Staci Millard on Providing Better Service to Her Customers and Enjoying More Freedom for Herself

Hello Staci! Please share a brief introduction about yourself and your business:

I’ve helped 500+ businesses understand their numbers and increase their profits. I’m proud to now call them my friends. As a small business owner who understands the struggle of being stuck on the treadmill, I recognize that you need more than financial statements and support with taxes. In your small business, your family’s hard earned money should be freeing you up to experience all the joys in life. I’ve experienced what it’s like to feel overworked, underpaid, and like you have no control. The great news? It’s so possible for you to overcome the invisible things holding you back and regain control of your time and money. For more information about my strategic coaching, click here.

So far, what excites you about being an Entreprenista League member?

Im excited to meet other industry leaders, network, and connect!

What made you take the leap to start strategic business consulting?

I wanted to provide a better service to my customers and enjoy more freedom for myself. I took the leap when I felt completely misaligned with my job, and decided I needed to take more control over how I worked.

What was your background prior to starting your own business?

I was a CPA working for an accounting firm.

So Staci, did you always know you wanted to be an entrepreneur?

Not even a little bit! I was going to get the steady job and work hard to move up the ladder!

When you were initially launching your services, how did you go about your first marketing strategy?

This was 2013 and I was able to start my business with a free Kijiji ad from my basement. The ad did well because I was so client focused that I was able to market well to them. And from there my business blew up by word of mouth referrals

So Staci, what is the biggest challenge you have faced as en entrepreneur, and did you have any take aways from this experience?

Early on, I took on a business partner. My business was doing so well that I didnt think I could handle all the growth on my own. I didn’t trust myself at the time, and I was excited by the idea of having someone else to work with that believed in the same mission. Our partnership lasted less than 2 years because my partner didn’t have the same focus on business as I did. I wouldn’t compromise the value to our clients and eventually I could no longer compromise the value that I was bringing. The biggest lesson I learned (that cost me hundreds of thousands over those 2 years) was that I needed to trust myself, my vision, and my ability to execute on the plan. After our partnership ended I grew my business substantially before eventually selling it for over 7 figures.

Staci, you have lots to celebrate! What is the accomplishment you are the most proud of to date?

Building and selling a 7 figure business before I was 35. I am so proud of the business that had an amazing reputation, gave away over $200,000 to our community, won multiple awards for our service, and that I did it all while raising my two daughters.

Do you believe in work/life balance? What are some of your best tips?

Work life balance is key. I’m known for saying “Effort is required. Hustle is not.” My biggest tip is that you need to set relentless boundaries and challenge yourself to stay within them. Many of the tasks we go about on a daily basis are not necessary and they become apparent when you put the pressure on staying within a schedule. I also believe in getting to know yourself. No amount of learning other peoples routines or working types was helpful until I stopped to pay attention to what worked for me and didnt. You need to be able to go inward and decipher what works for you not just someone else’s advice.

What’s a piece of advice you can share that you wish you’d known when you first started your Entreprenista journey?

I wish I knew that scaling a business would require the business to not be about me. Once I hit the stage of having a couple employees in my brick and mortar, I had to be okay with not being the face of the business anymore in order to scale larger. It took a lot of work to become okay with others being key players in my business and realizing the business still needed me even though I wasnt involved in every role or process.

Staci, do you have any news you would like to celebrate with our community?

My podcast is launching January 31- School for Small Business

What’s next for your business? What can we expect to see over the next few years?

After selling my accounting firm, I’ve gone all in on mentoring other small businesses. Taxes make up such a small portion of what a business pays out and aren’t really what makes or breaks a business. So less taxes and more profitable purpose-driven business advice. Increasing our impact is our focus.

Learn more about the Entreprenista League and join today!