The Successful Bookkeeper Podcast

“I wrote this book for people who want to learn how to build and run a business, and hopefully not make the same mistakes I made.” -Sandeep Chennakeshu Starting a new business isn’t easy. It requires us to get very good at a lot of different things. Once we get used to wearing so many different hats, it can be hard to let go and trust in others to help scale our businesses to new heights.  It is comfortable to complain about the issues in our business, but much harder to focus on and be attentive to solutions instead. What would happen to your bookkeeping business if you empowered yourself and your employees to transform complaints into requests? To say I need help with this, rather than I hate doing this by myself.  Sandeep Chennakeshu, former CTO of Eriksson, business transformation expert and author, is this episode’s featured guest. He has spent his career helping people transform the way their businesses run, by building a framework that helps others create their dream businesses without suffering the same common setbacks. His meticulous approach to management and diagnostics has helped elevate hundreds of businesses to new heights. If you are trying to build your own castle, this is the episode to hear from a master business builder and learn what it takes to build walls that will not crumble under pressure.  During this interview, you'll learn... The value of transforming complaints into requests How to manage & measure your business effectively The importance of getting structure & discipline into your business  Connect with Sandeep on LinkedIn. Time Stamps      01:58 - Sandeep talks about his career journey  05:15 - Overcoming the big obstacles 08:54 - The principles of building & running a business  12:10 - Staying effective in the face of challenges  17:20 - Using the right tools for maximum efficiency  19:50 - How to transform a complaint into a request  25:12 - The ups & downs of business 30:20 - Transitioning & training for success  33:55 - Sandeep explains how his book can help you This episode is brought to you by our friends at Katana!   If you have clients using outdated and inefficient manufacturing software, Katana offers real-time data syncing for production, inventory, and accounting data, manufacturers get complete visibility over every inch of their business and their numbers stay up-to-date even as orders come in.   If you sign up for the Partner Program and refer clients before April 30th, you will get 30% off the first 3 months of your Katana subscription.   You’ll also earn a 20% revenue share for every client you invite.   Head to thesuccessfulbookkeeper.com/katana to learn more.

“If you can say your 30-second commercial while you’re holding marbles and a glass of water, you can say it at a networking event much more easily.”  -Mindy Morrison It can sometimes feel like we have a never-ending checklist of things to do before we can even begin to start our business or follow our dreams. We build an idea in our head of what success is, not realizing we are often creating unnecessary barriers instead, ones that block us from just taking the leap and doing the work that really matters. Self-made obstacles and the belief that we have to do it on our own, are two of the biggest business killers. When you start to look at what other people in the industry are doing and reach out to build connections, you will find so many like-minded individuals jumping at the chance to help you avoid the mistakes they made. Mindy Morrison, owner of Back Office People, is this episode's featured guest. She has spent her career helping small businesses and entrepreneurs take back their weekends, by getting them focused on what they do well and helping them in their areas of struggle.  If you are having a tough time getting your bookkeeping business off the ground, not sure how much to price or who to connect with for help, this is the episode to get you networking for success. During this interview, you'll learn... Why you don’t have to do everything alone How to overcome the obstacles that prevent successful businesses The importance of networking & building connections  To find out more about Mindy, click here. Connect with her on LinkedIn. Time Stamps      01:30 - Mindy talks about her career journey  04:37 - Overcoming the challenges of starting your own business  09:00 - Finding clients that fit your business  13:29 - Learning from the mistakes of the past  17:30 - Secrets to networking success 21:50 - The value of Pure Bookkeeping 26:05 - Mindy shares her tips for business success  28:00 - Preparing for the future  This episode is brought to you by our good friends at Pure Bookkeeping! If you want to grow your bookkeeping business, get back your time, be more efficient and have confidence that your work is best practice, you need proven systems, processes and standard operating procedures. That’s what Pure Bookkeeping offers. To find out more, visit PureBookkeeping.com TODAY!

“It seems slightly daunting, but at the end of the day, it is pretty straightforward, and man can bookkeepers add a lot of value to a manufacturing business.” -Shawn Coultice   Have you ever considered a manufacturing bookkeeping niche for your business? Some bookkeepers focus on dentists or lawyers, but why not manufacturing companies? In this episode, our host, Louie Prosperi will explore further with the Head of Channel Partnerships at Katana, Shawn Coultice. Katana is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software that helps manufacturers track their inventory, manage their sales plus much more.   It is a daunting task to constantly manage the ever-shifting nature of inventory, manufacturing, and labor, but many manufacturing businesses are in desperate need of bookkeepers who can not only keep pace with their finances but offer invaluable advice and support by identifying where money is being wasted.   Like many bookkeepers, you may have steered clear of the manufacturing sector for a long time, but with the advent of new and more integrated software solutions, it might be time to consider stepping into an industry desperate for support and advice from bookkeepers capable of helping them solve issues in real-time. During this interview, you'll learn... Why you shouldn’t be afraid of the manufacturing sector How to add value beyond financial services The importance of integrating the right software for the right client  To find out more about Shawn, click here. To book a call with Katana, visit here. To start your free Katana demo, click this link. To join the Katana partner program, check this out. Time Stamps 01:58 - Shawn talks about his career journey 03:42 - Getting to grips with human kinetics 05:14 - The processes of manufacturing 06:57 - Adding value as a bookkeeper 09:45 - Overcoming the obstacles of industry 12:10 - Integrating from the source 18:42 - Finding solutions beyond the financial 22:08 - Supporting clients remotely 23:42 - Stories of successful 25:49 - Bringing your clients into the future 28:25 - Getting in touch with Shawn or Katana

You don’t know what you didn’t know. And everything that’s living in your head, we’ve got to get it out of there! -Melissa Morris It is often easy to feel like no one can do what we can do and yet, we rely on hastily written to-do lists or checklists quickly passed off to our employees. If things in your bookkeeping business aren’t running smoothly, it is unlikely to be because of employees being underqualified and intentionally doing things wrong. It is far more likely that we haven’t explained to them or trained them in how things need to be done. Getting everything out of your head and down on paper in a way that is understandable takes a skill set a lot of us haven’t trained for. There is no shame in hiring someone to help you translate the workflow systems as they exist in your head into a document that anyone could follow and achieve the same results as you.  Melissa Morris, owner of Agency Authority (a project management and operations consultancy), is this episode’s featured guest. She has spent her career using a wealth of knowledge and experience to help businesses maximize their teams, increase productivity and grow their profits.  If you are feeling overwhelmed and burnout, haphazardly chasing apps in the hope they can fix your issues, or getting too hands-on, micromanaging employees, then this is the episode to help you get the right help to get the gold in your head onto paper so that your business can not only run effectively and efficiently but be easily scalable to new heights! During this interview, you'll learn... The value of effective & efficient workflows The key components of a successful project  The importance of finding your zone of genius  To find out more about Melissa, click here. Connect with her on LinkedIn. Click this link to book a time to chat with her. Time Stamps 01:50 - Melissa talks about her career journey  03:48 - Finding our zone of genius 05:08 - Overcoming the obstacles of business  08:09 - Preventing overwhelm & burnout  11:27 - Effective & efficient workflow  16:20 - The key components of a successful project  18:40 - Melissa talks about the power of transformation  21:27 - Learning from our struggles  24:21 - Making the big mistakes work for you 29:58 - Getting connected with Melissa  This episode is brought to you by our good friends at Pure Workflow! It’s a simple, easy-to-use workflow practice management solution which will help you manage your clients, deadlines, workflow and team with ease. The BEST PART? It's specifically made FOR BOOKKEEPERS! For more information, visit PureWorkflow.com!

“If you’re going to work with someone and they’re going to give you access to their client base, they’re really going to have to trust you.” -Jeff Jacobs Trust is fundamental to any relationship and yet so many of us struggle to build long-lasting and trusting relationships. Expectation plays a key role in how trust is formed. When someone lets us down or fails to deliver on a promise, it shakes our faith in them. But more deeply, it shakes our faith in ourselves. After all, we put our faith and trust in that person or organization to deliver. When they don’t, we question our ability to make the right decisions going forward. This becomes a never-ending cycle of self-doubt and inconsistent trust-building activity. Jeff Jacobs, Director of Development at Wilkins Miller LLC, is this episode’s featured guest. His approach is a personal one that focuses on the team rather than the individual as the key to success. Building caring and trusting relationships with employees and clients, not just to leverage them later, but to learn how he might best help them reach their dreams. If you are struggling to build trust, consider how much of your intention is on what you want to get out of a client rather than on how you can improve their lives. When clients don’t feel valued, they are less likely to trust you to manage more of their needs. When was the last time you checked in on a client just to see how they are feeling or to ask them what you could be doing better? During this interview, you'll learn... The value of trust in long-lasting connections How to create strong business relationships The importance of keeping people in the loop  Click here to find out more about Jeff. Connect with him on LinkedIn. Time Stamps 02:09 - Jeff talks about his career journey  08:52 - Why building trust matters  10:50 - Creating centers of influence  13:54 - Overcoming the obstacles of industry  16:02 - Find the way that works for you 20:29 - Keeping people in the loop 22:06 - Delivering a quality offering  24:22 - Building strong business relationships 33:28 - How to get in touch with Jeff  This episode is brought to you by our good friends at Pure Bookkeeping! If you want to grow your bookkeeping business, get back your time, be more efficient and have confidence that your work is best practice, you need proven systems, processes and standard operating procedures. That’s what Pure Bookkeeping offers. To find out more, visit PureBookkeeping.com TODAY!

“You really need to identify your target audience. If you don’t know what market you’re in and who your ideal client is then how can you even begin marketing?” -Amy Anderson Marketing ourselves isn’t easy and in the bookkeeping industry especially, where we tend to be more introverted, it can be hard to build an exciting and outgoing profile. Fortunately, marketing ourselves doesn’t have to be all or nothing. There is room for us to find ways of doing it that play to our strengths. It's easy to get discouraged when you spent a lot of time on a marketing strategy that had few returns. This doesn’t mean you are a failure. It just means you need to try something else. Perhaps that is hiring someone to help you market your bookkeeping business or to find passive and slow marketing tools that can be working for you in the background. Amy Anderson, co-founder of Wild Coffee Marketing, is this episode's featured guest. She has spent 25 years helping businesses market themselves to the right kind of clients. Her expertise and holistic marketing approach have helped countless businesses find the right clients, build consistent and engaging profiles and feel more at home in their niches.  If you are struggling with marketing, unsure about what to do next or how to grow your bookkeeping business beyond the "I must take every client I can get" mindset, this is the episode for you! During this interview, you'll learn... The value of finding the best methods for the type of person you are How to manage referrals to find your ideal clients The importance of leveling up your client list To find out more about Amy, click here . Connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter. Time Stamps 01:50 - Amy talks about her career journey  04:21 - Navigating the hurdles of business  06:21 - The common marketing mistakes 07:18 - Defining who you are & what you offer 10:53 - Mastering referrals & finding the ideal client  13:36 - Levelling up your client list to avoid bad clients  16:28 - Finding the best marketing method for you 24:08 - Accepting the need to adapt  27:04 - Balancing your professional & personal life This episode is brought to you by our good friends at Pure Workflow! It’s a simple, easy-to-use workflow practice management solution which will help you manage your clients, deadlines, workflow and team with ease. The BEST PART? It's specifically made FOR BOOKKEEPERS! For more information, visit PureWorkflow.com!

“They depend on us to relate to them important information on how to minimize tax, how to reach their financial goals. If we do it in a more structured way, our clients are going to see the value in that expertise.” -Nadia Rodriguez    Expanding your bookkeeping business to include advisory capacity is scary for many. We are our own worst enemies when it comes to self-belief and self-confidence. But consider this... how many times have you been talking with a client, answering all of their questions in a fun and relaxed way only to realize later that it took you years of training and trial and error to get to the result?   Nadia Rodriguez, a Senior Tax Analyst Programmer at Intuit, is this spotlight episode's special guest. She speaks to the way bookkeepers are sitting on a huge wealth of knowledge they aren’t pricing for, how to communicate your value to your clients and the importance of building networks that keep you on the cutting edge of bookkeeping best practice.   If you are finding yourself giving everything away for free, charging by the hour or feeling trapped patching sinking ships in the minefield that is compliance work then this episode will help you start to leverage your knowledge and skills to assist your clients in avoiding those troubled waters and chart a better course to achieving their financial dreams.   During this interview, you'll learn... The value of pricing for your worth, not just your time How to create the capacity to grow your business The importance of building strong bookkeeping networks Click here to find out more about Nadia.   Visit this link if you want to gain access to Intuit’s vast resource bank.   Time Stamps         01:37 - Nadia talks about her career journey 05:23 - Getting to grips with advisory services 09:22 - Separating the solution 11:27 - Creating the capacity to grow 13:52 - Growing your network 15:46 - Tax strategies for bookkeepers 23:25 - Finding a suitable billing model 26:35 - Bookkeeping in real-time

“I would say, if you are never really wrong, you are never really right either, you need to put things down (on paper) to get clarity, to move work forward and make things happen.” -Adrienne Bellehumeur   Getting good at effective documentation isn’t easy. Whether because we find it hard to take notes while actively listening or we are afraid of losing face in a room full of people who aren’t taking notes. So much valuable information is lost, miscommunicated or inaccessible as it exists only in one person's head.   So much of our value is tied to the things we think we do best. It is hard to let go of that mentality and create documents that allow for excellent reperformance. For as long as your bookkeeping business is only successful because you are doing everything, you will never be able to leverage your knowledge to scale your business to new heights.   This episode's featured guest is Adrienne Bellehumeur who is the director of Risk Oversight, a documentation and productivity expert and author of The 24-Hour Rule. She has spent her career developing a system of dynamic documentation that helps people overcome their optimism bias (the belief we will remember every detail of every meeting) to take effective documentation that allows for near-perfect reperformance of their work.   If you are worried that you won’t be as valuable if everyone has a playbook of your best skills or embarrassed to take notes for fear of looking ‘less than’ your colleagues then this is the episode to completely change your point of view on the importance of effective documentation and the powerful role it can play in the success of your bookkeeping business. So, grab a pen or get your laptop ready to type because it's time to take some notes!   During this interview, you'll learn... The value of organization & information management in successful businesses How to solve problems with effective documentation The importance of overcoming our optimism bias  Click here to find out more about Adrienne.   Connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter.   Click this link to learn more about Risk Oversight.   Visit here to buy her new book, The 24 Hour Rule.   Time Stamps      1:37 - Adrienne talks about her career journey 3:31 - Discovering the hidden power of documentation 6:13 - Overcoming optimism bias 7:56 - Simple practices for effective outcomes 12:55 - The most efficient ways to document 15:05 - Problem-solving with documentation 18:50 - The challenges in effective documentation 23:08 - Information management and organization 26:56 - Writing The 24 Hour Rule 30:43 - Acting on information before the value is lost 33:40 - Connecting with Adrienne  

“That’s the beauty of this industry, you can be as big or as little as you want to be, it’s so scalable.”  -Kim Wolfe   This is the question that has paralyzed more than a few good people when it comes to wanting to start their own bookkeeping business. It can be difficult to trust ourselves, and not judge ourselves too harshly for previous failures. Often, it is the expectation more than the outcome that hurts or makes us feel uncomfortable when things haven’t gone the way we hoped. What would happen if instead, you focused on being okay where you are and building a different reality out from more stable ground? Kim Wolfe, former aerospace engineer and current owner of KAW Solutions, is this episode's featured guest. After a dramatic career shift, she leaned into her desire to help people fix their problems, first in bookkeeping and then for those trying to grow their businesses. Kim’s approach is process-focused, delegating tasks to free up time, skilfully navigate obstacles and creating successful teams. If you are struggling to build the business you want because things aren’t going the way you thought they would, this episode is a great one to help you create a stable foundation from which to achieve your bookkeeping dreams.  During this interview, you'll learn... The value of networking to avoid the pitfalls of building a successful business How to effectively manage your time The importance of working smarter, not harder  To find out more about Kim, click here. Connect with her on LinkedIn. Go to incomeformom.com to get her Top 10 Time Hacks pdf. Time Stamps   01:28 - Kim talks about her career journey  08:45 - Growing the business  12:01 - Exploring opportunities 13:22 - Getting smarter in the face of challenges  15:02 - What the business looks like today 19:38 - Navigating the effects of the pandemic  21:03 - The big challenge of today 24:30 - Getting to grips with pricing  26:15 - Effectively managing your time  42:08 - Everything has its place  46:11 - Getting in touch with Kim

“No one can do it the way you are doing it, but it doesn’t necessarily mean your way is the best way or the only way.” -Jamie Van Cuyk Hiring the right candidate is challenging, often we are better suited to, or skilled at other areas of our business. Sometimes we may even think putting out a job advertisement is a piece of cake and yet are baffled when we don’t get suitable applicants or worse, hire someone that just doesn’t fit well with the business.  We can’t hire the right people into our business until we fully understand what the right person looks like. Skills can be taught, but values are more deeply ingrained. If you aren’t sure what you value, how can you build a team of like-minded people? Jamie Van Cuyk, owner of Growing Your Team and host of the Growing Your Team podcast, is this episode’s returning guest. She is a master of the hiring and firing cycle. She has helped countless small businesses find employees that are more than bodies in a seat, but dedicated, retainable and aligned members of the team who love what they do. If you are struggling to hire the right people or to even begin identifying who the right person may be before you begin the hiring process, this episode will give you all the tips you need to not only make hiring a breeze, but make sure you are finding people that really care about what they do.  During this interview, you'll learn... The value of aligning employees with your business goals  How to hire the ideal candidate for your bookkeeping business  The importance of understanding what motivates your employees  Learn more about Jamie about this link. You can find the Growing Your Team podcast here.  Check out her socials: LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Pinterest  Time Stamps 01:37 - Reflecting on the last year 05:28 - Looking to the future 07:00 - The difficulties of hiring the right people 11:14 - The secrets to effective hiring  17:04 - How to retain quality employees  22:04 - The hiring and firing cycle 28:45 - Getting to grips with delegation  32:38 - How to get in touch with Jamie