Folasade Ayegbusi is an Enrolled Agent, Accountant, Insurance Broker, Speaker, and Small Business Growth Strategist. She’s helped entrepreneurs and small business owners save over $25 million in lost revenue, tax assessments, penalties, and interests over the last 12 months. She can definitely assist you with all your accounting needs.
Where did the idea for Suncrest Financial Services come from?
I was forced to start my company. Before starting my company Suncrest Financial Services LLC, I was a so-called partner in my dad’s accounting firm. I thought we were going to dominate the Washington Metro Area Accounting industry. Well that didn’t pan out. While I was pregnant with my now 7-year-old, I asked my father to create an actual partnership agreement between him and he kindly declined my offer. I was left with being newly married, pregnant and no solid income or direction. I prayed for months and months, and God told me to start my own company. So, It just so happened where my new husband was going to apply for a job I saw small office suites for an affordable price, and signed the lease and Suncrest Financial services was born. After that the rest is history.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
My typical day starts around 4:30 am. I make a cup of coffee and hit the office until 5am when I workout with my trainer. At 5:30 am, I’m back working until 6:45 am. From 6:45 am to 8:15 am, I wake up my children and prepare them for school and the babysitter. From 8:30am to 9:30 am, I get dressed and eat breakfast. At 9:45am, I’m at my desk or headed to the office. From 9:45am to 6pm I work straight with my lunch being around 12:45pm to 1:30pm. back to work after lunch until 6pm. 6 to 9pm is family time . I cook, help with homework. Just typical mom stuff. Once my children are asleep, I get back to work. Since I heard Ed Mylett and Ryan Serhant say “to be Successful your days must look alike,” I started to be intentional with my days and structure them by the hour.
How do you bring ideas to life?
Most ideas just come to me naturally, like most leaders. On the other hand, the biggest problem I face is retaining the idea. So I try to record, jot it down type to my assistant or any avenue I have to capture the idea. First, I evaluate whether the idea fits my business model, have revenue potential or can make a difference. Secondly, I assess where this idea could fit within my marketing plan. If I can answer yes to my product launch assessment, then I add it to my marketing calendar and execute the idea.
What’s one trend that excites you?
The trend of entrepreneurship excites me the most. I’m excited that more people are stepping out on faith and starting businesses. I feel entrepreneurship is allowing more people to obtain what they consider financial freedom.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
My most effective habit or routine I have that makes me more productive as an entrepreneur is planning the night before. By planning the night before, I stay productive the next day. I lay out my meetings, personal tasks, sales tasks, and tasks that needs to be delegated to my team. If I don’t plan out the day, I lack focus and clear direction.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Save, save, and save! When I lived with my mother in our Government Housing Assistance Section-8 Apartment my expenses were limited to my cell phone and car insurance. I should’ve been saving not only for a rainy day but for my business and investments. However, I didn’t. I partied and ran the streets like a socialite and what most college students do. I advise all college students to save as much as possible in preparation for your next level or when you graduate.
Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.
Every business needs accounting and an Accountant. No one, especially in the African-American culture agrees with me about accounting. I believe that regardless whether your business is just starting out or established, you need an accountant to help you maintain compliance, complete your forecasted financial statements for your business plan, or evaluate your business idea prior to launch. I get so much pushback from entrepreneurs and fellow accountants about our role in the business phase. I believe that’s why the small business failure rate is so high, due to the lack of the accountant’s role in business startup and management.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
As an entrepreneur, I go through my process of ART. A= Account (Account for everything), R = Review (Review all your numbers and details) T= Tweak (Make changes based on your review). If an entrepreneur uses my process of A.R.T, they would catch slow sales, low product sales, revenue gaps, and so much more information that’s needed to avoid failing.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?
My concept A.R.T saved my business because I used the concept to monitor my sales and increase my sales conversion ratio to roughly 85% and reduce my company’s overhead. If I didn’t incorporate this process my door would be closed in 2016. However, I looked at my process, accounting, client based and all the nuances of business and was brutally honest with myself.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
One failure I consider I had was in September 2016, I had to downsize my office, fire my staff and reorganize the company. To most, that would be a failure but to me that failure was required for me to grow and scale my company.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
I don’t have any particular business idea that I could give the audience but rather a suggestion to expand and grow. I think we all need to incorporate a delivery or concierge aspect of our business. For instance, a Doctor’s Office could incorporate home check-up services By incorporating delivery or concierge services, you will then tap into a fast-growing millennial and busy lifestyle.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
$100 I recently spent was on a massage. Last week, our company’s server crashed which meant that we weren’t able to issue checks to our clients employees. I felt like I was going to lose it all. The massage allowed me to slow down, put things into perspective and come up with a solution to our problem. Until last week, I never understood why C-Suite executive get massages regularly. Now I do, to regain your sanity, clarity, and to realign. A massage isn’t a luxury item but rather a necessity for entrepreneurs.
What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?
Asana, is my go-to for everything. I manage my tasks, my team tasks, and our company processes
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
I recommend every reader to read #Max Out by Ed Mylett. The reason why your readers should read #Maxout is because it tells readers how to become an all around achiever and reach peak performance.
What is your favorite quote?
“Everything you do today reflects your tomorrow.”
Growing up my sister always said “Everything you do today reflects your Tomorrow.” I lived by that quote because it’s basically saying your choices today will predict your tomorrow. As entrepreneurs our tomorrows’ success is predicated on what we do today.
Key Learnings:
- Plan your day the night before to stay in control of your day and time
- Have a notepad handy to quickly jot down your ideas
- Hire an Accountant for 1-on-1 advisory services before you start your business and during to maintain compliance.
- Use a system like Asana or Trello to track projects, tasks, and many other aspects of your business to stay on track
Connect:
Carlyn runs the day-to-day publishing operation here at ideamensch and interacts with our awesome customers and entrepreneurs. She is likely editing this with a cat on her lap.