"Back yourself. Persevere. Wash, rinse, repeat."
Chantelle Smith is a Chartered Accountant and holds an Honors Degree in Business and Accounting. She started her career at PwC, as auditor and thereafter business advisor, advising on large international firms. Her passion is helping small to medium businesses grow and she has spent the past 12 years consulting in the Hunter and Sydney region. Throughout the years her work has been featured on various forums including financial radio shows, The Huffington Post and Fox Lifestyle.
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Table of Contents
Thank you for joining us, please introduce yourself to our readers.
Chantelle Smith: Hi there! I’m Chantelle. Chartered Accountant and hold a Honors Degree in Business and Accounting. Started my career at PwC, as auditor and thereafter business advisor, advising on large international firms. My true passion is helping small to medium businesses grow and I’ve been working at Connectt Total Business Solutions doing just that as a Profit Specialist. Throughout the years my work has been featured on various forums including financial radio shows, The Huffington Post and Fox Lifestyle.
To get us started, Can you tell our readers what does your company solve differently in the crowded marketplace? Give an example or share a story.
Chantelle Smith: As a company we aim to provide clients with bookkeeping and tax services to take the worry of law and tax compliance off their “worry-list”. We see good bookkeeping as a important business management tool, rather than just a retrospective catch up exercise to comply with the ATO. Real-time bookkeeping provide business owners with the financial data they need to make good business decisions. We are in an ideal position to advise the clients on how they can improve, grow and scale. Our advise is more than just “opinions”, it is based on numbers – it is based on where the client is and where the client wants to be financially.
While your company is growing, what are some of the challenges you face? Hiring? Tech development? Raising capital? Branding? Tell us more about the journey.
Chantelle Smith: Our number one challenge is finding good talent to hire! I mean there’s plenty of talent out there – but right now its an employee market. As a relatively small accounting and consulting firm, we have to compete with large companies such as PwC, Deloitte and KPMG to secure high quality candidates and although we can offer an excellent office culture, living by the sea and market related salaries – we often cannot compete with the additional benefits that working for the Big 4 has to offer.
Everyone has a different story, what influenced your decision to be an entrepreneur, what would you have done differently?
Chantelle Smith: I love being dynamic, changing and adapting with the times. As a smaller firm, we can focus on pivoting our services to stay relevant to the real world. It allows me more freedom to contribute to our business community and adapt how we serve each customer according to their needs. When i was working for international consulting firms, the red-tape around adding a new service would be so cumbersome and time-consuming. By the time it has been approved, its not relevant anymore. A recent example, through bush-fires, floods and covid – the variety of grants and relief available to business owners were changing at a fast pace. Business owners were often overwhelmed or confused with what they can apply for and how to prove they meet eligibility requirements. Some would have missed out on substantial financial help if we were not there to hold their hands through the process. It feels good to help.
Now for the main focus of this interview: what qualities or characteristics do women entrepreneurs have that make them great leaders? Please share some examples.
Chantelle Smith:
Technical skills – being an expert in something is a good thing. When you have solid experience and knowledge in a certain area – this can contribute to your confidence. Women often dont struggle with being good at what they do – but they often struggle with believing in themselves. Becoming well rehearsed in a certain industry/business can give you that added edge. For example – I have consulted on international firms and worked under the mentorship of great minds. When I was ready to take the plunge and divert to SME’s – my basis of knowledge offered me a broad range of experiences to draw on and bring smart solutions to smaller businesses.
Perseverance – again women are brilliant in perseverance in so many facets of life. But when it comes to backing themselves and starting a new business, I see them give up prematurely and I belief this goes with my first point – lack of self belief. An Example – I had a client who was of the opinion that she is simply not good with marketing and winning clients was just not in her skills-set. When i asked her which steps she has taken – she has done all the right things – she simply didnt stick to it long enough. Like Rome, a business is not built in a day. I want to reiterate – women are infamous for perseverance. So take that skill and apply it to backing yourself!
What are some of the biggest challenges you still see women face while conducting business, compared to their male counterparts? What would you like to see change, and how would you make it happen?
Chantelle Smith: This goes hand in hand with my previous answer. Women can hold the same, if not more, experience, skills and knowledge in an industry to their male counterparts. But broadly speaking, male counterparts just seem to ooze more self confidence. They simply dont seem as bothered by making a mistake or saying the wrong thing. Because of gender bias in the workplace, women often feel they have more to proof. But instead of going all out and letting their voices be heard, some decide (subconsciously) to they take less risks in order to avoid making mistakes and being further labeled as “not as good as their male counterparts”.
With all of your experience as a business leader, what is the most important thing you can tell fellow entrepreneurs that you’d like to share with aspiring women entrepreneurs?
Chantelle Smith: Back yourself. Persevere. Wash, rinse, repeat.
What do you plan on tackling during 2022? Share your goals and battles you expect to face.
Chantelle Smith: I’m expecting that finding the right people to hire will probably continue to be a battle this year. We’ve experienced so much growth and now have further expansion on our hands as we have merged/acquired another business. My goals are to not compromise on the ideal candidates we are looking for. We’d love someone with great skill and great personality. If it means I have to work extra hours until we find the right person, then so be it.
How do you keep learning? Podcast? Books? Audiobooks? Videos? Share some of your greatest sources of inspiration? Share an impactful story.
Chantelle Smith: I’m always thirsty for more knowledge! I’m currently reading The Lean Startup by Eric Ries(again). What a classic and a great reminder of how to be wise when starting or scaling a business.
I’m sure our readers will be very thankful for the insights you have shared. Where can our readers follow up with you?
Chantelle Smith: Phone our offices on 02 4911 2345 (Connectt Total Business Solutions)
Email me: [email protected]
Connect with me on Linkedin – https://www.linkedin.com/in/chantelle-smith-2b36051b2
Follow our Connectt Total Business Solutions page on Facebook – we produce and post helpful SME content www.facebook.com/connecttbs
Jerome Knyszewski, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Chantelle Smith for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Chantelle Smith or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
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