THE STORY BEHIND BUILT BESIDE YOU
I believe business owners deserve to understand the businesses they’re building.
You shouldn’t need an accounting degree to feel confident about your numbers for your business.
Built Beside You was created to make financial information more approachable, practical, and useful — so you can understand your numbers, make informed decisions, and build your business with confidence.
— Sam
HOW I GOT HEREI learned pretty quickly that the numbers are only part of the story.
While I do appreciate the beauty of a well-built spreadsheet, it’s not the numbers themselves that have kept me in accounting and finance throughout my career—it’s the people.
There is no better feeling than watching it finally click for someone. The moment a business owner finally understands why their profit doesn’t match the cash in their bank account. When a confusing financial report starts answering real questions. Or when the numbers help turn an uncertain decision into a clear next step.
Over the years, I’ve worked with fast-paced growing businesses of all sizes — not just looking at their finances, but seeing how the numbers connect to operations, people, growth, and the everyday realities of running a business.
Working closely with small business owners has especially shaped the way I think about financial support. Because while the numbers matter, context matters too. Financial reports don’t exist in a vacuum. They’re part of a much bigger story about your business.
Good financial information shouldn’t just tell you what happened. It should help you decide what happens next.
THE APPROACHTurns out, there’s something to that whole “teach a man to fish” idea.
I wanted business owners to understand the why and the how behind the answers.
Because there’s a big difference between being told your numbers look good and understanding what makes them look good.
There’s a difference between being given a budget and knowing how to use it.
And there’s a difference between outsourcing your finances and feeling genuinely confident about what’s happening inside your own business.
That’s the space Built Beside You was created to fill.
Controllership & Operations
Looking beyond bookkeeping to understand how financial information connects to the way a business actually operates.
Accounting & Finance
Experience working with financial reporting, accounting operations, and the numbers behind growing businesses.
Small Business Consulting
Working directly with business owners to turn financial questions into practical next steps.
Systems & QuickBooks
Hands-on experience navigating financial systems, processes, reporting, and QuickBooks.
WHAT'S IN A NAME?Why Built Beside You?
Because I don’t believe financial support should mean handing over your numbers and disconnecting from them.
Your business belongs to you. You should understand what’s happening inside it.
Sometimes that means giving you a resource and letting you work through it yourself. Sometimes it means sitting down together and untangling a question. And sometimes it means building better systems alongside you.
Whatever the format, the philosophy stays the same:
I’m not here to build your business for you. I’m here to help you build it with greater clarity and confidence.
Not built for you. Built Beside You.
WHAT I BELIEVEUnderstanding Creates Confidence
You shouldn’t have to blindly trust that your finances are okay. The more you understand, the better questions you can ask and the more confidently you can lead.
Simple is Often Better
Your financial systems should match the business you have — not the business some internet checklist says you should have.
Questions Are Always Welcome
There is no financial concept you “should already know.” If something doesn’t make sense, we start there.
BEYOND THE SPREADSHEET
When I’m not buried in a spreadsheet, you can usually find me practicing or teaching yoga, spending time with family, enjoying the fresh air while hiking or camping, attending a live music show, or cozied up with a good book.
READY TO BUILD?However you prefer to start, I’ll meet you there.
Learn at your own pace with practical financial resources, or bring your questions and let’s work through them together.