For those of us who have never worked with large corporations, we probably never would have considered the logistics of moving thousands of employees in and out of the parking lots during a shift change.
Well, this is precisely what Jackie and Daniel Arredondo focus on daily. They created a traffic planning business, and it is now a hugely successful operation that spans 14 states.
Read below about their small business journey and how Jackie used FINSYNC to help navigate the ins and outs of creating their business.
Tell me about your company and what inspired you to start
My husband, Daniel, started our company, JPA Traffic Services. We employ off-duty police officers to do security, traffic control, parking lot control, and for anything else you would want a police officer.
We started this because my husband was a police officer for 32 years and saw a need. Our major client is Amazon. We created a traffic plan to get their influx of over 1,000 employees in and out of the parking lot within a short period of time.
It all began with one facility in San Marcos, TX, and has grown significantly over the past few years. We are now in 23 facilities in 14 states.
Daniel goes to all of the facilities and creates the plan. I do all the books to ensure everyone is licensed with tax information and other paperwork is in order and up-to-date.
What are some of the challenges you’ve faced as a small business owner?
We weren’t ready for the amount of growth that we went through. Previously, I managed retail stores, so I had experience with businesses and accounts receivable. But I had to learn to come at it from a small business perspective. Then we didn’t stay small for very long!
It was especially challenging during COVID when we had two kids at home. I had to help him run the business and try to teach my kids. It was a handful.
What’s the best thing about being a small business owner?
I enjoy being able to do things when I need to do them. The flexible schedule allows me to take care of my kids and even take them to the pool. I worked this morning, and then I will work again just before midnight. It is so convenient to do things on my time when I need to.
What prompted you to start using FINSYNC?
We can link up our business account with FINSYNC and see everything in one place. It is easy for me because I can pay my officers all over the country as long as I have their email addresses. It is easy for them to sign up and not have to wait for a paycheck. UPS and FedEx aren’t the best way to send hundreds of thousands of dollars.
What are the biggest benefits your business has experienced using FINSYNC?
I like how everything is itemized, just like it would be with a regular account. I can go in and categorize every transaction. Then our bookkeeper can run the reports and run everyone’s 1099. It is so convenient to do everything in one place.
What financial institutions do you have connected to FINSYNC?
For such a long time, we have been with RBFCU or Randolph Brooks Federal Credit Union. We have our mortgage, vehicles, and both personal and business accounts. We like them a lot and everyone there is very helpful. They recommended FINSYNC to us, saying it was a service offered to business customers. We were growing and trying to find an easier way than handwriting checks every day.
How does having FINSYNC connected to the accounts mentioned above make your business life easier?
A couple of times, the officers didn’t put in their account information in time or correctly, so we have been able to utilize your customer service. They fix things for us and have helped merge the account and sync it. I am not very tech-savvy, so FINSYNC customer support has pretty much-done everything for me and made my transition very smooth.
What advice do you have for those who are thinking about owning their own business?
Take your time and look at all of your options when choosing a financial platform. Make sure you are picking the best model that will be the best for you. The services are there to be helpful and support you, so choose the one that will do the most for you.
Free up time to focus on mission-critical areas by putting administrative tasks on autopilot with intuitive online tools like FINSYNC that can do the heavy lifting for you.