Don't listen to the naysayers - follow your purpose! with Wyndi Tagi - Episode 49 of Better Business, Better Life!

Debra Chantry-Taylor  00:04

Welcome to another episode of Better Business Better Life. I’m your host, Debra Chantry-Taylor. I’m passionate about helping entrepreneurs and their leadership teams get what they want out of business and life. On the show, I invite successful business owners and expert speakers to share their successes. They are open and honest about the highs and lows of business and also life as a business owner. We want to share those learnings with you to inspire you, but also to help you avoid some of the common mistakes. My hope is that you take something from each of these short episodes that you can put into action to help you get what you want, not only out of your business, but also your life. So good morning and welcome to another edition of Better Business, Better Life. Today I am really thrilled to be joined by Wyndi Tagi, who is from WE, and WE is a business consultancy practice with accounting. Welcome, Wyndi.

Wyndi Tagi  00:40

Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  00:42

We’re looking forward having a chat with you. So Wyndi and I actually met through LinkedIn, I believe, and then we suggested we go into a bit of a walk and talk together and found that we had quite a lot in common. And from there, we’ve developed both a friendship and a business relationship. But Wyndi, tell me about your business – your business started back in 2011 with your husband El. You’ve got some other family members in the business, 26 staff already. Tell me a little bit about your journey to that and include your professional and personal best for me.

Wyndi Tagi  01:14

So yeah, it’s been a journey. Lately, my personal best would be I mean, I was thinking about this before, but you know, maybe you want to say marrying my husband, but then you’ve got to say, having my children. So I’m going to say the most recent one, which was getting my moko kauae, which I did just a couple of weeks ago. So that was, yeah, that was a pretty awesome, spiritual, exciting journey. So that would be my personal best.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  01:42

And just to say, I actually watched that video that you put out on LinkedIn around that. And it was just so beautiful. To see how the whole family comes together and the whole ceremony around it. I hadn’t appreciated quite how significant it actually was.

Wyndi Tagi  01:55

Thank you. My daughter in law did the video. And while I was going through the experience, I was wondering how on earth I was going to put across just the experience and the spirituality and the love of the event. And she did it perfectly

Debra Chantry-Taylor  02:13

Yeah that came across really well. Okay, well, congratulations. And it looks fantastic.

Wyndi Tagi  02:18

And so yeah, my professional best, I think just even starting in business, because when I said to Eli that I wanted to start our own business, he initially said no. And I begged for him to at least just have a look at it. And so being that he was an accountant, he was an auditor, so he didn’t do accounting. So he did auditing for a number of years, one of the big five accounting firms, and then also for the IRD. So when I suddenly started an accounting firm who was not thrilled at all by it, in fact, it doesn’t actually like accounting. But I said, Oh, can you at least just have a look at the numbers and do a plan or just do something like don’t just say no, to me, at least look into it. And so he did. So he looked at a budget, and he did the budget up. And he, I mean, we’ve been doing budgets since about two weeks into our relationship. So you did our personal budget, he did a business budget, he did a plan. And he said to me, actually, we can make this work. So that was very cool. And then he gave in his notice. And we decided I’d stay at the bank because that’s where I was at the time. And just after he gave his notice, we found that we’re having Blake, and so we’re like, oh, this wasn’t really in the plan, and budget. And I thought I thought that he was at that stage again to say okay, you know, and he actually got offered a job. And he said, No, actually, we can make this work still. So I’m really stoked that, that he made that decision that we continued on. And yeah, here we are today. So.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  03:50

So that was why 11 years ago, right. And that would have been quite a big sort of scary leap to go from both of you having jobs within other businesses to actually going out on your own. Why did you start the business?

Wyndi Tagi  04:02

Yeah, so at the time, we had five or four sons. Yep. And I was working corporate, he was working in corporate. And my dad had been an entrepreneur my life. And so I was quite lucky. In there any time that I was away cycling or sport or any school staff, he got the opportunity to come and watch and be part of it. And I really was missing that with my children. And I realized that they’re not going to be young for long. And I wanted to be able to do what I wanted to do whenever I wanted to do it without having to fill out a leave form or having my boss complain about how much sick leave that I had taken. Because at the time I was a solo mom. I’m trying to raise two boys. So yeah, I just thought actually, I don’t want that. So when I met Eli, I said to him, I’d love to go into business. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. And then when he became a chartered accountant, this was a perfect opportunity for us to go into business. So I kind of refer it to as me pimping him out. But he’s getting it his own back now because now I’m in business consulting and doing coaching and he’s pimping me out!

Debra Chantry-Taylor  05:06

So you are an accountant or not?

Wyndi Tagi  05:08

I’m not an accountant, no, don’t do accounting. I went on maternity leave, and decided I’d help Eli out in the business while I was on maternity leave for 12 months. And I didn’t actually go back to the bank. So at the start, I was just really around the marketing and communications and how do we do good customer service. And, you know, what does what we look like. So I was really the Visionary right from the start. But I really just pushed Eli into a lot of things. And I kind of just laid in the background. And he just looked for all of the opportunities and said, We’re doing this, we’re going here, just just do this. And so yeah, come to the 12 month time, he said to me, actually, you’re too valuable in the business, and I need you to stay. So I stayed. And I haven’t looked back, I love it wouldn’t go back to working for somebody.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  05:59

And I don’t think anybody would actually employ us these days,

Wyndi Tagi  06:01

Yeah I don’t think anyone wants to employ me. In fact, my old bosses probably despised me, because I was always a challenge. But that’s fine.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  06:09

You’ve found your niche now. That’s great. So you decided to go into business for the freedom, in my experience in the first couple of years in business, we don’t seem to get too much of that – would that be fair to say?

Wyndi Tagi  06:22

11 years in and I’m still struggling with freedom. But I think freedom is different to everybody. And I, like Eli and I love what we do. So we choose to be at our desk. So whatever time it is of the evening, you know, after we’ve spent time with the kids, and we’ve done the whole dinner thing, and, and we’ve done that for so many years, and even when they were younger, I remember in the first few years, when we’re just trying to pay the bills, you know, we’d get home from work, we’d cooked dinner, we’d do homework, we’d do all of that sort of stuff, we’d put them to bed, we pull out our laptops, we sit at the kitchen table, and sometimes we’d be there till like two or three o’clock in the morning, just getting the work done. And we get the time we couldn’t really afford to hire somebody, and we’re so flat out during the day that we just had to. And so, you know, there are times where you’re like, oh, my gosh, what am I doing, but in saying that we still got to go to the school things, we still got to watch the cultural events, we still got to be there and watch all the sports and sponsor the rugby teams.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  07:22

Yeah, it’s not necessarily about having some more hours. Sorry, it’s not necessarily about having, you know, a set time where you start and finish. But having the flexibility to work the hours that you can work in the times that you want to really

Wyndi Tagi  07:34

Yeah, it’s about being able to choose what you want to do. And when you want to do it, and knowing that sometimes you just got to work.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  07:41

Okay, so as we said in the beginning, you know, you’ve got 26 staff now, and a couple of them are actually family members as well. Yeah. And that’s been quite a rapid growth over the last couple of years, hasn’t it? So from the beginning, when you’re probably working around the kitchen table, working all those hours on your own, give us a little bit of an insight into the journey, because we get taught in university that you know, it’s beautiful growth curve where everything goes smoothly. And you know, it’s just a beautiful ride overnight success.

Wyndi Tagi  08:05

Someone show me that business.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  08:08

Yeah exactly. So what was it like, really?

Wyndi Tagi  08:11

Yeah, it was, I mean, it has been ups and ups and downs. And we’ve grown every single year, which has been awesome, some years way more than others. I think the turning point for us, though, was just before I got breast cancer. So that was five years ago, in 2017. We just finished doing some work with one of the big four accounting firms. And we’re in the middle of it. And they were telling us that we should stop spending so much time and money with our community, with our family that our culture didn’t differentiate us. And that was quite demoralizing, but also a big turn for us, where we realized actually, you guys haven’t switched on to this yet. And so we need to pretty quickly and we’re quite lucky, because you know, I’m Maori, my husband is Samoan, we weren’t pretending to be something we just were. So that was really, that was really the starting point for us. Then I got cancer pretty much straightaway after that, and decided that I needed to work out what my purpose in life was. I just lost my dad and my grandfather, the same year, three months and six months prior. And my sister had been diagnosed with breast cancer three months prior to that, too. So lots of sort of trauma happening in my life. And I thought, you know, if I’m gonna die I want to die happy, and I want to live a fulfilled life so that when I die, people come to my funeral, and everyone will be happy and celebrating and, you know, hopefully I’ll have made a difference.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  09:43

It’s interesting, isn’t it? Because I mean, I’ve haven’t had breast cancer and I can’t imagine that’s like, but, you know, I lost my brother and my mom very close to each other. And for me, that was a massive turning point as well, because it wasn’t that I didn’t love what I was doing. But I was really, everything was business. Everything was work, and I didn’t have any time to do the stuff that was really important to me. And as a consequence, I think if I look back now I was burned out. And it suddenly was this wake up call. It’s like, Oh, my goodness, I could actually not be here tomorrow. And how would I feel about what we really think it’d be dead? But would it be the life that I really wanted to live? And I think sometimes they can have a massive impact on us. Yeah, yeah. Your your sister, obviously, was another major thing as well, isn’t it?

Wyndi Tagi  10:23

Yes, my sister, she passed away last year in September. It’s yeah, I just think that people I don’t, I didn’t really understand what it means about life can be short, you know, live your best life. I didn’t get that until I was really faced with it. And then I was like, This is what they mean by that. And so then I was like, I gotta do something about this. And I didn’t have to. But you know, when I watched my dad, and my, and my grandfather die, they both died quite differently. So my grandfather died. And it was just filled with so much love, and all of the impact that had made all these people came to his funeral. And I just saw, he really lived a purposeful life. And he was really content with dying. My dad, when he died, he got told that he had just weeks to live. And I saw those weeks just kind of come and go and him sort of thinking, I wish I had done this. And I should have done that. And, and I just thought I don’t want to be like that, you know, and if it’s short years, then it’s short years, but at least I want to make them impactful and purposeful. And yeah, just going back to what you said before, about, you know, just really loving what you do. That’s what I realized is I just got to do the things that I love the people that I love the most. And if that annoys some people, because they don’t make the cut, then there’s so be it, you know, I’ve just got to do what I got to do. And if it fits, it fits. And if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. Yeah,

Debra Chantry-Taylor  11:51

That’s a really good philosophy on life. So tell me a little bit about the sort of the growth of the business. So you know, when you go from being just you and Eli around a table, it’s pretty easy to make decisions, communications, quite easy, although there’s always a husband and wife dynamic as well. But then you start to bring people on board, tell us a little bit about that journey of bring people was it all smooth sailing have been have, we had wonderful employees across the board.

Wyndi Tagi  12:13

Finally, you know, just recently, Eli, and I did get to a point where we needed to have other people around the table. And we have tried in the past, and other people have tried to come in and sort of sit there felt like a third wheel. Because Eli and I are husband and wife, we talk at home, you know, in the bed, you know, when we’re having conversations about business. And you know, it’s like, we can’t have a third person in there, having these conversations with us. And then we just have like the unspoken word, it’s like, we kind of know each other. So it’s just kind of like, I know what to say, I know what she’ll say. So just recently, when we’ve started to bring on more sort of leadership, people, it’s been really awesome to just go, okay, business is business, home is home, let’s not have those conversations outside of business, let’s make sure that they’re part of them. But also, we’ve actually really enjoyed it, because 11 years of it pretty much being on our shoulders, you know, started to feel a little bit like a burden. And you kind of think, Okay, do I have all the answers? I don’t think I do, where do I get these answers from, it has been nice to have other people around the table to not only help with the decision making, and, you know, the problem solving, but also they’re the ones actually going out and doing the problem solving. You know, it’s not just down to Eli and I and we have really enjoyed that. But yes, along the way, you know, it has not been smooth sailing at all, made lots and lots of errors, hired all of the wrong people in the wrong seats. And a lot of that time was because of us.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  13:40

Right? So what have you learned from that talk? Could you take forward from that?

Wyndi Tagi  13:44

Yeah, I think, get it right the first time you possibly can. Yes, we have a full on process now for hiring people. Just making sure like you’re using the philosophy that I have, you know, love what you do with the people that you love, you spend so much time at work. So you’ve got to make sure that you love the people. So you’ve got to be part of the environment in the culture, you’ve got to live and breathe our values. So which we call the way way, you’ve got to be aligned with our purpose and our vision. Otherwise, what’s the point, go find your own purpose and value go go and do what what makes you happy? And then it can just be really clear on the role, and what actually do I really need. And we haven’t always done that. And I mean, I think we need this or actually, you’d be really cool in my business just come and work for me, I’m gonna find something for you. And then all of a sudden these misalignment of expectations, and you know, their understanding of the role and my needs, and I don’t actually need you to do that. But if they really love that they’re going to do that. Yes. So you know, really understanding what it is that they love what they want to be doing all day every day and making sure that that is the role and if it’s not the role, then let them find another role that allows them to do that. Yeah,

Debra Chantry-Taylor  14:55

Because they’ve got to do what they love as well. Absolutely. Cool. Okay, so you and I have been on LinkedIn and we had this walk and talk and I gave you a book and you read the book. And then quite a bit later you kind of came back to say, look, I’ve been reading this book and I quite like it. Obviously that was the either get a grip or traction, wasn’t it? Yeah. And probably being the student that you are, you read both of them, consumed them. Yeah. And then you came to me said, hey, look, can you give me a hand and you had been doing some self implementing obviously? And then it was like, Okay, how can I help? What attracted you to the EOS model or the EOS way of life, whatever it might be.

Wyndi Tagi  15:29

WE as we’ve grown, we’ve gotten a little bit more complex, because we have a business in Samoa, we have one in New Zealand, we have all these aspirations. And with that, what we thought was complexity. We thought that everything had to be complex. And so when I read the books, I was like, okay, these businesses are like, multimillion dollar businesses in the US, and they are doing this really simple system. Why can’t we make things way more simpler than we are making them? And, yeah, it took a little while I did mention it to Eli to start with, and he was, uh huh. But then we got to a point where it’s like, okay, read this book. Just read it. And he loves to read but he doesn’t read much around self help books or personal development or business development. He’s more into fiction stuff. Sci Fi loves sci fi. Yeah. And so I said, Please read it. And he actually read it. I think in like a day, he didn’t take that long. Wow. And he was like, This is awesome. Okay, what do we do? Okay, so we just contacted, right, and we have a phone call, and we just see. And I’m like, if it’s the right fit, if it’s meant to be it will be and if it’s not, then that’s fine. But we’ve got to do something different, because what we’re doing is not working. And we were just going round and round in circles. And it just seems so complex. I think if I’m right, you had like 47 kind of goals for a quarter was that or something? Something? For a year? Yeah. 47 goals for a year. And everybody first told me that. It’s like, I know you’re a superwoman. I know Eli’s a super guy, but seriously, and the fact that we were owning all of those ourselves, I was like, I was like, Ah, we’re not going to achieve all of these. There’s no way I wouldn’t even tell my clients to do these mini inside keeps sort of saying that we don’t need these. Anyway, do we have so many this is just so complicated. We’re just setting ourselves up for failure. So yes, I knew there had to be a different way.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  17:26

Yeah. Okay. And what has been the sort of biggest learning because we’re now probably, what, four or five months into it, how what’s been the biggest learning for you through that process?

Wyndi Tagi  17:36

So many things. One definitely is the simplicity of it, and then also just not having to be the only people at the tables. So a meeting agenda is so much crisper and cleaner, and to the point and stuff gets done, I would have sworn them that I better not. And even our team love it. Because they’re like, oh, wow, like we’ve actually solved that problem. Yes. And we’re actually doing something about it. Because so often, they’ll be like, you know, just the conversation in the back somewhere about an issue. And then I’d be okay, this is how we solve it. And then no one’s documented it. No one’s taking any action on it. And then they get asked about it later on. Oh, what did we decide that I can’t remember what I decided? Yeah. So just even that has been so much better.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  18:18

I just had that level 10 meetings, I think they’re a game changer. I think you didn’t do nothing else out of EOS. But had those level 10 meetings, did the IDS that you should solve and stuff, that makes significant difference.

Wyndi Tagi  18:27

And just reporting and it doesn’t have to be, again, doesn’t have to be complex, but just keeping on top of everything. And then what I also like about the level 10s is it’s not just Eli and I are holding each other accountable. We have a team of people that are holding us accountable, and we’re holding them accountable. But you know, going back to what you said about husband and wife, you know, it’s it’s like sometimes I find it difficult to hold him accountable. Sometimes he finds it difficult to hold me accountable. So there’s other people at the table be holding us accountable. I don’t have to do it, and he doesn’t have to do it. Yeah. And that saves our marriage. So win win all around

Debra Chantry-Taylor  19:00

That is excellent. And so just for people listening in who won’t know this, so we obviously had to go through the accountability chart and some of the structure was it was right for the business then who was gonna do what role and Ally has basically gone into the integrator role, which is the glue that holds that all together beats the drum. And then you obviously were quite quite logically the visionary in terms of, you know, the big ideas, big relationships, how is it being a husband and wife and working together in that visionary integrator relationship?

Wyndi Tagi  19:26

Um, we’ve always kind of worked quite well. He has his skill set, I have my skill set. And although I was the CEO or the integrator by label, it makes perfect sense for me to be the visionary because I’m the one with a million ideas and Eli is always like rolling his eyes at my million ideas. And so it’s good that he is in that role, because in the past, I’ve just thrown out my ideas, expected the team to do it and then the next week, I’ve got a different idea, and then they will get confused and wonder what on Earth she doing. So it’s nice to have that person that’s in the middle that can kind of go, Okay, this is what we’re going to do, let’s mitigate this data. Is that still a good idea next week when they call? Yes, it is, okay, we’re going to look into it. So to make it really defined, and what our goals are, means that it’s easier to hold us accountable to because it’s okay, as per our accountability chart, this is what you need to be doing. And as the, you know, this is I need to be doing and so it just makes it quite clear. And then there’s no animosity, and it’s not about the person, it’s just about the role, and the expectations of it. And it’s actually made, Eli and I talk a whole lot less about work and our jobs and what’s working and not working outside of business, because it all just kind of gets tied up in the business. And it’s all sorted and solved in the level 10s. And until like, Yeah, and so we don’t really have to stress about them anymore, which has been really nice. We love working together, but we have a shared purpose and vision and values. And we both have our own skill sets to help us to achieve that. So and we’ve also put EOS into the Samoan team as well. And they’re now starting to adopt it.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  21:14

Are they sort of finding similar results over there? Now, I know you’ve got a very talented man running that operation.

Wyndi Tagi  21:20

I do. But even the team over there, like before we started rolling out the level 10s and to the departments, they were IDSing way like, you know, already, like the team would be like, kkay, so we’ve done this, this is the issue when we’ve gone through the IDS process. And I’m thinking, what team in New Zealand aren’t even doing this. Yeah. So that’s awesome. I’m like, man, you guys are gold stars all round. But, they love it. And even you know, for a guy who’s our CEO, who’s been in big organisations done some pretty incredible things, because he worked with a Virgin Group didn’t he did and in New Zealand, and so for him to have to forget all of that. And then implement the EOS system I was a little bit worried to start with, is he gonna be able to do this, you know, thing, or sometimes when you’re in your own ways, you’re just so used to it. But now he’s really gone for it and implemented it, he loves it. The whole team are doing it. They’re doing all of the level 10s and departments now. And yeah, and a leaders have really stepped up, which is really awesome.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  22:19

So anything that comes from having some really clear accountabilities and knowing what they’re there to do, and so they’ve got something to measure against.

Wyndi Tagi  22:27

Yeah, and so as to be able to do that accountability chat and go, Okay, we need a leader here. But GWC it, so it’s they get it, they want it and that they’re capable of doing it. And yeah, they just say yeah, I get it. Yeah, I want it. Yep, I’m capable. Or maybe I’m not quite yet. But will you help me to get there? Yeah, we’ve had the resources to be able to help them. And so um, yeah, they’ve really stepped into it.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  22:49

Yeah. And in your experience, it can also be a helpful tool, when people aren’t quite right, the right fit to write because you have been doing the people analyzer and that kind of stuff in your sessions. How has that gone? I’d love to hear your experiences on it.

Wyndi Tagi  23:03

Yeah. Yes, not all of the time. Does everybody get it? Want it? Or have the capability? Or the capacity to do it? Yes. And then we’ve just sort of worked out? Which of those are they not fitting? And are they still a fit? Or are they not a fit? So are we going to put the resources into this. And usually, we would try, like, Okay, if you don’t, don’t have the capacity for it yet, let’s help you to get the capacity. But if they’re not getting it, and they don’t really want it, then it’s so hard. So we’ve had to do that we’ve had to have courageous conversations. And the quarterly conversations has been a great tool for us to be able to use as an opportunity to just have a discussion and find out where exactly they’re at, sometimes they don’t actually realise that they don’t get it or that they don’t want it or that they don’t have the capacity for it. But at least if you’ve got a framework to work by, and then you know, talk to the values, then it’s there’s no ambiguous, ambiguous word. And it’s just really clear and say otherwise, I’m trying to think of, but yeah, it’s, it’s easier to do it that way than to try and beat around the bush or try and work out what’s not really working, you know, so it’s just like, cool. Do you fit our values? Do you get it do on it? Do you have the capacity? Let’s talk about it. Can we get you there? Can we not get you there? And you know, I just keep going back to my cancer story. And you know about doing what you love? Eight days, or eight hours a day, five days a week. If this isn’t for you, that’s fine. I have got to work. I can help you find somewhere that will make you happy. So yeah, and I’ve we’ve had that I had those conversations.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  24:52

So one of the big plans for the future and tell me a little about the sort of people that you work with because obviously you’re here. You didn’t go with the advice of the Big Four which I really happy about because there was a definite need for a different way of doing business, a different way of how people do business. So tell us the plans for the future.

Wyndi Tagi  25:09

I can’t say too much about the plans for the future because we’re about to launch – we’re about to do a big launch next month. Yes. So but yes, definitely across our turnover in the Pacific. And we will be expanding a little bit further and beyond into that with the purpose to enhancing mana for our Maori and Pacific people. And over the next 10 years, we want to positively impact the lives of 10 million people, although, I’m feeling like that’s actually going to probably be a little bit too small. But that’s okay.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  25:41

Gino always says that we always under overestimate what we can achieve in a year and underestimate we can do in 10 years. And that’s the power of that 10 year thinking,

Wyndi Tagi  25:48

Well, we started with five. That’s right,

Debra Chantry-Taylor  25:51

I’m not gonna say 10. And we’re still thinking that’s too little, right.

Wyndi Tagi  25:55

But yeah, look, we just as long as we’re doing that, then we will be happy. But we have got some big plans. And we’ve been working on what indigenous business looks like, and what indigenous models look like. And so our new business model was going to reflect that, which is really awesome. And, yeah, just trying to also teach people how to do business in indigenous way, and just, you know, being really authentic and not trying to be someone that they’re not, and just really loving business and loving what they’re doing in their businesses. So that’s kind of all I can share at the moment.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  26:30

I look forward to seeing them. So just in terms of kind of wrapping up as time has gone so quickly, what are the three kinds of tips that you could give to the listeners that you have learned on your journey so far, that they could then take out into their real world and perhaps do something with?

Wyndi Tagi  26:47

Yeah, I think you’ve got to really have a good kaupapa for your business. So clear vision, purpose, and values and stick to them no matter what, like really understand what that is, and make sure it really aligns with you and who you are and what you want to achieve in life. If you do that, then that makes it easier for your team and anyone else to sort of know who you are, what you’re about whether they want to join on the journey. Have a clear business plan. It doesn’t have to be overly complicated. It doesn’t have to be 50 pages long. It has to be something that’s really, really simple that you can look at daily, weekly, monthly, whatever, but read regularly. And don’t just Yeah, some people just like put in a folder and leave it on a disk to get dust or they chuck it in some folder on your laptop and forget about it. So don’t do that it’s there for a reason. If you want to achieve your goals, they say write them down. And then you know, take action.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  27:48

Yeah, I think it’s interesting. So I think there are two different types of business plan, there’s a business plan that you have to do to get the funding from the bank. And that might be a bit more complex. But it’s not the same as the plan that you actually refer to every day. And I know that Jen and I actually have a V/TO printed out laminated, it’s on our desk at all times we use it in our meetings, and it is literally to a4 slides.

Wyndi Tagi  28:09

That’s all it needs to be. Oh, it needs to be doesn’t need to be anything more than that. Yeah. And even the banks have taken the ones that we’ve done on the two pages and gone with them.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  28:16

So really, oh, great news!

Wyndi Tagi  28:17

I think what I have found about business plans, just on that quick, yes, is that people don’t actually understand what each of those different parts mean, on a business plan. So what even as a purpose, what actually is my vision? You know, what does it mean by goals? What does it mean by your target audience? You know, so often I see my target audiences male and female 18 to 65. You know, like, I don’t actually expect any new business owner or even existing business owners to really understand everything inside a business plan unless you’ve done it with a coach or something before. So if you don’t need help, then reach out to somebody who actually knows who can get the most out of it for you. Because then it’s going to be a great business plan. Otherwise, it’s all confusing. And you know, it’s going to be hard for you to sort of achieve what you want to achieve.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  29:05

Sure. No, I completely concur with that. Third, and final tip, what would you say?

Wyndi Tagi  29:10

Third and final tip, it’s okay to hire family members. As long as they get the job, want the job and they are capable of doing the job? Yes. And they align with your values. So interview them like you would normally interview anybody, put them through all of the rigmarole get someone else in your team to interview them, too. If you feel that you need a different perspective, we’ve done that. I wouldn’t hire any of my sons, but I’m happy to hire my daughter in laws.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  29:41

But that’s actually a really valid point, isn’t it? Because I think that we tend to we get told that I don’t employ family and friends and that’s not true. If the family or friend is the right fit and they said GW the wrong why wouldn’t you and I think that the what I love about the EOS system, it gives them some very sort of some boundaries in terms of here’s what we’re expecting of you. Here’s you accountability, your measurable yeah, see how you go.

Wyndi Tagi  30:03

As long as you treat them like any other team member, then you can’t really go wrong. And you know, it just depends on the person but family sometimes want you to succeed more so the sometimes they’re willing to do more for you, because your family and especially if they’re like a son or a daughter or something and then gonna hit and hear at the business at some stage anyway, um, you know, they want it to be successful. Now, that’s not everybody. But everyone’s different. So yeah, I think as long as they see, get the job, want the job, have the capability to do the job and they align with your vision, your values and your purpose, then why not?

Debra Chantry-Taylor  30:35

Excellent. Okay. Now I know that you have a number of different ways people can actually engage interact with you, you do group workshops, you know, one on one coaching, you’ve got a team that supports them with their accounting and other numbers, stuff that completely escapes me, but I’m not sure you know what it is. Tell us a little bit about what you know what you do. And where can people can find you if they want to find out more about what you do.

Wyndi Tagi  30:55

At the moment, the best place to find us would probably be on LinkedIn, or Facebook. So just WE Accounting on LinkedIn and Facebook. I say that because we’re about to change our website, right. And you probably still at Google search, WE accounting or WE Auckland accountanting, and we come up on the first page of Google. Yeah, we do a lot of coaching business advisory work. And then obviously, we’re a chartered accounting firm too. So we do all of the accounting, tax work, compliance, work, your payroll, bookkeeping, whatever you kinda want, we do all of that.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  31:28

And you personally, how do they get ahold of you? LinkedIn? I guess, probably a good way.

Wyndi Tagi  31:32

LinkedIn is where I’m, yeah, mostly, I have got a Facebook page, you can contact me on there or Instagram. Otherwise, you can just email me Wyndi.tagi@weaccounting.co.nz

Debra Chantry-Taylor  31:42

That’s beautiful. Thank you much, hey, just out of interest. And for our they actually got in contact with me. And he requested a whole set of book for his family, they’re now interested in learning more about it. That sounds really cool. And I must admit, I got a few clients who do do like to use some of the kinds of things in their, in their family business if you’d like. Yeah, we have a family. dear. Yes. Excellent. I love it. Okay, cool. Hey, well, look. Thank you, Wyndi, it has been a real pleasure to talk to you. Thank you for coming in. This is actually our first kind of in person podcast for a long, long time. So really appreciate you making the effort to come in. And thank you for sharing your experiences.

Wyndi Tagi  32:00

Thank you so much. And thank you for everything that you’ve done for WE New Zealand and WE Samoa, we really appreciate it. And yeah, we’re just at the moment now going up on the up curve waiting to hit the ceiling again. But that’s okay. Yeah,

Debra Chantry-Taylor  32:28

I look forward. I look forward to seeing what you’re about to launch. And I look forward to supporting you on that journey Wyndi. Thank you!