Meet Patty Saggio

We recently connected with Patty Saggio and have shared our conversation below.

Patty, we are so happy that our community is going to have a chance to learn more about you, your story and hopefully even take in some of the lessons you’ve learned along the way. Let’s start with self-care – what do you do for self-care and has it had any impact on your effectiveness?

While growing up we would always vacation for a week at the beach. As I got older I took the week after Labor Day and continued spending a week at the beach. I recall my clients asking that if I could live year round at the beach would I and it was a resounding YES! About 18 years ago I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and that is when self-care become important to me. Once I got my illness under control I had the opportunity to make a move and I wound up across the street from the beach. A lifetime dream became reality and yes I enjoyed the beach all summer but what helped keep my stress level down was the daily walk on the boardwalk all year. If a day was getting stressful or a client was on my last never I grabbed my sneakers and took a walk on the beach. I came back calmer and ready to tackle what needed to get done. For me it’s important to take that time not only to keep my stress down but to be grateful for where I live.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

While I was a Sophomore in high school I took an elective called bookkeeping. It was during that class that I decided to pursue a degree in Accounting. I went to Pace University and graduated with a degree in Accounting. Once I started working the jobs were very specific areas of accounting but eventually I landed in general accounting. It took me about 8 different jobs to get to this as I learned what I needed to at that employer and then moved on to another. After working in corporate for 12 years I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and boy did that mess with my long term plans. I was out on disability for a year and realized that if I went back to the corporate world it would have an adverse impact on my health but wasn’t sure what I would do. Once I was clear healthwise I started working for others who had bookkeeping businesses and worked with their clients. Little by little I thought I could do this and started to look for clients of my own. With the accounting degree I added a different level of knowledge and experience. Of course when starting out I took on anyone as a client but there were some that were starting to affect my health and that was the last thing I wanted. Although difficult from a financial point of view I started looking for those clients that were a perfect fit and now here we are 16 years having the business and financially doing way better than I ever imagined but most importantly I’m healthy.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I definitely feel that my degree in Accounting has helped me with the transition of my bookkeeping business. I work closely with my clients accountants especially around tax time and my knowledge helps me do what needs to be done for them and in turn saves them some money.

While some might say that going from job to job is a bad thing I looked at it gaining experience. With each new job I learned what I could from that company and took that to the next one and while watching the computer guy fix an issue on your computer doesn’t sound like much those little things tucked in the back of my mind come in handy when you least expect it.

Being able to pivot when your plan doesn’t go according to the way you thought it would be is a quality that is important to have. After being diagnosed I had to change my future and what I was going to do. We start our business with what we want it to be and how we want it to grow but you have to be able to pivot based on what is actually happening. Don’t be afraid if what you thought you wanted doesn’t actually happen because in most cases the results are so much better than you could ever imagined.

Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?

The past 12 months I have seen an increase in clients which is amazing! It’s so important that while we are building our business we also need to work on ourselves. I learned more about human design and how my particular design works for my business. I learned what I should do to protect my energy so not to scare away potential clients while still being there for when they are ready. I learned that I need to respond and not do the “normal” follow up and that when it feels that nothing is happening that’s when I need to lean in and master my craft. Implementing this in my business I doubled the clients from the previous year and am on target to do the same this year.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://countonpatty.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stories/count_onpatty/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patricia.saggio/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patriciasaggio/