When Life Happens: Is Your Business Ready? Part-1

Speaker A: Every entrepreneur dreams about taking a vacation. But what happens when life doesn't wait for planned time off? What happens when a parent receives a, uh, devastating diagnosis? Your family needs you or your child calls because there's an emergency. If your business can't survive without you for a few days or a few weeks, that's more than an inconvenience, it's a risk. Today we're talking about building a business that's ready for the moments you never planned for.

Speaker B: Welcome to Biz Help for you, where passionate support and practical guidance help your business thrive.

Speaker A: Welcome to Biz Help for you where we help business owners create more time, more profit, and more peace of mind. I'm your host, Candy Messer. And today we're doing something a little different. Instead of me interviewing an expert, I'm the one being interviewed by my friend, Nicole Dennison. Many people hear me talk about taking unplugged vacations, but the truth is, some of the most important time away from my business wasn't planned at all. Since November 2025, I've taken time off to support my parents through difficult health challenges, help my mom move after my father passed away, be there for my daughter after my son in law was injured and required surgery, and simply spend time with my family when they needed me most. Those moments reminded me why building a business that isn't dependent on the owner is so important. Today we're talking about how preparation, delegation systems, and an amazing team made those moments possible. And how every business owner can begin creating the same freedom. Today I have my longtime friend Nicole joining me for this discussion. So Nicole, thanks for being here today to do this interview.

Speaker C: Absolutely. I'm honored to be here today. Candy. Um, this is what it's all about, you know, business supporting business. Um, so I'm going to just jump right in here and get to the questions. So the first question I have for you is everyone talks about taking vacations, but your biggest periods away from your business weren't really vacations at all. Um, can you share what happened and why it changed your perspective on building a business?

Speaker B: Mhm.

Speaker A: Of course. I have had multiple situations where I've needed to take some time off. But the most important one recently was back in November 2025 when my dad received a cancer diagnosis and I bas basically dropped everything to drive to Indiana where they lived. I wanted to be able to be there to go to the doctor, find out, you know, specifically the exact diagnosis, what the treatment plan was, and then I stayed there for three months, you know, to help as he was going through, you know, his, his treatments, you know, being able to drive him. Of uh, course it was winter in, in Indiana. They had a lot of snow, you know, and their doctor's appointments weren't even close, so. So it gave me the opportunity to actually be there. Um, I could do the transportation for them so they didn't have to worry about driving in that type of weather. And I was there even just to do things like meal prep and just also just some fun that we could have together. We played some games together while I was there too. So it was just an important time for me to be with my family.

Speaker C: And obviously, like, that's a, that's pretty heavy stuff. There's, you know, a lot going on there. Um, can you tell me when your dad received his diagnosis and your family needed you, what allowed you to step away without feeling like your business was going to fall apart at the same time?

Speaker A: Well, I'm so grateful that I really started preparing my business a few years ago. I started thinking about the fact that, you know, I have an aging mother in law, my parents were getting a little bit older. I do have a daughter local to me who now has four children and sometimes will call and say, you know, can you help? Or when she was in labor with the last baby and I was there to help and watch the kids so she could rest. And, you know, there was just different things that were going on. Um, but I knew in my own business I needed to be able to step away if something happened or what if something happened to me, you know, I need to have security for my own staff so the job can continue. So thankfully, I really started looking at what am I doing that I can hand off to someone else who can I train to do this? I had an operations manager that I then started having her take over my more of my duties. That included running payroll for the staff, uh, having some of those calls with prospects, creating the proposals, even doing our invoicing. And so over time, I was able to hand off more of those tasks that were dependent upon me. Uh, you know, if you have to run payroll, you have to be able to be on the clock, you know, and so those were things that I wanted to make sure that I had someone else able to handle and preparing written and videoed, you know, processes so that they could follow step by step. Because so many of us have in our head how to do it, but it's not always documented. So I was making sure I had documentation, I had people able to practice before it became a situation where I wasn't here, you know. And I also had to create where I had specific blocks of time where staff could reach out to me for questions. Because I don't know if anyone else is like this, but if you have a lot of staff and they have questions, they'll just reach out to you at that moment.

Speaker C: Right.

Speaker A: And I felt like I wasn't getting anything done. I uh, would, you know, get up early in the morning and work when I didn't have interruptions. And then a lot of the time in the day I was answering customer calls or staff calls or things like that. So I changed how that was done too. And so unless it's an emergency, which very few things are truly an emergency, then we had like set call times and if needed I also have other staff who could also help answer most of those questions. And so now the staff is going first, you know, to other employees to say, hey, have you had this situation before? How did you handle it? And then if they really need to have my perspective on it, then they can reach out.

Speaker C: That is, that's all fantastic. And we all know how important those SOPs are. They really are. I mean it's a lifesaver. And you know, I think in times where especially like when you're going through turmoil or you're, you know, there's heavy family stuff going on or even medical stuff, our brain is not even in the right spaces. And so even to go back and like, oh, what were those steps again? Right.

Speaker A: Like it's a fail safe.

Speaker C: So that documentation is absolutely, is absolutely key. Um, yeah. And, and um, that's important. I've done a lot in that, in my business with that too. So um, you know, you stepped away, um, when your grandchild was born in June to help your mom move, July to support your daughter and your, with your son in law's injury. All of these things, um, and I know that you just talked about, you know, you have listed several things that you did with your staff. But um, is there anything else that you feel that those experience have taught you about preparing a business for those unexpected moments? Mhm.

Speaker A: I think there's a few things we have to have in our own mind that staff can do the things that we do. Because I think a lot of times we think, well, no one's going to do it like me or I've heard people say, well no one's going to care about my business as much as I do. And while there may be some truth to that, I think we don't always believe that our staff care as much as they really do. Um, or, you know, we think, oh, if I have any time off, they're gonna question, like, well, why does she get to be off? You know, she's the big boss, and that's not really fair. You know, she's just, you know, having us do all this work. So I think we put negative feelings onto things that really don't happen that way. And I've had staff even tell me, you know, well, you've been working a lot. You really need to be able to take some time off. And I was trying to prepare things again for other situations that came up or when we were in, you know, January, crazy season, when I was still with my dad and helping take him to the appointments. It was when every document was due to the government agencies, you know, and I didn't want to hand everything off to, you know, my staff. We had a client who. It was the first time he was coming to us for 10 nines. He's a property manager for many, many, many clients. And he had about 200, I believe it, 275, 1099s that we had to do. And I didn't want to ask my staff to, like, oh, by the way, here's another 275 plus, you know, forms. Um, but I did have some of the work done by someone else, and then I did the final actual submissions and made sure everything was correct. And so I didn't have to do that. I could have handed that off. Um, but I did choose to do that during the crazy season. But there are other parts where they were like, you know what, we have this handled. It's okay if you need to take the time away. And I would tell them, you know, it's my dad's doctor's appointment, or he's going to have an infusion to be at the hospital. And they're like, don't worry about it. You know, we have it covered. So I think it's really trusting our staff that, number one, they're not going to be looking, you know, negatively at us, too, by saying, well, that's not fair, you know, especially if you've been creating your company for a long time. I started my business in 2002, and my staff knows I have invested a lot of time to build it. And they're not saying, well, that's not fair, you know, because I've also been able to be flexible with their schedules. And I think that's another thing, too, is like, valuing your people for People too, and not just the employees who are going to do the job. And if you care about your staff, I think they're going to care about you too. Right. And so I think that's one of the things that really helped in my own company is doing what I could to be as flexible for my staff as well too. So when things come up in their lives, right. Things are coming up in everyone's life. We're all, you know, in family relationships, whether we're a parent or a sibling or a child of, you know, parents who need our help or friends who need something, like things come up in all of our lives. And so if we can develop that where we're going to be as helpful to our staff to be as flexible as possible when things come up for them too, they're going to want to help us too.

Speaker C: Absolutely. And I know, you know, even just from talking to you like you have, you include them in all of the things that are happening. So they're always aware of like what the goals are and what the whole sort of, you know, large to do list looks for the week, for the month, for the quarter, for the year. Um, so they kind of know what's going on within the company. Company too. They're not being left in the dark. And I, I think that's so important. And I've, you know, I've heard and seen you do this with your staff and um, you know, and then they're also sort of cross trained so they've dipped into different areas at different times. So like even if you're out and then someone else is out sick, I think you've even covered that basis too. So you've done, you've done a lot on that end. Um, so if a business owner listening today realizes they couldn't step away tomorrow without everything stopping, where should they be? What's the first step?

Speaker A: I think the first step is really looking at all the things that they are doing on a day to day basis and identifying which things could be done by someone else. Uh, because a lot of times we're doing things often because we've just been doing them for a while. You know, maybe when we started solo we had to do everything. And then as we hired team, you know, we gave them a few things, but we didn't really offload a lot of things. So many of the tasks that we're doing can probably be done by someone else. So I would first say look at your schedule, write down what you're doing. How long does it take you to do it. And is that something that you could, you know, maybe make it more efficient because you can use another piece of software, maybe that will help you. Is it something you could delegate to someone else? Is it something you don't even need to do anymore? You know, some of the things maybe we're doing, we're just doing because it's been done for a while, but maybe it doesn't even need to be done anymore. So really identifying, you know, what do you really need to keep on doing and what can you have someone else do? And then once again, once you identify some things that you can delegate to someone else, writing out those processes with every step, even if you think like, oh, they should know that, you know, oh, go into this piece of software, click here, you know, enter this. This is where you save the documentation. This is how you name the documentation. You know, like every step that they could easily follow. Uh, and then they should be able to practice it while you watch too. So the first time, like for instance, as an example, when I was helping my operations manager learn payroll, the very first time I did it, I was recording it as well. So as I talked through it was recording every step. Um, but that could also be turned into like a checklist. So first you have to do this, you have to prove the time, then you are going to process it. You make sure this is, you know, entered this way. You know, like, every step was in the video. But I did all of the things while she watched. The next time around, I had her do it and then she was able to ask me questions or refer back to like, the guide, and I could guide her again, like, oh, don't forget this step. You know, we have to make sure we submit that 401k payment or something that's outside of the payroll system. And then the third time she just did it on her own and she could reach out to me if she needed to, and she didn't. By this, by that time, she was familiar with it. So I think not only having the written sop, but first, do it where they can watch. Second, have them do it where you're watching. And then third time around, um, let them try it on their own. Um, that's a good way where they're starting to build confidence in something, especially when it is something that might have a big issue if there's a mistake. Right. You know, like, if you don't pay someone correctly, there could be a problem. If you don't have payroll taxes scheduled properly, that could be a problem. Right? So if it's something that's just very, you know, low probability of any risk that's going to happen, then maybe you don't have to do it with them in those steps. Maybe you could just hand off the task. But if something that they need to build confidence or maybe there could be a financial or other type of impact, if something's done wrong, then making sure you're supervising them first, don't just, just hand it off and you know, not supervise at all or you know, not be there. Um, but at the same time, you don't want to micromanage everything. You know, if you hand something off and you delegate it, if they are able to accomplish that without your, you know, double checking everything with them all the time, that's important too.

Speaker C: Yeah, I think that's amazing advice. And having that three part process of recording everything and you know, just really making sure that, you know, that three part training process, I guess, is awesome advice. And you know, one thing I was thinking about as you were talking is like, I've even done this just, I've done it when it was just me with no people that I was giving it to, but I was just, I was just recording it anyway. I just pulled up a loom and, you know, went and started recording it anyway, knowing, okay, either I might forget this later on or I might want to pass this off later on to someone else or whatever, but I'm going to just do it now and I'm just going to have it in my library. And you know, there was really no downside to that because it didn't take, it just took a couple extra seconds for me to turn on a recording, for me to record what I was doing and then add some notes back in later. So I think even when people don't have their staff yet, but they're, you know, wanting to get their steps and processes recorded, um, just to like have a record of it right away, um, don't wait till later. That's probably a good measure to do alone while you're solo. I feel weird to talk to nobody, but I think it's definitely worth it

Speaker A: to do well, even if someone is solo right now, now, you know, and like you were, if you're waiting until you're going to bring someone on, you're probably at the point when you're bringing someone on already overwhelmed. And so then if you have to take the time to write out processes at that point as well too, you might either just not do it or you might just kind of rush through it and Forget some steps again. So if you're doing it when you don't quite need it, but you'll have it in that library, that's an excellent method of how to do it because then you are capturing the systems and there's so many things you have to capture systems for, right? Especially if you are the one wearing all of the hats and you want to delegate. You know, if you are the salesperson, if you're creating the proposals, if you are talking to customers, if you are creating your social media content, like all of the different things, you know, you can just be so overwhelmed that you're not really taking the time. And if you're thinking, well, I just am so busy, I don't have time now. Maybe you don't, but that's also kind of the short term thinking because if you invest the time now, then you have the assets available. So when you do bring someone on, it just makes it so much easier for them. They know exactly what to do. Um, you can also empower them too, to just say, if you find a better way to do this too, let me know, like, I'm happy to have it updated. You don't have to follow it every step of the way if there's a better way to do it. And that could be, maybe there's a new tool that's available to make things more efficient, or maybe they just thought of a different way to do something. So I think it's important to let your team know that you're empowering them too, to make decisions within reason too. So if, you know, if you have someone that's helping you manage, uh, your bills, for instance, you know, maybe you have up to like a 500 limit that they could pay without even asking you about it or whatever that might be. There's, you know, but you could have different levels. So it's not like you're giving free reign on everything, but you are giving them the authority to make some decisions as well. So, you know, maybe a customer calls and has a complaint, well, then they don't have to call you and say, you know, well, what should I do to solve this problem? Like having them have the ability to offer, you know, something to the customer for free, to say, oh, I'm so sorry, or, you know, whatever that might be. Having, um, them have the empowerment also gives you the opportunity to start preparing them to make those decisions if you need to step away.

Speaker C: We'll be back after a quick break.

Speaker B: If bookkeeping is a task you keep pushing to the bottom of your list, you are not alone and it does not have to stay that way. You don't need another system to manage on your own. You need reliable support that gets it done correctly and fully off your plate. At AB&P, we support entrepreneurs who are ready to invest in professional bookkeeping and payroll services so they can feel confident in their numbers and focus on growing their businesses. Visit ABNP.com to learn more. Your business deserves accurate numbers and peace of mind.

Speaker C: I, I really like that and I think it's a good way for a business owner to take a first step toward trusting someone once they do bring someone on board, um, because they don't have to give up the keys to the kingdom on day one. But it's a good way to start building some trust and um, to slowly warming up to delegating if it's, if it's new for someone. So that's really good point. Um, so Candy, what are the things that delegating has afforded you the time for over the past year?

Speaker A: So obviously some of the things that have come up I briefly touched on, um, but I had my daughter having her fourth baby who went into labor, uh, or thought she was having to go to the hospital soon and said, hey, could you come watch the boys? I'm really tired, I haven't had a break, could I take a rest and watch the boys? And uh, then the next day she hadn't gone fully into active labor yet and was saying she and the baby weren't feeling well. And so I went over and made them soup. And then the next day was actually the day that she gave birth. And then we were able to, you know, help with bringing food to the hospital for her husband. Like all the things around her going into labor and it was natural. So nothing was planned. Not like some where it's like, oh, you're going to deliver on this day, right? And you know when everything is going to happen. So um, she actually went into labor a little bit early too. So my, my plan had been the following week to have a little bit more open calendar. But I was able to free up, you know, time and just say, oh, I'm going to be able to go help her. Let my staff know. Of course we talked about my dad's diagnosis. Um, my son in law recently was injured and had to have surgery. So again it was unplanned and I was able to say to my daughter, I will watch the kids. You go and have the time at the surgery center and you won't have to worry about them. I'll Take care of them, you know. And so it's things like that that have come up also. Sometimes it's just like, uh, hey mom, I want to take the kids over to this thing. Can you take some time off? And I'm able to say, okay, I could do that. Now. There are times where I have something that's set in stone that I might have to say, I can't do that today. Can we rearrange it? Like if I have my podcast recording day, because I batch everything now, so I have like five scheduled in a day. I'm not going to put that aside.

Speaker C: Right.

Speaker A: And tell the people I'm going to reschedule. I'll go ahead and do that. Unless it were again like a family emergency. But it's also some of those times that just a little something comes up. My son in law's sister was in town and my daughter and she and the kids and I decided to go to Dollywood for the day. On a work, on a work day.

Speaker C: Right.

Speaker A: But I was able to just tell my team, you know, my son in law's sister is in town. She lives in another space actually on another continent. Right. And she's rarely here. We'd love to have time together. So it's just giving me some of that downtime. Whether again, it's a family emergency or it is just some fun.

Speaker C: Right.

Speaker A: As business owners, we often don't get to work. Uh, sorry, we don't get to take time off of work to have fun because we just work so many hours. And so again, just putting things in place, developing my team, having the systems has let me take time off when it's unplanned, whether it's for fun or other family events that have happened.

Speaker C: Thank you so much for sharing that. And I, I, I think, and I know there's been a lot of stuff that came up. And so you highlighted, you know, just with family and with tragedies or with, you know, life stuff, um, how delegation could help you get through that, really. Um, and without your business hitting a hiccup and not providing for your clients the way that you would like to. Um, on the point of delegation, if people want to delegate in their business and they either don't know where to start or, um, they don't know how, you know, or they need to know how to do this effectively. What do you recommend for them? Candy?

Speaker A: Well, definitely reach out to us and just let us know you're interested in having some assistance. Right. Because we have plans that we can find what's the best fit for you, you know, do you want to just kind of do it yourself and learn what you need to do and implement some things and maybe ask a few questions. Nicole and I are both going to be working, uh, with the entrepreneur who wants to really build in that freedom. So it could be as simple as do it yourself, follow the course that I've recorded, or maybe you want to have a one on one deep dive. You really need some guidance into how to create those systems, what to do for SOPs, how to train your staff, maybe even how to identify the roles that they should be in. Because sometimes we have people in positions that really, it's not their strength either. And so identifying the skills that people have and what could they be doing in your business even better than what they're doing now. So we also have those deep dive one on one coaching programs too. So definitely reach out to us. Uh, you can contact my team at 310-534-5577 or email us at contact bmp.com and just say I'm ready to get started and we can schedule a conversation to make sure that what we're offering is what you're looking for.

Speaker C: So do you um, have at this point, do you have anything that you'd like to uh, offer or share?

Speaker B: Sure.

Speaker A: I think again one of my goals here is really to teach someone how to not be the bottleneck in their company so that they feel I cannot step away. Because if I step away things are going to fall apart. Um, so I want people to be able to identify like where in your business are you so needed that you couldn't really step away at all? So I have a, an owner independence checklist that I created so that can be accessed at. And I'm giving like a little link. It's bit.lee forward/ftt independence. So again that's bit Lee forward/ftt independence. So if you want to see, you know, what you are doing currently and where are you really so embedded in your company that you can't step away? This will help you identify some of those areas and then if someone is listening and saying, okay, I've identified that, yes, I don't feel I could easily step away. And again, this isn't just for like if there's a family emergency too, maybe you want to have an unplugged vacation and you don't want to have to make customer calls. Right. Or check emails or do all the things. Maybe you want to have a real vacation, not just working somewhere else. This is Also a great step for you to be able to start and figure out where do I need to begin? And that, uh, owner independence checklist will be the first step.

Speaker C: Excellent. Thank you, Candy. So, um, and how can listeners connect with you if they want more information?

Speaker A: Sure, they can reach out to me. You can find me on LinkedIn, of course. And also our website, AB&P.com also share content on the YouTube channel that I have too. So not only do I have podcasts too, I do video blogs and other things there too. So that's also a great place to find some information. But, uh, LinkedIn is the major social media platform that I'm on there as well.

Speaker C: And then do they want to look for you at Candy Messer, or do they want to look for you at a, B and P or what's the best place for them to look up on LinkedIn?

Speaker A: So on LinkedIn it will be under Candy Messer. Um, and we also can put that in the show notes as well. So if someone can find it there and be able to reach out, out.

Speaker C: All right, wonderful. Thank you so much.

Speaker A: Thank you. I am so glad that you're able to chat with me today and, you know, just have this conversation. I think it was so important, uh, for us to be able to share a little bit more of my story as well too, so those who are listening can understand it's not just about vacations. It's about those moments that come up that are so unexpected.

Speaker C: Absolutely fantastic insights. Thank you so much, Candy.

Speaker A: And to the listener, remember, life doesn't always give us advanced notice. Whether it's celebrating a new grandchild, caring for aging parents, helping adult children through difficult circumstances, or simply taking care of ourselves, there will be moments when our families need us more than our businesses do. So the good news is that if you are so interested in having those moments, you don't want to have that panic. If you built your business with intention, it will work without you being in the middle of it. It. And if today's conversation made you realize that your business still depends on you for everything, start taking small steps today. Document one process, delegate one responsibility. Cross train an employee. Small improvements today create tremendous freedom tomorrow. And if you'd like to hear additional information, I'll have another tip in the share note in the show notes for you. In the next episode, you'll hear the other side of this conversation as I interview Nicole about how she's intentionally designed her business to create more time, flexibility and freedom. Until next time, Remember, remember that building a successful business isn't just about working harder. It's about building a business that continues serving your clients while giving you the freedom to be present for the people who matter most. Thank you for joining me for another episode of Biz Help for you. If you found value in today's conversation, please share this episode with another business owner who could benefit from it and leave a review wherever you find our show. To connect with today's guest and access any resources they shared, visit the link in the show notes and if bookkeeping, payroll or improving your business systems has been on your mind, my team and I would love to help. Visit abmp.com to learn more about how we can support your business. Remember, the goal isn't simply a successful operation, it's creating a business that gives you time and financial freedom to thrive. Thank you for listening to Biz Help 4 U. Please join your host, Candy Messer again next time. Have a terrific day.