Meet Samantha Simmons

We recently connected with Samantha Simmons and have shared our conversation below.

Samantha, thrilled to have you on the platform as I think our readers can really benefit from your insights and experiences. In particular, we’d love to hear about how you think about burnout, avoiding or overcoming burnout, etc.

To prevent burnout, I rely on a combination of setting boundaries, managing expectations, and delegating tasks. Due to my chronic medical conditions, I am more susceptible to burnout than most, with more than 25 concentrated hours a week requiring days of recovery. Recognizing this as I established my business, I developed a workflow that swiftly manages expectations for clients, my team, and myself. Within six months of launching my bookkeeping firm, I realized the need for delegation. My unique service approach attracted clients not only locally but nationwide. While this growth was positive, it signaled an impending risk of burnout, prompting me to start hiring.

Our current team includes seven bookkeepers (many of whom were stay-at-home moms before joining us), one virtual assistant, one process/software manager, and several tax preparer referral partners. Each service contract includes an hourly maximum to ensure consistent value. We provide clients with detailed scope and workflow documents outlining their customized service packages. Our email signatures include our meeting cancellation and response policies. Additionally, we have tailored tools that streamline our work. This approach allows us to deliver exceptional and prompt service often unmatched in the accounting industry while enabling our team to prioritize their families.
All of this has been accomplished within three years since our start in October 2021. Our entire team consists of women who recognized the need for a flexible, non-burnout role that allows them to be present at every bus drop-off and school event.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am the proud owner of S&S Services, a flexible bookkeeping and accounting firm based in Virginia. Our journey began out of necessity when my husband became permanently disabled, prompting me to find a means of support. Despite searching for local jobs that met my needs, I consistently found myself completing tasks too quickly for hourly roles, which often turned into part-time positions. Fueled by the desire for flexibility and financial stability, I founded S&S Services in October 2021. This venture allows me to be present for my husband’s medical needs and to witness every milestone of my two wonderful sons.

We operate with two offices, but our team embraces a hybrid work model. We offer in-person meetings at our offices and virtual consultations from anywhere. Specializing in small businesses with annual revenues ranging from start-up to over $10 million, we prioritize serving individuals over focusing solely on business types. Each client is paired with a bookkeeper, ensuring compatibility by considering personality and communication styles. Our clients receive weekly check-ins from their dedicated account managers.

Every day, I am grateful for the opportunity to build and nurture relationships with businesses across the U.S., where communication is our top priority. S&S Services stands out for its unique team, customers, and workflows. Each team member is certified in bookkeeping and QuickBooks and receives weekly one-on-one support from me. Our team predominantly comprises mothers who wish to be there for their children while also contributing financially to their households. We are thrilled to have been recognized as Lynchburg Business Magazine’s 2024 Best Places to Work.

Our clients are families pursuing their dreams, and supporting their growth is immensely rewarding. We are a collective of mothers and creatives offering a service unlike most firms, focusing on process, integration, and financial transaction management. We connect clients with complementary services and take initiative where others might not. We care deeply, uphold boundaries, and encourage our clients to do the same.

I am truly blessed to witness the growth of this business, and I eagerly await the next chapter of this journey.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Discernment, protectiveness, and prioritizing individuals have been pivotal in my personal and professional growth.

Discernment: Each day, I pray that my steps align with the path set before me. I am certain that divine guidance has played a crucial role in our development. Our progress was possible only because the right influences arrived precisely when needed.

Protectiveness: While I aim to extend grace, being protective enables me to prioritize the goals and needs of my family and team. This focus helps maintain boundaries with clients, pricing, and time management, ensuring that everyone working with me feels valued and heard. We strive for flexibility but draw the line when it affects the needs of other clients, families, and team members.

Prioritizing the Individual: This applies to both my team and clients. I encourage my team to share their needs and goals so we can align their roles at S\&S Services accordingly. This might mean evolving into new roles, expanding their client base, pursuing further education, or even creating new service offerings. I am as committed to their dreams as I am to those of my family. Similarly, I aim to understand our clients’ goals and needs, enabling our team to provide tailored services that help them succeed. This could involve changing platforms, curating custom workflows, or connecting them with additional services like fractional CFOs, software/process managers, and financial advisors.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

My parents are serial entrepreneurs. My mother is a property investor and manager with over 500 units in Virginia. She also renovates properties for sale and often rents or sells them below market value to make housing more accessible. My father successfully ran a construction company until his retirement, yet he always has a project going.

After I had my first son and while my husband was working, I wanted to contribute financially to our household. My mother needed a part-time office manager to handle administrative duties and bookkeeping, which led me to delve deeply into accounting. I spent four years in that role before the demands of family after having my second child required me to step back from the family business. Those years not only provided me with a strong foundation for eventually starting my own business, but growing up with my parents’ work ethic also instilled the same drive in me.

Contact Info:

• Website: sscustombookkeeping
• Instagram: ss_custom_bookkeeping
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/ssservicesvirginia
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/s-s-services-bookkeeping/
• Other: https://www.google.com/search?q=S%26S+Services+LLC&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAA_-NgU1I1qLCwMDJJNjVMTTZOMjBKMjW3MqgwNzQzS0xJSjQwMktJMU41WMQqEKwWrBCcWlSWmZxarODj4wwAYYBdtjwAAAA&hl=en&mat=Cfr0d2Iy5LlfElYBEKoLaWnrjTsNudM3S3-VMjUU6gEuS_nqkIoxCccqcqlwAl3ABCQpeK1N3XlZDc5QnLYTzw8t5IVPCeu7SDwMhfpmf2uvS5YW4xmLzs5tHTDk2YnM9w&authuser=0

  https://www.google.com/search?q=S%26S+Services+LLC&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAA_-NgU1I1qLCwMEkxMUxKtbAwMDc0Nk6yMqgwTUqzSLY0MEhMTTOzMDI1WcQqEKwWrBCcWlSWmZxarODj4wwAjpho3DwAAAA&hl=en&mat=CSuHE_5u3lDQElcBEKoLaYxAqHuCqULL0DcylPGRZV1nGUZmJ1MT1eR8X3RQQL8_cS4nAgKv3DechjDqYePc8WBXPftWzjWT1qN_KLON5ARFliDG23CMJLHibeozqVvmwFU&authuser=0

Image Credits

Maggie Takes Pix
County Compass Directory