Hello Online Marketers! This week's featured guest here on Kick The Email Habit is Suzette Flemming and her business Financial Business Solutions. This is the perfect time of year to be reading about Suzette's business because tax season is right after our holiday season - ugh!
Suzette has some great suggestions and can be of help to anyone wanting needing help in this area.
KB: Suzette Flemming, thank you for
taking the time to participate in this interview for our readers.
To set the stage for this interview, would you please tell us a bit about
yourself?
SF: I have been assisting service corporations, e-commerce
start-ups and non-profits in untangling their finances and providing clear
financial direction since 1994.
My passion is helping businesses thrive
and prosper as well as educating business owners about how to best manage their
finances. I keep all of my clients informed about the latest tax laws,
financial strategies and new technology to ensure my clients benefit from the
latest developments in accounting, tax laws and finance.
KB: What a great business Suzette,
especially since most of us don’t know all we could or maybe even should about
these very things.
Okay, give us your elevator speech, or
30-second spiel, about what you do, about your business:
SF: Every successful business owner
knows personal and financial success means dedication, hard work and long hours.
It also means knowing when you need to find help to attend to the hundreds of
details that it takes to run your business on a daily basis.
Flemming Business Services can help. FBS is a full-service financial agency
that manages the accounting tasks necessary to keep your business healthy,
while providing you with the experienced insight of a high-level CFO to help
you grow your business. FBS manages the day-to-day financial activity of your
business, including cash flow, accounts payable and receivable, and taxes and
payroll in an easy-to-understand format so that you know where you money is
coming from and where it’s going at any given moment.
In addition, at FBS, we make it our
business to learn everything we can about your business, so that we can manage
your finances and provide you with financial advice and direction about best
practices, tax benefits and big picture analysis with your specific business
goals in mind. Whether you have a staff of one or 1,000, Flemming Business
Services provides the financial framework to guide your business to the next
level.
KB: That is worth its weight in
gold Suzette! How long have you been in business for yourself?
SF: 10 years
KB: That’s a long time and long enough to be firmly established. Why or what
was the determining factor for you in starting your own business?
SF: I wanted the flexibility to set my own
standards for client service, hours of operation and services offered. As the internet has become a huge factor in
daily life, I saw a niche in providing online accounting and tax support.
KB: You really filled that niche quite nicely too Suzette.
What, in your experience, has been the greatest benefit in running and owning
your own business? What do you like best about your business?
SF: The
best part of owning and operating my own business is being able to do what is
best for my clients. Other than tax
regulations and such I’m not limited by some “traditional” standard of
providing service and solving problems.
KB: I agree. It’s a great motivation to have your own business I think. Running a business takes a certain “mindset”
so tell us what is the most difficult or challenging part of having and running
your own business:
SF: The biggest challenge for me is to remember to think about
the details of running FBS. I sometimes
get so wrapped-up in the details of helping other companies, I let some of the
details of running mine slide such as following to my marketing plan.
KB: Oh, I bet there are many of us who
do just that. Kind of like the landscaper who has the worst looking yard
because he’s so busy doing others yards. Who is your primary target audience?
How do you attract them?
SF: My
primary target is small to medium sized businesses generating gross revenue of
less than $5 million a year and have less than 50 employees. I position my business using newsletters,
teleseminars and message boards. I offer
a one-hour free consultation plus I package services to meet the specific needs
of each client. Therefore, a client can
budget and know exactly what their investment in my expertise and services will
be each month. Included in each package
is unlimited access to my expertise whether by email, telephone or fax.
KB: Sounds to me like you have a great strategy. Can you share with our readers what you are
currently doing to promote your business? How do you integrate your online
promotions with your offline promotions?
SF: I am actively presenting FBS and
myself as an online expert in the accounting and tax matters for businesses. That means I am providing articles and
answering questions on several message boards.
I get several calls a week that begin “I saw your response to a question
on XYZ board and wanted to talk with you about . . .”
KB: That is great networking Suzette! Is
your business primarily online or offline or both?
SF: My business is primarily online. My website is http://www.FlemmingBusinessServices.com
. I use my website to explain what I can do for a client. I also have articles and products on my site.
KB: What is your best source of
customers, prospects and/or clients?
SF: Word of mouth has been the best source of clients and
prospective clients. An individual
calling due to a message board response or an article is a close second.
KB: Word-of-mouth is what almost
everyone tells me is the best source for new clients. That method is as old as
the world I think and it still rings true.
Since we’re having this interview on the
International Virtual Women’s Chamber of Commerce channel, we know you are a
member of this organization but are you a member of any other professional
organizations? If so, would you please tell us a little bit about them and
why you chose these particular organizations to affiliate yourself and your
business?
SF: I belong to the Maple Valley Black Diamond Chamber
of Commerce and the Rotary Club of Covington. I joined my local Chamber of Commerce because
I wanted to become active in my local business community and to learn about the
specific issues facing the merchants in my area. I joined the Rotary Club because I firmly
believe in giving back to the community as a whole.
KB: That’s exactly how I feel too
Suzette. Online networking groups are
rising in number so are you a member of any online networking groups?
SF: I belong to Ryze and have my own network “Business Finances
and Taxes for Non-Accountants.” I also
participate in several networking groups such as Selling without Selling and
Un-Marketing.
I also belong to several Yahoo Groups such as QuickBooks, WomensNetworkingCommunity,
and HomeandSmallBusiness.
KB: Those are some great networks Suzette. I belong to a Ryze and Selling
without Selling too. I am going to check out some of the ones you just
mentioned on Yahoo too, thanks!
On average, how often do you visit those
networks? Do you post messages there regularly – I imagine you have to having
your own network?
SF: I receive individual emails from each of my
networks so that I can respond in a timely manner.
KB: Good idea, if you don’t have
tons of email. Moving onto a very vital subject in online business, on average,
how many email messages do you receive every day?
SF: I receive about 150 messages each day.
KB: That’s a lot but not unmanageable. About how many of those emails are
actually email you either requested, from clients, or pertinent information?
SF: Only 15 pertain to clients or prospects. Another 15 are messages from networks that I
consider responding to. There are about
10 that contain information that may be helpful in the operation of my
business.
KB: Hmm, so you do get too much spam then I guess. What is your number one
complaint, if any, about email? ...and how do you think it could be resolved?
SF: Unsolicited advertising (SPAM) is the biggest
issue. I use some filters but I don’t
want to filter too closely or I will not receive some of the newsletters I have
subscribed to. I don’t think there will
ever be an end to SPAM.
KB: I agree Suzette, I don’t think so either so I use my delete key a lot! Do
you publish a newsletter or ezine?
SF: I email my newsletter “Make the Most of Your
Money” around the first of each month. I
provide an original article on financial and tax issues business owners face
each day.
KB: Sounds like a great newsletter
to be subscribed to. How about
generating new subscribers? How do you do that or is that even a consideration
in your type of newsletter?
SF: I want
to have a highly targeted subscriber base.
Therefore, my subscriber number isn’t big. I place a link in my signature whenever I
post on an internet message board. I
also have a line on my business card.
KB: That’s still a very valid way to gain subscribers. Do you subscribe to any
newsletters?
SF: I receive email newsletters and one or two
notifications with hyper links.
KB: Are you familiar with RSS?
SF: I know
what RSS is. However, I haven’t
incorporated it into my marketing efforts.
KB: So you don’t use RSS in any way for your business yet?
SF: I don’t use RSS yet. However, I have plans to begin using it for
my newsletter and possibly a blog.
KB: From what I’ve learned about you so far Suzette, you’ll have RSS down in no
time and using it too.
Do you read or subscribe to any RSS
feeds/blogs?
SF: Not at this time.
KB: Well, you’ll want to start with
the IVWCC RSS channel and here’s the link http://quikonnex.com/channel/quiksteps/ivwcc
. There are so many ways to promote ourselves online and off, and one of the
most touted and apparently great ways to do so online is to write articles. You
mentioned earlier that you write articles for your newsletter and the content
or typical subject you cover. So now tell us how you promote and distribute it?
SF:
Yes, I write articles for the
internet. I begin with writing a new
article for my own newsletter each month.
I also post my articles at Ryze, IdeaCafe and several other message boards. I
also post my articles with QC_Reprint_Articles at Yahoo
Groups. My articles have been reprinted
on several websites such as Forbes and in a variety of newsletters.
KB: Wow! I’m jotting down notes
here! Have you ever submitted
a press release?
SF: No, I have not.
KB: Suzette, what is the most
creative thing you have done to attract customers?
SF: I
leave short articles on the tables at Chamber meetings instead of business
cards at the “marketing tables.” This
provides the membership with information they can use. Of course, my information is listed at the
end of the article with a blurb about my newsletter.
KB: Oh what a great idea Suzette because that shows your knowledge and
expertise. I’m going to remember that, thank you!
If there was one thing you wish you
had (other than time!) to help you grow
your business, what would it be?
SF: A plan for 2005. It’s time for me to review my 2004 plan and
update it for 2005 before tax season gets too far along.
KB: Oh yeah! If you could offer a word
of advice to someone wishing to start a business in your field, what would you
tell them?
SF: Like most other industries there are thousands of companies providing
bookkeeping, accounting and tax services, you need a niche. After you discover what the niche is you will
need a plan. That means a well thought
out business plan. Then be prepared to
work very hard to make the plan a reality.
KB: That is very good advice indeed
Suzette – I for one am listening! Thank you again for taking the time to
participate in this interview.
============= End==============
Interview with Suzette Flemming
http://www.flemmingbusinessservices.com
(425) 432-5870
Saving You Money and Increasing Your Bottom
Line.
P.S. **New Improved Version** Get free
weekly money saving tips. Download your free copy of FBS Money Saver at http://www.reachoutdirectory.com/listing.php?Version=UMT0003.
