40 ⎸ Podcasting + Standing Out with Krystal Proffitt

On today’s interview episode, I have a special guest on to talk about creating content, podcasting, and standing out as who you are.

Even if you aren’t interested in starting a podcast, I know you’ll have a few takeaways from this episodes and get ideas on how YOU can start to stand out online.

Here are some of the things we talked about:

• getting comfortable hearing your voice on a podcast
• what holds most people back from just starting
• letting go of perfection when creating content

And since she’s a business owner, I asked her what she thought is important in a bookkeeper, and this part of the conversation will be gold for you.

Connect with Krystal:

www.krystalproffitt.com

Digital Course - Proffitt Podcasting

The Proffitt Podcast: https://krystalproffitt.com/podcast

The Poddy Report: http://thepoddyreport.com

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/krystalproffitt

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krystalproffitttx/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KrystalProffittTX/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krystalproffitt/

Proffitt Podcast Online Community (FREE FB Group): https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheProffittPodcast/

For more information about the Ambitious Bookkeeper Podcast or interest in our programs or mentoring visit our resources below:

Visit our website: ambitiousbookkeeper.com

Follow the Blog: ambitiousbookkeeper.com/blog

Connect on Instagram: instagram.com/ambitiousbookkeeper

Connect on LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/SerenaShoup

Connect of Facebook: Facebook.com/serenashoupcpa

Podcast Publishing Tools

• Podcast Editing: Ian Gilliam: iangilliam.com

Affiliate Links:

• Descript: http://descript.com?lmref=RdGGFA
• Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1753696

Click here to get the free First 100 Leads Training with James Wedmore >>

Join the next free training at ambitiousbookkeeper.com/training

Transcript

[00:00:00] Serena: Chances are you're trying to figure out how to stand out as a bookkeeper or an accountant. Perhaps you've even been thinking about creating content as a way to stand out or get better at your craft. And also help people that can't afford to work with you yet. One way that you can do this is through blogging or podcasting, both of which we will be talking about on the podcast today. 

[00:00:22] I'm going to be interviewing a mentor and colleague of sorts of mine. We're both in Heather, Sagers speak up to level up program and have a common love of podcasting creating content and also of spreadsheets. Krystal literally wrote the book on how to start a podcast, which I in fact, bought when I was thinking of starting this podcast. 

[00:00:43] And I also listened to her podcast every week. So when she sent me over her bio and I started reading it, I could actually hear her voice in my head. Which got me thinking, like, I wonder if people read my emails and hear my voice in their head when they read my emails. If, of course you are a listener of the podcast, but any who as crystal and I chat about creating content, starting a podcast and ways to stand out in general, just know that you don't have to want to start a podcast for this episode to be valuable because toward the end, I actually asked her for her perspective as a business owner about bookkeeping. 

[00:01:20] Which ends up turning into a great conversation about how bookkeepers can stand out and differentiate from others. It's simple, but not always easy, but before we dive in, here's a little more background on who Krystal is. Krystal Proffitt is a content strategist, coach and host of the award-winning show, the Proffitt Podcast. She specializes in helping entrepreneurs start launch and market their content. 

[00:01:46] Krystal teaches the basics of content creation, editing, branding, and marketing through her podcast, digital courses and her YouTube channel dedicated to content creation. She also appears as a content expert on other YouTube channels, such as Buzzsprout and stream yard. Both are the tools that I use inside of my business, her Amazon best selling book start a binge worthy podcast. Had Amy Porterfield saying this book is about to become your Bible. 

[00:02:12] And I will attest to that. I definitely lived by that book when I was planning out the beginning of my podcast. Krystal has also spoken about content creation on a lot of major stages, including the Ramsey Solutions, Influencer Event, Podcast Movement. She Podcasts, Pod Fest Global. Spark Media Ventures and Amy Porterfield's Momentum Membership. 

[00:02:36] She's also been a guest on many other podcasts. Including the Heather Sager show Business unveiled podcast and Buzz Cast a Buzzsprout Podcast. Krystal lives just outside of Houston with her husband, three sons and a snorting Boston terrier, Wally. Without further ado let's get into today's episode 

[00:02:58] 

[00:03:27] Serena: Hey, Krystal. Thank you so much for coming onto my podcast. I am super excited to have you. I actually found you through and we didn't even talk about this before we hit record, but I found you through , Heather Sager. Who is my speaking coach and you guys are like biz besties. And I think I found you because when you published your book, she had shared it on Instagram. And I was like, oh, I should buy that because I want to start a podcast. And so that's what I did. I've been following you for awhile, but go ahead and introduce you to my audience. Yeah. 

[00:04:03] Krystal: Yes. Well, thank you so much for having me Serena. This is so great. Yes, we are both in Heather's program and we've done like little zoom chats together and we've like, it's just been really cool to get to know you and see kind of how your journey has happened. I totally watch you on Instagram. I love your reels. I think. So, so good, but yeah, a little bit about me, the short version is, I was in corporate for a while. I actually worked and we'll definitely dive into this. And when I was in corporate, I worked as a project accountant I worked for a general contractor working on. Huge budgets, really big projects. So I'm like, Ooh, I love the opportunity to nerd out on numbers because I do all this stuff behind the scenes, but I don't often talk about it because it's not related to what I do today, which after I left corporate, I ended up staying at home for a few years with my boys.

[00:04:58] I have three boys and kind of during that time, I felt a little lost and wanted to find something creative. So I started writing that led to blogging, which. Today is what I do most often is talk about podcasting and content creation. So that's kind of the condensed microwave version of my journey, but I'm happy to talk about whatever it is when it comes to content creation, because I nerd out about it. So, so, so much, so 

[00:05:27] Serena: That's so exciting. And it's really funny too, also that you have kind of an accounting background and you've become this more creative entrepreneur, I guess. I have lots of conversations with. Different accountants and bookkeepers that they think that they're not creative and they will say things like that. And I'm like, but you are, you just don't know like what you're creative in yet, because maybe you didn't have that opportunity or like your parents weren't like, oh, you're so good at drawing. So you didn't like ever consider yourself as a creative person. 

[00:06:02] So I relate to you and like just, I love doing creative stuff. I consider myself a more of a creative person than a numbers person, which is really funny. Sometimes I get major imposter syndrome about it because like, I don't consider myself a numbers person, but here I am in accounting. 

[00:06:20] Krystal: I love it so much though, because I kind of felt like whenever I was in my accounting positions, cause I worked kind of like as an accounting clerk, when I first started and then kind of moved up to an assistant accountant and then a project accountant. And like, I felt like the odd ball in the accounting space because everybody. So number's centric. And here I am with my marketing degree and I'm like, Hey, you know, and so in full transparency, the way that I found myself in a, in an accounting position was I, it was like right in the middle of the recession, like 2009, I had just graduated college and I'm like, oh my God, what am I going to do? I have this marketing degree. And I had a brand new baby. I had my oldest son whenever I was a senior in college. And so I was just like, oh my God, what am I going to do? So I got a temp job. That led to this big project, you know, the construction firm and it like translated into me working in accounting. 

[00:07:17] So it wasn't like. Destined path for me to be in numbers and accounting, but I did always kind of feel like the odd ball because everyone would get so into the weeds with the reports and the accounting. And I did all that stuff and people told me like, you're really good at what you do, but I was slowly dying inside about, I would have to do this forever and ever amen.

[00:07:40] And so that's where I got it. I got out and I found myself doing what I'm doing today. So even though I have such an appreciation for numbers and for people that do what you do and your listeners do, because it's so important, but it just wasn't something that I was like, man, I have all this creative energy. That's just like, I gotta do something about it. So I start podcasts and I started a YouTube channel and I do all these other things that lets me express myself creatively. So there you go. 

[00:08:10] Serena: Yes. And honestly, that's what I love about. This brand I've built too, and doing online business because it has given me that creative outlet to learn marketing. It's really funny. Cause like there's some parallels. Maybe I should have gone for marketing my degree. Like I am good at accounting. I am really good at it, but like, I felt like that too. I was like, I'm slowly dying inside because I have no creative outlet in my work. And so this is like the best of both worlds because I get to do this. I get to use the expertise that I've built up in the last 15 years, but I get to do it in a more creative way and not in like a bad creative accounting way. Yes. Great. Yeah. 

[00:08:51] So what, when you did start your online business, cause you said you started with blogging. What were you blogging? 

[00:08:59] Krystal: Oh, did we have to talk about this? Just kidding. I'm just kidding. So I tell people I'm like, I was a really bad blogger for many years. Like there's a lot of people that have like success stories of like, oh, I dabbled in this and I, I put up blood blog posts and it was featured everywhere and it was amazing. Uh, no, that was not my journey at all.

[00:09:20] Like, I didn't know what I was doing. I had joined this blogging course and I was like, well, blogging. Sure. That sounds fun. Let's let's try that out. I wrote about everything Serina. I wrote about writing. Cause I did get into journaling and creative writing. I tried to write about parenting. I tried to write about food and health and well, like it was literally everything. It was like this hodgepodge of bad grammar, bad writing. It's not successful at all, but what it did do. 

[00:09:49] And we talked a little bit about this before we started recording you and I are both DIY-ers, right? So we like to get our hands dirty in our online business and really do all the things. So. What the blogging taught me was how to build a website and how to work in WordPress and how it works to like have Google and your website talk to each other and how you can, you know, I started nerding out on SEO and keywords. So the blogging part of my journey wasn't really to be like, oh, she's this amazing writer and blogger. It was no, actually it was meant to teach you this. And so that's really how I look at it. The different pieces of my journey, whether they were successful or not, it doesn't really matter as much as you are meant to learn this particular lesson or this thing during that part of your journey. So yeah, that, that was, that was blogging. It was wasn't really good, but it helps as part of the journey. 

[00:10:45] Serena: Yeah. That's awesome. So you started a blog and then you decided to, did you make it into a podcast or what did you end up? Like, how did you get into podcasting from there? 

[00:10:57] Krystal: Well, it's funny because my blogging mentor, she started a podcast before then. I had been listening to all these huge, huge shows. And I had it in my mind. It was talking about imposter syndrome and like a mental block. I had it in my mind that you to have this million dollar studio or this fancy equipment. And you had to have all of these things that I didn't have being a stay at home, mom, trying to be a blogger. And then when my blogging mentor, she started a podcast.

[00:11:26] I was like, Well, she can do it. I can do it. It's kind of like that. You know, when people say, you know, you want to see yourself and what someone else is doing out there, I hadn't really seen it in the different podcasts that we're listening to until I saw my blogging mentor, do it. And. Oh, I don't have to write any more. I can just talk, well, I can do that. Like, I've been practicing for this my entire life. I could a hundred percent do that. And so that's really how I transitioned. I tried to use some of the topics that I did on the blog and translate it into the podcast. 

[00:12:01] But after a while I found myself. More excited to answer people's questions on the side, because I'd have people, you know, like Serena, if we were friends back in the day and you were like, I'm getting started in my online business, like you started your podcast. How, how does this work? And I would have friends, DME email on me and I would answer their questions. And then I found myself more excited to talk to them about podcasting than what I was actually talking about on the podcast. 

[00:12:31] And so that's kind of how after about 10 months of just podcasting, not knowing what I was doing. Again, being very sloppy, figuring things out. I decided to transition into teaching podcasting, which has now kind of translated into more of the bigger content creation strategies of like integrating YouTube and your email and marketing and all these other components of having an online business.

[00:12:57] Serena: Oh, awesome. That is, that just reminded me too about like the beginning of my journey, because I started out as a blog as well. When I started blogging about building a bookkeeping business, because it was really like, as I was going along, I was like, I'm in a blog about this stuff that I learned about. So it's like document it and I can help other people because I was starting, like I was answering everyone's questions and Facebook groups and I was like, Put this in a blog and be like, here's the blog about it. Yeah. And just like repurpose that information instead of typing the same thing. Every time I answered a question. And then when I started my podcast, I actually took a lot of my older blogs and pretty much spoiler alert. I read my blogs on the podcast for the first few episodes, just to start getting content out there and getting comfortable with talking into a microphone. Cause it. Yeah, it's weird at first. 

[00:13:52] And I didn't even publish all of them, but it was really good practice to get like, used to talking into a microphone, getting used to the editing software and all that kind of stuff. So maybe we should roll into what I really brought you on the podcast for is to talk about like, what that looks like to start a podcast and kind of your recommendations for people that are thinking about starting a podcast.

[00:14:15] Krystal: Well, I feel like you, you already stole my answer though. You did. You did exactly what-- 

[00:14:20] Serena: Well I read your book so. Show's over and you can just buy the book. 

[00:14:25] Krystal: Yes, yes. Go grab it on Amazon, wherever you get your books. But no, it's, it's exactly what you did. Like it's finding that level of comfortability because it was content that you're already familiar with. This is like baseline, like before you even get to the starting blocks, like you have to find a topic that you are super comfortable with talking about for hours and hours and hours and hours. Cause that's really what you're going to be doing. So if there's somebody listening to this and you're thinking about bookkeeping or budgeting, or however you want to take an angle of creating content around the concept of bookkeeping, make sure you love it. If it's about taxes and you hate taxes, don't do it. Don't, don't, don't touch that with a 10 foot pole, but you could have it be incorporated as part of your content. And then just like what Serena did, if you already have stuff floating around there, whether it's Instagram post or things that you've done on a blog post or emails that you've written that were really successful, whatever it looks like. 

[00:15:28] Start digging through the archives of what you've already created and look at that and ask, well, how could I turn this into a podcast episode? Because like Serena said, she created some stuff and it's like this isn't going to work or maybe you started reading it and you're like, maybe this is too visual because this is a mistake that I see a lot of people making is they will take something that was previously a YouTube video, and then they strip off the audio and they put it as a podcast. And then they're like, it's not performing well. I'm like, well, because you're talking about slides. People can't see your slides on a podcast. So you can't always repurpose things and then work a hundred percent of the time. But it is really good to just start with those topics you already know, and practice and just be prepared to record a whole bunch of stuff and throw it away.

[00:16:16] Just be prepared to delete it, throw it in the recycling bin or just record voice memos on your phone and just. It's okay. If you have to throw it away, I've done it And Serena, I'm sure you can talk about it. But like, so, okay. I want to flip the script for a second because I want to know, when did you finally feel comfortable recording yourself? Like on your podcast? Did it take one episode? Did it take 27? 

[00:16:44] Serena: I would say probably by the like fifth or sixth episode, but it could take somebody longer if they're not already doing online videos and things like that. I think that played into my comfort level a lot. And then it just was a little bit different because I, you know, I was humming DIY or I was editing my own podcast. And so I had to listen back to myself and I've already been kind of doing. With my online course and the videos that I create. So I've been used to hearing my own voice for a couple of years now. Whereas if you're not at that point yet, it might take a lot more episodes to get comfortable with. 

[00:17:25] Krystal: Yes. I mean, and y'all, y'all, can't see me. I'm like aggressively nodding the whole time. Serena is talking because this is what everybody goes through. So everything that you just described is what every single content creator, you go through some version of feeling very, self-conscious very awkward, very like, oh my God, is that really what I sound like? I say my I's that way. Or I say like, I slur my S's together or I talk too fast or too slow or too loud or too soft. Like you go through this whole critical process of yourself and it's normal. It's a hundred percent normal to not feel comfortable with your voice. 

[00:18:05] I use the example of my mom when I was a kid. I will never forget this. It was, it's still like such a vivid memory in my imagination of we were coming in from the grocery store and my mom hears the answering machine, like where we could hear the phone ringing. We're trying to unlock the door and she's like, wait, you know, I'm coming. I don't know if your parents ever did that. Like, I'm like, I'll be right there. No one could hear them. Cause they're about to leave a message and then the voice machine, or, you know, the voice box, voice box. What is it called? Voicemail box. There we go. 

[00:18:37] Serena: The answering maching. 

[00:18:38] Krystal: Yeah, the answer machine. Here we go. Thank you so much. I'm just like, oh my gosh. I feel like such a dinosaur because it's so long ago, my kids will never understand this concept ever, but you know, you would hear the message playing before a person leaves it. My mom's like, oh my gosh, she's screaming. I don't want to hear myself. I don't want to feel like I hate the sound of my voice. I hate this sound.

[00:19:00] And that was just always stuck with me because it's how we all feel. And you have to give yourself permission to just kind of feel that and just sit in it for a second and say, okay, but it didn't. Does it matter if I'm going to be critical of my voice or share the message that I want to share? And that's really where I'll see podcasters and content creators kind of make that, like, you just have to push past that uncomfortableness and tell yourself the purpose of me doing this and sharing this message is because I know what's important.

[00:19:35] And once you just accept that, it's a lot easier to push through that and just feel more comfortable. 

[00:19:41] Serena: Yeah, absolutely. I would say what has also helped in feeling more comfortable with that is that I actually got this microphone because I wanted to start recording music. I have not done that yet, but I started a podcast, so it's getting used, but that, that helped too is like, I was starting to record myself. You know, like on my phone and stuff, playing music, and that is like a whole nother level of, oh my gosh, I look awkward. I sound awkward. 

[00:20:14] And since I was already kind of doing that work, it got a little bit easier once I did hit record for the podcast. Cause I'm like, well, no, one's going to see me. So I don't need to care about looking awkward. And it's a little different talking like, no one's going to be judging. Hopefully not judging the way that I talk. Whereas like, if you had the wrong note, when you're singing. You'll get all sorts of judgment. 

[00:20:38] Krystal: But it's funny that you say that though, because it is true. I will have people come to me that say I have a really strong accent, or I have, you know, maybe English isn't their first language. I've actually gotten that a lot more as podcasts become a lot more popular in other countries. This is one thing that gets brought up a lot. They're like I have an accent. Like I'm going to be speaking in English, but it's not my first language. And they're really worried about it. And I just tell them, Hey, your show is going to be created for your audience. Don't change who you are to appeal to a bunch of people that won't really care about you. 

[00:21:14] I mean, at the end of the day, I hope that people listen to this podcast because they're excited about what Serena has to share and all the important, helpful tips and strategies and ways to grow your online bookkeeping business. But at the end of the day, like, it's not going to matter if, you know, you say something a little silly or, you know, like it, none of that matters at the end of the day, you're trying to grow something that's going to be for your audience and them accepting you for who you are.

[00:21:47] Serena: Yes. I whole heartedly agree with that. I had to just boot my husband out of the office. I was like hey dude, I'm doing a podcast interview and he's like typing and clearing his throat. And so that's what you're going to deal with. If you start a podcast and you live with other people, 

[00:22:08] Krystal: Oh, it's totally true. But I think that that's, that's like, let's sit here for a second and talk about this. It's so important because I will have people come to me and say, well, I work from home, which I'm assuming so many of you do, or maybe you work in a coworking space where you just, you don't have control y'all I have a dog and a cat that fight constantly that are just on the other side of the door. I have three kids who, you know, I can't always control when they're at home from school or one of them is home sick. Like this is something that I just let my audience know. Like, Hey, sometimes you're just going to have deal with kids in the background or, and we're coming up on this season. Well, we're recording this. It's not quite spring time. We're getting there. Y'all, I'm about to battle with every single lawnmower on this street that wants to come whenever I'm about to record a podcast episode, and I want to throw down with them. Every single week it happens. So I know I'm like, okay, I got to ride it. My calendar, like this is when that person has their lawn service coming. And this one, like there's going to be blowers and weed eaters. Like it's just stuff out of your control and just embrace it and accept it and created as part of your, you know, This is just how it is cause you can't control some things. And I don't try to overly edit and process everything to where it's super, highly polished, but that's my style. That's, that's just my style. 

[00:23:29] Serena: Yeah. And I think it's important to give yourself that permission to know. To for it to be scrappy and to not edit everything out. Like, I, I edit a few things out if it's like really bad. But now I actually have my brother editing for me. So, and he's like a sound engineer, so he's really good at it. And like we use Descript and it's like a shared workspace. So I can see when he's editing, he'll like highlight things and make a comment, like background noise here, and background noise here. And then sometimes they'll ask me, like, do you want me to edit this out? And I'm like, no, it's cool. But it's, I'm sure the quality is a lot better now than when I was doing it myself. But yeah, we still leave a lot of stuff in, cause it's like, it's just not worth. 

[00:24:11] Is it going to take away from the value that the listeners are getting? If not, then let's just leave it. But I do feel like some things are important because I have stopped listening to certain podcasts, even though I want to hear the content, the audio quality is so bad that I just can't anymore. Like, yeah. So there's that too. I wouldn't let that hold you back from getting started. Because there's some really good, inexpensive microphones out there to get started with this was not my first microphone. 

[00:24:42] Krystal: Yeah. And this is actually, that's a great point because I actually, and I know like we're on video. You can even see it here today, but I have my $20 microphone that I bought on Amazon. Like back in the day, it has no bells and whistles. There's no settings, there's nothing on it. You literally just plug it into your laptop or your computer and you start talking like, it is not fancy, but that's what I used. And I used that for I want to say the first 50 episodes of the podcast. And then I got an Amazon gift card. This is like my, my microphone journey story. I got an Amazon gift card and I was like, oh, I know what I'm going to do. I'm finally going to upgrade my podcast mic. And then I used a blue Yeti for a long time. And now I have this super fancy equipment that I didn't start with. I did not start with this. Like this is four years into my content creation journey.

[00:25:33] Y'all you can literally start on your phone. You can absolutely start a podcast on your phone and use the voice memos. If you have an iPhone, that's what I use for Android, There's a lot of really cool apps that you can use, but don't let the equipment hold you back. Go record it in her closet. I can't even tell you how many podcasts episodes I've recorded in my closet because everywhere else there was dogs and cats and children, and I'm like, I'm just going to lock myself in here. Nobody knows I'm in here. And I'm going to record an episode. 

[00:26:04] Serena: Yeah, I've done that. I actually, before I started my podcast, I did some guest interviews on other people's podcasts and that's where I would record from on my phone with my plugged in headphones, air pods, not the best quality of sound, just so you guys know the ones that actually that used to come with your iPhone, with the cords, those ones have a decent microphones. And so that's what I would just record on that as a guest on someone's podcast, log into Skype or whatever on my phone. And it worked just fine from the closet. 

[00:26:36] Krystal: Yes. Yes. It's so awesome. 

[00:26:39] Serena: So, yeah sorry. I had to derail the conversation there, but it took us down a good path because I think it's important and I teach the same kind of stuff when it comes to starting your bookkeeping business of like, don't let the certification hold you back. Don't let the equipment hold you back. Like I started with a rinky dinky, Dell laptop. I didn't upgrade to the computer I have now until this last year. So it's like, Don't let those things be what holds you back from one, getting your message out there or to helping clients. The clients don't really care. What kind of equipment you use. 

[00:27:12] Krystal: Yes, exactly. 

[00:27:13] Serena: Okay. So before we hit record, we were chatting about some like, kind of like a rapid fire question that I've been thinking about asking my guests that are not accountants and it took us down like a really cool path talking about. So basically the question I wanted to ask you kind of hinged on you actually having a bookkeeper, but the fact that you don't is going to, I think, change the conversation in a really good way. But what I wanted to ask you is what you loved about your bookkeeper, but since you don't have one and you actually DIY-ing it, let's talk about that from the business owner perspective.

[00:27:50] Krystal: Yes. So I love how you started this saying rapid fire. And then I was like, she better not say that this rapid fire, cause we got to talk about this today because it's so important y'all okay. So I am a numbers nerd in the best possible way. I think it's the best POS and I'm married to my husband. Loves the spreadsheet, which way more than I do. I'm like, oh, I can put it together. He loves the pivot tables and all these fancy things. I'm like, I don't understand what you're doing, but all of that to say, I look at my bookkeeping in my business. I'm constantly in there. So for anybody that's wondering, I use QuickBooks and I use QuickBooks self-employed this is what I use.

[00:28:32] Bottom line. You want to know? Well, why? I'm like, we got a discount. Y'all I got a discount. I got a coupon way back in the day after did my TurboTax and that's what we've used. Okay. That's the whole reason. And the reason why I bring that up is because I have a system in place and now I'm stubborn about it.

[00:28:51] And I am someone that once I get in the flow of something, Even if I get a discount for something else, even if something else pops up, I do not want to change what I'm doing, because it's what I'm comfortable with. It's what I know. And I've been using this for two, three years now and I have my own way of doing things.

[00:29:12] And so when Serena was like, well, you know, what would be some aspirational things that you would look for in a bookkeeper. Y'all you already know what I'm going to say. Someone that's organized detail oriented, someone that like y'all know the qualities, because I'm sure you are all of these things, but when it comes down to it, if I were to outsource these to an actual bookkeeping service, the thing that I would look for above and beyond is someone that's going to treat my business like it's theirs. And not in the sense of like, oh, we got to make sure we're cutting all your expenses and bringing in more profit, but they're actually going to look at it like, Hey, did you know that you're, you're getting charged for this one thing, but you haven't used it in six months. 'Cause y'all I am, I'm kinda like a robot now when it comes to my finances, I am just, it's paid. It's paid. There's no issues. Let's just keep going. 

[00:30:10] I don't often sit down as much as I should. Serena's going to be like, we need to talk about this afterwards. As much as I should to really evaluate am I using all the things that I'm paying for? I do this on a quarterly basis. 

[00:30:25] Serena: That's pretty good actually.

[00:30:27] Krystal: I say quarterly. I'm like I say that, cause it's the first quarter of the new year. So I could say that because I just recently did it. I'm a liar. I'm a liar y'all. It's like six months. It's at least every six months, but I will look at these things and then I'm like, okay, you know, I need to, you know, X that, or I can downgrade my package or whatever. 

[00:30:48] So that's really what I would look for is someone that's going to come in and do that above and beyond, because y'all know you need someone that's dependable detail oriented, but if I'm looking for someone they're going to come in and say, Hey, I know how important it is for you to save money, or I know how important it is for you to, you know, have this much in profit, this X amount percentage that you want to put here or there, like really just understanding my goals as a business owner would help someone stand out immediately because a lot of people are, and I actually talked to it's funny cause I'm like, I guess I surround myself a lot of financial people because I know, I know several people that do this type of work. 

[00:31:30] But look at it as, what makes people stand out is them being themselves. And this goes back to the content creation is when I feel like, you know, Serena, I feel, and I didn't tell you this before, but we connected not just through Heather's program, but the fact that we've been on some of our zoom calls and like, I'll see like a kid pop around the corner and I'm like, oh, that's I get her. My kid's just on the other side of the camera. And so we have this connection. It's this relateability factor that even if it doesn't matter, even if what neither one of us does has to do with being a parent, it connects us on a personal level and you can't fake that you can't. 

[00:32:12] Or if I were obsessed with cats and Serena was like, oh my gosh, I have a cat on my website. It's, you know, this is my best pal Pepe or whatever, like I would say, oh my gosh, I immediately loved her. So it's those little things like that, that I think that you can really concentrate on to help you stand out and really just have your message beat hard, louder than someone who's doing exactly what you do. I don't know if that answered your question. 

[00:32:38] Serena: That was super helpful. So a couple of things I'm going to pull out of what you just said and kind of reiterate for people is one of the things I say all the time is to just be yourself. And I know that's really hard. I mean, it's. It's been a journey for me to learn how to be myself, but so I get it because you go get your degree, you go into corporate or go into an accounting firm and you're expected to behave a certain way, look a certain way, act a certain way and be super professional and buttoned up. And that's not what small business owners want. They want to know that they're working with a real person. If they wanted to work with people like that, they would hire one of those firms. Maybe. 

[00:33:19] So, that's one thing that I'm like, that's one of the edges that we have is that we get to be our own people and we get to be ourselves. So I get that it's a journey, and sometimes you have to learn how to like rediscover yourself and learn that. It's okay to be yourself. If you've been told that you're too much or too loud or not loud enough, you're too quiet, whatever, like it's okay. Just however you are embrace it and showcase that. Because there's going to be someone that relates to that in some way. 

[00:33:48] And then the other thing that you said was. To treat the business, like it's your own and kind of go above and beyond. So that also kind of plays into being different and being yourself of like, don't just treat it like transactional and go through books and send the reports, like, say something about the reports that you're sending, even if it's a really small, like, even if it's just one different area that you focus on every month, because that's the other thing I've noticed too. 

[00:34:20] We started doing something new with , a few of our clients called the five five-minute financials where we just, for the clients that we don't meet with every month, we send them a five minute or less loom video, just a quick overview about the high points or whatever about their financials. So we don't go into detail on everything, but I talk about the revenue the profit, the highest expenses. And it helps at the software that we use puts all that in like a pretty graph format, and so I just pull that up on the screen and I talk about it and our clients are loving that because it's like super quick, they don't have to come into a meeting, they get some information that they would not have known otherwise, and if they wanted dig in more to it, then they can reply and ask questions. It's not like we're boring them with like, here's all of your financial statements. Let's go line by line. 

[00:35:12] Krystal: Yes. 

[00:35:12] Serena: Um, so yeah, Kind of off on a tangent there. 

[00:35:16] Krystal: Oh no, this is so great because I want to go back to what you were saying, you know, about being yourself, because I'm thinking about, you know, and I don't have full-time employees, I have hired many contractors. Some of them were time-specific that worked with me for, you know, maybe a three to six month period. Other times it's very project specific, but I'm thinking about one person in particular, her name's Chelsea. Shout out to Chelsea. She helped me with my course and, you know, we, we kind of related again, like you and I like we're both moms and she had three small kids and we were talking about that. 

[00:35:50] But where we really just hit it off and why I had so much fun working with her is we would talk back and forth through texts and email. Friends gifs, which we both love the show Friends and, you know, she was helping me with my launch and I was saying like, I'm kind of nervous about this one thing or whatever. And she'd send back like the one where Monica is like dancing, like that's the Thanksgiving episode or whatever. And I was like, oh my gosh, like she gets me.

[00:36:18] And so you don't have to be like, Super personable with your clients. Like in the sense of, we have to be best friends, like it's just a matter of showcasing parts of your personality that are fun. Like if you have like a weird hobby or a collection of things at home, or you love a certain show, like. Just like tie into that. I love coffee. Like I love talking to people about coffee and that's how it kind of helps me stand out amongst all the other people who do what I do. 

[00:36:48] So at the end of the day, just sit down and say, what are some of the weird, quirky things that I have in my life? That I can talk about in my content, whether that's on your podcast, on your website or in the gifs that you send to your clients, or the ways that you connect with them, like, just sit down and think about like, even you, like right now, I see that ukulele in the background and you talked about music earlier and I'm like, oh my son wants t o play the ukulele and he's taking lessons. And so I'm like, okay, this is like another connection piece that we have that you didn't even have to say anything like it's, it's right there in the back. Like I can see it. 

[00:37:24] So don't think of, I have to share with people like my whole inner world and make this deep connection with them in order to stand out. It's just a matter of just showing up and just being yourself. For sure. 

[00:37:38] Serena: Yeah, absolutely. Oh, this has been so awesome. Thank you. If someone is interested in starting their own podcast, I know you have a course. You have a Facebook group right? And some other areas that they can connect with you, which we're going to link in all in the show notes, but where's the best place for someone to connect with you? 

[00:37:58] Krystal: Yeah. So come hang out with me @krystalproffitt.com. It's crystal with the K profit with two F's and two T's. That is the best place to get started. I have all my resources linked there for my course, my book, and the Facebook group. You'll find all the links there. But in reality, if you want to get started with a podcast, I would challenge you to today, right now, like as soon as you're done listening to this, take out your phone and just hit record and say, I think I'm going to start a podcast this year. And then hit end. Like, that's it, you don't like nothing above and beyond it and just listen to it and see how that kind of settles into like your whole being. Does that feel weird? Does it feel awkward? Does that feel like siting and then kind of just listened to that and yeah. Play off of what you're feeling in that moment to decide whether podcasting is going to be right for you.

[00:38:52] And if this is your year, I'm excited for you. And I hope that you share with Serena and let her know all the amazing things that you're doing because y'all bookkeepers are my people y'all even though, even though I'm like, this is not what I do on a regular basis, I do this behind the scenes. And I just, I love talking about these things because it's so crucial to running a successful business. So I wish everybody that's listening the best of luck with their business and what you are doing. 

[00:39:19] Serena: Awesome. Thank you so much. And we will, like I said, link all the resources up in the show notes and make sure that you connect with Krystal. Are you pretty active on Instagram? I see. I see you posted, but I'm not sure if it's like automated.

[00:39:34] Krystal: Oh, no, that's all me. That's all me. That's all me. I don't have anybody doing that behind the scenes. 

[00:39:40] Serena: You're like no, I DIY literally everything. 

[00:39:42] Krystal: That's me, literally everything I'm DIY-ing that's me. So yeah. Hop on Instagram and tag. Actually. I'd love it. Tag me in Serena. Let us know what you thought about this episode. That'll be fun. 

[00:39:52] Serena: Absolutely. Well, thank you again so much. We'll talk to you soon. 

[00:39:56] Krystal: Thank you for having me.

[00:39:57]