But as the company grew, so did the demands on J.J.'s time. With a team of eight, J.J. found himself wearing too many hats — handling bookkeeping, managing marketing, and grinding through day-to-day tasks that pulled him away from strategic growth.
When J.J.'s father retired after years of managing the company's bookkeeping, J.J. faced a pivotal decision.
"We were trying to figure out, ‘What do we do?’” J.J. remembers. “Do we hire an on-staff, in-person, 40-hour-a-week kind of bookkeeper, or do we look at some virtual solutions?"
A pastor friend who used BELAY's services connected J.J. with the team. After researching thoroughly, J.J. decided to take the leap.
"We started looking into it, did a bunch of research. The reviews were great. We decided to give it a chance and went virtual with our bookkeeper. And it's been wonderful so far."
Like many business owners, J.J. had natural concerns about handing over such a critical function to someone he'd just met.
"It's always kind of nerve-wracking when you hand your financials over to somebody you've just met, whether it's virtual or in person or whoever that may be. It's a big, important part of the company."
But the virtual model offered unexpected advantages.
BELAY matched J.J. with Katie Stefanech as his bookkeeper, and she immediately began transforming IMS's financial operations.
"Katie is amazing and so grateful we connected," J.J. shared. “She's taught us a whole bunch. She's helped us become more efficient.”
"I think organization, as far as keeping records — over 23 years – have filing cabinets and boxes of paper, and we're able to do things a lot more electronically to be more efficient with QuickBooks online,” J.J. added. “That platform's great because we can get to it from a phone, a computer, a laptop, whether I'm on vacation, she's on vacation, whatever the case may be. And we're able to store everything digitally."
One of Katie's most valuable contributions was her expertise in Colorado's notoriously complex sales tax system.
"One of the most challenging things in Colorado is sales tax. So when you're selling and delivering and installing and sending couriers to all these different locations, there are over 600 tax jurisdictions in the state of Colorado.
J.J. quickly discovered that having a dedicated virtual bookkeeper offered benefits beyond what an in-house hire could provide.
"Having an in-person bookkeeper, there are opportunities to do things on-site that a virtual person can't do. However, that virtual person is able to stay focused on the task of being a bookkeeper. They're not getting pulled into, 'Hey, can you pick this up? Can you deliver that? Can you whatever?' They're able to stay much more focused on the task."
The ROI was clear almost immediately.
"The value is definitely there. So we're getting every bit of the value that we had hoped for and then some. I would say it's definitely an investment and money well spent."
With Katie managing the financial details, J.J. experienced a profound sense of relief.
"Sometimes when a project is staring you in the face and a client is asking you to hit a deadline, it's like, 'Well, I'll get to that accounting later, or I'll push it off to tomorrow morning.' And just knowing that you don't have to worry about that, that somebody is taking care of it, that's a huge stress relief."
The success with Katie made the decision easy when J.J. needed marketing support.
"With the way the process went with Katie on the accounting side and the bookkeeping side, it's like, 'Well, let's see how this goes on the marketing side.'"
BELAY matched J.J. with Anthony, a marketing assistant who dove deep into IMS's digital presence.
"He has been able to take a deep dive into our Google Analytics and our pay-per-click advertising and Google ads and everything. That's kind of where we started.
“He and I set up a multi-phase approach to tackle our marketing. So he's helping us with that. He's helping us with MailChimp email marketing, with social media marketing, and our website."
Like with bookkeeping, having an expert focused on marketing brought immediate peace of mind.
"If you've been involved with Google pay-per-click advertising or Google ads, it's an investment, and there are so many details in there. And to have an expert looking at those details and keeping an eye on those details every handful of days rather than once a month kind of checking in, that's also a stress relief because you know that your investment is being taken care of."
While still early in his journey with Anthony, J.J. is already looking forward to the transformation ahead.
"I'm still really involved in all of that. So I'm looking forward to hopefully in a month or two from now where I'll be able to step back and be able to focus a little bit more on working on the company instead of working in the company. So looking at some other areas where we can grow and expand and get back into sales a little bit more and really help the company in some other ways rather than just grinding on day-to-day tasks."
J.J. credits much of his positive experience to his Client Success Consultant, Dahima.
"She is a rock star," J.J. said enthusiastically. "She is just so personable, so friendly, so kind, always on task, quick to respond. I wish she were part of the full-time team with our virtual team."
Dahima's role in coordinating the onboarding of both Katie and Anthony was invaluable.
"She's done a great job with just coordinating calls and setting up Zoom calls and working on the details and making sure that nothing's missed. And she's bringing up questions and asking questions that maybe I didn't think of, or Katie didn't think of, or maybe Anthony didn't think of, or I didn't think of on the marketing side. So she's kind of prompting that discussion in a good way."
For J.J., knowing that BELAY thoroughly vets every professional gave him confidence from day one.
"I love how you guys vet all of the BELAY employees, the virtual assistants. So that's also comforting to know that you guys are working on the backend and there are checks and balances and holding everybody accountable.
“It's sometimes more than what we can do in-house, hiring somebody, going through that process. You guys take a lot of that off our plate as well. Knowing that we're getting a qualified applicant just right out of the gate goes a long way."
When asked what he'd tell someone on the fence about BELAY, J.J. didn't hesitate.
"I would say do it – and without hesitation,” J.J. says. “The reason being, as soon as you get in within the first three weeks, you can find that return on investment. You can see how it's going to justify the expense, the investment, and how it's going to free you up to do what you need to do in the business.
“Whether that's going from 80 hours a week down to 70 or 70 down to whatever your number is, or just free up to do what you love to do in the business and let somebody else take care of those important details that maybe you're not as passionate about."
As for who would benefit most from BELAY's services?
"I would say if you're a business of anywhere from entrepreneurs to one person, all the way up to 20, 30, 40, 50 employees, I think it would be an amazing fit."
His final word?
"I would highly recommend BELAY. I've been really happy with the process, and I'm grateful to have you guys as a part of our team."