“I think there are three main things that are super important for running a business. One is knowing how to be a great leader and a great manager of people. There’s learning how to hire the right people for your business and how to build a team. And then there’s knowing how to follow the rules and stay out of trouble!” -Jackie Koch As with all things in life and business, the earlier we get plans and systems in place, the more time, energy and money we will save down the road. This is especially true when it comes to employees. How do we know if we are hiring and firing too quickly or too slowly? The answer is we probably don’t. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We all want to do as much for ourselves as possible, but even if we can spread our knowledge to cover all the bases in a simple way, we will never be as good as a dedicated expert. We can guess what we need to do, but when we don’t know what we don’t know, there are going to be gaps.  Jackie Koch, founder of People Principles and host of the World’s Greatest Boss podcast, is this episode’s featured guest. She has spent her career helping people create and maintain HR strategies for lasting success. Jackie and Michael explore the way small mistakes often lead to big problems, the value experts add to your business and the true meaning of Hire Slow, Fire Fast.  If you want to hire new people or are finding exit conversations too challenging, this is the episode that will get you connecting with the right people to help you find your right people. During this interview, you'll learn... The value of expert experience in building your bookkeeping business How to hire & fire the right people at the right time The importance of catching mistakes early  To find out more about Jackie, click here . Connect with her on LinkedIn. Learn more about the World’s Greatest Boss Podcast. Time Stamps 01:54 - Jackie discusses her career journey  05:09 - Small mistakes lead to big problems  08:51 - Understanding the value of an expert  14:12 - Hire slow  22:47 - Fire fast! 30:44 - Finding the right fit  34:58 - Jackie’s recommendations This episode is brought to you by our great friends at Payworks! If you're looking for a reliable and affordable payroll platform for your business, look no further! To learn more, visit Payworks.ca TODAY!

“Spend 15 minutes a day every single day on something that matters to you. I don’t care if it matters to anybody else, but something that matters to you, and preferably do all this before you check your email.” -Sam Bennett Habit building is hard, especially when we aren’t always sure which way to direct our energy. The more we build a habit, the more momentum we gain, and the less we want to quit whatever it is we are doing. Unfortunately, the same is true of negative habits. If we struggle to even try, that is all that will happen. We’ll give up before we start to see results, and the more we give up, the more we’ll keep giving up. We can’t just copy others and hope to find the same success, we aren’t them. It’s scary to realize there is no right way to success, there is only our own way, all we have to do is lean into it, and build it up with good habits. Success is what follows those good habits.  Sam Bennett, author of The 15-Minute Method, has spent her career helping overthinkers get things done, 15 minutes at a time. She has created an environment to help people live their best, most fulfilling and productive lives.  In this episode, Sam and Michael illustrate the power of the 15-minute method, how to beat procrastination, and how to spend more time in your flow state. If you are an overthinker, constantly worried about making the right choices, then this is the episode that will get you believing you can be who you want to be. During this interview, you'll learn... The power of the 15-Minute Method How to spend more time in your flow The importance of overcoming procrastination To find out more about Sam, click here. To explore the Get it done! Daily Practicum, visit this link. Connect with Sam on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram Time Stamps 01:35 - Sam discussses her career journey  04:30 - Adjusting to a new reality  10:10 - The power of 15 minutes  17:43 - Getting to grips with procrastination 20:58 - Building time in your flow state  32:03 - The daily practicum  This episode is brought to you by our great friends at Forwardly! With Forwardly, you can send free instant payments while keeping funds in your bank longer, receive instant payments for 80% less than credit card fees and enjoy same-day ACH—absolutely free! The best part? You can leap into the future of business payments with Forwardly and possibly earn yourself a FREE iPhone 15 Pro this summer! Visit thesuccessfulbookkeeper.com/forwardly for more information! 

“The sales conversation isn’t about the details of how we do the bookkeeping, it's about, what are the benefits of that for a business owner.” -Peter Cook Most of us would say that referrals have been our best avenues to new business. Yet when quizzed about how we get them, many of us have no system or proactive approach in place with which to attract them.  It’s a fine line, make too many cold calls/posts and no one will take us seriously, but sitting back and waiting for things to happen to us, doesn’t yield positive results either. This coupled with the issue that most of us are good at bookkeeping, not marketing, can make gaining and retaining clients a real problem. Peter Cook, co-author of The E-Myth Bookkeeper and co-founder of Pure Bookkeeping, is this episode’s featured guest. He takes a deeper look at effective systems and strategies for marketing, and how prioritizing meaningful connections can make all the difference. If you are unsure how to market yourself, but not really gaining any meaningful leads, then this is the episode to help you move away from telling people what you’re good at, and start actively showing them. During this interview, you'll learn... The value of letting your skills speak for themselves  How to build meaningful relationships The importance of being proactive in your approach to referrals To find out more about Peter, click here. Connect with him on LinkedIn. Get your copy of The E-Myth Bookkeeper. To learn about Pure Bookkeeping, visit this link. Catch-up on the full E-Myth Bookkeeper Peter Cook podcast series with past episodes below! Episode 1 Episode 2  Episode 3 Episode 4 Time Stamps 02:09 - Growing your bookkeeping business  08:10 - Systems for marketing  13:00 - Seven effective marketing strategies for bookkeepers 16:52 - Building meaningful relationships 24:22 - Creating referral systems  28:30 - Is paid advertising worth it?  This episode is brought to you by Pure Bookkeeping. It's the proven system to grow your bookkeeping business.

“We are in a supply/demand economy that favours the suppliers. And it's economics 101, if you have a supply shortage that can’t meet all the demand of the market, then you increase price.” -Joe Woodard Compliance is one of the biggest realms of challenge for bookkeepers, but it also provides consistent opportunity. The rules and regulations change so frequently that it can be hard to keep up, and if we feel that way, just imagine how non-bookkeeping businesses feel about it. Supply and demand rule the market, and there is always going to be a supply of potential clients who would rather just pay someone to take care of the books for them. Despite this, we have to be careful not to fall into the trap of undercharging and over-promising.  Having hundreds of clients might feel like a success, but it probably doesn’t to the clients who barely get any of our time and, of course, if you're overworked for long enough, burnout will likely be in your future. Joe Woodard, acclaimed speaker and trainer, is this spotlight episode’s featured guest. He has spent his career helping businesses solve their complex operational needs and scale to new heights. In this episode, Joe and Louie Prosperi explore the importance of pricing, how to value your skills and experience and the role practice, planning and AI have in your business.  If you are taking on more and more clients but are starting to fall behind your promises, then this is the episode to get you focused on building connections and pricing based on your unique abilities, not just how many people you can get on board. During this interview, you'll learn... The value of having a solid plan & sticking to it How to value your skills & experience The importance of knowing your worth when it comes to pricing To find out more about Joe, click here. Connect with him on LinkedIn. To buy your tickets for the upcoming Scaling New Heights conference, check out this link. Time Stamps 01:30 - Getting to grips with compliance  04:35 - Making the best of engagement letters  06:55 - Staying on track  09:54 - Knowing your price  18:25 - Thinking long-term  24:40 - Valuation & profitability  29:58 - Practice, planning and AI

“If you want to stay viable in your bookkeeping business, you’re going to have to make that shift, and make your customers understand that they need you, and value you and your thought process that AI can’t do for them.” -Lora Lonesberry   There can be no doubt that AI is changing our world. Yet we are not all as doomed to be replaced by technology as some would have us believe. AI, like all new inventions, offers us the chance to grow, by embracing a technology that can make our lives easier, while giving us more time to focus on the unique insights only we can provide.    Without challenges there can be no growth, they keep us on the cutting edge of industry, daring us to keep up, deepening our skill set, experience and knowledge. Experience that clients are in desperate need of. AI can do the numbers faster than us, but it can’t contextualize them for the specific needs of a client. It can’t understand the dreams and hopes tied up in our client’s businesses.    Lora Lonesberry, owner of Positive Statements, is this episode’s featured guest. She has spent her varied career helping people get proactive and creative when facing the challenges of business and personal growth. She speaks to the power of finding your niche and leveraging your unique skills to overcome any challenge and the need for strong community networks.    If you are struggling to keep up, and don’t know which tools to use or how to leverage your skills, then this is the episode to get you asking the question; ‘What might your business look like if you implemented strategies to use AI to enhance, not replace, your services?’   During this interview, you'll learn... How to leverage AI to improve the success of your business The value of thinking about the little things The importance of community & networking  To find out more about Lora, click here.   Connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter.   Time Stamps   01:47 - Making the most of changes  04:18 - Embracing a change in thinking 07:06 - Getting to grips with AI 21:08 - Thinking about the little things  26:04 - Levelling up on your gaps  30:32 - Finding your niche

“People do that with their bookkeeping business, they start, they want to get some clients and they want to make some money, but they actually really have no idea what the journey looks like and where they are trying to get to. It’s a very different experience if you don’t know where you’re trying to get to.” -Peter Cook There is a common misconception among business owners, that we are never truly successful unless we can claim to have done everything ourselves. While there are advantages to stepping out of others’ shadows, it’s also far more likely we'll get burned.  There is nothing wrong with taking stock of what other business owners are doing and seeing how we might apply their approach to our own bookkeeping business. Walking the same path as someone else doesn’t mean trying to walk precisely in their footprints. It’s just a chance for us to enjoy a slightly easier path made possible by those who walked it before us.  Peter Cook, co-author of The E-Myth Bookkeeper and co-founder of Pure Bookkeeping, is this episode’s featured guest. This fourth episode on The E-Myth Bookkeeper series explores the bookkeeper’s journey, the challenges of transitioning your business, and why sticking to the plan can make all the difference.  If you are struggling to let go of old ideas about success, aren’t sure how to move your business to the next phase of prosperity, or just want to get a better idea of what to expect on your journey, then this is the episode to show you it's okay to follow the trail. During this interview, you'll learn... The value of sticking to the plan How to navigate transitioning your business   The importance of understanding the phases of your business  To find out more about Peter, click here. Connect with him on LinkedIn. Get your copy of The E-Myth Bookkeeper. Catch-up on the full E-Myth Bookkeeper with Peter Cook series with past episodes below! Episode 1 Episode 2  Episode 3 Time Stamps 02:01 - The bookkeeping business journey  07:41 - Helping bookkeepers grow their businesses  10:30 - The four stages of a bookkeeping business 16:26 - The challenges of transitioning your business  24:21 - Creating your freedom  This episode is brought to you by Pure Bookkeeping. It's the proven system to grow your bookkeeping business.

“You have to be willing to think a little bit differently about your business. If you follow what everyone else is doing, you’re going to get the same results everybody got.” -Racheal Cook Building a business is hard. There are so many barriers to success that the last thing we need is to get in our own way, either by supremely undervaluing our skills, or dramatically overestimating the market for them. We all want to follow our passions, but we need to temper that desire with the real-world potential of earning from it.  We start our own businesses to gain the flexibility and freedom often not afforded to us elsewhere. But we must be careful not to let our pricing trap us into a situation where we may be our boss but have no time or energy for anything else.  Racheal Cook, owner of the CEO Collective and host of the Promote Yourself To CEO podcast, is this episode’s featured guest. She has spent her career helping women create sustainable success on their own terms. She speaks to the power of breaking free of entrepreneurial poverty, how to price your value, and why investing in relationships matters.  If you are struggling, unsure why everyone else seems so successful, but you are working more and more hours and only being rewarded with less time and energy, then this is the episode to help level up your thinking into a more proactive and strategic mindset.  During this interview, you'll learn... The value of investing in relationships How to break free of entrepreneurial poverty The importance of pricing for the value of your skills To find out more about Racheal, click here.  Connect with her on LinkedIn and Instagram. Listen to Racheal's Promote Yourself To CEO podcast. Time Stamps     01:37 - Racheal discusses her career journey  04:05 - Eliminating entrepreneurial poverty 08:12 - Finding the value in your offering 11:05 - Pricing for your business 13:01 - Underpriced & overworked  17:50 - Lifetime client value 27:35 - Committing to building relationships  32:10 - Promote yourself to CEO This episode is brought to you by our great friends at Sage! On May 30th at 5:30pm ET, join their team for an exciting night in Toronto to celebrate the launch of their new product, Sage for Accountants. :) Meet fellow colleagues, enjoy free drinks and food, experience amazing entertainment, and best of all, get a chance to win an evening at the all-inclusive Blue Jays Suite!  Spots are limited so make sure you secure your tickets TODAY by clicking this link. It's a party you don't want to miss!  

“The importance of your own personal achievement needs to be equal to the importance of everyone else’s achievement. We are all just harmoniously and fortunately moving towards the same thing: survival.”  -Mike Michalowicz Are we working with the business or for the business? A great way to find out is to pay attention to the way you speak about the business. Are the successes and failures ‘ours’ or are they ‘theirs’? From this simple recognition, we can build a really clear picture of who is sharing the vision and who doesn’t feel like they belong. From there, the hard work begins. In order to maintain our success, we have to make sure those who work with and for us are benefiting too. No one is an island unto themselves; we all need help and support to achieve our dreams. And when we reach our peak of success, we must look back and help those who have supported us on our journey to achieve their own idea of success. Mike Michalowicz, author and keynote speaker, is this episode’s featured guest. He has spent his career helping people eradicate entrepreneurial poverty, fixing and removing barriers to true success. Mike speaks powerfully about the need to understand your people, how to get inspired, and why remembering your past successes matters. If you are struggling to share your vision, aren’t sure how to recognize the contributions of others, or inspire them to action, then this is the episode to get you thinking less about your dream and more about ‘our’ dreams.  During this interview, you'll learn... The value of inspiring others to achieve their dreams How to effectively communicate a shared vision The importance of taking stock of your success To find out more about Mike, click here. Connect with him on LinkedIn. Buy his new book, All In: How Great Leaders Build Unstoppable Teams by visiting this link. Time Stamps 01:47 - Becoming a great leader  09:27 - Appreciating collective goals  16:04 - Communicating a shared vision  21:04 - How great leaders inspire their teams  24:38 - Creating psychological ownership This episode is brought to you by our great friends at Forwardly! With Forwardly, you can send free instant payments while keeping funds in your bank longer, receive instant payments for 80% less than credit card fees and enjoy same-day ACH—absolutely free! The best part? You can leap into the future of business payments with Forwardly and possibly earn yourself a FREE iPhone 15 Pro this summer! Visit thesuccessfulbookkeeper.com/forwardly for more information! 

“You don’t have to be the best salesperson in the world. To be good at marketing a bookkeeping business, you just need to be good enough that you stand out in that crowd. You have to get good enough, you don’t have to become the world’s best marketer. “ - Peter Cook We might be excellent bookkeepers, but that doesn’t mean we are automatically great business managers. It’s important to take the time to figure out where our skills are strong and where they could use improvement. If your passion and skill lie in the numbers, there is nothing wrong with focusing your attention there.  Things start to slip or feel unmanageable in our businesses when we find ourselves spending a lot of time doing things we don’t love. Even if we are not in a position to outsource the work, by connecting with others, we open up a world of experience, where we can find people who have already solved our problems. And whose problems we may have already solved.  Peter Cook, co-author of the E-Myth Bookkeeper and co-founder of Pure Bookkeeping, is this episode’s featured guest. This third episode on The Emyth Bookkeeper explores management, the challenges of growing a business, and why community matters.  If you are drowning in your business, or want to learn more about what it takes to be a better manager, then this is the episode to help you take stock of your skills and explore connections with people who can help. During this interview, you'll learn... The value of challenges as steps to growth How to manage your business with your passion in mind The importance of community in solving problems  Click here to find out more about Peter. Connect with Peter on LinkedIn. Get your copy of The E-Myth Bookkeeper. Click here to listen to the first episode. Click here to listen to the second episode. Time Stamps 03:00 - The challenge of growing a business  06:23 - Getting good enough  08:45 - Taking score of your business  12:46 - Finding your people  17:24 - Building a business you love  This episode is brought to you by Pure Bookkeeping. It's the proven system to grow your bookkeeping business.

“Don’t just ask for the referral, deserve it. You deserve a referral, and you earn a referral by who you are and how you show up in people’s lives.” - Curtis Lewsey   Referrals are a huge part of our businesses but despite this, we often don’t spend as much time and genuine effort as we should investing in the relationships around us. How well we are referred by others is a direct testament to our character.    If we are being disingenuous, following the money only rather than the relationships, we are unlikely to build a sustainable network of connections. We have to stop expecting referrals when we haven’t made any authenticity deposits of kindness, gratitude, or appreciation into the relationship.    Curtis Lewsey, owner of AM Cards and co-author of Appreciation Marketing, is this episode’s featured guest. Curtis has spent his career helping people get appreciative about their businesses and relationships. In this episode, he speaks to the power of saying thank you, putting authenticity first, and how to set healthy expectations.    If your attempts to build client relationships are failing, or you just want to get more authentic about showing your appreciation to clients, then this is the episode to put you in the receiver’s shoes, to truly take stock of how you are showing up in the world.   During this interview, you'll learn... The value of saying thank you How to set healthy expectations in business relationships The importance of connecting authentically Click here to find out more about Curtis.   Connect with Curtis on LinkedIn.   Time Stamps 01:34 - Curtis talks about his career journey  04:34 - The power of authenticity and gratitude   08:27 - The chain of appreciation  14:07 - Appreciation marketing  20:05 - Leading by example  27:20 - Looking for opportunities to be grateful 32:20 - Learning more about Curtis