How Madeline Turned Her Admin Job Into a Thriving Fractional CFO Biz Serving Home Stagers

All right, welcome to our show here today. My name is Charles Lykoff. I'm here with Madeline. She is a fractional cfo and she is serving a very specific industry. So I'd love to get into the conversation today. We're going to talk about a little bit about her experience. She worked with us, she's worked with multiple clients, how she's helped and impacted clients, as well as some of the things that she's learned along the way. So if you haven't seen one of these before. Hi, my name is Charles Lykoff and I own Profit Surge Group. We help accountants, bookkeepers, financial professionals start, offer, and grow a profitable fractional CFO business. And I've also been a fractional CFO since 2017. So that's enough about me. Madeline, please introduce yourself. Tell us a little bit about you. I'd love to hear. I know you very well, but, you know, tell the audience a little bit about yourself.

Yeah. Thank you for having me today, Charles. Like you said, my name is Madeline and I am the owner of Stage Wise Financials. I started in this. I work specifically with home staging companies and started in this industry several years ago and joined a company as an employee and was just hired on as an administrative assistant and got into the company and just realized, like, wow, these women that were my bosses at the time are wonderful at what they do. And just getting into their systems realizing, like, huh, you know, this is what we're deciding to charge, but how do we know that we're making money? And just kind of starting to ask questions like that and realized like, oh, they don't really have the answers to these questions. And they're working so hard at what they do, 70, 80 hour weeks, they're not even really sure if they're making money. And that was just pretty alarming to me. And so I just realized from there, like, this is where my efforts are going to be best spent, is figuring these things out. And so here we are years later, and that same company is now at a 40% profit margin. I actually am in the process of helping the owners exit the company and just realized from there, like, there are probably other staging companies who are needing the same kind of help. And these owners started telling other staging companies about me and referring them to me. And I just realized, like, I can make an impact within this industry. I can do more than just being an employee. And so from there, kind of decided, like, okay, I am going to start a business and I'm going to be serving home staging companies and Then I started getting ads for this fractional.

You came in, you were working with them. You're like, oh, man, they need help. I'm sure there's some experimenting, right, with different operations and learning the industry and you probably did your own independent research is an assumption.

And.

And you started helping them and you realized that maybe you're providing more consultative approach than you thought. You definitely expanded your scope from, like, what they hired you on. As it sounds like before you saw some of our ads, you were like, already helping them. When was the moment that you were like, oh, like you saw our ad and then like, what happened from there?

Yeah. And so I got to the point with them where, I mean, there's always room to grow. But we reached out. We just, year after year kept reaching the goals and kept growing and getting better and got to the point where the owners were really out of the business and then more companies were coming to me as well. And so before that point, you know, I am a mom. I've got two boys and I love doing that. I did not imagine starting a business at this point in my life with two under two. But this is just, you know, this is where we're at. And, you know, you know, we are young and we're just starting out and we just really were living paycheck to paycheck and we were so happy and content and realized there's something we can do to change this. You know, we can continue on this way or we can do something to change. And so just receiving these emails from other buyers can't envision themselves living in the home without the home staging. And so it's really, you know, they're setting up. This is the kitchen table that you're going to be eating breakfast every morning with your kids at. You know, this is the bedroom that you're going to share with your husband for the rest of your life. Just all of those things. It really is just a strategy and marketing and it's a really cool industry. It's really interesting to work within.

Awesome. Okay. All right. I'm glad to hear that. I was going to say when I. When I bought my last house, because they had the furniture there, I was like, I could see myself being here, being here, being there. And funny enough, I actually bought the home and I was like, leave the furniture, I'll pay you more. Because they did a fantastic job with it. So that makes plenty Since. So you started as administrative assistant, you're helping home staging a home staging company. And it sounds like they didn't Know how much money they were making. They didn't know how profitable they were. Sounds like they were. They were working their tail off. And, you know, probably at the beginning was like, for what? Right? Like, where's. Where's the. Where's the reward? When was the moment you were like, all right, I'm going to go from administrative assistant to how can I help these people make a better decision? Like, what. What was it inside of you that was like, you know what? I want to do more? Because not. Not everyone is like, will see a problem and goes, I need to fix that. Because that. I mean, that wouldn't have been a part of your role. That wouldn't have been part of your scope. What inside of you was like, we should change that. I'm curious about that.

Yeah. You know what? I was raised by a business owner. I've been working since I was 12 years old. And I just. I can't just be an employee. Any business that I'm going to be in, I just think like a business owner, I'm very just. I love efficiency and just smooth in every area of life. And so I just, I can't. I can't just stand by and know there's things that could be doing better. And you asked when. The moment I would say the day I started, and just realizing, like, wow, they are bringing in a lot of money, and there's just not very many systems in place. And it just kind of. And that's really what happens. People start, and sometimes it's just a hobby or they just start because, you know, staging or design really is their passion. And then it grows quickly, and it's like, oh, gosh, what do I do with this now? And so, you know, with. Oftentimes with just small business owners, they start really for that reason because they're just passionate about what they do. And that's awesome. But then not having the financial understanding can get you into a lot of trouble, especially when you're starting to hit six and seven figures.

Yeah, absolutely. Right. Things can get, you know, precarious quickly if you don't have the right guidance. So you came in, you were working with them, you're like, oh, man, they need help. I'm sure there's some experimenting, right, with different operations and learning the industry. And you probably did your own independent research is an assumption, and you started helping them and you realized that maybe you're providing more consultative approach than you thought. You definitely expanded your scope from, like, what they hired you on. Us. It sounds like before you saw some of our ads, you were like, already helping them. When was the moment that you were like, oh, like you saw our ad and then like, what, what, what happened from. From there?

Yeah. And so I got to the point with them where I. I mean, there's always room to grow, but we reached, we just year after year, kept reaching the goals and kept growing and getting better and got to the point where the owners were really out of the business and. And then more companies were coming to me as well. And so before that point, you know, I am a mom, I've got two boys, and I love doing that. I did not imagine starting a business at this point in my life with two under two. But, you know, this is where we're at. And you know, we are young and we're just starting out and we just really were living paycheck to paycheck and we were so happy and content and realized there's something we can do to change this. You know, we can continue on this way or we can do something to change. And so just receiving these emails from other companies who were wanting to work with me and just realizing, like, I can provide them, you know, one off services or set up, you know, a system for them, but then if they don't have anybody holding their hand and walking through this with them, like, what value am I really adding? And so I just saw just a need for something more.

But.

But I wasn't really sure what that something more looked like until I started getting targeted by your ads and just realized, like, okay, this guy seems to know what he's talking about, and so I'm just gonna take the jump.

And yeah, when, when you, so you saw, you had an idea, you worked with a client, you know, you can get a little bit of results, bro, you've only done it for one client. It's not like you did it for hundreds of them. You saw Facebook ad was like, hey, fractional CFO make $5,000 a month. You know, sounds crazy. So you do it and you're like, oh man, what have I been doing for the longest time? So you saw that and it came to your mind. What, what, what prompted you. You're like, hey, here's a call. Here's my first sales call that you probably jumped on. You're like, ah, I don't know what to do. What made you say it'll be $5,000 a month, right? Like, it could have been $2, it could have been $50 an hour, right? Like, what made you think, like, this is what I'm going to do, and this is what I'm going to charge. Like, where did that come from?

Yeah, I think it was just realizing, like, one, I want to provide more value than take. And so just realizing, like, there is such a need here with this, that specific company that I know that I will pay for myself within a month of working with them and just continuing on. And so my desire truly was just, I want to provide more value and just knowing the level of help that was going to be needed. It was like, okay, I think this is reasonable. And it was scary. And I wasn't completely sure.

How nervous were you when you. When you're like, it's 5,000. I mean, I don't know how you said it. I'm. I'm totally guessing, but like, how. How nervous were you when you said that?

But, yeah, my voice, I'm sure, was shaking a little bit. I'm pacing my kitchen, walking around my kitchen table. And. And then my husband comes down after and he's like, he sounded really confident, like, thanks.

How did you feel after they said yes?

Like, I just made a lot of money, more money than I've ever made in one month. And yeah, I felt pretty good. Like we were just heading in a new direction of, like, of life. That we were just. Things would just be changing. I didn't know what that was gonna look like exactly, but I knew things were gonna be different from that moment on.

That makes a lot of sense. When I first started selling fractional CFO, it was 2017. I had a corporate job, and my first fee was 7,500amonth. And I didn't know what to charge or anything. And I didn't have a business, bank account or any merchant process or any of that stuff set up. And I just boarded a number out. And when she said yes, after the shock of the first day, I just walked around work moving forward of like, all these people are suckers. Why? Why would I do this? Much younger Charles right now. Now it's like, okay, there's different spots. Entrepreneurship is for certain people. It's not risk profile a time of your life. Like, if I'm having two, two brand new children, I have a job. I'm not leaving tomorrow, right? Unless I hate the job. And I'm super confident I'm going to do all the work, right? Like, so there's different spots there. But my first thought was like, I think I just discovered, like a cheat code, like, to do it. Do other people know about this? Like, am I. Did I, you know, has everyone Been doing stuff like this and I just hadn't heard about it before. Turns out they weren't. This is a relatively newish thing here. So you got the first client, you sign them on 5k a month paying you, you learn some new skills. Sounds like you saw some ads and you maybe watched like a webinar of ours and then talked to someone on our team and then you're like, hey, I want to give this a shot. It sounds like something worked for you and you're like, all right, I want more of that. Is that correct with my understanding or okay, what in particular? So I know we've been working together for a couple months now. You saw this, you got the client, you decided you wanted more. Like what in particular about working with us like stood out to you? Like, tell me a little bit about your experience because you know, you just finished your 90 days with us and we doing some other education here. Like tell me a little bit about your experience.

Yeah, definitely. So I think one of the biggest things for me was just really getting a solid offer and I almost wish we would have started before I had that sales call because I realized after like, wow, I, you know, I'm making a really great fee and I might have just signed myself up for a full time job and all the things that I felt like I had to offer to be able to justify what I was going to be charging. And so then getting into the program and just realizing like, I can create this really succinct offer that's going to be super valuable to the person that I'm serving, but it's also going to take me out of just being the doer and really realizing like they're hiring me for my brains and for the things I'm able to do for them. That. And so that's where my time and my energy is best put. And then just realizing how truly scalable this business can be. And I don't have to just help one or two companies because that's my only capacity. But if I wanted to, I could be helping 10, 20, even 30 at a time, you know, and just being able to get my reach out further because I really, I haven't run across anybody in this industry doing the same thing that I am doing. And so I do kind of feel like I'm pioneer pioneering this within this industry. But truly the program has just given me so much confidence and I probably could have spent, you know, I would say a couple years, but that would be a lie. I probably could have spent five or ten Years trying to, you know, figure this out on the side. It's not, you know, a full time job for me. This is more of a part time thing to be able to add extra income to our home. But just in learning more about what you did, I just realized like, this guy's already figured it out. So. So what is my time worth? Am I really gonna try to spend all these years trying to figure this all out for myself? Or am I just gonna listen to the guy who seems like he knows what he's talking about? And in my time in the program, I realized like that was absolutely true. It was 100% the best investment that I could have made in myself and in my business. And it just truly brought so much value and just, just the education all around. Even if every single thing I learned didn't directly apply to my business, I'm businesses. And so some of that education, it's, you know, I don't need this per se, but I can apply it to somebody else's business. And it just, it just, yeah, super valuable.

Awesome. Awesome. I think when we look at the fact that like you took a leap, we worked together, right? You understood that there's like learning for the long time. Oftentimes people will think, oh, I can order myself and you could teach yourself anything. We never, we never get to press skip. Like we still have to do the learning, but man, does it feel good to press fast forward. And that's working with someone who's been doing it a little bit longer than you, right. Or maybe a little bit better. Because the longer is not always, always the word, you know, because there's people who've been doing something and don't have success, they've done it for a long time, right? So there's, there's time, there's length, and there's a specific skill. And the way we show people how to do and sell and offer fractional cfo, as you can see, like, it just made sense. Like you saw the ad and you're like, makes enough sense. Let me try that. And then you got. And you're like, okay. So usually when we work with people, we work with people who are usually ex CFOs, we work with people who are bookkeepers, we work with people who are CPAs and aren't accounting firms. Usually people come to us because they're like, you know what I want? I'm earning $15,000 a month and I want to earn $90,000 a month. Right. It's typically who we serve is about there sometimes People who are doing 5 million a year want to get to 7. Some people, it's like people who are just starting out. For you, right? You're. You're a mom of two. You have two under two. Is that correct? You're doing. You're doing great for. For. For that then. And your whole goal was, how do I make an extra five to $10,000 a month, possibly more? But in. In all of our time together, the thing that you always said it was most important to you is I want to spend time with my two kids. I've got, what, 10, 15 hours a week that I can spend at work, and I want those to be the best. 10 to 15 hours, earn as much as possible. But that usually sets you apart because usually people you work with are working a lot more, usually have, you know, a little bit bigger a business or maybe more experience, and usually have a bigger goal. But for you, it was. Your goal wasn't necessarily income. It was, how do I make sure I can get the most out of my time so I can spend it with my kids, with my husband that I enjoy. That you enjoy while still earning a good living with that maybe 10 to 15 hours a week. Tell me a little bit about that. Because you're not. I'm the average avatar. And that's why I wanted you to come on here and like, you know, learn a little bit more about your experience. Because I find it so interesting that sometimes people who have a little bit more experience or in a little bit different stage of life are afraid to take the leap, and you weren't afraid to take the leap, and it's paid off. Awesome for you. So I just want to hear a little bit about your mindset, especially when it comes to serving your family and the time versus money thing for you.

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. I mean, you said it. I am a mom, and my desire is for my family. And I thought when we were starting a family that I wouldn't be working. I was just planning on spending the next 20 to 30 years just raising babies and homeschooling and doing that thing. And that was truly my desire. And it just. That time kind of came and just realized this isn't an option for us right now, and that's okay. But I also don't just want to be making $25 an hour when, you know, there's. I just. Yeah, that just. It wasn't. It wasn't enough for me if I only have 10 to 15 hours a week to work at just $25 an hour. Wasn't cutting it. So. So when I realized I could be making a thousand dollars an hour, it's like, what else can I be doing where I would be making that much? Like it sounds ridiculous and so untrue, but I have found it to be, to be very true. And so it has freed us up. And when I started this, I was making nothing. And Justin starting the program at $60,000 a year from just one client. And it was like, this is, this is what I'm able to do. This is. It just is unreal to me. And I'm so beyond thankful that Charles didn't just decide, you know, I figured out how to do this within my niche and I'm just gonna do that. But truly wanted to share that education with others. And this is what you can be doing for others too. And so I'm just so thankful for that. But I mean, I am working the same amount and I am making so much more. It just, it's completely changed our family's lives.

And say you have that one client, you're doing the 60k a year, right? Maybe you don't. Maybe if you can do 10 or 20, maybe you got to hire a team, whatever. Maybe it's like adding on the bookkeeping, right? But if we have two fractional cfo, two or three bookkeeping, there's. There's a world where you can stay under that 10 to 15 hour mark. Maybe making 150, 200 might be kind of hard. You might be need to get really good at delegating, which I'm sure you can figure out. But at least 100, working 15 hours a week. I mean, that sounds like most people's dream. And you're planning on homeschooling your children. Okay, like that's, you know, my sister has a lot of children and then she does that. And I can, she's always told me, like, oh, I want to pick up a side hustle or side hobby. And she ended up writing a cookbook, which became a bestseller, widely, wildly enough. But to her, if she had like a financial skill or something like that, I can imagine it would be way more. Way more powerful. Right. So I, I appreciate your, like your focus on the family because most people come to us, they're like, I want to earn this. It's like, that's great. But you want to spend time with the family. Was there anything in particular, like when we've worked together that like really was helpful, like, or maybe maybe something that was surprising in our, in our time spent together?

Yeah, I Mean, when I signed up, I really. I wasn't quite sure what I was getting myself into. I just knew. I just. I need more of this guy. I need to. I need to be able to spend time with this guy and be in the same room as this guy. He knows what he's talking about. He's been doing exactly what I want to do. And I could just tell from the webinar that I did. Like, this is a guy that truly cares about the people that he's serving, and that's what matters to me. Like, if I'm going to be in these companies, I want to provide them the absolute best service that I can. I don't want to just ask somebody to pay me and then not really be able to provide them the value that I'm promising. And so just coming and realizing, just with all of the knowledge that you had shared, like, I. I can do more. Like, I know kind of this base level that I've learned just from being in this industry and learning on the job, but I can do even more with this. From the things that you taught. And so just overall, the whole. Just the whole education, getting to spend three months with a guy who's doing exactly what I want to be doing. And so I want to learn from somebody who's doing the thing that I want to be doing. And so in choosing you, it was, you know, this guy's doing what I want to be doing, and he's doing it well. And so I just. I was honestly surprised by just how much I got out of it. Like, just. Just from the first AD and, okay, an extra $60,000 this year. I'm like, this, you know, it's paid for itself. We're good. But just to come through. And it just the confidence, really, like, I. I went from, like, I know some things about finance to, like, no, I am a strategic partner in this. I am joining you in your business, and I'm going to be your partner, and I'm going to hold your hand, and you don't have to lack clarity anymore. Like, let's. Let's do this together. And so, just to be able to leave a business owner just feeling empowered about their business. They're not scared anymore. They're not laying awake at night, like, oh, I just don't know, like, if I can even make payroll next month. But just having that confidence in the numbers, to be able to give them that confidence, I have to be confident in myself and what I'm doing. And so I just was surprised, really, by that. Just the confidence that I'm walking away with knowing like I can make a difference is just really powerful for me.

Yeah. Having the confidence to be able to offer these additional services and change business owners lives, right. Is one of the biggest joys that I have. Like being a fractional cfo, right. I get to help people change their life. And you know, same thing with people like you, right? Who one of the accountants, bookkeepers, you know, prior to CFOs who are wanting to help other people. It's really, really cool, right, to see you and see you go through that, that change here. If you never started on your fractional CFO journey, right. And if you never started working with us, like where, where do you think you'd be living?

Paycheck to paycheck.

Not anymore though, right?

Not anymore.

That's awesome. I love that. That is amazing. If there's anyone that's like on the fence about working with us or maybe even even having a conversation with us, what would you, what would you tell them?

Just, just do it. I mean you have absolutely nothing to lose in investing in yourself and investing in your education. It just as business owners, it's so typical to just get caught in the day to day of your business. You're just working in your business that you forget you need to be working on your business too. And so you can continue on just working 80 hour weeks and just trying to figure it out as you go. But if you're not taking the time to stop and really be intentional in your business and think through your business and the direction you want to go in and making steps to get there like nothing is going to change for you. You know, you might continue to grow, but are you truly scaling your business? And so just in working with you, that's really what they're going to be getting. They're going to learn how to work on their business and truly just scale and not continue to just get by by their teeth is really what I would say.

Thanks that so much. Now before we go, if someone wants to get a hold of you, say they're looking for a fractional CFO for their home staging business. Right. Or maybe if you've rolled out to other industries at the time because I know you've set your sights in other industries as well, where's the best place that they can get a hold of you?

Yeah, so you can reach me on my Instagram at. It's Stagewise Financials. That's w I s e wise Stagewise Financials.

Okay, gotcha. So they want to get a hold of you, shoot you a message on Instagram @stagewisefinancials. Right. Perfect. Well, thank you so much for being here. I'm super grateful for you here, for your experience working with you over the last couple months, getting to know you, helping you sign on clients. Like, it's been an absolute joy. If you're here and you're like Madeline and you want to grow your own fractional CFO firm, if you're curious about it, go ahead, check us out on Instagram @Profitsurg or go ahead to profitsurg.com hello. And take a look at what we have there and book a call with me or my team and we'll talk about what it looks like to grow your own fractional CFO business or get more clients. So I appreciate you guys being here. That is it for now. I'll see you later.