Today we’d like to introduce you to Crystal Wambeke-Barbera.
Hi Crystal, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have always been an entrepreneur at heart. If there is something I gravitate to naturally, it is finding new opportunities to own a business. From opening an ice cream stand with my siblings outside our mom’s restaurant as kids to designing and selling jewelry at craft fairs in my early life, I’ve always had a knack for running my own business. I love being my own boss and making my own rules. I grew up in a very small town in Minnesota, and a family with a long line of entrepreneurs. My grandfather owned a gas station and a radiator repair shop, my mom owned a restaurant and my dad had a carpentry company. They were incredible examples of possibilities that can be made with a little determination and grit. I think that entrepreneur gene was definitely passed on to me. One of the most interesting businesses I owned is the local bar where I grew up. When I graduated college, I was a 24 year old in need of a direction, and an opportunity to buy the local pub and restaurant came up. I had been working there on nights and weekends, and the owners were planning on closing it down. Seeing nothing but opportunity, and recognizing the fact that I needed that job, I borrowed a thousand dollars from my dad to secure the lease and inventory and with a quick signature I owned the business. It was great fun. Nature had other plans for my business, and after a few years in operations the building was destroyed leaving me with no structure to lease for my business. Easy come, easy go. But that also turned into an opportunity to get hands on work experience for the business I have been running now for nearly 20 years. I started working for an accounting department as my day job, and at the same time I started my bookkeeping firm as a side hustle, working for businesses in the community nights and weekends in my free time. 20 years later, we’re still going strong. I now lead a team of incredible bookkeepers and this is a business I can’t wait to continue growing for the next 20 years.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It was definitely not a smooth road! Running a business is a humbling, stressful, and complicated experience. It is not for the faint of heart, that is for sure. It is full of endless rejection and struggles, but also full of unexpected ways to have amazing moments of success. The struggles I have had long the way are plentiful. From a natural disaster wiping out my entire business, to sometimes not being able to deliver what I promised, as a business owner my entire job is to figure it out. Sometimes walking away is the answer, sometimes digging in deep for creative solutions is the answer. Understanding which each situation calls for is hard.
The nights are late, the days can be long, the clients can be demanding and the market can be dry. I’ve been faced with so many bumps in the road, I learned to expect them.
I’ve hired folks who were not the best fit for our team, and the clients were not happy. I’ve agreed to do work that we didn’t specialize in which caused our team to be unhappy. Markets and economic times can be hard, so being creative in keeping the doors open is a challenge then. Changes in the industries and technology are also challenges and opportunities we face as well.
If I had to pick one struggle to highlight, think having to come to terms with where my weaknesses are has been the hardest part. I am not naturally inclined to be an extroverted sales person, but that is a majority of my job so I have to figure that out daily.
Things that will always keep me awake will be making sure my clients are thrilled with our service and not only that my team has work to do but also have the opportunities they want at work. Those things are always changing and the goal posts are always moving.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Wambeke and Associates is a full service bookkeeping firm, specializing in bookkeeping, consulting and training, fand raud investigations for small to medium sized businesses. Crystal is the author of Quick & Dirty Bookkeeping, which is a book that walks the reader through quickly doing a year’s worth of bookkeeping.
What sets us apart is our determination to make our services attainable, and financials understandable to business owners. We are a small team, made up of mostly veteran and military spouses. Brand wise, we are so proud of the partnerships and communities we’re a part of. We lead seminars that are free of charge for many North Carolina Small Business Development Centers, veteran entrepreneurship organizations, and non-profits nationwide.
We do our best to remove the stigma that can frequently be attached to accounting and bookkeeping. Knowing your financial picture and having accurate numbers is one of the most important parts of business, yet is one of the first things to be overlooked for busy business owners. We bridge the gap, and try to make it understandable and a little fun.
What were you like growing up?
Oh, gosh, I would say I really was a book nerd. I loved reading. I was a cheerleader, and was in the choir in school. I hung out with everyone, and had a really good time as a kid. I really like to laugh and do silly adventures and go new places and have new experiences. I think some would say I was a bit of a rule enforcer. Still, as a grown up, I can be a bit of a grown up hall monitor when people are breaking the rules around me, but I guess that makes me good at my job, right? Accounting has a lot of rules, and as a fraud examiner, I set out to find if someone has broken them. I still really enjoy reading, and writing, and still love to hang out with friends doing silly things.
Pricing:
- Bookkeeping Check-Up Review $199
- Bookkeeping Services $105/hr
- Fraud Examination $225/hr
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.wambekeassociates.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WambekeAssociates/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wambeke-associates
