From Filing Taxes to Selling Software | Charise’s Confidence Breakthrough | SBA Podcast EP 35

Baldeep (00:02)
All right, we are here with another episode of the Service Bureau Accelerator interview series. I’m here with Charise and Ross. Ross, go ahead and get us started.

Ross (00:17)
All right, well, welcome, Charise. Thanks for jumping in. How are you doing today?

Charise Monroe (00:20)
I’m doing great, thank you for having me.

Ross (00:22)
Awesome, awesome. So, Charise, let’s kick things off. If you want to start by introducing yourself real quick, and maybe share a little bit of your background—your experience in the tax industry—and how you ended up finding Service Bureau Accelerator and what made you decide to jump into the program.

Charise Monroe (00:39)
Well, my name is Charise Monroe. I was living in Atlanta; I’m in Texas now. I’ve been doing taxes about 15 years. I worked under different service bureaus, but not knowing that they were actually service bureaus. I used to wonder, “Where are these fees going?”

But one day I was scrolling on Facebook, and I saw you guys’ ad. I think I spoke with you, Ross, and you explained everything to me. You really didn’t have to do much convincing because I was like, “This is what I’ve been looking for. This is it right here.”

When you sent me the link, I paid for it and jumped right in. The first year, I didn’t do too well as far as getting people for my service bureau. I was too busy with my own business—I wasn’t selling the software, you know what I mean? I was just focused on what I was already doing.

The next year, I gained a couple more people on my service bureau. Two of them didn’t come with me this year, but I gained two or three more. I have a lot of people using my software but not using the bank products, so that doesn’t even count.

But I love it here. You guys are great. If I have questions, you’re always there. I just love it here—I do.

Ross (02:12)
Awesome. So, what made you look for service bureaus? You mentioned when we jumped on the call, it was exactly what you were looking for. What was that shift—from working in the tax industry as an ERO to then looking at becoming a service bureau and selling software?

Charise Monroe (02:32)
Well, see, I didn’t know what a service bureau was, but I knew there had to be something else—because all these extra fees were going somewhere. The person I was under was only giving me so much knowledge; he just wanted to keep me right there.

Charise Monroe (02:50)
I was scrolling on Facebook, saw you guys, and sent a message. You explained where the extra fees were going—I think I even had to share my screen or something so you could break it all down. You showed me, and I was like, “Okay, that’s what I’ve been looking for.” It was like God sent you guys to me.

Baldeep (03:01)
Yeah, the breakdown—the fee breakdown, yeah.

Baldeep (03:12)
Yeah, I think in a lot of cases, when we share that analysis and show people where the money’s actually going, it opens a lot of eyes. They realize, “This person is getting all this money and not really doing anything for it. I might as well keep it.”

Charise Monroe (03:38)
Exactly. So, I left the guy I was with—I think I was with Jason for about three years. He actually knows you guys. I was with him for three years, and I was just like, I’m jumping ship now. I can do this on my own, because he was really reaping the benefits while I was just making the money. Delighted to move on.

Baldeep (03:57)
Right, right, for sure.

Ross (04:02)
Yeah, that happens. That’s a very common thing in the industry. Everyone’s like, “I’m seeing where the money is—let me follow it.” And then you realize, “I just need to be a service bureau.” So awesome.

Charise Monroe (04:16)
What’s crazy is that nobody ever told us about service bureaus. It was hush-hush. Now everybody wants to be one, but before, nobody talked about it. I remember telling my friend, breaking it down like, “What are these fees?” I was determined to figure it out, but nobody ever said it was a service bureau.

I’ve been in this industry a long time, and nobody ever talked about it. But my goal now is to be strictly service bureau. I don’t even want to do taxes anymore.

Baldeep (04:50)
Right. Yeah, well, you’ve got to get more EROs that do bank products, because your non-bank product count is super high. You mentioned that earlier—you’ve got some that just do e-files.

Let’s talk about going into next year, because you’ve seen some growth over the past few years. I think a lot of it’s internal, just being able to maximize your revenue.

Charise Monroe (04:55)
Yeah.

Baldeep (05:15)
What are your goals going into next year, and what’s your growth plan for the next season?

Charise Monroe (05:25)
Well, I’ve been utilizing your advertising. I have ads out there, even though it seems like some people are robots or something—some of them aren’t even real people!

My goal is to sign on at least 20 more people this year. I’ve also made flyers, went to post offices, got addresses of different tax companies, and mailed them out. I’ve done advertising. I haven’t actually gotten anyone yet, but that’s all right—it’s still early.

I plan to promote, promote, promote. I’m actually having a photo shoot in July with my service bureau team, and I’ll be promoting that to let people know, “Hey, this is where you want to be—you’ll have the support you need.” I just want to put it out there that I am a service bureau.

Baldeep (06:32)
Sounds good. I wanted to dive into the training aspect. You’ve attended every convention so far, right? You’ve been at both conventions and you’re coming to this year’s. Can you share a bit about your experience with our training—whether online, in-person, or both?

Charise Monroe (06:51)
Well, to me, everything is perfect. It’s just a matter of implementing everything. You guys lay it out there perfectly. Personally, I don’t feel like there’s anything else you need to do—it’s all up to us to take that next step.

I feel like we can be our own worst enemies. If we don’t implement what you teach us, that’s on us—it has nothing to do with you guys. You’re the best. You are.

Baldeep (07:20)
Well, I appreciate that feedback for sure. You’ve attended every convention—I remember you because you’re always out in the lobby.

Charise Monroe (07:38)
You know me!

Baldeep (07:40)
A couple more questions before we wrap up. We always like to touch on support.

When we talk about support, we’re not talking about the tech support from the software—for EROs and all that—we’re talking about our internal team support. When you have questions or put in a ticket, and our team helps you, can you share your experience with our support team and support system?

Charise Monroe (08:12)
Everybody has been attentive. If it’s the weekend, of course I don’t expect a reply until Monday, but overall, you guys are on it. If I have a question, you or your team are on it. I have no complaints whatsoever.

Even though someone tried to get me to jump ship, I said, “No, I’m not going anywhere.”

Baldeep (08:38)
Yeah, there’s no shortage of people trying to get others to jump ship.

Charise Monroe (08:45)
But if they know your worth, they’ll know, “Hey, this is where I want to be.” I’m not worried about what you’re getting—I’m worried about what I’m getting.

Baldeep (08:54)
Yeah, exactly. And I’ve seen it happen—someone leaves and comes back the next year because they didn’t realize the deal they were getting with us. They went somewhere else, got a worse deal, and came back quick once they realized they’d played themselves.

Charise Monroe (09:26)
Exactly. And not only are we in this to make money, but you guys are truly there for us. You don’t feel alone.

To me, there’s no such thing as a dumb question—the only dumb question is the one you don’t ask. If I ask something, you come right back with an answer. It’s more than just about money—it’s about support, because you don’t want to feel like you’re in this alone.

Baldeep (09:52)
Yeah, for sure. A big thing for us is supporting service bureaus, because what we’ve seen is that people often go work with a service bureau where the owner is busy during tax season with their own tax office. That becomes a problem—because when you need help, it’s usually during tax season.

Ross (09:55)
Yeah.

Baldeep (10:20)
If your service bureau provider is busy with their own office, that becomes a challenge. So yeah, for sure.

All right, awesome. Thanks for that feedback. One random question—what are you most excited about next year? You mentioned things like the photo shoot, promotion, and so on, but what are you most excited about for this service bureau sales season?

Charise Monroe (10:39)
I’m excited about the knowledge and confidence I have now to get out there and sell the damn software. I’m excited that I can make more money—because at the end of the day, that’s what we’re in it for.

But really, the confidence you guys helped me gain in speaking to people about my product—it’s unmatched. I’m excited about that. I’m ready to get out there. I’ll go to actual tax offices and talk to people face to face. I have that much confidence now.

Baldeep (11:17)
Well, you also just recently moved—and in your area, there are a lot of tax offices. I know that for sure.

Charise Monroe (11:24)
When I say I’ve been Googling everybody—I went to the post office, sent out about 30 flyers that I created and mailed them. I know they might not respond, but I’d rather knock on their door, because face to face, you can get them. I’ll knock on their door.

Baldeep (11:43)
Right, for sure. All right, two final things and we’ll wrap up.

If someone were looking at Service Bureau Accelerator—maybe browsing around, considering other options—what feedback or comments would you give to someone thinking about joining?

Charise Monroe (12:04)
I would definitely say, if you’re looking for support and not just trying to buy something you don’t know how to use, this is where you need to be.

You guys offer support and encouragement. I’ve been telling people, “This is the place to be.” You don’t want to go anywhere else, because here, they walk you through it—you’re not alone.

A lot of people are scared to step into this journey because they don’t know what’s going to happen. I’ve had people say, “I’m going to see how it goes for you first.” But I tell them nothing but good things.

Baldeep (12:44)
Yeah, I’ve heard that before—“We’ll see how it goes for you first.” Awesome.

Charise Monroe (12:51)
Yeah, I’m not that type of person. I’m going to take that leap of faith. When we talked, you didn’t have to do too much—I already knew I was going to do it. I said, “Send me the invoice, I’m paying it. Let’s do it.” That was three years ago.

Baldeep (13:07)
Right.

Baldeep (13:11)
Yeah, just about three years ago—you just finished your third season with us. For sure.

And one final thing: if somebody’s watching this—the millions of people at home, or on their phones, or even on the toilet watching this—if they want to work with Charise, where do they find you?

Charise Monroe (13:38)
They can find me on social media. I have Elite ProTax Software on Facebook and Elite ProTax Software on Instagram. You can also visit my personal page—it’s Charise Monroe.

Baldeep (13:57)
Awesome. Well, that’s the final thing we have for you. We’re just going to wrap this up. Thanks for being here, Charise, and we’ll catch you at the convention.

Charise Monroe (14:07)
Thank you! I can’t wait to see you guys