Elsie & Kevin Nash
San Diego, California
MAY 02, 2021
At Payroll Vault, we often present building your legacy and flexibility with your work schedule as a couple of Payroll Vault’s unique selling propositions. But what does that actually mean? It means something a little different to everyone. Elsie and Kevin Nash, Payroll Vault owners in San Diego, can shed some light on what it means to them. As you will see, sometimes it happens a little different from what we plan.
Elsie was on a corporate business trip in her previous job and while passing time on her journey. As fate would have it, she happened to pick up a franchise magazine – Franchise Business Review - at the airport and thumbed through it while waiting. There were so many franchise opportunities, but only one caught her eye.
Having worked in human resources and payroll for more than a decade, the Payroll Vault franchise piqued her interest. The Nashes began researching and performing their due diligence, but this would not be an overnight success story.
It would be another eighteen months after that business trip that an opportunity would present itself for them to seriously consider augmenting their corporate experience with a business of their own. Once the opportunity presented itself, it was full steam ahead.
“At one point before we signed, I asked myself if I could do this? Afterall, it was a big step," Elsie said with a light chuckle. "Then I thought to myself, I possess all the qualities required of a business owner - hard working, diligent, people-person, analytical, and not easily deterred. That was the defining moment when I made the decision to open our Payroll Vault franchise.”
Immediately after the Nashes signed their franchise agreement, their son, Brent, had a near-death experience from a hiking accident in Maui. Elsie picked up the phone and made a sincere call to Marilyn Manning, Director of Franchise Development. Without hesitation, she offered to delay their discovery tour so they could attend to their son’s care. Not knowing how the conversation was going to play out, Elsie was instantly put to ease.
“Looking back, moving forward with the Payroll Vault business was a blessing,” recalled the Nashes. “It allowed us both the flexibility to divide our time between running the business and tending to Brent’s needs, which ended up being an 18-month recovery period.”
Kevin continued, “We are entering our 5th year and have just signed another 5-year agreement. We are fortunate that Brent now works as one of our Payroll Processors, while he also dabbles into photography work. Our family has created something beautiful.”
What’s next for the Nash family? Their primary focus is to continue partnering with their local community banks as referral partners. This is where they see a space where they have the unique potential to help more small businesses with their payroll needs and workforce management needs. Elsie explains, “There are plenty of small businesses who get swept into one of the big box payroll companies; but once they experience the Payroll Vault service, their common sentiment is this: ‘Why would any small business not use Payroll Vault? They are accessible and they are available for payroll compliance questions, and if they don’t have the answer, they find someone who does.’”
Even though the Nashes are working hard to build and maintain a strong clientele, they find time to enjoy reading, walking (some hikes), sharing a dessert on date nights, and TV-binging almost every Friday night.
