by Sharai Lavoie | Jul 15, 2025 | Entrepreneurs, Financial Planning & Forecasting
If you’re preparing to sell your company, the groundwork you lay before the deal closes can impact the valuation and the success of the sale transaction. Particularly as it relates to private equity acquisitions, the sellers who command the highest multiples are the ones who are “platform companies” that are ready for growth and expansion.
Your accounting readiness requires having an infrastructure that can handle acquisitions, sales growth, and new customers, while also ensuring timely and accurate financial reporting.
At Lavoie CPA, we help business owners set the stage for success by building the systems, processes, and insights that private equity buyers value most. When you invest in scalable accounting solutions before you go to market, you’re showing buyers that your company is ready to lead, expand, and become the core of their future acquisitions.
Why A Solid Foundation Can Attain a Higher Valuation
A “platform company” provides the foundation for future acquisitions. Thus, any subsequent acquisitions will “bolt-on” to the platform company and oftentimes depend on the platform company’s infrastructure and systems as the combined companies integrate together.
From the lens of the private equity firm, the platforms consistently command higher valuations than bolt-ons because the former already have the infrastructure to support growth.
Our most forward-thinking clients understand that strong accounting processes are not just a box to check; they are the engine behind sustainable scale. By having the right systems in place before going to market, these companies position themselves for a smoother due diligence process, rapid expansion, and seamless integration with new acquisitions.
Consider this:
Hypothetically, if platform companies can achieve a valuation of 5-6x EBITDA, it would not be unusual to see bolt-on acquisitions attain multiples of 3-4x EBITDA. That 2x difference can mean millions of dollars in additional value for the seller.
The Real ROI: A Practical Example
Let’s say your company generates $8 million in annual EBITDA. You’re preparing for a private equity sale, and you know the market pays a premium for platforms.
- Platform acquisition: 6x EBITDA = $48 million valuation
- Add-on acquisition: 4x EBITDA = $32 million valuation
That’s a $16 million difference, just for having the right infrastructure in place.
Now, what does it cost to get there? If implementing and maintaining a best-in-class accounting system costs $250,000, your return on that investment is 64x. By investing in your accounting foundation up front, you don’t just make life easier for your team; you create tangible, outsized value that private equity buyers are actively seeking.
Beyond Due Diligence: Integration Drives Success
“Start the way you want to finish.”
These words shape how we work with our clients at Lavoie CPA. The most successful transactions are planned from the beginning with the end goal in mind. That means looking past the standard diligence checklist and considering the post-acquisition journey from day one.
We’ve seen acquisitions fail to deliver their promise when integration and system upgrades are treated as afterthoughts. On the other hand, our clients who prioritize scalable infrastructure and integration planning are rewarded with:
- Faster, more efficient due diligence processes
- Higher confidence and smoother transitions for management teams
- Reliable, actionable data for decision-making and reporting
- A reputation as a true “platform company” that investors trust
When you anticipate the need for stronger accounting processes, you can even negotiate improvements as part of the purchase price, or ensure the seller bears the cost of system upgrades. Either way, you control the process and maximize your ROI.
How to Build a Platform Company That Attracts Top Private Equity Buyers
The companies that stand out in today’s market are the ones that take action before the deal is even on the table. Here’s how you can position your business as the platform investors are looking for:
- Upgrade Your Accounting Infrastructure Early: Move beyond basic bookkeeping. Invest in a modern, cloud-based accounting system that can easily scale as your company grows and can support integrations with future acquisitions.
- Deliver Decision-Ready Reporting: Set up automated dashboards and real-time reports that offer clear, actionable insights, not just historical numbers. This gives investors immediate confidence in your data and your management.
- Design for Integration and Growth: Build processes and systems that don’t just work for your current operations, but are robust enough to absorb bolt-on acquisitions without missing a beat. Demonstrate that you’re already thinking ahead to the next phase of growth.
- Align Leadership and Teams for Expansion: Make sure your leadership team is prepared to manage change and scale. Encourage a mindset that prioritizes long-term vision, operational discipline, and readiness for the next opportunity.
By having this foundation in place before approaching the market, you’re not just preparing for due diligence, you’re proving that your company can lead, scale, and deliver real value to private equity partners from day one.
Ready to Build the Platform That Drive Financial Results
At Lavoie CPA, we help clients achieve their vision by designing financial infrastructures that drive value and growth, long before the deal is signed. If you’re ready to start where you want to finish, let’s work together to build your next level of greatness.
Start the conversation with Lavoie CPA today and discover how to elevate your readiness for due diligence, acquisitions and integration, and long-term value.
by Sharai Lavoie | Jul 15, 2025 | Entrepreneurs, Financial Planning & Forecasting
You’ve been working on your pitch deck for weeks, refining your story and perfecting your slides. But there’s one piece that keeps giving you anxiety: your financial model. When investors ask to see your projections, do you feel confident in what you’re showing them? Or do you worry that your forecast model might actually hurt your chances of getting funded?
If you’re in the latter camp, you’re not alone. Most founders struggle with building financial models that actually support their fundraising efforts instead of undermining them.
That’s exactly why our VP and Partner, Matt DeWald, recently teamed up with Charlotte Ketelaar from Capwave for an in-depth webinar on “The Financial Model That Gets You Funded.” If you missed the live session, we’ve embedded the full recording below—plus we’re sharing the key insights that can transform how you approach financial modeling for your company.
Why Your Financial Model Can Make or Break Your Fundraising
Here’s what Matt emphasized during the webinar: “Your financial model usually comes in after your pitch deck, but you really need to know your numbers at the time that you’re pitching.”
The problem most founders face isn’t that they don’t have a financial model—it’s that their model doesn’t align with their pitch deck story. When there’s a disconnect between what you’re promising and what your numbers show, investors notice immediately.
As Matt explained, “As soon as an investor sees your financial model and it all makes sense and everything falls into place, that’s when they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, this founder knows exactly what they’re talking about.'”
The reality is simple: Many investors are finance people. They’ve seen hundreds of pitch decks and thousands of financial models. They know what realistic growth looks like, and they can spot unrealistic projections from a mile away.
The Framework That Actually Works: Matt’s Live Demo
During the webinar, Matt didn’t just talk theory—he showed exactly how to build a defensible financial model using a real pre-seed company example. Here’s what made that model work:
Show Your Work
“I think some of the worst case scenarios that I’ve seen are people who just put in revenue numbers without really understanding the drivers of that revenue,” Matt explained during the demo.
The solution? Make your assumptions visible and easily calculable.
In the live example:
- $25 per user subscription fee (clearly visible input)
- Specific trigger dates for when new features would launch
- Growth rates that decreased over time as market penetration increased
- All inputs color-coded so investors could easily identify and modify assumptions
When an investor wants to test what happens if your customer acquisition cost changes from $25 to $35, they should be able to make that change in one cell and see the impact throughout your entire model.
Focus on Real Business Drivers
The demo company built their model around specific, measurable drivers:
- Number of advisors using their platform
- Average transaction volume per advisor ($3,000 monthly)
- Commission rates tied to specific revenue streams
- Technology development milestones that unlocked new revenue
This wasn’t guesswork—each assumption had a logical basis that the founding team could defend to investors.
Plan Your Team Like You Mean It
One of the most valuable parts of Matt’s presentation focused on hiring plans. As he noted, “I’ve seen VCs really hone in on and really drill in on management and ask the question, who’s going to be your first 10 hires?”
The demo model included:
- Specific roles and start dates for each hire
- Salary levels and department allocations
- Payroll-related costs (that 15% for benefits and taxes most people forget)
- Commission structures for sales team members
The model even projected headcount by department and month—exactly what investors want to see when evaluating your use of funds.
Don’t Forget About Cash Flow
Here’s where many founders stumble. They build beautiful income statements but forget that cash flow is what actually matters for survival.
Matt’s model showed monthly cash flow projections, clearly identifying when the company would hit low cash points and need additional funding. “You want to make sure that you’re reconciling your forecast model into cash,” he emphasized.
The Technology Foundation: Start the Way You Want to Finish
One of the most practical insights from the webinar wasn’t about modeling—it was about the systems that support your model. Matt shared Lavoie’s philosophy: “Start the way you want to finish.”
The Problem with Basic Systems: Most startups begin with QuickBooks because it’s familiar and inexpensive. But as Matt revealed, “9 out of 10, maybe even 19 out of 20” of Lavoie’s new clients need immediate migration to more sophisticated systems.
The Better Approach: “Don’t wait for the wheels to fall off your accounting systems before you turn around and say, ‘Oh, I should have done this a while ago,'” Matt warned.
Almost all seed and pre-seed companies that work with Lavoie get migrated to Sage Intacct because it:
- Handles the volume and complexity of scaling companies
- Integrates KPIs directly into the accounting system
- Provides real-time dashboards for investor reporting
- Aligns with the detailed forecasting models that actually work
Real-World Application: What the Demo Revealed
During the live demonstration, Matt showed a complete financial model for a pre-seed software company. What made this model compelling wasn’t complexity—it was clarity and logic.
Revenue Model Highlights:
- Three distinct revenue streams launching at different times
- Clear trigger dates tied to technology development milestones
- Simple calculations that investors could easily understand and modify
Expense Planning That Makes Sense:
- Detailed hiring plan broken down by department (General & Administrative, Technology, Sales & Marketing)
- Specific start dates and salary levels for each role
- Automated commission calculations tied to revenue performance
Cash Flow Reality:
- Monthly projections showing exactly when funding would be needed
- Working capital considerations for accounts receivable timing
- Clear runway calculations based on actual burn rates
As Matt noted, “You want to keep this maintained as time goes on,” which is why the model was built to easily incorporate actual results alongside forecasts.
The Trust Factor: What We’re Really Selling
One of the most honest moments in the webinar came when Matt talked about Lavoie’s approach: “What we are selling at the end of the day is trust.”
That trust comes from understanding both the startup journey and investor expectations. Lavoie regularly helps companies scale from pre-revenue to over $3,000,000 in monthly revenue while maintaining streamlined financial processes.
Lavoie’s Partnership Approach:
- Lavoie becomes part of the team, not just a service provider
- Focus on building financial infrastructure that scales with growth
- Support throughout the entire fundraising and scaling journey
Key Takeaways for Building Your Financial Model
Whether you’re preparing for pre-seed or Series B, here are the critical principles Matt shared:
- Make assumptions visible and testable – Color-code inputs so investors can easily modify and understand them
- Link drivers to financial outcomes – Show exactly how your key metrics (conversion rates, CAC, churn) impact revenue and costs
- Plan expenses strategically – Your hiring plan should be more than “we’ll hire 10 people next year”
- Reconcile everything to cash – Income statements don’t keep you alive; cash flow does
- Keep it simple and defendable – Complexity doesn’t impress investors; clarity does
What Happens Next
The webinar made one thing clear: the founders who get funded are the ones who can clearly articulate how their ideas translate into sustainable, profitable businesses.
If you watched the webinar and realized your financial model needs work:
Start with an honest assessment – Can an investor easily understand your key assumptions and test different scenarios?
Focus on your real drivers – What specific metrics actually drive your revenue and costs?
Plan your systems – Are you building financial infrastructure that can scale with your ambitions?
Ready to build a financial model that actually gets you funded?
Matt emphasized during the webinar that building an effective model starts with understanding your business deeply. As he noted, “I probably spend two hours understanding the business, talking to them, understanding how it works, to one hour building the actual model.”
Start the Conversation to discuss your financial modeling needs and learn how Lavoie can support your fundraising journey. Whether you’re building your first model or preparing for Series B, we’ll help you create financial projections that tell your story convincingly.
Connect with Matt DeWald on LinkedIn for ongoing insights about financial management and fundraising best practices.
The right financial model doesn’t just help you raise money—it helps you build a business that’s actually worth investing in.
by Sharai Lavoie | Mar 14, 2025 | Entrepreneurs, Financial Planning & Forecasting
Every business aspires to grow exponentially, but only a few unlock the formula to multiply their valuation by 10x. At Lavoie CPA, we specialize in transforming financial operations into engines of hyper growth. Achieving a 10x increase in valuation isn’t just about scaling revenue; it’s about building a foundation of efficiency, accuracy, and strategic foresight.
Here’s how modern financial systems, disciplined processes, and advanced accounting tools like Sage Intacct can help your company achieve this ambitious goal.
Having a 10x Mindset
To drive scale and efficiency, business owners must focus on sustainable growth, optimize financial operations, and build infrastructure that can support a rapidly increasing number of transactions and data. This hinges on four pillars:
- Connected Financial Systems
- Data-Driven Decision-Making
- Operational Discipline
- Investor-Grade Reporting
By integrating these elements, businesses position themselves for scalable growth and reporting, which are key traits that attract premium valuations, similar to companies like Zoom and Airbnb. To better understand what attracts investors, consider exploring The Top 10 Traits That Attract Investors To Your Startup.
1. Connected Accounting and Budgeting: The Backbone of 10x Growth
Disconnected financial systems create inefficiencies that stifle growth. Modern accounting ERPs like Sage Intacct unify accounting, budgeting, and forecasting into a single source of truth.
How It Supports Growth:
- Real-Time Visibility: Automate data flow with other systems (e.g., payroll, accounts payable, revenue systems) to eliminate manual errors and delays.
- Scenario Planning: Use predictive analytics to model growth scenarios and allocate resources strategically.
- Scalability: Cloud-based platforms adapt seamlessly as your business expands.
2. KPI Metrics and Tracking: Turning Data Into Action
Growth without measurement is guesswork. To achieve 10x growth, companies must track KPIs that align with valuation drivers, such as:
- Lifetime Value (LTV) to Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) Ratio
- Cash Burn Rate vs. Revenue Growth
- Gross Margin Efficiency
- Revenue Per Customer/Patient
By monitoring these metrics, leadership teams can pivot quickly and double down on high-impact initiatives. For instance, Airbnb achieved significant valuation milestones through effective KPI tracking. In fact, Airbnb’s remarkable journey demonstrates how strategic funding and operational metrics can lead to impressive valuations, as detailed in Airbnb Takes New Funding At A $10 Billion Valuation.
3. Discipline in Transactional Processing: The Silent Multiplier
Investors scrutinize operational rigor. Inefficiently or inaccurately processed accounts payable (AP), accounts receivable (AR), or payroll transactions signal risk.
How to Automate These Tasks:
- AP Automation: A tool like Bill streamlines invoice approvals and payments, reducing cycle times by 70%.
- AR Automation: Connect your CRM (such as Salesforce or HubSpot) to your accounting system to automate recurring revenue invoices, price increases, and other contractual terms.
- Payroll Accuracy: Platforms like Paycom and Gusto streamline recruiting, benefits, payroll, and payroll taxes, which are foundational for building employee trust and staying compliant.
- Expense Management: Ramp automates receipt tracking and can enforce budget controls, which limits the company’s financial exposure to errant or fraudulent charges.
- Transactional Interfaces: Datablend automates and simplifies transactional sorting and transformation by using a set of rules to post information to your accounting system.
- Contract and Lease Management: FinQuery helps companies manage and monitor leases, including complicated lease accounting requirements.
4. High-Quality Reporting: Winning Investor Confidence
Achieving a 10x increase in your company’s valuation demands investor-grade reporting. Tools like Sage Intacct enable:
- Real-Time Financial Statements: Deliver accurate P&L, balance sheets, and cash flow reports on demand.
- Audit Readiness: Maintain a clean audit trail with automated reconciliations through Blackline.
- Board-Level Insights: Use Workday Adaptive Planning to create forward-looking reports that highlight growth potential.
Transparent, data-rich reporting reassures investors that your growth is sustainable, and worth paying a premium for, as evidenced by companies like Uber. The volatility surrounding Uber’s IPO highlights the importance of maintaining investor confidence and operational transparency, as discussed in How the Promise of a $120 Billion Uber I.P.O. Evaporated.
Advantages of Leveraging Technology to Support Growth
- Faster Fundraising: Investors trust businesses with mature financial systems.
- Higher Margins: Automation reduces operational costs by 30 – 50%.
- Strategic Agility: Real-time data empowers proactive decisions.
Strategies to Implement Automation Effectively
- Adopt a Unified Tech Stack: Integrate tools like Sage Intacct, Bill, and BlackLine to close books 50% faster and with higher accuracy.
- Prioritize Automation: Start with high-volume tasks (e.g., accounts payable via Bill.com) to streamline work efforts and generate time savings.
- Train Teams on Data Literacy: Ensure finance and operations teams leverage dashboards effectively. Sage Intacct provides an excellent platform to share live reporting data with your company’s managers and executives.
- Evaluate Automation Opportunities: At least quarterly, evaluate where manual processes can be automated. Set up an action plan to automate time-wasting activities that can be converted into data-collection opportunities.
Exploring Business Models for Growth
Understanding various business models can significantly enhance your strategic approach. A scalable business model allows a company to increase its productivity and revenue without a corresponding increase in costs. This is vital for achieving sustainable growth as it helps in adapting to market demands efficiently. For more information on what makes a business model scalable, refer to What is a Scalable Business Model?. Additionally, for insights into different business models that can help increase profitability, check out 12 Successful Business Models to Help Make a Profit.
Final Thoughts
To achieve big results in your business, you need to think big. This includes having an integrated, cloud-based accounting environment that provides the foundation and infrastructure to support high growth. As we like to say, “Start the Way You Want to Finish.”
At Lavoie CPA, we partner with small- and medium-sized businesses to design tailored accounting systems that support their success.
Start the Conversation
by Sharai Lavoie | Apr 14, 2023 | Entrepreneurs, Lavoie
We are excited to share with you a transcript from a recent podcast episode in which our founder, Sharai Lavoie, was interviewed by Julie Bee on her show “They Don’t Teach This in Business School.” In this insightful and inspiring conversation, Sharai shares her experiences in powering through burnout, the transformation in how she defines success, and the importance of her team at Lavoie CPA PLLC. We believe you will find valuable insights and advice from Sharai’s journey as a business owner, visionary, and community leader. Visit this link to listen.
In this podcast episode, we talked about:
- Powering through burnout
- Transformation in defining success
- Importance of a strong team
- Monetizing passions and interests
- Community involvement and charitable efforts
- Balancing visionary work with daily operations
- The value of key employees
- Resilience and dedication of the team
- Managing workload and personal growth
- Coping with burnout through spirituality and determination
Transcript
[00:00:00] Julie Bee – Host: On today’s episode, I talk with Sharai Lavoie about powering through burnout, the transformation, and how she defined it. And the importance of her team. I’m Julie B, and they don’t teach this in business school.[00:00:16] Midroll Spot: Every week, Julie sends out big ideas and easy actions that help elevate your business. She also shares some awesomeness happening in the business community.Make sure to subscribe to the Be Awesome brief@bjulieb.com.
[00:00:34] Julie Bee – Host: Hey there, I’m Julie B, and this is, They Don’t Teach This In Business School. On this podcast, we discussed the behind-the-scenes of being a business owner. Today I’m really excited to interview Sharai Lavoie, the CEO of Lavoie, CPA. And I’m really looking forward to this because I know we’re gonna have some really fun conversations and also learn a lot about being a business owner.So Sharai, thanks for being here. And yeah, [00:01:00] why don’t you just, let’s start off with telling me about your business and your role in the business.
[00:01:04] Sharai Lavoie – Guest: So we’ve been around for over 13 years now, going on 14 years. And we are a financial operations management firm. We don’t do taxes, and we don’t do an audit. We do partner with different firms on that side of things, depending on the size of the company or client that we’re working with.But we focus on outsourced accounting. We lovingly call it accounting as a service. Sorry. , you may see our branding that says AAS or Get Your AAS in Gear. Mm-hmm. So that’s a A A S on that side. But we also sell and implement technology, and we have a consulting side where we do project work, system selection, process improvement, due diligence work, and quality of earnings work on that side of things.
So it’s a lot going on, but it all intertwines into each other. I thoroughly enjoy it. So I’m responsible for the direction, the [00:02:00] business development, the pivots that happen all the time. Mm-hmm. , staffing, and everything, and I have an absolutely fabulous team. That helps.
[00:02:10] Julie Bee – Host: So That’s awesome. So what is your favorite part about being a business owner?[00:02:16] Sharai Lavoie – Guest: You know what, it’s because my favorite part of being a business owner is that I get to monetize what I love to do. I love to help people. I love to clean stuff up. I love to see things get going, and I love to see reimagine life. What could be, what’s the, what’s the next level, what could be, and I love all that stuff.And being a business owner and what we do allows me to do that in multiple places and with multiple people. And apply lessons learned. So that part of it I love. And I also love being able to use our organization for community [00:03:00] good and charitable purposes too, because I, that’s a big part of me in this.
I think having that extension of the business is really good too.
[00:03:09] Julie Bee – Host: So I wanna ask you a question about the work that you described. I, I would put into the class the visionary elements of being a business owner. How do you make sure that you have the time, the space, and the capacity to actually do that work?Because I know for a lot of business owners, that’s so often the stuff that gets put aside or put on the back burner, even though it’s probably the most important work we can do. How do you make sure that you have the capacity to do those things?
[00:03:38] Sharai Lavoie – Guest: If we’re talking about for me. Mm-hmm. Yeah, for the company, that’s an ongoing thing.Sometimes that happens on Saturdays, but honestly, it happens all the time. And so I’ve tried to get into a habit of writing those things down instead of thinking that I have to have focus time because those visionary things are [00:04:00] things I get to do with my clients. Mm-hmm. But when it comes to it, it’s kinda like the carpenter’s house, right?
Mm-hmm. , when it comes to your own, You kind of ignore it sometimes, but it always comes back when you step on that nail, and you’re like, I gotta get that done. Mm-hmm. So for that, I think about it all the time. I doubt if there’s a time that I’m not thinking about it. Mm-hmm. , because I always tell the staff, like, I’m already over there.
I’m just trying to get things done so that you guys can get over there with me, and so I’m usually always thinking about those things. They’re always in the back of my mind. It’s just that I don’t necessarily say I’m gonna block two hours to. Think about this today, which I probably should, but I don’t.
[00:04:46] Julie Bee – Host: Whatever works as long as we’re getting to it. I think that that’s the main thing. I think, you know, there’s a lot of systems and processes out there, and don’t get me wrong, I love a good system and a good process, but I think you have to find, you know, you find pieces and parts of what’s offered out [00:05:00] there and make it work for you, and you kind of create your own process along the way.So I think as long as you’re doing the work you love to do and getting to be that visionary, that’s what really.
[00:05:09] Sharai Lavoie – Guest: Yeah, I would agree with that.[00:05:11] Julie Bee – Host: Totally. You’ve mentioned your team several times, and would you talk a little bit about how important your key employees are to you and maybe also some moments that you’re particularly proud of that they’ve, that they’ve done over the past year or so?[00:05:27] Sharai Lavoie – Guest: I take my team very seriously. I guess I could say they’re extremely important cause there’s no way you. The firm would be where it is right now. I would be where I am right, right now without them. Mm-hmm. , and you know, we do have some very key employees, but everybody plays a part. I always try to make sure everybody understands that no matter what you’re doing, you’re playing a huge part in a much bigger picture.And so to take that as seriously as you possibly can [00:06:00] is what we should do. And I would have to say that, you know, Matt Dewal has been instrumental. Mm-hmm. in a lot of that too. And he has just really, we play off each other very well. Be it, him being part of the team has just made a huge difference and allowed us to do some really good springboarding on that side. And we always have these aha moments where we’re texting each other back and forth about the next thing to do. So they have been, they’re kind of everything, and I, I let them know that I really do care about them and I care about their development and. Being at OI isn’t what’s the best thing for them.
I wanna see what’s best for them. And so I don’t take that part personally because I actually care about the individual, and I want what’s best for the individual.
[00:06:55] Julie Bee – Host: Is there anything that you can think of off the top of your head that you’re particularly proud of [00:07:00] your team?[00:07:01] Sharai Lavoie – Guest: They’re resilient.I would say I am so proud of their resilience and, actually, their service. If there’s anything community-wise, or client-wise, it doesn’t matter what it is; they are willing to jump in. And help out in any way. And it’s like 800 times outside of the scope of our work, but they will still jump in to help.
And that is, I think that says a lot about them, but they’re extremely proud of that.
[00:07:36] Midroll Spot: Julie has spoken to countless organizations for 13 years on topics including leadership, management, employee engagement, and. Workplace culture, small business ownership, and entrepreneurship. If you’d like it, an engaging, relatable, and inspiring speaker for your next event.Book Julie to speak to your group for more details@thejulieb.com. [00:08:00][00:08:00] Julie Bee – Host: Hey, this is Julie Bee, and you’re listening to They Don’t Teach This and Business School. I’m here today with Sharai Lavoie. Hopefully, I said that right. This time I’m getting closer. , we were laughing. Yes. Before we were laughing before. Because I, I’ve known you for many years, and I’ve been mispronouncing your name, and it’s, I feel bad, but you know, you, you, you live and learn.
But anyways, I wanted to ask you, you know, we’ve talked about it.
[00:08:24] Sharai Lavoie – Guest: That doesn’t mean I love you any less. Julie.[00:08:26] Julie Bee – Host: I love you too, and I’m so glad I finally asked you to pronounce your name for me. You know, I think we, we, I can’t remember exactly where we met. I think we met through a networking event, and then we did 10 K s B.You know, we’ve both gone through the 10k, the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, and we’ve talked several times, but I’ve never asked you to say your name for me. I always just knew your name, and so I would come in thinking, I, thinking I knew how to say your name. So anyway, it’s just these funny little things in business.
After 14 years, you think, I know, think you would have it figured out. [00:09:00] Sharai, I wanted to ask you, you know, we talked about some of the fun stuff about being a business owner, but I wanted to make sure to ask you if you have any, any experience with going through burnout as a business owner, and if you’d be willing to share any of those stories.
I’d
[00:09:13] Sharai Lavoie – Guest: I probably go through a regular cycle of burnout, but burnout is what then pushes me to the next level of things because one thing that I did determine When I get to burnout and I don’t address it, I will probably be in therapy every two seconds along that side. So I finally decided that you know what?I have got to put my big girl panties on and get through this on that side. I am a spiritual person, believe it or not, and so I’m like, you know what, guys got me this far. He’s gonna get me through the rest. I can have me. Pity party if that’s what I wanna do because that’s the selfishness of what I wanna do.
But at the same [00:10:00] time, I should always have a plan A, B, and C. Mm-hmm. And so if A doesn’t work, I go to B. If B doesn’t work, I go to C. And if C doesn’t work, I go back. I. Always stay in prayer, but I go to prayer. Mm-hmm. , and then, you know, a comes back up again. So burnout is something I think, as a business owner, you will always experience just because of all the things that are on your shoulders.
Right. I’ve just come to the conclusion that I have to; I can sit in it for a minute, but that’s all I have is a minute. I don’t have any longer than that because I don’t want it to paralyze me. Mm-hmm. Personally and mentally, I don’t want it to paralyze the business, so I have to figure out a way to get out of that.
Mm-hmm. And for me, it’s more on a spiritual level because it’s more of, you have to get this. If the quickest way to get me to do something is to tell me, I can’t. And so [00:11:00] motivation. Yep. Great. Yeah. If you tell me, no, that’s not suited for you, or no, you can’t mm-hmm. , I will put it in your face every time. So that is the quickest way to get me to do something.
But, so because that drives me, and that sense of things is my own internal overachievement wanting to accomplish. Burnout becomes something that I know is gonna happen. Mm-hmm. , but I also have started conditioning myself as to how to push through it. And I hope that answers your question.
[00:11:34] Julie Bee – Host: I have a couple of follow-up questions, but that is pretty much the summary of what I hope business owners see after they read the book that I’ve written about burnout when it comes out next year.But it sounds like you have accepted that burnout is going to be part of your life. Usually, on the other side of getting through burnout, you might have a breakthrough in the business of some sort. Is that fair? Are those fair statements? That is very
[00:11:58] Sharai Lavoie – Guest: fair. Yeah. [00:12:00] Very fair.[00:12:00] Julie Bee – Host: How do you recognize that you’re in burnout?Like, what, what is going on in your, you know, in your, just in your mind or in your, in your body or whatever? Like how do you know you’re
[00:12:09] Sharai Lavoie – Guest: in burnout? I know I’m in burnout when everything is irritating. I am very much a person who, if you can’t have fun doing it, you shouldn’t be doing it. Mm-hmm. At all. I mean, nothing should feel like work.It shouldn’t feel like work. And if it feels like work, you probably need to do something else. And when it starts feeling like work and things are irritating me. I know I’m getting to that place of burnout because I’m not already iterating on the next thing so that it doesn’t irritate me. Mm-hmm. And so that’s how I know that I’m getting there.
Mm-hmm. And I know, okay, I need to take a moment. And get this together, even if that’s staying here at the office after everyone is left so I can have my little pity cry [00:13:00] party and then go home to my family whole mm-hmm. , then that’s what I need to do. But that’s, those are the triggers that. I know that when it’s coming.
I know it’s coming.
[00:13:11] Julie Bee – Host: You know, you also said something really important there, Sherry, about if you know it’s coming, but you might stay at the office and work late. And I think the reason I wanna highlight that very particular point is I’ve had a burnout that’s put me into that I, that I went to the emergency room for because I thought I had a heart attack.Ha. It was a panic attack. And the cardiologist I saw basically said, do less. You know, take a vacation, take a break, take it, take it a little easier. Which is not bad advice, right? It’s not bad advice. And telling a business owner that is like just. Pouring gasoline on a fire. It’s so important to recognize that in yourself that if you know, working through whatever the problem [00:14:00] is, or spending a little bit more time at work might be the way that you actually get on the other side of burnout is so.
Crucial. I just wanted to the point that out because I think that’s very important. I
[00:14:10] Sharai Lavoie – Guest: I agree with you because I love what you said about it; it’s like pouring gasoline on the fire. Mm-hmm. Because if you tell me if I know I’m at that point and you’re like, okay, you just need to disconnect. Well, when I disconnect and go on vacation, guess what I’m thinking about the whole time?Every single. The thing that I know is gonna be there when I get back. And if I can just carve out 15 minutes, I can get this part done. I can address this. Whereas if you just come up with a plan to get yourself to a good point and then go on vacation, then you can breathe. Mm-hmm. And when people tell you to disconnect and do all these things, it’s easy to say it.
It. A hundred percent harder to do when you know that you’ve left strings loose. And also [00:15:00] when you know that. Your team isn’t at their peak where they, you know, it’s covered like when you get back. It’s not gonna be if you disconnect; I find it very hard to completely disconnect. But if you do disconnect when you come back, that it’s not gonna be a tsunami, right.
Of things that are coming at you. Because, for me, that creates anxiety. Like that part. So for me, just powering through it, getting to a good point, and then I can not let that be a worry in my mind and lose sleep over it. And then
[00:15:33] Julie Bee – Host: you could actually start recovering from burnout,[00:15:35] Sharai Lavoie – Guest: basically. Exactly. Yeah.Yeah.
[00:15:37] Midroll Spot: Each and every week, Julie sends out big ideas and easy actions that help elevate yours. She’ll also share some awesomeness happening in the business community. Don’t miss out. Subscribe to the B awesome breed@djulieb.com.[00:15:55] Julie Bee – Host: You’re listening to They Don’t Teach This in Business School, and I’m the host, Julie Bee, I [00:16:00] wanted to ask you, so we just talked about some deep stuff about burnout, and I wanted to ask you something that, that hopefully is a little bit lighter.How do you define it?
[00:16:13] Sharai Lavoie – Guest: It is an ongoing conversation.[00:16:16] Julie Bee – Host: I asked the deep questions here. That’s what I do.[00:16:18] Sharai Lavoie – Guest: You do? That is like an ongoing conversation. You know what? I’m here, and I’m still standing, and that should be successful enough, really, honestly. But I will admit, honestly, for me, it’s not mm-hmm. , but it should be.Mm-hmm. and that is something that I have to. Keep grounded in that, my level of success and my picture of success. Who I know I am and who I wanna be may not be someone else’s. Mm-hmm. , um, just because of who I am. Honestly, I reiterate success all the time because I think it’s its levels to it.
Mm-hmm. And. When you’re at [00:17:00] different points in your life, success looks different. Mm-hmm. for you? In my thirties, it looked different. I’m still in my thirties. Mm-hmm.
That’s awesome. I just perpetually stay in my thirties. Yeah, that’s right. That’s how you do it. But it just looks, it looks different all the time for me. I don’t hang my hat anymore on. A revenue number. I don’t hang my hat anymore on a number of employees or anything like that because success is way more encompassing in my total self versus just what I do, which is one question I hate when people ask what I do.
I’m more than just that.
[00:17:46] Julie Bee – Host: Oh, yeah. No, I hear you. I’m, I’ve, I’m, yes,. I’m going through that struggle right now, trying to figure out and tell people what I actually do these days. It sounded like there was a time when revenue, a number, number of employees was. [00:18:00] The definition of success and a transition has happened.Can you talk a little bit about that transition or that transformation?
[00:18:07] Sharai Lavoie – Guest: It was more around; I think that transformation happened when you observed. So I’m a big people, watcher, observer kind of person. Mm-hmm. And have always been, but I found it very interesting, the people that I observed where they had.What I would’ve considered a success at that time. Mm-hmm. Like, oh my God, I gotta get there. Mm-hmm. But then you look at the fallout, and you look at everything around it, and you look at it, at least for me, I looked at it in the sense of, is that really where I wanna be? And if it means that having that means all the other things, I don’t.
Like there’s a, there’s a sense of core self that, like, I don’t want it, like I’ve fought very hard to just really. [00:19:00] Pivot me to just being comfortable with just being myself and not what other people expect me to be on that side. And so it just kind of became, do I wanna give up that sense of myself for that?
And do I have to? Because a lot of times you don’t have to. It just means that it’s gonna be a lot slower for you, and that’s okay. And I’m okay with that, so, but I don’t ever want to. Lose myself and lose my grounding in the pursuit of something that once I have it, you just kind of have all these other things that I regret.
Mm-hmm. or you think about constantly of things you would’ve done differently.
[00:19:42] Julie Bee – Host: Boy, that’s an excellent answer. I, I went through that whole thing too, and I think most business owners do, whereas, oh, you.[00:19:48] Sharai Lavoie – Guest: do get to, ’cause, in your head, you’re Martin Zuckerberg.[00:19:51] Julie Bee – Host: Yeah. Get into X number of revenue or X number of employees.And then what really, and I actually just had this transition last year [00:20:00] where I, I finally realized that the achievement of a goal does not define if I’m successful or not, because as soon as I achieve a. I’m like, okay, what’s next? Like, I, I, you know, I might celebrate like this, this much, but it, it’s almost like the next day I’m thinking to myself, okay, what’s the next goal?
Like, what’s the next step in this process? So I spent a lot of time last year redefining what success looks like for me outside of any goal. So, it’s, you know, laughing and being happy and being able to be me and doing things that I love because I, I, I feel for people whose only definition of success is external goals.
Because I feel like they never, they probably never feel successful because they’re always trying to get to the next thing.
[00:20:46] Sharai Lavoie – Guest: I found success when I learned how to train myself to make a really good pound cake, so that was a success for me too. ,[00:20:55] Julie Bee – Host: I could make a Turkey. Oh my gosh, my Turkey is, my [00:21:00] Turkey is really, really, really requested on all the major holidays, said, I’m like, that is the kind of stuff that makes me feel successful as a human being.There
[00:21:10] Sharai Lavoie – Guest: you go. Like the joy in everything out that, right? That[00:21:15] Julie Bee – Host: is where it is. Oh, man. This has been such a good conversation, but I just have one more question I wanna ask you today. If you were asked to teach a class about being a business owner to future business owners and future entrepreneurs, what is the one thing that you would want them to learn from your class?That is
[00:21:35] Sharai Lavoie – Guest: such a loaded question, Julie. If you[00:21:37] Julie Bee – Host: have maybe two, two or three things, that’s fine[00:21:39] Sharai Lavoie – Guest: too. That is crazy because I don’t know that you can teach it. Honestly, I, I honestly don’t know that you could teach it. The only thing that I would say that would be a takeaway from. Class I taught on it, so to speak, would be to make sure you’re comfortable with asking for help.Hmm. [00:22:00] A lot of times, as business owners, we think we can do everything. We know everything. We don’t need to listen to anybody because we got it figured out, and then crisis mode hits. Be comfortable asking for help and ask for help before you need it. That is very key. And also learn how to give yourself.
You’re gonna ha you’re gonna make mistakes. You’re gonna have oops moments. You’re gonna have times when you’re like, I probably should have done that differently, that kind of thing. But allow yourself some grace with that because you’re not perfect. And even though someone may be looking to you to be that you’re not.
Yeah. And you gotta, you gotta own that. Mm-hmm. Off. and if you own that off top, it’ll make your life so much easier.
[00:22:50] Julie Bee – Host: Wow. Well, yeah, I think we are going to wrap it up right there, Sohar. I have really enjoyed this conversation so much. I’m so glad we finally got it. Got it on [00:23:00] here. Got it recorded. Yes,. I know the, uh, business owners that will listen to this will enjoy it as well.I really want to thank you for being on the show.
[00:23:09] Sharai Lavoie – Guest: Well, thank you for having me, and thank you for picking, putting up with my crazy schedule to get this done. So I truly appreciate you for that. You[00:23:18] Julie Bee – Host: you are welcome. And that is it for this episode, but stay tuned because I’ll be back with more lessons learned on the business owner’s journey.I’m Julie Bee, and they don’t teach this in business school.
In Closing
We hope you enjoyed this insightful conversation between Sharai Lavoie and Julie Bee on “They Don’t Teach This in Business School.” Sharai’s experiences in overcoming burnout, redefining success, and the importance of teamwork serve as a testament to the resilience and dedication that has made Lavoie CPA PLLC the successful firm it is today. If you’d like to learn more about our services or get in touch with our team, please visit our website. As always, we are committed to helping businesses and individuals achieve their financial goals and look forward to serving you.
