The Successful Bookkeeper Podcast

“I think that the future of bookkeeping really lies in the advisory portion of bookkeeping. I think that we are at the point in technology where we no longer necessarily need a person to do the data entry.” -Jennifer Hume It is hard to know our own value. We often undervalue ourselves while overvaluing the skills and abilities of others. Shifting our mindset to one that balances these opposing points of view is the first step in building the kind of future in our businesses that we often covet in others. Technology is progressing ever faster, and it can make us feel like we can’t keep up and that our skills aren’t as valuable in the face of AI. But AI is sourced from us, and while it may be the future of our systems and processes, we are a very long way away from it being able to convert all that information into truly nuanced and helpful advice. Jennifer Hume, owner of Coronation Bookkeeping & Tax Services, is this episode’s featured guest. She has spent her career helping businesses manage their finances and taxes effectively. In this episode, she speaks powerfully about the power of mindset in business success, what the world looks like when we get out of our way, and how our human experience and advice will always trump AI.  If you are struggling in your bookkeeping business, not sure how to move up, feeling lost and alone, then this episode will get you thinking about the future differently. One that sets technology to work for you, so you can do more of the work you love.  During this interview, you'll learn... The value of planning for the future you want How to get out of our own way The importance of our experience in advisory work To find out more about Jennifer, click here. Connect with her on LinkedIn. Time Stamps 01:42 - Jennifer discusses her career journey  03:34 - Getting out of our own heads 06:44 - The power of the Accelerate 2 Advisor program 08:44 - Blood, Sweat & Tears 19:55 - Planning for the future you want  23:28 - How AI will change bookkeeping  26:41 - Thinking differently about challenges

“It was like I’m on a boat and I’m either working on my navigation charts, or I’m bailing, bailing, bailing…and what I didn’t do was look up at the horizon to see, hey wait a minute, we have drifted off course and I really needed to be holding the rudder.” -Nancy Gwynne-Vaughan Running a business is hard at the best of times, let alone when we are struck by the unexpected. Despite this, we feel a need to conceal the damage and its effect on us. We throw ourselves into even more work, in the hope that if we just keep doing everything all the time, we will find our way out. But if we don’t stop to take stock of where we actually are and where we want to be, we will keep blindly spinning in circles until there is nothing left. Taking a pause might seem like the end of the world, it can feel embarrassing to explain to clients that you aren’t the right fit right now, that you need time to get things in order so you can go further in the future. Nancy Gwynne-Vaughan, President of Graham Consulting & Training, is this episode’s featured guest. She has spent her career helping lawyers build profitable firms but isn’t afraid to explain the real-world impact of giving too much of yourself to others. She talks candidly about what it is to lose ourselves in work, and how to find our way back to a place of strength and peace. If you are struggling within your bookkeeping business, taking on more and more work but not really feeling like any forward or upward motion is happening, then this is the episode to get you back to basics, looking more honestly at where you are in your business, and how to chart a course back to success. During this interview, you'll learn... The value of getting back to basics How to create an effective checklist The importance of building an adaptable mindset To find out more about Nancy, click here. Connect with her on LinkedIn. Time Stamps 02:02 - Nancy discusses her career journey  03:30 - Facing the challenges of the unexpected  12:42 - Building an adaptable mindset  16:30 - Creating an effective checklist  18:25 - Getting back to basics 27:30 - Embracing the unknown

“I am just obsessed with helping people get results, because otherwise why are we reaching out to the community?” -Andrea Driessen The first port of call when looking for a business to support our needs is often a quick Google search. The words, pictures and videos on that business website influence our decisions long before we ever meet the person behind the site. Despite this, many of us don’t put much stock in how we are talking about ourselves and what we do online, or in person. Andrea Driessen, a TEDx speaker and award-winning author, is this episode’s featured guest. She has spent her career challenging people to think differently about the ways they engage with others. Taking businesses from being all about the individual to all about the services they can provide to their clients. If you are struggling to write about yourself, create videos about what you do, or find it hard to talk to people in a concise and engaging way, then this is the episode to get you thinking differently about how to communicate the why of your business. During this interview, you'll learn... Top tips for speaking success How to elevate the spoken word in your business The importance of helping others reduce pain points To find out more about Andrea, click here. Connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter. Time Stamps 01:35 - Andrea discusses her career journey 05:55 - Helping others get results  07:30 - Weathering the storm  09:19 - Standing up on the TEDx stage 13:27 - Elevating the spoken word 19:51 - Changing the world with your words 23:44 - Tips for speaking success  31:27 - Learning more from Andrea  33:42 - AI & the future of business

“It really is a service that you’re selling. And I think separating that from yourself is massive, because if you tie it to yourself and people keep saying no, it’s going to take a hit to your confidence. There's a lot of mindset that goes into it.” -Brittany Dixon   Productivity is more than filling a calendar with as many events and clients as possible. To be truly productive, we have to be moving towards our ideal of business success. Whether that is scaling the business, freeing up time or earning more money.    Often, we overestimate how quickly we can get things done; we also underestimate how much work we actually have to do. When was the last time you blocked off time in your calendar for your admin, rather than tackling it at any and all hours of the day and night?   Brittany Dixon, CEO of Brittany & Co Consulting, is this episode's featured guest. She has spent her career helping people shift their mindsets away from being busy for the sake of it, to a mindset that is focused on consistency and the true value of your work.    If you are struggling to get organized, unsure about what productivity looks like in your bookkeeping business, or want to start your journey to consistent success, this is the episode for you to get thinking about your future in a different way.   During this interview, you'll learn... The value of planning in successful businesses How to set consistent goals The importance of learning to pivot  To find out more about Brittany, click here.    Connect with her on LinkedIn and Instagram.   Time Stamps   01:57 - Brittany discusses her career journey 03:44 - Learning to pivot  05:12 - Shifting to a value-based mindset  08:20 - Embracing the spirit of adventure  12:42 - Planning & building a business to fuel your freedom  14:05 - Setting attainable goals  17:35 - Building consistency in your business  20:24 - Getting good at planning  26:15 - Blocking your time  29:53 - How Brittany can help you  

“We’ve got to invest in ourselves, and if we’re too busy working on the wrong things, as a leader, we’ve got to invest in the future and be looking forward.” -Carla Caldwell How busy we are has a direct link to how successful and useful we feel. The problem with this comes from busying ourselves with monotonous and repetitive, easy-to-do tasks that take our attention and time away from the things only we can do.  Delegating tasks isn’t easy, maybe we haven’t given effective training or set the necessary expectations, or maybe we are micromanaging and giving ourselves twice the work. Delegation is a balance, one in which you must trust your leadership skills to have the things that can be done by anyone organized for you, freeing up your time, energy and intention towards the things only you can do. Carla Caldwell, founder of Caldwell Consulting & Training, is this episode’s featured guest. She has spent her career helping accounting teams to modernize and grow beyond what they thought was possible. She dives into what it takes to create confidence as a leader, how to master delegation and what can happen in your business when you’re open to learning from others. If you are struggling with reclaiming your time or aren’t sure how to lead your team to success, then this episode will get you thinking about what the right kind of busyness looks like.  During this interview, you'll learn... How to find confidence as a leader What it means to have a modern accounting practice The importance of mastering delegation  To find out more about Carla, click here. Connect with her on LinkedIn. Time Stamps 01:34 - Carla discusses her career journey  04:06 - Finding the confidence to be a leader  07:11 - The must-reads for small business owners  09:55 - What it means to have a modern accounting practice  16:33 - The right kind of busy  19:11 - Freeing up your calendar  22:41 - Mastering delegation  28:58 - Taking your firm to the next level 30:24 - Leveraging AI

“We’re not going to go back to the way it used to be. We have to accept where we are and explore how to move forward from here.” -Erin Daiber What makes a great leader? This isn’t a question with only one answer. That is why good leadership is so rare. Being successful in the moment is no good if it makes us unwilling to adapt to change, in the same way being scared of the flow of the future limits us from making confident and decisive choices for our businesses. Leadership though, has never been about what we tell people to do. It is how we work and grow with our teams and clients. How we adapt to changes and stressors, the way we treat people under pressure and how we value and care for ourselves and others. Erin Daiber, CEO of Well Balanced Accountants, is this episode’s featured guest. She speaks to the need for a growth mindset in good leadership, one that champions adaptability, self-care, and communication, to create those skills that will lead your business to a brighter future. If you are struggling to engage with your team or clients, finding it hard to accept or adapt to the rapid pace of change, or just want to manage everything without feeling so on edge or burnt out, then this is the episode to get you thinking about what the future could look like and how to get there in one piece. During this interview, you'll learn... The value of communication in healthy leadership How to shift your mindset to the growth edge The importance of finding the right people for your team To find out more about Erin, click here.  Connect with her on LinkedIn. Time Stamps     01:42 - Erin discusses her recent experiences  03:18 - Tackling the challenges of the moment 06:22 - Finding our growth edge 08:15 - Shifting our mindset  11:51 - The ingredients of a great leader  15:24 - Building virtual teams  21:44 - The right person for the right role  28:01 - Making AI work for us 31:45 - Getting connected with Erin

“If you don’t have the right bookkeeper, your business is not going to be around very long!” -Joey Coleman Building a business is often a process of trial and error. We adapt to crises as they happen, rather than planning and preparing to avoid them in the first place. This is true not only in how we take on clients, (clients that prove to be more work than we thought) but also in how we hire new employees. Hiring anyone to just fill a seat then wondering why they aren’t performing is a common issue among new businesses. We forget it is us who must teach our employees, on top of all the other demands of business.  When you systematize your processes and prioritize employee engagement and client satisfaction, you’ll create a business that not only retains clients and employees for longer but creates a blueprint for anyone to slip into and create success for you. Joey Coleman, a speaker and author, is this episode's featured guest. He has spent his career designing creative ways to help businesses engage their customers and employees. By focusing on building connections, creating effective processes and systems, and trusting your employees, your business can’t be anything other than successful. If you are wondering why your client relationships are sour, or why that new hire isn’t just magically fixing all of your problems, this is the episode to teach you everything you need to know about keeping your clients and employees for the long term. During this interview, you'll learn... The value of building healthy & open connections How to retain your employees & clients for the long run The importance of systems & processes in business success To find out more about Joey, click here. Connect with him on LinkedIn. Time Stamps 02:12 - Joey discusses his career journey 05:57 - Two sides of the same coin 07:28 - Finding our focus  09:52 - Never losing an employee again 23:34 - Pay for it now, or pay for it later 27:40 - Giving our employees their time back 35:10 - Creating mentoring success  38:40 - What works for us?

“Storage isn’t what’s attacked, it's access. People steal access, they steal credentials, usernames and passwords from users, and access data illegally from anywhere, it's not about the location.” -Jamie Beresford As the tools that help make running our business evolve, so too are the tools scammers and fraudsters apply against us. Keeping our businesses and clients safe from data theft is not easy. Most of us are bookkeepers, not cyber security specialists. In this latest spotlight episode, Jamie Beresford, the CEO of Practice Protect, discusses what it takes to control access to client data, manage and mitigate risks and keep ourselves safe online.  Jamie’s company works exclusively with bookkeepers to keep us protected from the bad actors online who use AI and other technology to gain access to our data. While ransomware and denial of service attacks can cause us grief, newer technology is allowing fraudsters to slip in unnoticed and redirect information at will. Meaning it can be months before you realize the numbers just aren’t adding up properly. If you are concerned about the implications of new tech on your business, this is the episode to get you looking in the right direction to protect your firm from any attacks. During this interview, you'll learn... How to navigate evolving technologies How to protect access to your data The importance of securely backing up your data To find out more about Jamie, click here. To learn more about Practice Protect to see if it's a fit for your business, visit this link. Time Stamps     01:21 - Jamie talks about his career journey 02:34 - Navigating the complexities of evolving technology  04:38 - How to protect access to your data  07:37 - Getting to grips with secure data transfer  12:39 - Securing your accounts 14:29 - Safeguarding guidelines for finance companies 18:48 - Protecting client data  20:48 - Securely backing up your data 23:01 - Getting help from Practice Protect

“When we know the why, we’ll figure out the how!” -Amanda McKinney We all aspire to be confident. To have faith in our skills and conviction of trust in our knowledge that any challenge can be overcome. The problem is confidence is built through trial and error. Is it any wonder so many of us are paralyzed into inaction when we want the confidence to act, but lack it because we haven’t done the very thing that creates it. It is okay to be scared and to lack confidence. What matters most is connecting to your true reason for creating your business. If you know for sure what your why is, you will keep moving toward it no matter the obstacles and unforeseen challenges put in your way.  Amanda McKinney, host of The Unapologetic Entrepreneur Podcast and author, is this episode's featured guest. She has spent her career following her passion to help business owners define their own success and create businesses that build into your life, not overtake it. If you are struggling to get a true bearing for your life, feeling twisted and tumbled by ever uncertainty, then this is the episode to get you focused on what really matters and give you the courage to chase your dream, no matter the challenges. During this interview, you'll learn... The value of finding your true why How to get comfortable talking about the bumps in the road The importance of courage in building confidence  To find out more about Amanda, click here. Listen to her podcast at this link. Buy her book, Why Not You? here. Connect with her on LinkedIn and Instagram. Time Stamps   01:43 - Amanda talks about her career journey  04:32 - Getting comfortable talking about the bumps in our journey 09:45 - Figuring it out, one step at a time 13:55 - What are other people going to think and why do we care 14:52 - Searching for your true why 16:45 - Amanda talks about her book, Why Not You? 26:48 - Uncovering your confidence  34:30 - Finding your people 36:15 - Amanda shares her top tips for Successful Bookkeeper listeners 38:35 - The Unapologetic Entrepreneur Podcast 

“I wanted to show people the path that I took, avoiding all the mistakes that I made. And just do the direct line from A to B.” -Lisa Campbell Our businesses often begin from the intersection of our desire for financial security with something we are good at. But in creating a business we often fail to ask ourselves a basic but important question… Why? Why are we doing this? Is it just for the money, a desire to help people, wanting to feel or be seen as successful? How will you ever get to an ‘end’ result for your business if you don’t know why you are doing it beyond earning money and if the goal is just to earn money, what would happen if you looked deeper at your plans for your money?  Lisa Campbell, founder of Accelerate 2 Advisor, is this episode's featured guest. She has spent her career helping people find the proven path to success. By starting with finding your why and following tried and tested methods for reaching it, she gives her clients the tools to level up beyond what they thought was possible. If you are struggling to figure out why you are doing what you’re doing and are looking for a like-minded community to learn from then this is the episode for you! During this interview, you'll learn... The value of finding your why How to follow the proven paths to success The importance of community in building a better future  To find out more about Lisa, click here. To learn about Accelerate 2 Advisor, visit this link. Connect with Lisa on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Time Stamps 01:52 - Lisa discusses her experiences since she last appeared on this podcast 03:18 - Taking a chance on a better future  05:13 - The power of Pure Bookkeeping 08:20 - The next big shift  10:45 - Everybody has a why 12:01 - Creating the mastermind class  17:20 - What the future holds  23:51 - Bringing you the content you want 27:44 - Building a brighter future  This episode is brought to you by The Accelerator Method Masterclass Series. Learn how to provide high-value advisory work to ALL of your clients plus much more! REGISTER NOW :)