Pay Play Profit

In this special roundtable episode of Pay Play Profit, host Jessica Mae Stafford, former Visionary of TBL and now Head of Sales & Partnerships at Stellar Brands, is joined by key leaders from both organizations to share the story behind TBL's acquisition by Stellar Brands and what it means for the future.

• Marilyn Adkerson, CPA, Founder of TBL, reflects on her transition into retirement and the journey that led to this pivotal moment.
• Bobby Hoyt, Founder and Visionary of Stellar Brands, shares why acquiring TBL aligned perfectly with Stellar's mission and long-term vision.
• Ariel Bash, Integrator™ of Stellar Brands, speaks to how she is balancing the preservation of TBL's culture while ensuring alignment with Stellar's growth vision.
• Ashley Travis, Head of Finance/HR and TBL Operations at Stellar Brands, offers insight into the smooth integration process and the stability it has brought to both teams.
• Jessica Mae Stafford leads the conversation and adds her own perspective on legacy, leadership transitions, and the heart behind choosing Stellar as TBL's new home.

Together, this leadership team reflects on the past, shares behind-the-scenes details from the transition, and casts a shared vision for the future of TBL within Stellar Brands.

• Marilyn reflects on her retirement and passing the torch.

• Bobby discusses the organic nature of the acquisition and its alignment with Stellar's mission.

• Ariel highlights the importance of cultural integration without losing identity.

• Ashley emphasizes operational alignment and new energy for the future.

• Jessica shares the leadership transition from TBL's Visionary to her current role at Stellar.

• The team shares a united vision of growth, client care, and meaningful community building.

00:00 – Introduction to the Stellar Brands Acquisition 02:43 – Marilyn's Transition and Reflections 05:41 – Bobby's Perspective on the Acquisition 08:53 – Integration Process and Team Dynamics 11:43 – Ariel's Approach to Culture and Integration 17:46 – Client Experience and Future Improvements 20:41 – Vision for Success in 12 Months 26:44 – Closing Thoughts and Reflections

🎙️ Jessica Mae Stafford "Even though it was an acquisition, it felt like combining forces."

🎙️ Marilyn Adkerson, CPA "It was just the right time." "Where there is no vision, the people perish."

🎙️ Bobby Hoyt "I didn't feel like it was a business I needed to fix. I knew it was already a great business." "It just made so much sense."

🎙️ Ariel Bash "How do we protect what TBL has built while staying true to Stellar's vision?" "When people care this much, it means you're doing something right."

🎙️ Ashley Travis "We're not sacrificing or changing our soul—it's like we're building on it." "Everything went smoother than I imagined—and the team didn't feel the weight of it."

If you're a business owner looking for clarity, confidence, and a true partner in your back office success—we'd love to connect. Book a Discovery Call with Jessica Mae Stafford and explore how TBL powered by Stellar Brands can support your next big move.

👉 Schedule Your Call Here

Let's build something brilliant—together.

Summary

In this episode of the Pay Play Profit podcast, Jess Stafford discusses the essential roles within a financial team for small businesses, including CPAs, EAs, bookkeepers, and accountants. She emphasizes the importance of understanding each role and how they contribute to a business's financial health. The conversation also introduces the Profit First system, a cash management strategy that prioritizes profit to ensure sustainable growth. Jess shares insights on navigating business growth, the importance of hiring the right financial professionals, and the evolving landscape of financial management in the age of AI.

Takeaways

• Understanding the roles of financial professionals is crucial for business success.
• Profit First flips the traditional profit equation to prioritize profit first.
• Hiring the right financial team can lead to better decision-making and profitability.
• AI can assist in financial tasks, but human oversight is essential.
• Bookkeepers can provide more than just data entry; they can offer valuable insights.
• Planning for financial growth should start early in the business lifecycle.
• Not all CPAs are equipped to handle small business needs effectively.
• Investing in financial systems early can lead to greater clarity and control.
• The complexity of bookkeeping is increasing, requiring skilled professionals.
• Every financial decision impacts overall business profitability.

Chapters

00:00 Understanding Your Financial Team 11:25 The Profit First System 20:31 Debunking Myths in Financial Management 23:25 Navigating the Changing Financial Landscape

Summary

In this episode of Pay Play Profit, Jessica Mae Stafford discusses the complexities small businesses face in today's tax and trade environment. She emphasizes the importance of adaptability, strategic planning, and the role of technology, particularly AI, in enhancing business operations. The conversation covers various topics including tax strategy, the impact of tariffs, sales tax shifts, and the resilience required to thrive in uncertain economic times. Jessica encourages entrepreneurs to leverage tools like Profit First for better cash management and to maintain a human touch in their business interactions.

Takeaways

1. It's essential to stay flexible and adapt to changes every two weeks.
2. Small businesses are crucial to the economy and should not be overlooked.
3. Tax strategy involves planning and compliance, and it's vital to have a knowledgeable partner.
4. Tariffs are a significant concern for many small business owners today.
5. Understanding sales tax shifts is crucial for compliance and business operations.
6. Resilience in business is intentional and requires grit.
7. AI should be used as a helper tool, not a replacement for human interaction.
8. Profit First is an effective cash management strategy for small businesses.
9. Every decision made in business should be viewed through the lens of profitability.
10. Maintaining a strong client experience is key to successful marketing.

Sound Bites

"Tax is strategy, planning, and compliance." "Tariffs are hurting small business owners." "Resilience is intentional." "Your client experience is your marketing." "AI is a helper tool, not a replacement." "Don't remove the humans from your business." "Every decision is a profit decision."

Chapters

00:00 Welcome Back to Pay Play Profit 03:01 Navigating Small Business in a Complex Tax World 05:54 Understanding Tax Strategy and Compliance 09:11 The Impact of Tariffs and Trade on Small Businesses 11:50 Sales Tax Shifts and Economic Nexus 14:57 Resilience and Opportunity in Uncertain Times 18:04 The Role of AI in Business 21:08 Tactical Playbook for 2025 and Beyond 23:58 Final Thoughts and Call to Action

Call To Action

Schedule a Discovery Call with The Bottom Line® today - yes, Jess actually hosts the calls with our client prospects to ensure we have the best fit. Let's talk! Schedule your call now.

If you're planning to or already starting to do business across states, you've got to know what's going on from an income tax perspective. A multistate income tax is different from a sales tax. And a multistate income tax can have a lot of different names attached to it depending on the state.

Joining us today once again is Chris Mahler, CPA who is also part of our TBL family strategic partner and compliance consultant. We dive into multistate income tax – what is it and how do we get prepared for it?

A multistate income tax can be complex but it should not make you pay too much more in overall additional taxes. You're just going to be moving around what you pay to different states. There are a few caveats too that we'll discuss. The good news is there's always help out there as you navigate through all the potential pitfalls that are out there.

In this episode, you will hear:

• Understanding the franchise tax and the factor nexus
• The three types of nexus
• The thresholds for multistate income tax
• The minimum requirements for different states
• Things to consider when you're a service provider
• The need for protective language in all your agreements

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Supporting Resources:

The Bottom Line CPA

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.

Inflation is here – and it's here to stay for a bit. Obviously, we have to deal with it, but how? In today's episode, we discuss some things you have to think through to shield yourself from inflation, or at least mitigate its impact.

Hindsight is a good teacher. And so, if you can capture those lessons and put them in your plans for your future, you're going to be better prepared when the next cycle comes around because there will be another cycle.

Hopefully, you will also learn to figure out what specific information will help strengthen your ability to predict as a leader so you can steer clear of those blind curves in your business. We are all in the middle of the same hurricane. But there is hope. Inflation is going to come down and things will get better. Just do the things you need to do to get through it!

In this episode, you will hear:

• Looking at your cash flow
• What to do with your savings, retirements, and investments
• Why compartmentalization is both a blessing and a curse
• Managing asset and debt issues
• The value of getting a plus-one
• Things to consider when it comes to taxes – before tax time!
• Reassessing your life and disability insurance coverages

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Have you subscribed to our podcast? We'd love for you to subscribe if you haven't yet.

We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.

The best profit decisions are happening with your time, energy, and money, which means more pay, play, and profit in your business and life. And a huge part of that is understanding your financials.

Your financials are three-dimensional – profit, tax, and cash flow. You also need to think about direct costs versus expenses in all these three dimensions. "Direct cost" refers to the cost directly tied to your sales. You incur them directly with your sales. "Expense" refers to the operation cost. These are the things you do and spend money on that are not directly tied to the sales. Everything you spend obviously supports the sales but they're not directly tied to the sale. Now, the IRS has a very defined structure on how they want to see your costs and expenses filed on the tax return. This is part of the tax compliance.

Today, we're going to dive into direct costs versus expenses, and why you should care about knowing the difference. And as a small business owner, you should definitely care!

Now, you have to get the foundation in place first, because if you don't understand the foundation of direct cost versus expenses, it's hard for you to navigate the three-dimensional conversation.

In this episode, you will hear:

• The difference between direct cost vs. expenses

• Why you should care about the difference

• The importance of having a relationship with your tax accountant

• Why you shouldn't do miscellaneous expenses or general expenses

• Why your profitability and cash flow are not improving

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We'd love for you to subscribe if you haven't yet.

We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.

What kind of entrepreneurial life do you want? Many people loosely exchange words like freelancer, sole proprietor, small business owner, and entrepreneur but really, they're not the same.

Entrepreneurship is a long journey and has its different seasons. For instance, you may have been freelancing for a while to get some extra money on the side. Then you probably caught the entrepreneurial bug and decided to make it official and become a sole proprietor or a single-member LLC, which eventually turns into a small business.

Indeed, there are levels of entrepreneurship. You can be small and still be entrepreneurial. The question is, are you loving and truly living the season you're in right now?

Today, we're doing an off-the-cuff book review of "The EOS Life" by Gino Wickman. He wrote this book to cast a vision for the visionary, the business owner, the entrepreneur, the operator, or whoever is trying to figure out what it is they wanted.

It's important to understand where you're at in your season and journey and what that needs to look like. Regardless of where you are on the spectrum, today is the day to start moving the needle toward where you really want to go.

In this episode, you will hear:

• Learning how to delegate and having an accountability chart
• Doing what you love with people you love
• Making a huge difference and making sure things are aligned with your values
• Creating leaders and investing in your team and people
• Understanding what appropriate compensation looks like for you
• Finding time for your other passions
• Living your ideal life

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We'd love for you to subscribe if you haven't yet.

We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Supporting Resources:

The EOS Life by Gino Wickman

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.

How can you attract new clients and make sure you're the right fit for each other? There's so much to talk about when it comes to client onboarding, and part of that is learning how to attract new clients and set the right expectations from the start.

A partnership is a two-way street, which means your clients also need to know how they can help you serve them better. The magic happens when there's transparency and you've set those expectations upfront.

When you get dialed in because people are looking for an accountant or a tax person, those are not relationships that people just walk out of all of a sudden. Otherwise, they're leaving for two reasons. Either they didn't feel served, or they just couldn't afford you anymore. Ultimately, a partnership is similar to marriage – you have to be in it for the long haul.

In this episode, you will hear:

• The discovery process: things clients should expect
• Customer service is your number one marketing tool.
• How selling can be a service
• The four things we want clients to know upfront
• Diving into the client to understand them better
• Putting everything in writing

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We'd love for you to subscribe if you haven't yet.

We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Supporting Resources:

Xero

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.

If you are a small business owner with children, putting your kids to work in the business is a great way to start helping them navigate some financial decisions. You've got to teach them to put money on the strong side of the table and one of the ways to do that is by getting them to invest in a Roth IRA.

A lot of people struggle with financial literacy and it's important to start teaching and training your kids how to understand and utilize money while they're still young. In this episode, learn how you can help your kids build wealth with IRAs. Find out what they need to do to set up their own retirement account, how much they need to contribute, and the benefit of doing a Roth IRA. Finally, take a look at the compounding effect of a Roth IRA that will hopefully inspire your kids to start investing today.

No age is too young and no amount of money is too small. You can make a big difference in your kids' lives by encouraging and empowering them to build wealth through IRAs. No matter your kid's age, it's important you get them started now. It has to start with the right education and mindset. Learn how you can help your kids build their future today!

In this episode, you will hear:

• Qualifications
• Amount of contribution
• How to set up an individual retirement account
• The benefit of your kids getting a Roth IRA
• Some scenarios showing the compounding effect of a Roth IRA
• Ways to access the money before the age of 59 ½

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We'd love for you to subscribe if you haven't yet.

We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.

You've probably mastered knowing your customer avatar, but have you taken the time to really figure out who your ideal teammate is? Imagine, this is somebody you're going to spend 2 to 10 hours a day, depending on the season of life you're in with this person. You'll perhaps engage with them more than you do your partner or your children sometimes. And yet, people make these decisions on who they're going to hire based off of a 30-minute interview.

In today's podcast, Trivinia Barber, founder of Priority VA, talks about the value of an executive assistant, and how we, as business owners and entrepreneurs, need a right-hand person in our life. It's a great profit decision that will have a return on in terms of time, energy, and money.

Trivinia Barber is the founder of Priority VA where they match executive assistants with entrepreneurs all around the globe. She started the company as a result of her own problem as a former executive assistant herself. Now, her company is focused on executive assistants and helping them get placed with high-level clients who understand the value of a team member and that they can only get as far as they can go with a team they can trust.

In this episode, you will hear:

• Building your team is an investment, not a cost

• Finding your ideal teammate and characteristics to look for

• A sample demonstration of the Ideal Teammate Avatar training

• Your needs change so be willing to revisit the roles

• Why an executive assistant should be your first hire

• The 3 things an executive assistant can provide

• How to get yourself prepared on the financial side

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We'd love for you to subscribe if you haven't yet.

We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Supporting Resources:

Diary of a Doer Podcast

The Ideal Teammate Avatar Training

Priority VA

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com