At SBS Accounting & Advisors, we believe in looking at the past to transform the future. That means assessing what worked and what didn’t in 2021, and applying it moving forward. At the same time, it also means being proactive about 2022 and helping you and your businesses thrive.
To assist in this effort, we caught up with SBS’ founder, Jonathan Bill, to capture a year in review for 2021, and look ahead into 2022 and beyond.
Here is that one on one.
Year in Review
Q: Tell me some of the goals SBS set out to achieve in 2021. What were some of your most proud moments/accomplishments?
Jonathan: Being able to begin donating 5% of our company’s net profits to HopeWorks, which we were able to do! We are so excited about our partnership with HopeWorks because they share our mission of glorifying God and impacting lives. For HopeWorks, they specifically impact the lives of seniors, and our goal is to help them in this effort. More about this partnership be found here.
Another goal was to roll out Liscio. It has been great for security, communication and collaboration with our clients. Our clients are able to upload documents and have them at their fingertips, in the dashboard.
Q: Tell me some of the milestones/facts SBS hit in 2021.
A: Here are some of our milestones in 2021:
- 95 clients served
- Around 787 payrolls run
- Over 3,400 individual financial reports issued
- Implemented a new client dashboard (Liscio)
- Navigated the ever-changing PPP/EIDL with multiple clients and assisted with forgiveness reporting
- Launched new advanced reporting on advisory clients
- Launched a new program, working with a local Atlanta ministry to give back to our community.
Q: What are some takeaways, or things you learned, from 2021?
A: The importance of being proactive in monitoring the well-being of your staff and taking action sooner rather than later. A verse from the Bible (Proverbs 27:23) says, “Know well the condition of your flocks.” And, yet I wonder if we, as small business owners, really know how our staff members are doing. When they share a concern or you sense something, take action on it. It’s better to take the time on the front end than to let something simmer and have to deal with it when it has grown to a big issue.
Another takeaway was the importance of consistently emulating the culture you want to achieve. It will eventually pay off. At SBS, we strive every day to build a culture of caring for one another and having a love for each other. It’s been amazing seeing this blossom within our SBS team in 2021. For example, a staff member had breast cancer, and our staff prayed for her, reacher out to her and even sent her flowers.
Also, what you celebrate gets repeated. We believe in rewarding and praising our staff when they do a great job. We do this through Cooleaf. This, or something like this, may be a good resource for your business.
Q: How do you hope to implement these takeaways/learnings into 2022?
A: We will continue to stay on top of how our staff – their workload and work/life harmony, developing them personally and professionally, and more. We will also continue to emulate and celebrate the culture we want at SBS.
Q: What does your team mean to you? What about your clients?
A: I am constantly reminded that a business is simply a group of people following a set of processes. We are ultimately in the people business. My staff and clients are all I really have. Without my staff, I would not be able to render the business-transforming services our clients have grown to love. And without our clients, we wouldn’t have anyone to serve and our staff wouldn’t have jobs. Our staff and our clients can leave us at any time, and I am so thankful that they have chosen to believe in our mission at SBS and be a part of our team.
Looking into 2022 and Beyond
Q: What are SBS’ goals and visions for 2022?
A: Bring our advisory services to more of our clients. If you haven’t had a chance to check out our website recently, we are now offering three plans – two of which include advisory services. You can find them here.
We also aim to develop additional services for the construction and car wash industries. While we serve many different industries, residential construction and express car washes are two industries that we have chosen to specialize in. If you know of anyone in these industries, we would greatly appreciate you connecting us, so that we can use our expertise to help them.
Q: What words do you have for your customers in 2022?
A: Know where you are headed. Be specific. Then, break that goal into quarterly rocks and meet weekly to review your progress with your team. If you are not familiar with the book, “Traction,” I highly recommend it.
Also, as you plan for where you want to be in the next year, 5 years or 10 years, make sure you are also doing some planning for the life to come. There are only two places we can go. The Bible gives the answer!
Q: What are some specific tips you can offer customers?
A: Know your numbers. Figure out the numbers you need to see on a weekly basis, in order to effectively run your business, and look at them every week. If you need help determining what those numbers are, we can help.
Also, carve out time every week to work on your business instead of in your business. Guard that time like you would an appointment with your most important customer.
Q: What services/offerings do you want to emphasize for the future, and how can each of these help your customers?
A: As I mentioned, we are now offering three service levels – two of which include advisory services. Some of the services included in these new plans include KPI tracking, advanced reporting with charts and graphs, a monthly video explanation, a 3-year rolling forecast, and monthly advisory meetings.
Q: When 2022 is over and you look back, what do you hope to see?
A: I hope that we were able to give more financially to HopeWorks, as well as invest more in senior’s lives through phone calls and ministry projects. I also hope that we were able to bring more transformation to small businesses through excellent customer service and advisory services that free and empower them to grow their companies.