Heroes in Business - Charl Riggs, Supporting Strategies, licensed CPA

Episode Date: March 29, 2021

Your Partner for... Charl Riggs with Supporting Strategies, licensed CPA, helps clients develop process and financial systems for their business, is interviewed by David Cogan founder of Eliances and host of the Eliances Heroes Show. Broadcast on am and fm network channels, internet radio and online syndication.    

Welcome back to Alliances Heroes, where heroes in business align. To be part of our super community and I've got with us today, Charles Riggs with Supporting Strategies. He's also a licensed CPA and helps clients develop process and financial systems for their businesses and make sure you could reach out to him by going to supportingstrategies.com. Okay, Charles, let's jump right in. You're a licensed CPA. You help clients with their financial systems for their businesses. Why did you go about starting this business? Arizona native, been in the finance accounting world for 25 plus years. I've noticed particularly in the Phoenix market that 95% of the businesses are small to mid-sized businesses. We just don't have lots of large publicly traded companies. In my experience in working for publicly traded companies and privately owned businesses, I felt there's a real demand in the Phoenix market for just better professional accounting support for these small

to mid-sized businesses. However, many of them, they don't need a full-time accounting professional or they just can't afford a full-time 20-year experience accounting professional type support. So five years ago, I decided to start this business with targeting small to mid-sized businesses and providing fractional outsource, bookkeeping, controller, CFO services to the small to mid-sized businesses in the Phoenix market. And again, we're talking with Charles Riggs. You could reach him at supportingstrategies.com. Again, supportingstrategies.com. Talk to us about maybe the more common item, common thing that a client actually hires you to do. What would you say maybe that majority, not all of course, that have in common? Yeah, in my experience, David, here in my typical conversations with these business owners, something, challenges that they have are they don't quite understand

the true profit of their business or they're expanding and growing. They wish they knew the profitability of their department or of that product line or of those locations. Or sometimes these business owners, they're struggling to get accurate and timely financial reporting for their business. So they're unable to make just good strategic business decisions, or many times they're struggling with retaining good bookkeeping accounting support. They're on their third hire and they're just terrified of having to go out, rehire, retrain someone that can understand their business and just give them good competent

accounting support. In fact, yeah. Do you see, you know, where CEOs, I mean, there's, right. CEO has to oversee so many and to try and be an expert in everything is, you know, it'd be a miracle to do that. So again, you provide that type of service. What are some of the questions that you've seen where a CEO is asking you, like, are they asking you, hey, you know, we've got a lot of sales. Are we making money? Yeah. You know, David, you bring up a good point is the life of a small to mid-sized business

owner. They have to wear multiple hats. They're torn and drawn and, you know, they're over marketing. They're over human resources, accounting, everything. And we try to relieve them and give them freedom from the mundane day-to-day bookkeeping back office issues to just help these business owners focus on their business, which is what they do best. So I love to really seek for ways to understand a business owner's business and then use our resources to apply good processes, procedures, efficiencies,

help them streamline, and just give them the need of support so they can focus on profitably growing their business. And again, you're watching, listening to me, David Kogan, where we provide the freedom and the opportunity to learn from incredible experts. That's right. Like, for example, Charles Riggs with Supporting Strategies, who's a licensed CPA. You can reach him at supportingstrategies.com because you're watching, listening, me, David Kogan, host of the Alliances Hero Show. So make sure you go to alliances.com.

That's E-L-I-A-N-C-E-S.com. Because you know what? You may have the lifetime opportunity to meet Charles in person at one of the many Alliances experiences. In fact, Charles, you've been part of the Alliances community for many years. You're highly respected within the community. Maybe you could share with us, with our listeners and viewers out there who may not possibly have heard of Alliances, really what it's like, what it's been, your experience has been with it. David, one thing that drew me to Alliances a little over two years ago is when I was invited to be a guest, I was so amazed at the

quality and diversity of professionals that attend the weekly alliances roundtables. And many of them vary from, you know, just a individuals with years of experience in their field and they've just started a business they're looking for resources and support of very experienced professionals in their field to help them grow their business or you know i i meet individuals that man they've been doing in their field for 30 years and so experienced and they're so well connected and can introduce me to other professionals that might help me in growing my business and reaching those other individuals that we can be of best support to. And, you know, Charles, again, and I've known you for a number of years, and I've got to tell you, too, is that you are probably always such a positive person and everything of that.

I mean, how do you – I want to get a little deep into this too, because I think it's important for our viewers, listeners to know, you know, you're a solid family man. You're very close with your children and that. How now with everything going on within the world and electronics and all that, how does someone continue to build relationships with their children like you've been so successful at? David, I think that is one thing I'm proud to say you and I have in common. We value family, our children. That's why I live and breathe. I love to go out and work and grow businesses, help others so I can support my family. One of favorite sayings is that I learned years ago when I was in high school was the difference between the big shot and the little shot is the big shot

used to be the little shot that just kept shooting. And I know there's times where all of us, life happens, we get drawn in different directions directions but just the importance of just rising getting up just striving to keep my priorities in place which most importantly to me is my family I want to do some snooping because we're in your office and viewers could see in that and you've got some books and things in the background, a statue, a picture in that. What's something that you value or unique in your office that you could share with us? Well, you know, if you can see above, I have a statue of an Indian warrior. You know, some people, what in the world is an Indian warrior statue doing in your office? When I was in elementary

school, I loved to study about the Native American Indians and their traditional values of character and nobility. And so I just love, I studied the Sioux Indians. In Arizona, we have many Native Americans that live here, the Navajos, the Apaches. And I just really love the traditions of the Native American Indians. And so that's one reason I have that in my office. Excellent. And again, you've got a lot of books. So I need to ask you too, is if you were to be able to pick one book that's helped you for you within your career, so specifically within your career, what book would that be? Oh, you know, there are several that come to mind, David. I'm looking back here.

You know, probably First Things First, a great book by, he's out of BYU, boy, and I try to remember the author's name, but it's really helped me in life and in business prioritize what's most important and categorize those things on a day-to-day basis that has really been a driving force for me. lot of listeners and viewers out there that are going, okay, am I too small of a company or am I too large of a company to potentially hire your services? What's the sweet spot that works best for you and your clients? Yeah, David, we found that in the Phoenix market, we have our niche is really any of those that could be a startup business, but you have investors or you have a board where your little independent bookkeeper may not give those investors and board warm fuzzies that their financial accounting is in good hands, even though they don't have revenue generating. That's one type. And we go all the way up to usually ranging from anywhere from one to 10

million in revenue size businesses. It's just that size where a business owner, many times you just don't need or can afford that full-time professional, but we give them that experienced expertise, part-time ongoing support, which has been of real value to our clients. Excellent. Excellent. Well, Charles, amazing. And by the way, the book that you mentioned, we had the author on the Alliance's Hero Show, Stephen Covey. Well, Charles, of course, right? Stephen Covey. Yes, that's him. You support your clients with strategies to help them grow. Bookkeeping to controller level services. You do it all.

That's a hero. Make sure you reach out to Charles Riggs, owner at Supporting Strategies, and you can reach him at supportingstrategies.com. And of course, we'll have it on our website at alliances.com. This has been David Kogan with the Alliance's Hero Show.