NAPERVILLE, Ill. – With so many businesses forced to transition to a work-from-home (WFH) model during the COVID-19 pandemic, experts in managing a remote workforce have been in demand. One such expert, Elliot Hershik, General Manager of Supporting Strategies | Chicago Far West Suburbs, recently joined host Kaylin Risvold on "Inside the Chamber," a production of Naperville Community Television (NCTV17) and the Naperville Chamber of Commerce, to share his insights.

Hershik has many years of experience in managing a remote workforce; since it launched in 2015, the Chicago Far West Suburbs franchise has followed the Supporting Strategies WFH model. He noted that Supporting Strategies was ahead of the curve in leveraging the advantages of remote work. "We're looking for quality people," Hershik said. "And because we are remote, we can find them wherever [they are]. They don't have to be just down the street."

The key to creating a successful WFH environment, he added, is to "hire diligent people that you trust." But whether starting from scratch with the remote model or transitioning to one, Hershik added that good communication is vital, "and it's incumbent upon the managers to create those opportunities."

Hershik also stressed that communication should encompass "all those interpersonal things that are easy to overlook in the press of work." To facilitate that at his Supporting Strategies franchise, he said, "We do a monthly virtual happy hour, where no work talk is allowed."

LOS ANGELES – Mark Wald, Founder and Managing Director of Supporting Strategies | Los Angeles, appeared as a guest on the August 11 edition of "The Staying Power" podcast hosted by Brandon Hall.

The episode, "Secrets to Building a Virtual Accounting Business to 40 Employees by Attracting Clients via Referral Networks, and More," gave Wald a forum to reveal how he grew his client base from 0 to 240 in just 6½ years.

According to Wald, a key to his success was leveraging the Supporting Strategies franchise model rather than continuing as an independent consultant. "It made a lot of sense for me to use their business-model-in-a-box," he said. "I was able to quickly launch and start delivering services to an expanded client base as opposed to trying to build it myself from scratch."

Working from the franchise foundation, Wald quickly built a referral network, largely by collaborating with CPAs rather than competing with them. "Most of my business I get by way of professional referral introductions," Wald said. "CPAs are my number-one referral source. That's because they understand, number one, the value of the work that our team delivers to our shared clients, and number two, we don't compete with CPA firms for tax and audit work."

Wald elaborated on this important distinction: "We're very specifically focused on back-office bookkeeping and finance support, so the CPAs know we're not going to steal their tax and audit business ... But at the same time, we're going to deliver high-quality work that makes the CPAs more efficient in their work function downstream."

The podcast was produced by the Staying Power Collective, a group for aspiring and current virtual firm owners on a mission to grow their businesses. Listen to the full episode with Mark Wald here.

Learn about Supporting Strategies franchise opportunities.

Manz Becomes Managing Director of New Franchise

Supporting Strategies is pleased to announce the opening of our latest office, Myrtle Beach, SC & Wilmington, NC.

Steven Manz, Franchisee and Managing Director, is a highly analytical accountant who specializes in helping businesses leverage opportunities in savings, cash flow and budget to foster growth. Throughout a career spent in professional and academic environments, he has demonstrated proficiency in generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), Sarbanes-Oxley, full-cycle accounting, reconciliation, analysis, marketing, management and leadership.

"Having serviced small businesses in Myrtle Beach as a Senior Staff Accountant in a local CPA firm, I saw that the need for consistent controller services wasn't being addressed. The rapid growth in this area has increased the demand for these services, especially for businesses outside of the existing service and tourism industries," Manz says. "We're also excited about the Wilmington area because many companies are attracted to the benefits of the Cape Fear River and its favorable tax structure."

Jacksonville, Fla. – Pete Denholm, Managing Director of Supporting Strategies | Northeast Florida, was a guest on the June 1 edition of "The Small Business Leader" podcast with Jason Johnson.

Denholm and Johnson covered a number of topics, including what led Denholm to become an entrepreneur after spending over 20 years working at Big Four accounting firms, Fortune 50 companies and small businesses. Denholm also discussed the challenges of doing business during the COVID-19 pandemic and the key differentiators of his franchise and the Supporting Strategies business model.

"From a process standpoint, we like to deliver in the same way and do similar things for our clients, even though they're across different industries," Denholm said. "We're documenting the processes that need to be done. So for all our clients, if there is a change in the person doing the services on my team, they get sick or go on vacation … we can just turn it over to another associate, and they follow the steps and tasks that are all documented and deliver the services."

Denholm, our Northeast Florida franchisee since 2014, oversees an office with 14 employees and nearly 60 clients.

"The Small Business Leader" features guests who "lead, innovate, inspire, build and lift the economy every day." Listen to the episode with Denholm, From Big 4 to Bookkeeping.

Naperville, IL – Dawn Hershik, Managing Director of Supporting Strategies | Chicago Far West Suburbs, recently joined host Liz Spencer on an episode of Naperville Community Television's "Business Connection Zoom Edition." The show features local business owners and entrepreneurs discussing their products and services and their community involvement.

Hershik noted that the need for bookkeeping and controller-level services among businesses remaining active during the COVID-19 pandemic is greater than ever. For example, Supporting Strategies clients had accurate, up-to-date financial records to simplify the process of applying for the SBA Payroll Protection Program or Economic Injury Disaster Loan Emergency Assistance.

"[Clients] didn't have to scramble and make sure that they hit the deadlines for those grants, loans, whatever the case was," Hershik said. "And now that they're starting to receive those funds, we're there to help them account for them all correctly because now they're having to apply for loan forgiveness. Just making sure that they understand where that money is and how it's being used to help the business."

Spencer and Hershik also touched on topics including the challenges of shifting to a virtual bookkeeping solution, the makeup of Hershik's team and the three things Supporting Strategies helps businesses do best.

Watch the interview here.

Wilson Becomes Managing Director of New Franchise

Supporting Strategies is pleased to announce the opening of our latest office, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Kathryn Wilson, Franchisee and Managing Director, is an accomplished entrepreneur who balances financial expertise with a long track record of enhancing corporate performance. In addition to her leadership role at Supporting Strategies | Oklahoma City, OK, she is the Founder and Owner of a focus group facility offering participant recruiting, group hosting and moderator services.

"I'm pleased to introduce Oklahoma City to the customized solutions Supporting Strategies provides clients to help them grow their business and operate as efficiently as possible," Wilson says. "Oklahoma City is a thriving community ready to embrace the cutting-edge technology and the network of accounting professionals Supporting Strategies offers in a virtual, cloud-based environment."

This originally appeared on supportingstartegiesfranchise.com

Independent Survey Shows Female Franchise Owners Are Highly Satisfied with Supporting Strategies’ Performance 

Beverly, MA – Supporting Strategies was recently named a top franchise by Franchise Business Review in its 2020 Top Franchises for Women Report. This is Supporting Strategies fourth year in a row being named to the list. 

Supporting Strategies provides outsourced bookkeeping services, controller services and operational support to growing businesses. This allows business leaders to focus on their core competency while Supporting Strategies acts as an extension of the team. For over 15 years, Supporting Strategies' locally owned and operated offices have served thousands of companies, helping them free up their time and streamline their business. With a low overhead and variable cost delivery model, franchisees are able to closely match costs to revenues. 

Franchise Business Review, a franchise market research firm that performs independent surveys of franchisee satisfaction, provides the only rankings of franchises based solely on actual franchisee satisfaction and performance. Franchise Business Review publishes its rankings of top franchises in its annual Guide to Today’s Top Franchises, as well as in quarterly reports throughout the year that rank the top franchises in specific sectors.

Zhang Becomes Managing Director of New Franchise

Supporting Strategies is pleased to announce the opening of our latest office, in Southwest Houston, TX.

Linan Zhang, Franchisee and Managing Director, is a recognized finance expert and accomplished entrepreneur. Her background includes 15 years' audit experience with a big 4 accounting firm and cofounding a boutique consulting firm.

"I am excited to join Supporting Strategies and to apply what I have learned during my career to succeed in this new venture," Zhang says. "I look forward to being partners with our clients and growing along with them in the years to come."

Feltner Becomes Managing Director of New Franchise

Supporting Strategies is pleased to announce the opening of our latest office, Greater Cincinnati Ohio.

Craig Feltner, Franchisee and Managing Director, is a veteran CFO and entrepreneur who has spent most of his career working in small business. His experience spans multigenerational, family-owned businesses and private equity-owned businesses across manufacturing, retail and services. Most recently, he served as CFO for a $12M wastewater treatment and hazardous waste management company.

"As I began to consider a career change, Supporting Strategies met all of my important criteria — innovative, proven, scalable and needed," Feltner says. "As a native Cincinnatian, I'm excited to utilize my experience and partner with Supporting Strategies in making a lasting impact on a large variety of small businesses in Greater Cincinnati."

Beverly, MA – Virtual Vocations, a company that provides jobseekers with hand-screened telecommute jobs leads, ranked Supporting Strategies among the top 10 employers with the most remote employment opportunities. The report was released in January.

Supporting Strategies, a provider of outsourced bookkeeping services, controller services and operational support, offers talented bookkeeping and accounting professionals the chance to work from home on a part-time basis. Last year, job-search site Flexjobs recognized Supporting Strategies as one of the top remote employers.

"Creating part-time, flexible work opportunities for highly skilled and experienced individuals has allowed us to build a great team that delivers consistently outstanding client service," said Supporting Strategies Founder and CEO Leslie Jorgensen. "The Virtual Vocations report is a validation of this long-standing commitment."

"Our remote-work model has been an extremely effective recruitment tool for us and a major reason why we've enjoyed such astounding growth over the past 16 years," added Pammy Saylor, Vice President of Talent at Supporting Strategies.