"Stacey was able to come in, clean up the books across all of their businesses and put systems and processes in place to streamline things. Our CPA said our books had never looked so good! As a result, we ended up adding a Virtual Assistant as well. We had a specific need and BELAY was able to find someone with the exact experience we needed. Laura, an Animal Science graduate, was able to step into the role, fully understand what we did and was able to take very specific tasks off of our plate from Day 1."
— Danelle Skartvedt
The Challenge
Jim and Danelle Skartvedt, husband-and-wife owners of Renew Ag Supply, were running five businesses while raising five children — and they had reached a breaking point. With so much on their plates, they were maxed out, struggling to keep up, and spending far more time on business operations than with their family.
A pivotal realization helped shift their mindset: just because they could do something didn't mean they necessarily should. But knowing that and acting on it were two different things. Living in a small town made hiring locally difficult — the talent pool was limited, and the size of their operation made it hard to compete for highly skilled employees they simply couldn't afford.
Danelle had been managing the bookkeeping herself, but it wasn't a natural fit. To make matters worse, they had worked with several bookkeepers in the past, none of whom had delivered the accuracy or reliability they needed. Their financial records were a source of ongoing frustration — and the stress was beginning to take a real toll on both the business and the family.
The Solution
After years of disappointing experiences with bookkeepers, Jim and Danelle were finally ready to explore a different approach: virtual staffing. They turned to BELAY, and the impact was immediate.
BELAY matched them with Stacey, a virtual bookkeeper who dove in and got to work across all five of their businesses. She cleaned up the books, built out systems and processes to keep everything running smoothly, and brought a level of organization their finances had never had before.
"Stacey was able to come in, clean up the books across all of their businesses and put systems and processes in place to streamline things. Our CPA said our books had never looked so good!"
The results with Stacey were so strong that Jim and Danelle decided to expand their BELAY team. They added Laura, a Virtual Assistant with an Animal Science background — the exact expertise their agricultural business required. Laura was able to hit the ground running from Day 1, taking highly specific tasks off their plates without a steep learning curve. Danelle noted that Stacey's responsiveness made collaboration effortless:
"Stacey is very attentive to our emails and texts. She's always available or gets back to us pretty quickly."
"It's reduced our stress, and I think there's a peace of mind knowing your books are in order and that your email account is empty. You don't feel so stressed; it doesn't feel so overwhelming."
— Jim Skartvedt, Co-OwnerThe Impact
With Stacey and Laura handling the operational and financial work that had been weighing them down, Jim and Danelle Skartvedt found something they hadn't had in years: breathing room. BELAY alleviated the friction and frustration that had built up between running five businesses and raising a family, freeing them to focus on higher-level thinking, planning, and the work only they could do.
"[I]f you're bogged down with other stuff, you can't grow."
The couple agreed that the greatest improvement has been to their peace of mind — knowing that everything is getting done right, without having to do it themselves. Their books are clean, their inbox is under control, and the stress that once felt overwhelming has lifted.
"It's reduced our stress, and I think there's a peace of mind knowing your books are in order and that your email account is empty. You don't feel so stressed; it doesn't feel so overwhelming. Even our accountant is like, 'This is the cleanest your books have ever been!'"
But perhaps the most meaningful measure of BELAY's impact is personal. As Jim put it:
"And now, we've seen our kids more in the last six months than I have last 15 years, which is awesome. And that's because of what Laura and Stacey have done for us."