Hello, and welcome to another episode of Rooted in the Community, a podcast where we talk to our emerging community leaders about life and how they’re here and how they fit into the community and where they see themselves and all of us going in the next five, ten years. Want to give a shout out to naming creative Josh and of course, Jordan Rosenberg for recording everything for us and doing such an awesome job. Big shout out to SunLeaders with Eric Nutting as well for allowing the
platform to do this.

You can listen to us now on Podbeam, which you can download right on any phone. Our guest today is Emma Van Winkle with Paychex. Super excited to have her out.

I’ve known Emma for. Seems like forever, but probably around a year at this point, and absolute pleasure. Somebody that’s really, really emerging in our community and doing a lot.

Emma, how are you? I’m good, thanks, Mike. How are you? Oh, I’m doing great. Little shaky.

Been a weird eight weeks with the hurricane and everything else, so definitely, you know, but we’re hanging in there. Yeah, we are hanging in there. We’re doing great.

I feel like we are, too. I feel like everybody’s coming together. I’ve seen more of you and everybody else in the past week, week and a half than I have for a little while, and I feel like we’re back to it, so.

Yeah, I feel the same way. I think for a while there, a lot of people were just hanging on. You know, you have to do what you have to do when a natural disaster happens, but everybody really has, like, come together.

And it’s so nice seeing, like, especially being newer to the community, how much people, like, have just been there for each other, 100%. And it’s, like, weird because it’s, like, you say newer, and I guess it’s probably true. It’s been a year.

That’s new. It’s been under two years for me. It seems like we’ve been there for, like, a decade, though.

Yeah, it has. Yeah, it really has. And something really cool about St. Pete to me is there are so many things to be involved in, and, like, no matter which group you’re in or, like, what day of the week it is and, like, what’s going on, you’re gonna see people that you know and are excited about you being there.

So that’s a really good feeling, 100%. It’s like a little family. It’s so cool.

I love it. So you. You.

You moved to St. Pete when? A year ago or. I moved to St. Pete in September of 2023. So a little over a year ago.

Nice. Okay, so give us kind of the backstory, your adventure from where you originally from, what kind of down here. And me? Just stay.

Sure. I am born and raised from Toledo, Ohio. Go Rockets.

I started in the real estate industry. I sold commercial real estate for about three years at a boutique firm in Toledo, covered northwest Ohio and into southeast Michigan. So I was licensed in both states.

And, you know, I lived in a house with a couple roommates, and our lease was coming up, and I was kind of itching for something different and something new. And I had an offer from a commercial real estate brokerage in Toledo to come work for their Tampa office. So I came down here the summer of 23 to interview, and I ended up not taking that position, but I loved it down here.

I had been here a couple times to vacation, and, um, and really just found myself wanting more of it. So I. I, again, I did not take that position that I interviewed for the first time. I came, but looked around for a couple other things and found myself as a title rep for a title company.

Um, and that was a great experience. That’s how I met you and a lot of our friends and a lot of the people that I still talk to all the time and see at all these networking events. So that was a really good step for me to come down to Florida and, like, it was a good progression in my career.

That’s awesome. Thanks. Absolutely awesome.

And you’re from the Midwest, just like. Yeah, exactly. Which is cool.

So we have that connection. Yeah. And we love the Midwest.

Like, Toledo is awesome. Ohio’s awesome, Michigan’s awesome. Yeah.

Not so much in the next coming months for us, so. Exactly. It’s kind of nice being down here.

It’s like, there’s an energy, you know? Definitely. There’s a lot of Midwesterners down here. Yes.

But that still love and support the Midwest. But like you just said, I mean, how many months a year can you take the cold and the gray? It can wear on you? But, you know, I do still love it. And I miss.

I miss a lot of pieces of that. I would agree. But I mean, like, for me, it’s like mid May to, like, mid September.

You’ll see me up there. Like, I have to go out for Thanksgiving this year, and I’m like, that means I’m out for Christmas. If you want to see me, come on down.

We have palm trees. What do you want me to tell you? Yeah. And sunshine.

And sunshine. Right, Exactly. Are you going? So you’re going up for Thanksgiving? Yeah, I’ll be there for almost a week, which will be really nice.

I tried convincing my family to come down for Christmas, but I’m never very successful at doing that. But maybe one year. I’m sure one year soon.

Yeah, that’s. That’s my thought, too. I do the same thing.

I don’t want to go up there. They always complain that I don’t come up for Christmas, and I’m like, yeah, you know, but like, we have a house and you will cook and you guys don’t have to do anything. And there’s hotels that you could stay in, and that way we’re not bothering each other the whole time you’re down here.

It’s a perfect setup. And they won’t do it either. I don’t.

I don’t get very stubborn up there. I know they are very stubborn, but that’s the good thing about being from the Midwest. It makes you tough.

It does, 100%. And I mean, that’s what I feel like, you know, really is done well for you since you really started networking. You’re tough, you’re super professional, you hang in there, you’re resilient.

Right. This is, I feel like a lot of Midwestern qualities. And you see that down here with a lot of us, and we blend right in and make.

Make a life for ourselves, which is awesome. And we did. We started.

We met when you were in Title. I do mortgages. So it was like, obvious, like, well, we should talk and figure out if we can, you know, get clients together, whatever it may be.

But that on itself was a journey. You came right in and took networking. You came into the Chamber, then you were involved in other networking groups, and you had a progression where, you know, you’ve made a great change.

Now you’re in a better spot, but you put in the time and built up a amazing network very quickly. Thank you. So kind of take us through that, like, networking journey as well.

Yeah. So when I was living in Ohio and working and selling commercial real estate, I was luck. Very lucky to work with a lot of very well established people in their careers.

I was definitely the youngest person in my brokerage, and so I was able to learn a lot about, you know, what you should be doing to make those progressions. I knew being involved in the chamber was a very important piece of a lot of people’s puzzles, and it was connecting you to a lot of the movers and shakers in the community. I also knew, like, there’s so much Business being done down here, it’s a huge msa, so the chamber is not the only place you should be focusing, but a very big.

A very, very big one. So then from there, I joined the Pinellas Realtor organization. I joined a couple other smaller groups.

I attended the Sun Leaders group as a guest a couple of times. So really just wanted to make sure I was, like, touching all of my bases and making sure that I was meeting all of the people in these spaces that were important in the community and, like, that everybody else knew. And I felt like that was going to take me into the places that I wanted to be as well.

It would just accelerate things. And, you know, I love being in sales, and I love building relationships and getting to know people, and I think it’s a really important thing for everyone to, like, build with each other. But for me personally, I just enjoy doing those things, and it’s nice that I have a career and a job that, like, that’s kind of the most important part of it.

So, anyway, after joining all of those networking groups and kind of, you know, making sure I was being well connected in the community, you know, I found myself asking, like, well, like, what’s next? And is there something else that I could be doing that might even be more beneficial? So this opportunity just kind of, like, fell into my lap a little bit, that I. I got a really good offer from Paychex, the company I’m currently with, and I’m now a senior sales consultant for them, selling pay.
I’ve been with them two months on Monday, so it’s been good. I really do feel like I’ve been able to really lean on those groups, and, like, I definitely feel like I have a good base that has supported me.

So that’s kind of the. The approach I took to getting involved in the community. And I do feel like it allowed me this opportunity, so I love it.

I couldn’t agree more. And, like, the way you handle it, too, it’s interesting. I mean, I started in mortgages when I was 26 at Quicken Loans, and.

Same thing. A lot of people, a lot of mentors, right? A lot of people that have done this for years. And if you soak it up like a sponge, you become very good very quickly, even at a young age, and that’s what you’ve done.

And then to be able to transition that into B2B. So the business to business versus your business, it’s a totally different game, right? Like, I mean, it’s a different sale. You’re not closing hard you’re not.

You’re positioning. It’s almost like chess. You’re positioning yourself where you think you’re going to get the most benefit.

You’ve done a heck of a job with that. Thank you. You know, which is awesome.

I mean, and we both. It’s interesting, too, because, I mean, we were sitting in a weird BNI core group together. I mean, we’ve got to bring it up, right? We’re talking about the networking.

So we were, you know, and it was like. It was weird. And like, it was like it ended up being five people.

But, I mean, out of that, like, myself, you, Robbie Hill, our financial advisor. Love Robbie. We all wanted to do something, and we ended up all getting into the same group where we know 50% of the folks in there already because we network with them and we love them already.

And what an opportunity. I just thought it was so freaking amazing. That’s like.

We went through the Valley, you know, some shit. But at the end of the day, we ended up right where we were supposed to be given. I would.

I would attribute that to our positioning and the job that you’ve done positioning yourself with the right people. So you’re the obvious choice. They want you in the group.

They’ll fight to pull you in the group. So I think we’re gonna do okay. Yeah.

And I mean, enough about me. You’re, like, everywhere, all the time. I don’t know how you are so involved in all of these groups.

And, like, everybody knows you. Everybody knows that you’re the mortgage guy. So it’s good.

Thank God. Yeah, thank God. But just to point out, like, a lot of these groups I know of because of you, so.

Yeah, but so. And that’s an interesting point, too, and I’m glad that I was able to, like, pass that torch. And you do it for folks now, too.

And you’re like, hey, I see value in this human. Let me invite them to this group. I think they’re going to be a good fit.

That. That’s what that. I came into the chamber because my buddy Jake Moore, Moore Resource Insurance, invited me and said, hey, this will be a good fit for you.

I met Bella Wood. I met Dan. Dan the payroll man.

I met these people, right? And that’s what they did. They literally grabbed me and said, you’re coming everywh. You’re doing everything.

We’re going to expose you to everything, and all the groups, and then you can figure out which is going to be the best and who you really want to build with and spend your Time with. And that’s exactly what I did. But that’s also exactly what you did.

It’s just. We just keep passing. We have good people really just showing you here’s the way.

And let me make introductions that may have taken you years to make. Right. Or even get to talk to somebody great.

That’s how we advance our business. And it’s a cool community. You don’t see that anywhere else.

You know, I don’t. Up in Michigan, we have lots of loan officers up there, and they are amazing people and they do very well, and they all have that Quicken background for years. Right.

But it’s a different platform up there, and it’s more call center and this and that. Nobody’s doing the big chamber things that we do and the BNI and all the give back and all this stuff. I mean, it’s.

This is amazing. It’s amazing down here. Yeah, I feel the same way.

I definitely think that people in this community, I. I feel like where I’m from, I felt this way back home as well. But here, there’s a lot of people that just want everyone to be successful and there’s enough to go around. I think there’s some areas of the city where people are a little more territorial, depending on, like, what you do and who you work for.

But overall, like, general statement, people really want everyone to be involved because there’s just enough business for all of us. So it’s not like people are gatekeeping. And I really do like that about St. Pete.

I 100% agree. Like, I mean, I hang out with mortgage people down here all the time. I run a mortgage company and I’m hanging out with the competition, and people probably think that’s weird.

Yeah. One of my best friends was a title or is a title rep when I. Yeah. And you guys were always hanging out.

Yeah. But it’s kind of because you. You realize exactly what you said.

There’s enough to go around. And the way I look at it, too, is I’ve met some great individual. Andre Taylor is one of my favorite human beings.

Works for a guaranteed rate. Does it? Very well. He’s an awesome dude.

I wish he’d come work for me. That’s somebody I actually trust. I want to hang out with him because even if he’s closing the loan, I know he’s doing it morally and ethically and, like, that’s awesome.

And eventually he’ll come work for me if I keep pushing him hard enough. We’ll see what happens. But that’s a recruiting Platform where you get to be put in front of individuals and now make those decisions.

Like, oh, I really? Yeah. Okay, let’s see where this can go. You know, so I mean it’s all, it’s all great stuff.

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But now you’ve transitioned your two months into paychecks, you’re in bni, you’re in the chamber, you’re doing it all with paychecks. Okay, so what’s your tell us a little bit about your position and then what you’re doing to help your clients and all that good stuff. Sure.

So my position, I am a senior sales consultant and I focus on payroll. Paychex does a lot of different things, whether that be hr, insurance benefits, so they do a lot. But my focus is payroll and there is a six week training program at Paychex that I’m wrapping up.

So, you know, I think my time has been pretty occupied with a lot of just getting my feet under me. So it was six weeks of like training classes and then you get homework and assignments and you know, really learning the products and learning about the company. And then, you know, there’s also the aspect of making sure I’m in those networking spaces and seats and like people in my circles know what I’m doing.

And you know, you never want to be like dropped off the face of the earth when you’re making a change. You want your connections like on the same page as you, kind of. And then I’m focusing primarily on banking and CPA relationships.

Like that’s what my channel they call it is, is make like growing and building those referral sources. Because banking and CPA partners, they get a lot of benefit and we have great referral programs for them. When they send us referrals, we’re able to give them a really good incentive program.

So that’s kind of my focus on a day to day as well. I have probably stopped at 50 CPA firms this week. There’s a lot of them.

Yeah, there’s so Many. There’s just so many. And again, the banking partners are a little different than the CPA partners and like the programs that we can offer for those referrals.

But that’s kind of just the gist of, like, my day to day is a mix of training, networking, and then stopping into my account and like introducing myself, building that relationship, educating them on what it is I’m doing, and then going from there. I’m still definitely in the startup stages, but I’ve got a few deals in my pipeline. I’m closing things within the next couple of weeks and I just, I do feel like I am in a really good spot and I feel like it’s.

It’s kind of a breath of fresh air, if you know what I mean. Absolutely. And that’s awesome.

I gotta make a few comments. Number one, paychecks and their culture sounds amazing. I love the fact that’s what I come from is corporate.

Right. Between Quicken and uwm, their training was incredible. It brings you up to speed.

You’re doing all that they want. They’re investing in you. They’re actually allowing you to network too.

They’re not keeping you in the office, just at a phone. They’re saying, get out there, go get business, network. We encourage you to do that.

Right. That’s pretty darn cool. Yeah, I actually.

So we have a huge corporate office in St. Pete in Carillon. Oh, it’s right across from my house. Yeah, exactly.

Right across from Feather Sound. So we have a huge corporate office there. But I. I don’t have an office.

Like, I don’t have a desk at the office because I’m supposed to be out every day, which I think is really cool. Sometimes it’s a little tricky because my car is where I keep all of my things. But it’s nice, you know, the expectation is to be out doing things, which I have not always felt that way in the past.

Yep. And the more you’re seen, the more business you’re going to get. It’s weird how it works.

You go to an event and all of a sudden somebody goes, oh, you know what? I’ve been thinking about you. Yes. I wanted to introduce you to so and so.

Or here’s somebody’s card, I’ve got a referral for you. You know, they’re exactly what you’re looking for. And it’s like, oh, man.

You know, so for them to allow you to do that, it’s amazing. But then on top of that, you’re wearing three hats right now. Right.

You Know what I mean? So you’re doing it all. You’re training, you’re going through that. At the same time, you’re doing all the networking and you’re going and getting new business, which you’re very good at.

So you’re balancing everything. So it, I mean, it’s obvious you’re gonna be successful when all you’re doing is folk training’s over, you’re just focusing on getting more in. But I mean, that’s.

That’s gotta be a lot to balance right now with that and two hurricanes and this. It’s crazy time down here. It’s wild right now.

Crazy time right now. I. My first couple of. So I started at paychex again about two months ago, and my first day was the week after Hurricane Helene.

And then I had my first week and then my second week was Hurricane Milton. So it does like, the first couple of weeks, I felt like we’re shot. So, you know, the la.

The last month I’ve been kind of playing catch up and I’ve been clocking about 60 hours a week right now, which for an entrepreneur is normal. And it’s hopefully not going to be that way forever. But, you know, you got to do what you got to do.

You 100% do, and you’re very resilient. But, you know, are you. How are you building? I guess a lot of people ask, you know, constantly, hey, I see you’re having success.

How do you build in free time? How do you do this? You’re doing 60 hours. I get it. That’s what we do.

But what are you doing to build in free time for yourself, to make sure that you’re able to recharge and do all this every day? Yeah, I really utilize my, my, like 7 to 10pm hours for. I love lifting and I love yoga and I use class pass. So I’m able to like, try a lot of different studios in the area.

And I go to the Y for if I’m gonna list or like, you know, do some cardio. So going to the gym every night is very. Just important for me.

I think it’s the time that I can just decompress and leave it all at the office or, you know, in the car. And then my weekends are like my reset and revive time. I. I have a roommate.

We spend a lot of time with our friends and my boyfriend and I am big into like meal prepping and cooking and we, you know, just. There’s, there’s time for work and there’s time for play and if you work on the weekends. You just have to make sure to build in time for yourself too.

And luckily, I don’t have a lot of other responsibilities other than working. So, you know, my time is not very taken up by, like, I don’t have any kids and I don’t have any pets. And that might sound sad, but one day I will have those things.

So right now I need to, I’m fine focusing on my extracurriculars when I’m not working 100%. Oh, yeah. I mean, that’s, it’s great.

I mean, that’s literally how I’ve, I built my business and compartmentalized my life was through weight training and all of that for decades. And it really helped me excel in business and it helped me for different stages of life. And that’s what you’re doing too.

And like, mentally you’re able to let it all go. You release endorphins, life feels good, you’re back out there. So that’s awesome that you’re doing that.

That’s something you’ll probably always do because that’s a part of us. Right? Like, amazing. And then building a time with friends, your boyfriend, everything else, you have to do that because you’re going to go crazy otherwise.

So, I mean, everything you’re doing is setting yourself up for success. Yeah. Thank you.

And I think in a job like what we have, where you’re living your life kind of always on go when you don’t have to go, you have to like recognize that. And you, you’re like, oh, I have two hours to myself, like, I need to make some dinner and go to the gym. And then, you know, you get back into it later.

So it’s kind of nice being able to like, spend your time the way you need to spend your time. It’s very like self motivated, self started, entrepreneurial. I mean, when you have 20 minutes to yourself, like, are you gonna go for a walk? Are you, are you gonna bust out 20 calls? Or can you do both at the same time? I mean, it’s kind of like being as productive and efficient as you can be while also not burning yourself out.

Yep, that’s a balance. It’s a balance. You said a lot, but you literally said exactly what it takes to do it.

Right. And so many of us do that every day. And it goes unacknowledged.

It’s like, that’s how you build successful habits. That’s how you have sustainability going into the future. And that’s how you keep getting to live here and partying here in this awesome community.

Right. It pays the bills, it allows for things, you know, so you. So you’re in paychecks, everything’s going well, you’re moving forward.

2025 is coming up. Where are you? What future plan wise? Where do you kind of see everything going in the next year or five years for you? Yeah, that’s a great question. I’ve been really itching to invest in some real estate.

I. I don’t know if that looks like buying a duplex or like a fourplex, but I. I would love to become more, like, financially independent, and I think having lots of different revenue and income streams is super important for that. I mean, that’s really the only way you can do it. So I think investing in real estate, that’s always been something I’ve been interested in.

That is a 2025 goal. And, you know, I see that growing in a couple different ways, whether that be property management within the next five, or, you know, owning other sort of businesses. I. I think I could see myself by the time I’m 30, having lots of different, like, ventures going on.

And so I really want to, like, keep saving and investing my money and just keep trying to put myself in a position where I can really make that happen. I rent my apartment right now, so that will definitely have to change soon. And then my family’s all back in Ohio, so I also could see myself wanting a place there and a place here and maybe being able within the next five years to, like, split time.

I would love for them to come down during the winter more, and I would love to be able to spend the summers there more. Um, so that’s. Those are some, like, things off the top of my head that I could see happening within the next two, three, four, five years.

And then also just continuing to grow in my current role that I think could take me. I mean, Paychex is a huge company. There’s so many things I could be doing and, like, being, I guess, promoted into.

And I really like my boss. I really like my team. I feel like there’s a lot of room for growth there too.

So, again, I just. I. I think it’s important for me, well, for everyone. But I. I like being in situations where I’m constantly learning from people and, like, progressing and just kind of growing.

So I think that could look a lot of different ways, which is awesome that you keep all of those options open, right? Like, because anything’s possible, you’re putting in the work. You could do any of that in real estate. Here.

I think you’re going to be pretty good with that. I think that’s. I think that’s a decent investment down there.

Yeah, I do, too. Yep. So, no, that’s amazing in, like, the home in Ohio.

Like, I think about that all the time, too. Right. I’m like, it’d be nice to also have, like, some kind of home in Michigan, like on a lake or something, and then family can stay there, and then, you know what I mean? It’s fun.

And then you can bounce up and down. So that’s a really good, good goal, like, for five years. That’s awesome.

Thanks. Yeah. A lake house.

That is what you have to do, Right? Because then I’ll spend all, like, my free time there when I can in the summer and rent it out when I’m not able to. Yeah. And then people get that beautiful view when you’re renting it out in the winter, and they.

The fire. And if they really enjoy that, which, you know, we certainly don’t. Hey, awesome.

Awesome. Great. Yeah, no, that’s very cool.

And. And, like, even staying within paychecks, like, I mean, sounds like an amazing company. Sounds like an amazing culture.

And a lot of times you will be promoted through there, and they have paths for you. Right. And they probably laid those out and said, here’s how you can be.

Work your way up the sales path to RVP or whatever it may be. And here’s a goal here. And it’s like, why not keep those options open? Yeah.

You really never know. You never know. You could be running your own two companies, plus doing this, but you could do it all.

I feel like you have the energy for it. Well, thank you. I feel like some days I could.

Other days I’m like, oh, my God, Gosh, we should be at the beach. But again, that’s the beauty of being a business owner. It is.

Yeah. Because if you really need that mental health day, you can just go, okay, I’m going to the beach. And then you can just pull your laptop out there, Whatever.

Yeah, whatever. Spot it, and then there you go. Work from anywhere.

It’s 100% it. Well, this was awesome. I mean, really loved it.

Tell everybody again who you are, how they can get a hold of you, exactly what you’re looking for. You know all the good stuff about paychecks. All right, so I’m Emma Van Winkle.

I am a senior sales consultant at Paychex. You can contact me through email, phone number, social media, but phone is probably the best. Should I say my number? Okay.

Don’t worry about that. You’re under no obligation. Okay.

And I think a good like lead or referral source for me would be banking and CPA partners. But again, I can focus on like really any small to mid sized business that is in need of payroll services or really just wants to, you know, bounce some ideas off of me. I am open to 1 to 99 sized companies, so 1 to 99 employees is the size I can kind of work with.

And yeah, just really excited to be here. Thanks, Mike. Heck, yeah, thank you so much.

And again, this is Mike Wagner with Green Oak Lending Group Rooted in Community podcast. Thank you guys. Sa.