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Welcome! I’m Sara, owner of RISE Business Solutions. I offer home service business consulting and QuickBooks Online expert guidance to small businesses. Let me share my story and how I’m here to help your business thrive.
A Little About Me
Based in North Port, Florida, I have called this area home since 2007. I have been part of the local business community through the North Port Area Chamber of Commerce since 2013, and volunteer for the North Port Concert Band and the North Port High School Music Boosters, since music is a large part of my life.
I grew up in Sarasota and was a Kiltie (locals will know what this means!) at Riverview High school before moving to Orlando to attend UCF. After graduating and getting married, we decided to move back to the area to raise our family and eventually started our business here, serving residential and commercial customers in Sarasota and Charlotte counties.
My Professional Journey
From working at Walt Disney World after finishing college, to training to become an Elementary school teacher, to eventually becoming a successful home service business owner and then returning to school to complete my MBA degree - my journey, like everyone's, is unique. My small business expertise comes from both hands-on knowledge and challenging coursework completed as part of my MBA program, which expanded my analytical skills and strategic insight capabilities.
As co-founder of a local home service business, I played an integral role in its incredible growth and success. After starting the business in 2011, I took over management of the office and financial operations in 2013 and implemented systems and procedures that supported our rapid expansion. The business grew from a single employee to over 25, serving more than 9,000 customers and generating millions in annual gross revenue in just eight years. Today, it’s a respected part of the local business community, thanks in large part to my contributions. In my role as Office Manager, I managed payroll, marketing, accounting, permitting, scheduling, and software implementation while also planning events, maintaining licensing, and training new employees. I worked closely with property managers, government officials, board members, vendors, subcontractors, and customers to ensure our company was their first choice locally. My responsibilities required me to wear many hats each day, but they always aligned with the company’s overall vision and strategic management, which I was an important part of.
The MBA program I completed at USF (Go Bulls!) expanded on the hands-on business knowledge I gained as a business owner and focused on data analytics, which is a critically important skill to have in today's business landscape. Examining how your customers find and interact with you can lead to insights and decisions which can positively affect your bottom line. Business owners that do not learn to analyze the data available to them, and leverage those insights to make smart business decisions, will unfortunately be outpaced by competitors who choose to do so.
I understand what it takes to be a successful small business owner, and with my help, you’ll gain better financial clarity, reduce unnecessary expenses, and free up time to focus on what matters most: growing your business.
Why I’m Passionate About Helping Small Businesses
According to data from the U.S. Small Business Administration, there are 33.3 million small businesses across the country, making up 99.9% of total U.S. firms and employing almost 46% of the private sector workforce (usatoday.com, 2024). Many of these businesses begin because the owner has a service or product to sell and is an expert at it, though many do not have the knowledge or experience needed to manage the financial side of the business - which is critical to long term success. My vision and passion lies in helping small business owners learn how to better understand their company financials and find ways to improve efficiency, optimize costs, and enhance customer satisfaction in order to future-proof their business. I specialize in helping home service businesses, since that is where my experience lies, however I am happy to help any small business owners that need support.
How RISE Business Solutions Can Help You
As a Certified QuickBooks Online Pro Advisor, I offer QuickBooks Online setup, cleanup, trainings, and remote bookkeeping management to help you, as a business owner, reduce the overhead costs of having a full-service bookkeeper on staff. Understanding your financial reports is critical to the success and growth of your business, and your CPA will appreciate your books being in good order at tax time.
In addition, having efficient and cloud-based software solutions in use in your business is one way to ensure business growth, as the most important asset a company has is positive word-of-mouth. To earn positive word of mouth, you need to have happy customers - and that requires consistency, good communication, and standing by your promises to them. It requires your team to have easy access to the data and information they need to provide excellent service - from start to finish. It also requires having standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place for training and reference by your team, in order to provide a reliably excellent experience for your customer. This will help to ensure that they will remain your customer for years to come - and recommend you to others. At RISE Business Solutions, we can evaluate the systems and procedures you have in place in your business to determine and suggest areas of improvement.
Let's Chat!
Whether we work together on a project basis or ongoing monthly basis, RISE Business Solutions can customize a solution to meet your needs. Let’s chat over a virtual coffee! Schedule your complimentary session today to see how RISE Business Solutions can help your business thrive. I partner with you to achieve your goals - so that you can RISE to success!
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