Jim and Danelle Skartvedt, husband-and-wife owners of Renew Ag Supply, an agricultural supply store, were spending more time with their five businesses than with their five kids.
Something had to give.
The Challenge
Jim and Danelle were overwhelmed.
They had too much going on, and it was hard to keep up.
They realized that their sanity and the success of their business came down to that just because they could do something, it didn’t mean they necessarily should.
And with kids and five businesses, they were maxed out.
While they firmly believe that it’s important to support their local economy sometimes – as was the case for them living in a small town – they couldn’t hire really good people, especially when their business isn’t as large as some others.
They simply couldn’t afford to hire someone highly skilled.
The Solution
Danelle was helping with their books but realized early on it wasn’t a gift of hers.
But they had had such a bad bookkeeper – several of them, in fact – that they were finally ready to look at some other options [virtual employees].
“Stacey was able to come in, clean up the books across all of their businesses and put systems and processes in place to streamline things. Our CPA said our books had never looked so good!
“We’ve really appreciated it,” Danelle shares. “Stacey is very attentive to our emails and texts. She’s always available or gets back to us pretty quickly.”
The Results
BELAY has alleviated the friction and frustration of working together for Jim and Danelle.
Now, they can focus on working together on the things that they do enjoy, and it really makes it possible for them to plan more and to think ahead – all the things only they can do.
“[I]f you’re bogged down with other stuff, you can’t grow,” Jim explains.
They both agreed that with BELAY, Stacey and Laura, the greatest improvement has been to their peace of mind because ‘everything’s getting done right,’ leaving them to focus on what they need to focus on.
“It’s reduced our stress, and I think there’s a peace of mind knowing your books are in order and that your email account is empty,’ Danelle says. “You don’t feel so stressed; it doesn’t feel so overwhelming.
“Even our accountant is like, ‘This is the cleanest your books have ever been!’”
“And now, we’ve seen our kids more in the last six months than I have last 15 years, which is awesome,” Jim concludes. “And that’s because of what Laura and Stacey have done for us.”