The Successful Bookkeeper Podcast

First impressions. Bookkeeping business owners know that establishing a meaningful relationship with their customers is paramount for long-lasting success. Nikki Rausch, sales expert extraordinaire with over 25 years of selling experience and author of The Selling Staircase, joins us this week to share her 5-step process for taking control of sales conversations.  During this interview, you'll also learn... How to feel comfortable selling How to identify what step you’re at & successfully move forward in any sales discussion Key conversation techniques to close the deal Learn more about Nikki on her website.  Listen to her podcast, Sales Maven Podcast, here.  Connect with her on LinkedIn.  Download her free eBook here.  To buy her book, The Selling Staircase, click here.  This episode is sponsored by our friends at Synder accounting software. To start a FREE TRIAL and get a 20% discount visit https://synder.me/SuccessfulBookkeeper. You can also check out Synder on social media! Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Time Stamps 1:48 - Nikki’s career journey - from working in tech sales to studying neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) & empowering women to be comfortable having sales conversations 5:04 - Client success story 8:56 - The Selling Staircase - Step 1: the introduction 11:24 - Step 2: creating curiosity 17:53 - Step 3: the discovery call 25:56 - Step 4: the proposal 28:24 - Step 5: the close

What if the thing holding you back from success is YOU? Feeling you’re not good enough. Feeling like you don’t offer value. These are self-limiting beliefs that many of us have, but maybe don’t know how to deal with. Michele Molitor, an executive coach and co-author of Breakthrough Healing, joins us to share strategies on how to tune into your inner-dialogue to identify self-limiting beliefs and how you can begin to rewrite them to empower yourself. During this interview, you'll learn... The strength of the mind-body connection How you can start noticing the self-limiting beliefs you may have Ways to challenge those beliefs & how to begin to heal Learn more about Michele on her website. Connect with her on LinkedIn and find her on Facebook.  To buy her book Breakthrough Healing, click here.  This episode is sponsored by our friends at Synder accounting software. To start a FREE TRIAL and get a 20% discount visit https://synder.me/SuccessfulBookkeeper. You can also check out Synder on social media! Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Time Stamps 1:45 - Michele’s career journey - from creative director in web development to professional coach & hypnotherapist 5:26 - The physical and mental effects of self-limiting beliefs & how Rapid Transformational Therapy (RTT) can help you heal 10:39 - How to tune into your internal dialogue to help you notice old beliefs that may no longer serve you 21:29 - What you can do to recognize & see your own value 24:19 - Finding the root cause of limiting beliefs & challenging them

The world of marketing is changing. With the increasing role of the internet in our lives, customers are turning to online platforms, like Google, to review and find business recommendations.  As small business owners, we know that marketing is a foundational part of generating leads but we may not know where to start. This week’s guest, Craig Staley, is the owner of HG Site Design and host of the Small Business School podcast. He is passionate about helping service based small business owners improve their online reputation to increase revenues.  During this interview, you'll learn... Top marketing strategies for small businesses How to set up and use Google My Business to drive traffic Why it’s important to develop a strong content strategy To connect with Craig on LinkedIn, go here.  You can find out more about HG Site Design on his website.  To listen to his podcast, Small Business School click here.   This episode is sponsored by our friends at Synder accounting software. To start a FREE TRIAL and get a 20% discount visit https://synder.me/SuccessfulBookkeeper. You can also check out Synder on social media! https://www.facebook.com/SynderHQ/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cloud-business/ https://twitter.com/SynderApp/ Time Stamps 1:58 - Craig’s career journey - from working at a furniture store in Nebraska to starting his own web design business 05:59 - What inspired him to launch his Small Business School podcast 8:11 - Key learnings around marketing for small businesses: leveraging social media, the importance of knowing your audience & why building relationships is crucial for a successful business 15:11 - How setting up a Google My Business page for your business can help attract clients 19:23 - Three key considerations when setting up your Google My Business page 25:43 - Success story of a company who took advantage of Google reviews to drive traffic to their business 29:19 - Why you should develop a content strategy

Protecting your business. When so many businesses rely on the internet and apps, like QuickBooks, security is an indispensable asset. Ted Harrington, author of Hackable: How to Do Application Security Right, is an ethical hacker who finds and fixes security vulnerabilities in companies.  This week’s episode focuses on what small businesses can do right now to protect themselves against security threats and breaches. During this interview, you'll learn... Why you should be paying more attention to business security  Security strategies for small businesses How your attitude about security can help or hurt your business Connect with Ted on LinkedIn here.  To learn more about his book HACKABLE: How to Do Application Software Right, click here.    Time Stamps 2:06 - Ted’s career journey as an ethical hacker 8:16 - A metaphor for understanding the growing need for security in businesses 13:29 - Baseline security practices for small businesses 19:21 - Why your team should not be sharing the same credentials 23:48 - How mindset plays a key role in business security  32:53 - Ted’s book, Hackable: How to do Application Security Right

Feeling sluggish by the end of the day? It could be what you’re eating! Even the busiest workaholics can have a healthier diet. Like many bookkeeper business owners, Nagina Abdullah is no stranger to a busy schedule. Working as a consultant for Fortune 500 and 100 medical companies while also being a mother of two children, she found herself struggling to keep energized and healthy. She discovered that eating metabolism-boosting foods and spices helped her maintain a higher level of energy throughout the workday. During this interview, you'll learn... Why changing your eating habits is foundational to a healthy lifestyle Food tips for staying energized: more health-boosting spices, tasty veggies, good carbs & good fats How your mindset can make or break your health journey To connect with Nagina on LinkedIn, go here.  Visit her website to download a free copy of her recipe eBook, 7 Spicy Recipes to Melt Off 7 Lbs.  To download Sweet Spice Cheat Sheet, go here. Time Stamps 1:28 - Nagina’s career journey: how a change in diet helped her balance a demanding career with being a mom of two 8:27 - The health-boosting power of spices: how adding them to your diet can help you lose weight 11:04 - Tips for eating more tasty veggies 14:44 - Nagina outlines her healthy eating framework: The Tested and Perfected Fat Burning Food Framework 19:52 - Time-saving cooking tips 22:45 - Her website masalabody.com and free recipe ebook, 7 Spicy Recipes to Melt Off 7 Lbs 25:21 - How an all-or-nothing mindset can be harmful for your health journey  

Efficiency and time management. For any bookkeeping business owner, these are MUST HAVES, so it’s important to find a workflow software that delivers. This week’s guest is a small business systems and procedures expert in Australia with more than 15 years experience working in the bookkeeping industry, so she knows all about workflow software and how it can help your business. Jacqui Cubis has also been a Pure Bookkeeping (PB) licensee for over nine years and is a hugely active member in the PB community. During this interview, you'll learn... How workflow software can help your business grow What lessons Jacqui learned when starting her own enterprise What apps she leverages in her businesses Get in touch with Jacqui at jacqui.support@evolutionaryworkflow.com. Connect with her on LinkedIn here.  Learn more about her business, Evolutionary Workflow visit this link.  To explore Pure Bookkeeping, visit PureBookkeeping.com. Time Stamps 2:19 - Jacqui’s career journey and how Pure Bookkeeping helped her bookkeeping business grow 7:17 - Outsourcing work off shore and its challenges 10:30 - How integrating workflow software Karbon into her business has helped her businesses thrive 19:40 - Lessons learned from starting her own business 22:31 - How Jacqui discovered Pure Bookkeeping 28:00 - Apps that Jacqui uses most in her businesses (Karbon, Practice Protect, TSheets, Practice Ignition, etc)

What’s below the tip of the cultural iceberg? According to this week’s guest, understanding and appreciating cultural differences means seeing beyond what is obvious. Laura Kriska is an expert on cross-cultural relations with more than thirty years experience on helping to create more inclusive and productive workplaces. She is also the author of The Business of We which provides tools to close the Us versus Them culture gap in workplaces. As bookkeepers, we know that building relationships with our clients and staff is incredibly important. Practicing inclusion means tuning into the subtleties and invisible data and finding ways to bridge any gaps. During this interview, you'll learn... Why inclusion is a powerful tool for leaders How to see invisible cultural data How to practice inclusion Learn more about Laura on her website. To connect with her on LinkedIn, click here.  To buy her book, The Business of We, visit this link. To take the Us Versus Them Self-Assessment go here. Time Stamps: 1:35 - Laura’s career journey in Japan & navigating cultural differences 5:56 - How to see invisible data using the WE-building superpower 11:43 - How to foster a more inclusive environment 23:32 - Understanding Us vs. Them dynamics 30:36 - The fear of branching out & how to squash it 35:24 - Laura’s book, The Business of We & the Us vs Them self-assessment

“It was the community that came with Pure Bookkeeping. And from that community, it was the resources that became available to me that, I believe, pushed this business to where it is already in such a short time.” This week’s guest is a Pure Bookkeeping licensee from Melbourne, Australia where she is the owner of her own bookkeeping business (Zilch Bookwork), a romance novelist and even a qualified hairdresser. Helen Konstan shares her bookkeeping journey with us and explains how Pure Bookkeeping has supported and fast-tracked Zilch Bookwork’s growth. During this interview, you'll learn... How the Pure Bookkeeping community helped grow her business Why caring & compassionate bookkeepers are more successful Why you should value your time as a bookkeeper & how to price accordingly You can find out more about Helen and Zilch Bookwork here.  To connect with her on LinkedIn, click this link. To explore Pure Bookkeeping, check out purebookkeeping.com. Time Stamps 1:57 - Helen’s journey: from working at her family business to owning her own 4:30 - Starting her business Zilch Bookkeeping 9:10 - How Pure Bookkeeping has impacted her business 14:31 - The Pure Bookkeeping community & how it has helped her business grow 17:13 - Business before & after implementing the Pure Bookkeeping system 22:03 - Bookkeeper or Data Integrity Specialist? 26:15 - Key to success: being caring 31:34 - Valuing your time as a bookkeeper & making sure the price is right  

Do you feel a sense of control over where your time is going? Are you aligning your time with the things that you care about and the things you want to be doing? These are questions Cherylanne Skolnicki, a leading work-life balance expert and coach, suggests we think about when it comes to work-life integration. For busy bookkeeping business owners, juggling work commitments and personal/family responsibilities are common worries. Cherylanne’s passion is to support working women to live their happiest, most fulfilling lives by helping them find ways of experiencing well-being. She is the founder of The Brilliant Balance Company and a sought-after speaker and podcast host who has endless wisdom to share when it comes to finding your work-life balance. During this interview you’ll learn… Why it’s important to tune into what you really want in your personal & professional life How to set yourself up for success by being realistic when setting deadlines How to use productivity & time management to build the life you want To learn more about Cherylanne, visit Brilliant-Balance.com. Connect with her on LinkedIn. Tune into her podcast.  Time Stamps: 02:07 – Cherylanne’s career journey – from corporate ladder climber to successful entrepreneur 09:43 – How to define balance 13:14 – The dangers of over-promising & how to manage timelines better 22:00 – Time management & family – the importance of making time for what matters most 30:39 – The heart of work-life balance: productivity

No system or software is perfect, so expect to have hiccups. But, that shouldn’t discourage you from exploring the right solutions for you. Kerri Bouffard has embraced apps and technology which have made a big difference in her bookkeeping business. She’s the owner of Add Vantage Bookkeeping, a Xero specialist and Pure Bookkeeping licensee. She’s also the owner of Thunderhead Innovations which offers premium concierge services to make her clients’ transition to cloud accounting a smooth experience. During part 2 of this interview series, you'll learn... The advantage of focusing on one app & being an expert on it How to swiftly switch to XERO & the importance of learning its SOPs Why business owners need an app stack You can find out more about Kerri here. To learn about Add-Vantage Bookkeeping, check this out.  To explore Thunderhead Innovations, click here.  To connect with Kerri on LinkedIn, here’s her profile page.