People advisory helps me grow my practice. When I first started, it was all about compliance, and just making sure the numbers were crunched and that clients had tax returns and financial statements. But now, I’m able to focus on my clients and help them develop into larger businesses that help our economy — whether it's locally, nationally, or even internationally. As a People Advisor, the impact that I have is making clients feel like they have someone to talk to when it comes to managing and growing their business. To me, people advisory is making sure that people are seen and heard and felt.

We, as firm owners, understand that taking care of people is the most important thing we can do. At times, it feels challenging, but I think that most small businesses get into it because it's incredibly rewarding. It makes an impact in peoples’ families, and it makes an impact in their communities. It’s not just pushing a button in a system to move payroll — it’s thanking someone, it’s showing appreciation and gratitude for the service they bring to the company and clients. It’s giving them an opportunity to better themselves, to better their own families, and to better their communities.

For many entrepreneurs, the thing they value most is having a team — coaching their team members, helping people pay their bills and stay gainfully employed. Our view is: How do we help them do that? How do we help them figure out how to hire better? How do we make sure they’re taking care of their team? How do we make sure that their business continues to grow and they don’t have to lay people off? How do you get them through challenging times? It really comes down to the fact that these businesses have people working in them. And we’re working with entrepreneurs that we’re trying to help out as much as possible.