Page 24 - Final Inspirational Women Issue

Inspirational Women

Jennifer Barnes

HELPING YOUR BUSINESS RUN BETTER Photos by Maggie Ramos
By Carol Heath

ENNIFER BARNES IS THE CO-FOUND- awards. The best thing about all of this is
Jer and President of Pro Back Office that Jennifer started the company with
(PBO), a privately held company in San her partner Mike in mid-2012 out of her
Diego that provides fractional account- living room after being fired.
ing services and strategic consulting to After speaking with Jennifer, it's easy
growing business and not for profits. to understand how she and her partner
PBO becomes a company’s internal team; Mike have grown Pro Back Office to be-
onsite, hourly and ongoing. They provide come one of the leading outsourced ac-
superstar resources at every level, from counting firms in San Diego. Jennifer is a
the CFO to the bookkeeping role, along people over profits leader and thorough-
with HR services. “No company wants ly enjoys providing jobs. Some interest-
their CFO doing data entry, and there ing info? PBO has 70 employees, who are
is a very small percentage of business- 48% millennials, 67% female and are paid
es whose staff accountant provides an average of $37 per hour. They have
high-level financials, analytics, and staff in their early twenties and some in
high-level strategy," says Jennifer with a their late sixties. PBO also offers a flexible
sense of confidence that helps us to un- schedule, and 65% of the Pro Back Office competitions and enjoys being a speaker
derstand why she runs one of the fastest team works 24-32 hours a week. to various college and high-schoolers.
growing companies in the United States. “We love to give smart people a ton One of her favorite presentations begins
In 2017 PBO was ranked #892 on the of flexibility and independence,” Says Jen- with how PBO was started and then
Inc. 5000 and #40 in the San Diego Busi- nifer with a smile. "I created a culture and launches into a presentation on how soft
ness Journals fastest growing companies. an environment where I would want to skills are incredibly important and how
In the same year, they were also in the work if I was still on the other side of the having a high EQ and possessing strong
top places to work in San Diego in both table. It's about work-life balance, a kind Social Intelligence Skills can make or
the Union Tribune and the San Diego demeanor, and surrounding yourself with break your career. “It isn’t just about the
Business Journal, among several other extremely smart people; both socially hard skills; it's about how you treat and
and intellectually.” How do they ensure interact with others. You should focus on
everyone on the team is highly intelli- how you make people feel, and always
gent? “We make everyone take an IQ test aim to bring out the best in those around
before offering them a position," says Jen- you; especially those people who depend
nifer. Candidates also take an accounting on you for guidance and direction”, says
assessment, a written and verbal essay Jennifer
and a behavioral assessment, adminis- Jennifer was born in Idaho, raised
tered by Jennifer personally. What’s even in Las Vegas and graduated from the
cooler? PBO has a 90% retention rate. University of Arizona with a Bachelors’
Jennifer is adamant about her philosophy degree in Finance and Marketing. After
of “Happy staff, happy clients.” half a dozen years in the workforce, she
Jennifer is a tenacious and accom- earned an MBA from San Diego State
plished business woman who cares deep- University and then decided to take the
ly about others and prides herself on Becker CPA curriculum. After a decade
making a difference. She is involved on as a Controller for numerous companies
numerous non-profit boards, including through a couple of consulting firms, she
Junior Achievement and the BBB, and is was given the opportunity to start Pro
a member of Rotary, Vistage, and EO. She Back Office. "Getting fired was the best
also spends quite a bit of time being in- thing that ever happened to me," Jennifer
volved with San Diego State as a mentor tells us candidly. "I wasn't meant to work
for the Lavin Entrepreneur program, loves for others. At this point, I'm fairly unem-
being a judge in numerous educational ployable!".
For more information visit their website at
http://www.probackoffice.com/ or give them a call at 877-868-6164
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