise. 231 00:13:17,778 --> 00:13:21,138 So at this point, what are the different kinds of offerings 232 00:13:21,138 --> 00:13:22,248 that you have in your business? 233 00:13:22,998 --> 00:13:27,168 Hannah Smolinski: Yeah, so our main core offering is the virtual CFO services. 234 00:13:27,168 --> 00:13:30,528 And so those are recurring revenue projects where we come 235 00:13:30,528 --> 00:13:34,389 on and, average time with those clients is at least three years. 236 00:13:34,719 --> 00:13:37,659 So we're looking at where we come onto the team and we're serving 237 00:13:37,659 --> 00:13:39,539 them one on one, every single month. 238 00:13:39,989 --> 00:13:43,464 But I have a couple other revenue streams, which is slightly different from probably 239 00:13:43,469 --> 00:13:45,414 other people providing CFO services. 240 00:13:45,414 --> 00:13:48,924 So I have a YouTube channel, which was mentioned, I think in the 241 00:13:48,924 --> 00:13:53,514 intro where we are putting a lot of free education up on YouTube. 242 00:13:53,754 --> 00:13:57,684 And with that, I have income coming in from YouTube AdSense. 243 00:13:57,774 --> 00:14:01,644 So that makes me a little bit, so probably the range between what 244 00:14:01,644 --> 00:14:07,344 is recurring revenue, from one on one services is about 80 to 85% of 245 00:14:07,344 --> 00:14:08,664 the total income in the business. 246 00:14:08,664 --> 00:14:12,174 And the other portion is made up of these other things. 247 00:14:12,174 --> 00:14:17,604 So I've got AdSense coming in, I also will sell things like workshops 248 00:14:17,664 --> 00:14:19,974 or even worksheets in Excel. 249 00:14:20,304 --> 00:14:21,804 So I'll make a worksheet. 250 00:14:21,922 --> 00:14:26,712 let's say it's like how to calculate your estimated taxes for your small business, 251 00:14:26,712 --> 00:14:30,883 and that worksheet will sell, like I'll probably sell two or three of them today. 252 00:14:30,940 --> 00:14:33,340 Just because I have a video that's actually sitting out on 253 00:14:33,340 --> 00:14:35,410 YouTube and people watch it. 254 00:14:35,620 --> 00:14:38,132 And especially when estimated tax time comes around, that 255 00:14:38,132 --> 00:14:41,450 video gets pulled up and a lot of people will buy that spreadsheet. 256 00:14:41,450 --> 00:14:46,284 So I have that and digital workshops that I have done where I've, recorded 257 00:14:46,289 --> 00:14:49,263 a training and then I can sell the recording over and over again. 258 00:14:49,653 --> 00:14:51,853 And then I've got affiliate commissions. 259 00:14:51,968 --> 00:14:56,438 So I like right now I have a QuickBook series and I'm an affiliate of QuickBooks. 260 00:14:56,438 --> 00:15:01,238 So with my YouTube channel, that's driving some affiliate revenue as well. 261 00:15:02,768 --> 00:15:06,098 David Shriner-Cahn: Long term for your business, what would you like it to? 262 00:15:06,248 --> 00:15:07,868 Like, how would you like it to develop? 263 00:15:07,868 --> 00:15:12,973 Because if at this point it's 85% from one on one services, where are 264 00:15:12,973 --> 00:15:14,383 you thinking you want to take things? 265 00:15:14,833 --> 00:15:17,773 Hannah Smolinski: Yeah, I would like to get to closer to a 50, 50. 266 00:15:18,163 --> 00:15:22,571 And that seems like aggressive, but because I do want to grow and scale 267 00:15:22,571 --> 00:15:26,468 the agency side of the business as well, but really with YouTube, it's a 268 00:15:26,473 --> 00:15:30,278 really interesting platform, there's a lot of opportunities for monetization. 269 00:15:30,278 --> 00:15:34,548 And even if you're not monetized with AdSense, you can still be monetized 270 00:15:34,548 --> 00:15:38,435 by selling a course or you can, do the affiliate revenue thing, which 271 00:15:38,705 --> 00:15:41,705 affiliate revenue really kicks in when you get like good volume 272 00:15:41,765 --> 00:15:43,925 coming in on videos and whatnot. 273 00:15:44,465 --> 00:15:46,205 But I would like to see that grow. 274 00:15:46,205 --> 00:15:48,911 And I do think that will happen a lot through potential courses. 275 00:15:49,771 --> 00:15:54,271 So we've got some, we've got some plans to grow on that side where we're 276 00:15:54,631 --> 00:16:00,806 able to come in and provide really, targeted courses to certain industries 277 00:16:00,806 --> 00:16:05,126 that will help them with their overall financial understanding and planning. 278 00:16:05,666 --> 00:16:05,906 David Shriner-Cahn: Yeah. 279 00:16:06,176 --> 00:16:09,446 Was there a particular trigger that encouraged you to get 280 00:16:09,446 --> 00:16:11,606 started selling digital offerings? 281 00:16:12,116 --> 00:16:16,256 Hannah Smolinski: I think what happened, I think the first offering I sold was 282 00:16:16,261 --> 00:16:21,644 actually, because of P P P so the paycheck Protection program was why 283 00:16:21,674 --> 00:16:23,714 my YouTube channel really took off. 284 00:16:23,714 --> 00:16:25,904 I was helping people understand that program. 285 00:16:26,354 --> 00:16:30,014 And then with that, I was selling, no I wasn't selling, I was giving away 286 00:16:30,019 --> 00:16:35,294 for free a spreadsheet that was helping people calculate their PPP loan amounts 287 00:16:35,299 --> 00:16:37,184 and their potential forgiveness amounts. 288 00:16:37,574 --> 00:16:42,034 And that grew my email list basically from, a couple hundred 289 00:16:42,059 --> 00:16:45,389 people to over 10,000 people. 290 00:16:45,389 --> 00:16:45,449 David Shriner-Cahn: Wow. 291 00:16:45,599 --> 00:16:47,369 Hannah Smolinski: Basically like that one spreadsheet. 292 00:16:47,819 --> 00:16:50,909 And so what that made me think was like, wow. 293 00:16:51,359 --> 00:16:55,049 If people get spreadsheets for free, maybe some people might 294 00:16:55,049 --> 00:16:56,879 want to buy some spreadsheets too. 295 00:16:56,943 --> 00:16:58,052 so let's test that out. 296 00:16:58,112 --> 00:16:58,532 Yeah. 297 00:16:58,532 --> 00:16:59,192 Let's test that. 298 00:16:59,192 --> 00:17:01,718 That, that's the thing with some of the stuff it's like, why not? 299 00:17:01,742 --> 00:17:02,517 throw it up there. 300 00:17:02,727 --> 00:17:06,243 If nobody buys it, don't spend too much time on it where it's 301 00:17:06,243 --> 00:17:08,303 going to be a huge loss, test it. 302 00:17:08,363 --> 00:17:12,543 If one person buys it, maybe two people will buy it, but, my products 303 00:17:12,543 --> 00:17:15,688 have always been, and the products that have always done well, have 304 00:17:15,688 --> 00:17:19,558 been based on what people are asking for and where people have questions. 305 00:17:19,858 --> 00:17:25,198 So any product I build it's because somebody has expressed a need 306 00:17:25,203 --> 00:17:26,788 for it at some point in time. 307 00:17:26,968 --> 00:17:31,260 And so that's, ideally you have a customer and then you build a product, 308 00:17:31,350 --> 00:17:34,380 not the other way around, you build a product and then you get a customer 309 00:17:34,650 --> 00:17:36,480 that tends to not work so well. 310 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:37,380 And I've done that too. 311 00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:39,960 And then net doesn't sell and then I wonder why. 312 00:17:40,027 --> 00:17:40,160 yeah. 313 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:42,169 David Shriner-Cahn: Congratulations on everything you've built and the way 314 00:17:42,169 --> 00:17:44,059 you've started to diversify your business. 315 00:17:44,479 --> 00:17:48,349 If you are advising someone who has a, not an accounting or finance 316 00:17:48,349 --> 00:17:52,274 related business, but a, totally different professional services, niche. 317 00:17:52,724 --> 00:17:53,874 What would you advise? 318 00:17:53,874 --> 00:17:59,551 when it comes to building multiple revenue streams and building 319 00:17:59,671 --> 00:18:02,268 recurring revenue and passive income? 320 00:18:02,628 --> 00:18:06,918 Hannah Smolinski: I would say that there's a lot of opportunities 321 00:18:06,918 --> 00:18:11,406 for really easy entry into this space of selling anything digital. 322 00:18:11,422 --> 00:18:16,762 and then probably you're already doing something from a marketing perspective 323 00:18:17,122 --> 00:18:20,782 that you might be able to transfer into something you can actually sell. 324 00:18:20,782 --> 00:18:25,042 So a lot of us as consultants, we're giving workshops, or 325 00:18:25,042 --> 00:18:26,212 we're doing things for free. 326 00:18:26,212 --> 00:18:29,932 We're doing speaking engagements, we are teaching on a topic because 327 00:18:29,932 --> 00:18:32,572 if you're consulting on something, it means that you have a knowledge 328 00:18:32,572 --> 00:18:34,042 base that maybe other people don't. 329 00:18:34,063 --> 00:18:39,433 So how can you take that knowledge base and think about what type of 330 00:18:39,433 --> 00:18:41,623 product could I bring to market. 331 00:18:42,013 --> 00:18:48,403 And ideally that product is at a pretty base level because you don't want to take 332 00:18:48,403 --> 00:18:51,823 your clients who might be paying you a hundred thousand dollars for a consulting 333 00:18:51,943 --> 00:18:57,433 gig, and then take that knowledge base and give that away for a hundred dollars. 334 00:18:57,433 --> 00:19:01,825 We're not going to do that, but maybe you can sell something, that's the first 10 335 00:19:01,825 --> 00:19:06,666 tips to get into whatever, a like teaser into the first things you would need to 336 00:19:06,666 --> 00:19:11,286 know before you need your services, or maybe just really high level information, 337 00:19:11,616 --> 00:19:16,452 or if you have a workshop recorded or you want to do a workshop, go and, put that 338 00:19:16,452 --> 00:19:18,222 into a place that you can be monetized. 339 00:19:18,319 --> 00:19:23,329 A lot of people will spend 50 to a hundred, to $200 on some education. 340 00:19:23,689 --> 00:19:27,612 And if they know you trust you, they'll be buying your products. 341 00:19:27,617 --> 00:19:32,573 So I think there's a lot of really quick entry ways into making money 342 00:19:32,573 --> 00:19:35,903 that we have incredible opportunity right now with all, everything that, 343 00:19:36,173 --> 00:19:37,733 all the tools that we have access to. 344 00:19:37,883 --> 00:19:38,543 David Shriner-Cahn: We sure do. 345 00:19:38,639 --> 00:19:42,211 congratulations on, on what you've built Hannah, at this point, now that you've 346 00:19:42,211 --> 00:19:43,501 been in your own business for a while. 347 00:19:44,251 --> 00:19:46,891 What has that done to your work life integration? 348 00:19:46,938 --> 00:19:49,371 Hannah Smolinski: I'm still working probably more than I would like 349 00:19:49,371 --> 00:19:52,311 to be, but I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. 350 00:19:52,371 --> 00:19:56,121 I think one of the biggest game changers for me is bringing on another me. 351 00:19:57,081 --> 00:19:58,851 Another me and client service. 352 00:19:58,851 --> 00:20:05,570 So I've been able to hire somebody who I trust, to work with clients one on one 353 00:20:05,570 --> 00:20:09,271 and then, and frankly, she does a better job in a lot of ways, because she's 354 00:20:09,271 --> 00:20:13,060 not pulled in 27 different directions, like I am as the, business owner. 355 00:20:13,510 --> 00:20:19,140 But when, as I'm bringing on client serving professionals, Being able to 356 00:20:19,145 --> 00:20:22,650 alleviate some of the client pressures a little bit is definitely changing my work 357 00:20:22,650 --> 00:20:25,410 life balance in a good way or integration. 358 00:20:25,410 --> 00:20:26,280 I like that better. 359 00:20:26,289 --> 00:20:29,558 and I'm, I have a child, so I want to spend time with her. 360 00:20:29,558 --> 00:20:32,818 And I always end my Workday during school times. 361 00:20:32,818 --> 00:20:35,458 I always try to end my Workday at three o'clock because that's 362 00:20:35,458 --> 00:20:36,688 when she gets off the bus. 363 00:20:36,748 --> 00:20:40,528 And I wouldn't be able to do that if I was still working in public accounting. 364 00:20:40,528 --> 00:20:40,948 So 365 00:20:41,138 --> 00:20:41,868 David Shriner-Cahn: That's for sure. 366 00:20:42,928 --> 00:20:45,542 Hannah Smolinski: Yeah, definitely not, it's always a joke when they were 367 00:20:45,542 --> 00:20:48,977 on, flexible work arrangements, quote, unquote, it just meant that you were still 368 00:20:48,982 --> 00:20:52,797 working the same amount of time, but just getting paid less, which was the joke was 369 00:20:52,797 --> 00:20:54,717 like, nobody's going to go and do that. 370 00:20:55,047 --> 00:20:57,186 No, at least when I left, that's what it was like. 371 00:20:57,496 --> 00:20:58,776 So I think. 372 00:20:59,201 --> 00:21:03,454 Now I have, I will use my time in the evenings, in the weekends sometimes 373 00:21:03,454 --> 00:21:07,846 just so I can make sure that I get those hours when she's home from school. 374 00:21:08,236 --> 00:21:08,746 David Shriner-Cahn: Sounds great. 375 00:21:08,792 --> 00:21:12,303 Hannah, I want to thank you so much for taking the time to join us today. 376 00:21:12,633 --> 00:21:16,233 Where can people go to get all these great resources that we 377 00:21:16,233 --> 00:21:17,233 talked about during the show? 378 00:21:18,048 --> 00:21:20,358 Hannah Smolinski: Yeah, so you can check out the YouTube channel. 379 00:21:20,358 --> 00:21:24,708 So that's at Clara CFO group, C L A R A CFO. 380 00:21:25,278 --> 00:21:29,029 And that's where a lot of those videos who are really trying to help people 381 00:21:29,029 --> 00:21:33,589 with how to build a successful small business from a financial perspective. 382 00:21:33,679 --> 00:21:39,229 And you can also go to the website it's claracfo.com, and then if anybody 383 00:21:39,229 --> 00:21:43,489 wants to reach out to me directly, my email is Hannah@claracfo.com. 384 00:21:43,839 --> 00:21:44,319 David Shriner-Cahn: Sounds great. 385 00:21:44,319 --> 00:21:46,689 We will include all of these things in the show notes. 386 00:21:47,319 --> 00:21:51,359 My guest today has been the president of Clara CFO Group, Hannah Smolinski. 387 00:21:51,699 --> 00:21:53,139 Thank you, Hannah, for joining us. 388 00:21:53,499 --> 00:21:54,369 Hannah Smolinski: Thank you so much. 389 00:21:56,499 --> 00:21:59,029 David Shriner-Cahn: When you visit the Smashing the Plateau website at 390 00:21:59,029 --> 00:22:03,729 smashingtheplateau.com, you'll find a summary of each episode, along with 391 00:22:03,729 --> 00:22:05,074 the links we mentioned on the show. 392 00:22:05,934 --> 00:22:09,174 In today's episode with Hannah Smolinski, we learned how to 393 00:22:09,174 --> 00:22:13,254 turn your expertise into multiple active and passive revenue streams. 394 00:22:13,824 --> 00:22:15,474 How do you feel about your business? 395 00:22:15,864 --> 00:22:19,494 How would membership in a caring collaborative community help you 396 00:22:19,494 --> 00:22:24,564 work toward your goals faster, with fewer costly mistakes, a community 397 00:22:24,564 --> 00:22:28,884 where quality relationships are fostered through live events and our 398 00:22:28,884 --> 00:22:30,864 own private communication platform? 399 00:22:31,494 --> 00:22:35,274 Where accountability partners are part of the structure, and where templates, 400 00:22:35,279 --> 00:22:37,884 guides, tools, and resources are provided? 401 00:22:37,939 --> 00:22:41,719 A community dedicated to empowering consultants who are determined to 402 00:22:41,719 --> 00:22:46,459 build their businesses following long careers as high achieving employees? 403 00:22:47,149 --> 00:22:50,509 If you are committed to getting your consulting, coaching, or small business 404 00:22:50,514 --> 00:22:54,589 to grow, on your own terms, so that you can deliver great results to 405 00:22:54,589 --> 00:22:58,759 your ideal clients, while supporting the lifestyle you want, and you 406 00:22:58,759 --> 00:23:02,689 don't want to do it alone, consider applying to become a member of the 407 00:23:02,689 --> 00:23:04,369 Smashing the Plateau Community. 408 00:23:05,074 --> 00:23:08,044 Want to know if belonging to a community is right for you? 409 00:23:08,524 --> 00:23:15,914 Schedule 15 minutes with me to find out, go to smashingtheplateau.com/15. 410 00:23:15,934 --> 00:23:19,364 That's smashingtheplateau.com/15. 411 00:23:19,804 --> 00:23:21,224 I'm David Shriner-Cahn. 412 00:23:21,274 --> 00:23:23,794 Thank you for taking the time to listen to our show. 413 00:23:24,244 --> 00:23:26,284 I'll see you on our next episode.