E17 From Corporate CPA to Self-Made Entrepreneur with Candace Galiffa 👩🏻‍💻💯

Pollen: For Creative Entrepreneurs with Diana Davis

Starting your own business can be intimidating - especially as a woman. You need someone on your team whose zone of genius is business finance so you can stay in your lane and focus on your craft. Instead of burning your time, money, and energy doing it yourself, find someone with the expertise to do it for you!

In this episode of The Pollen Podcast, Candace joins us to share her entrepreneurial experience as she moved from corporate accounting to building her own business. She shares her struggles from being a one-woman show to hiring her first full-time employee to earning seven figures. Listen as she shares trade know-how about your business' finances.

Listen to this episode and be inspired to jump from corporate to self-made boss!

Create your own creative entrepreneurship story of clarity, professional confidence, and profit. Join Diana’s 90-day group course Camp Clarity and learn everything you wish you already knew, like how to land dream clients, harness the power of social media, and make the money you deserve. Learn more here.

🔥Here are three reasons why you should listen to this episode:

1. Learn how Candace jumped from corporate worker to a seven-figure female entrepreneurship finance expert.
2. Understand the financial aspects of your business from an accountant’s perspective.
3. Discover tips on how to build your brand and referral network.

📘Resources

• Achieve the life, career, and clients you’ve always wanted (and fully deserve!). Sign up for Diana’s Camp Clarity Course now!
• Take a week off and join the first Diana Davis Creative Retreat in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, from August 29 to September 1! 🎁 There will be tons of activities, plus you'll get a bonus one-on-one coaching session with Diana after the retreat.
• Playing Big: Practical Wisdom for Women Who Want to Speak Up, Create, and Lead by Tara Mohr
• Be inspired by Jenna Kutcher through her podcast, Goal Digger.
• Save thousands in taxes through Candace’s S Corp Tax Savings Calculator and 72 Tax Deductions.
• Learn more about Candace’s work with NewWay Accounting through their website or Instagram.
• Listen to Pollen Episode 13: What They Don’t Always Tell You About Business and Money Wins 💰💯
• Access other courses from the Diana Davis Creative
• Connect with me: Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Email
• Connect with Candace through her LinkedIn.

🎧Episode Highlights

[02:01] Getting to Know Candace

• Candace lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two kids.
• She is a Certified Public Accountant with over a decade of experience.
• She began her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers and then moved to different companies — holding various leadership roles in corporate accounting, finance, and investments.
• In 2018, Candace founded NewWay Accounting, an accounting firm dedicated to serving small business owners and entrepreneurs and providing modern accounting solutions.
• She firmly believes that female entrepreneurs should be open about finances and taxes.

[06:46] Candace’s Female Entrepreneurship Journey

• Candace started her firm as a one-woman show. As a stay-at-home mom, Candace did everything from home.
• A year later, she made more than she did in her corporate job.
• NewWay Accounting began to scale and hire full-time employees. Four years later, the company now has eight employees and serves over 100 clients monthly and over 300 clients annually.
• The firm's clients are primarily female millennial entrepreneurs who need bookkeeping and proactive tax planning services.
• NewWay also provides outsourced CFO services for small and scaling tech companies.

[14:40] Moving from Corporate to Independent Work

• Candace initially found the transition from big corporations to independent female entrepreneurship intimidating — there was a lot to learn.

• Her number one advice for women considering the big move is to read Tara Mohr’s Playing Big.

Candace: "You don't have to do some crazy launch. You don't have to create this brand and have this logo and business cards and all these things. Just try it out. We are so lucky to live in an age where if you want to be a meteorologist, you can be a meteorologist on YouTube. Just go do it."

• Take small leaps and learn from the experience. Know what works for you.
• Learn and find out what your clients want.
• Build your portfolio. Understand the power of energy exchange in getting exposure, referrals, and work.

[19:20] Understanding the Power of a Network

• Candace recommends all first-time parents give themselves some grace. Do not try to build a business when you have your first newborn.
• She also shares that listening to Jenna Kutcher gave her organic ways to gain traction in the female entrepreneur world.
• Listen to trends and the people who pay you.
• Around 65% of businesses come from word of mouth.

[25:50] How Hiring Full-Time Employees Helps Your Brand

Candace: “It is just a game changer when you have someone working 100% for your brand. Oh, magic happens because it’s not like they’re charging you hourly. They're not building their brands; they don’t have other clients; they are focused on your brand because that’s them now.”

• Candace shares that the scariest part about hiring a full-time person is the realization that that person is your responsibility now.
• Know the current rates of full-time jobs. You can use Glassdoor as a reference.
• Candace always tries to pay better than the industry average and provides other benefits, including health insurance.
• If you're ready to make the leap and hire your first full-time employee, do not let the benefits side of it scare you.

[31:10] Embrace Your Achievements

• Candace shares that she feels weird about sharing her achievements with people.
• Learn to understand that you made your accomplishments happen.

• Try all the things you want to do - nothing is stopping you from doing them!

[38:40] Breaking the Money Mindset

• Listen to Episode 13 to learn more about business and money for entrepreneurs.
• It is critical to have money knowledge available to the public.
• For instance, ask your coach about their Profit & Loss Statement before you hire them. Are they actually making money?

Candace: “Why are we only ever defining success as money, right? Like, maybe your success is making net of $5,000 a year, every quarter, but you get to spend every afternoon at the park with your dog or every morning with your kids doing XYZ. That's also beautiful success.”

[43:46] What’s The Deal With Write-Offs?

• Candace believes that no one should lose sleep over someone’s books.
• She also emphasizes that entertainment expenses are no longer tax deductions. For example, taking a client to talk business and play golf is no longer a tax deduction.
• Candace shares that it is never okay to put more money in your pocket by writing off expenses that are not real. Female entrepreneurship should be ethical!

[49:55] Building Your Brand and Referral Network

• Candace makes sure to listen to her clients’ needs.
• Business owners often do not know how to read P&L financial reports. In response to this, Candace’s company develops client-friendly executive summaries.
• Hire someone who is an advocate for you and your business.
• Get someone on your team who can handle the fields outside your expertise. You'll feel more confident about those fields knowing an expert is handling them.

About Candace

Candace Galiffa has been a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) for over a decade. After studying Accounting at the University of Pittsburgh, Candace traveled solo through much of Australia and Europe. She began her career in public accounting at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and then held various leadership roles in corporate accounting, finance, and investments.

After nearly a decade in Corporate America, she decided to focus on her entrepreneurship roots. She founded NewWay Accounting to serve small business owners and entrepreneurs, as well as provide modern accounting solutions and outsourced CFO services to corporations.

Candace lives in Chadds Ford, PA with her husband Phil and their daughters Giavana, Layla and Sasha.

Learn more about Candace’s work with NewWay Accounting through their website or Instagram. You can also connect with her via email at [e-mail] or via LinkedIn.

Enjoyed this Podcast on Understanding Finances for Entrepreneurs?

Do not lose sleep over the finances of your business! Find someone who can do it for you and trust them to do it.

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