Sisters and business owners, Mimi and Aiko Striplin know firsthand what it means to build something from the ground up. Mimi brings years of creative business experience in retail with her success at The Tiny Tassel, and Aiko brings years of accounting and operational experience with a knack for numbers and management. Together, they’re a duo you’re sure to learn from. Here they share some of the fundamentals they are using to help creative entrepreneurs find clarity and empowerment in their own businesses with Parfaire Consulting.
Embracing Perfection
Mimi emphasizes the importance of redefining perfection for oneself. “We encourage and support female entrepreneurs to create their meaning of perfect for themselves, for their life, for their brand, and to create more peace and ease in their brand.” Parfaire, which means “to perfect,” aims to help entrepreneurs achieve their unique vision of perfection.
Creating Clarity
Mimi and Aiko both stress the need for clarity in business operations. “Our main goal is to create clarity,” Mimi said. By focusing on perfecting vision, finances, mindset, and workflow, they help entrepreneurs work on their businesses rather than getting stuck in the day-to-day grind.
Understanding Financials
Aiko, with her extensive background in accounting, highlights the importance of knowing key financial metrics. “Most small business owners do not know their numbers,” she noted. She emphasized understanding gross revenue, top three expenses, and net income. “If you accept that lie, you’re going to be bad at numbers and your business is not going to succeed,” Mimi bluntly adds.
Key Financial Advice
- Track Sales and Expenses: Use systems like QuickBooks to keep everything in line.
- Separate Personal and Business Finances: This clarity helps in banking and credit applications.
- Forecasting: Set goals that are revenue-based to plan for future growth.
Templatizing and Delegation
Mimi discusses the importance of templatizing tasks to free up time and ensure consistency. “If you can’t get to a point where you are delegating and automating some things in your business, your business will not be able to sustainably scale,” she advised. She encourages entrepreneurs to document processes and create templates for repetitive tasks.
Time Management and Self-Care
The sisters underscore the necessity of marking time off and prioritizing self-care. “The easiest thing that we’ve seen female entrepreneurs do is take the care for themselves off the plate first,” Mimi said. They recommended conducting a time audit to understand how time is spent and identifying areas for improvement.
Practical Tips for Self-Care and Time Management
- Mark Your Days Off: Prioritize rest and time for yourself.
- Conduct a Time Audit: Track your activities to identify time-wasting habits and opportunities for delegation.
- Delegate Tasks: Hire help for tasks that are not in your zone of genius.
Implementing Changes
Mimi and Aiko’s consultancy offers one-on-one coaching sessions to help entrepreneurs implement changes. “We aren’t just talking at you through these sessions and just being another voice adding noise to your entrepreneurship journey,” Mimi explained. They provide accountability and practical support to ensure entrepreneurs take actionable steps toward their goals.
Define Your Perfect
Mimi and Aiko encourage entrepreneurs to define what perfect means for them. “We want y’all to just take 30 seconds to think about what does perfect mean to you and your business and write it out; that’s the first step to defining your path,” says Mimi.
Key Takeaways
- Embrace and Redefine Perfection: Create your meaning of perfect and strive for it.
- Achieve Clarity: Focus on clear goals and streamline your workflow.
- Know Your Numbers: Understand your financial metrics and plan accordingly.
- Templatize and Delegate: Document processes and delegate tasks to ensure sustainable growth.
- Prioritize Self-Care: Mark time off and conduct time audits to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
- Seek Accountability: Utilize coaching and support to implement changes and achieve your goals.
About Parfaire
Parfaire is a French word that means to perfect, to hone or to polish. The company exists to help you bring your business to perfection and build a well-rounded life. Bring peace & ease to your business routine and set aside time to define what “perfect” means for you and your business. They offer business and financial coaching, as well as accounting services that include but are not limited to: Bookkeeping, Payroll, Sales Tax filing and more.
Focus Areas
- Assistance in polishing your approach.
- Support in day-to-day operations.
- Bringing ease back into your work.
- Perfecting business strategy.
- Optimizing financial management.
