The Successful Bookkeeper Podcast

Investing. For your bookkeeping business to be successful, you'll need to invest money into products, programs, systems and tools to ensure your operation has all the resources it needs to deliver great service to your clients. This reality is one our guest, Peter Broberg of Monitor Bookkeeping Services based in Perth, Australia, accepted and has never looked back. During this interview, you'll learn... The value of buying a proven and pre-made system that allows you to focus on your business instead of reinventing the wheel Why exploring fixed pricing can be a game-changer and who you should research to implement it properly The importance of always looking for ways to automate your enterprise to increase its efficiency and productivity To find out more about Peter, visit https://www.thesuccessfulbookkeeper.com.

Starting out is always scary. There are so many unknowns which makes it incredibly easy to stay in your comfort zone and not take any chances. Our special return guest today, the lovely and talented, Debbie Roberts of Pure Bookkeeping, remembers what those times were like. Fortunately, with the help of her longtime business coach and co-founder of PB, Peter Cook, she overcame those fears and realized her true potential as a successful bookkeeping business owner. For those of you who are just beginning your bookkeeping entrepreneurial journey, don't worry, Debbie is about to give you some golden tips to help you through the bumps. During this inspiring interview, you'll learn... How to increase your confidence when speaking with accountants and prospects The importance of leaning on qualified mentors to ask questions and advice to avoid mistakes Why practice and preparation will always serve you well when marketing yourself to others To find out more about Debbie & Pure Bookkeeping, visit https://www.thesuccessfulbookkeeper.com.

Hiring mistakes. Unfortunately, many bookkeeping business owners make them. Those poor decisions likely cause emotional and financial stress in addition to the large amount of time used to mop up the bookkeeping messes of those you thought could do the job. One man who has cracked the code on how to hire great and loyal staff is our guest today, Bob Wang. He is the owner of Legacy Advantage which has 2 offices and around 15 employees and will make $1 million in sales this year. During this interview, you'll learn... The importance of building a powerful company vision that will inspire others to want to be on your team Why having the right culture fit is a huge requirement when hiring someone new How to craft an effective and unique job advertisement that will attract your ideal future employees To find out more about Bob, visit https://www.thesuccessfulbookkeeper.com.

Who do you want to work with? If you answered, "EVERYONE." That could likely cost you. Many bookkeepers don't have a clear niche of clients they focus on and, as a result, they likely accept any new customers that walk through the door. Unfortunately, that thinking can attract potentially bad clients who are not a fit. By not taking the time to identify what type of client would be ideal from a financial and personality standpoint, accepting "EVERYONE" can lead to increased headaches, stress and payment issues. It doesn't have to be this way. Our guest, Ingrid Edstrom pointed out that in 2015, her bookkeeping company, Polymath, had 96 clients, but after finding a profitable niche, it now serves only 30, but it makes double the money. Once you figure out what core group of customers work best for you, it can be an absolute game-changer in your bookkeeping business. During this fun and inspiring interview, you'll learn... Why you should focus on an industry niche that you want to work with and that can pay you well What questions to ask yourself to determine your ideal niche clients To not be afraid to refer potential clients who aren't a fit to other bookkeepers To find out more about Ingrid, visit https://www.thesuccessfulbookkeeper.com.

Be of service. Usually, you'd think helping your bookkeeping clients would be enough. But, if you want to be truly valuable and generate countless referrals, it pays to be on the good side of accountants as well. Today's guest, Lynne Moore, who is the owner of LAM Consulting, has mastered the art of attracting the best referrals by being of great value to accountants and her clients. By assisting both, it has created a profitable business where she doesn't spend a penny on marketing including not even having a website. During this interview, you'll learn... What to ask your new clients in order to connect with their accountants Why it's important to know how accountants want their files prepared Why clients and accountants like when you have a relationship with both sides To find out more about Lynne, visit https://www.thesuccessfulbookkeeper.com.

Have you made this important decision? Many bookkeepers haven't. The decision in question is whether you want your bookkeeping business to make lifestyle income where you trade your time for dollars to hopefully earn $100,000 to $200,000 per year... Or... You want to grow your business by creating teachable and repeatable systems so it can run without you and eventually be sold to a third party for potentially bigger profits. Our guest today, John Warrillow, who wrote the book, Built To Sell, feels you should figure out what direction you want to go so you can align the appropriate actions towards achieving your goals before it's too late. During this interview, you'll learn... Why your profit and loss statement isn't a good business value indicator How to determine if your business is scalable using the Trifecta of Scale The importance of having teachable systems to help your business function without you and be more attractive to potential buyers To find out more about John, visit https://www.thesuccessfulbookkeeper.com.

The classroom. It was once the main destination where people consumed educational information, but in today's online world, things have changed and bookkeepers are slowly becoming more open to learning in new ways. Managing Director of K2E Canada Inc. and IPBC board member, Alan Salmon recently conducted a survey that measured how bookkeepers and accountants learn. It was sent to 10,000 contacts and 990 responded. The results were fascinating. During this informative interview, you'll learn... What is the number one online educational tool for bookkeepers How active bookkeepers are in social media groups Whether bookkeepers still consume traditional forms of media To find out more about Alan, visit https://www.thesuccessfulbookkeeper.com.

Are you looking for clients? If you're just starting your bookkeeping business then you might be. If you're already up and running then maybe you'd like to add some more business. A way to do it other than spending thousands of dollars on marketing is to get referrals. How do you do that? Our returning guest, Melissa Lenos of King Accounting Solutions, knows how to master this fine art. She never spends money on advertising because her revenue comes strictly from referrals only. During this interview, you'll learn... How to turn a conversation with your client's accountant into a new referral partnership Why you should have lunch and learns with senior managers at accounting firms How to leverage BNI to have a 30-50 person sales team for your bookkeeping business To find out more about Melissa, visit https://www.thesuccessfulbookkeeper.com.

Chaos. No one likes that in their bookkeeping business. But, when you don't have a trusted process or system in place for staff to follow which details how your operation works, a tornado of destruction will likely ensue. This could happen because clear instructions are not given on how things get done, so others will come up with their own solutions which can lead to disaster including some angry clients. Today, our guest David Cristello, who is the founder of Jetpack Workflow, will offer some suggestions to get you started on systemizing your bookkeeping business. During this interview, you'll learn... Why it's important to download your brain into a Google Doc Why the quality of your product is dependent on the quality of your process Why you should include your staff in the creation of your systems To find out more about David, visit https://www.thesuccessfulbookkeeper.com.

Emails. According to our return guest, productivity expert and owner of Simpletivity, Scott Friesen, he says the average professional spends 6.3 hours per day tending to their emails in some capacity. Those are easily hours that could be dedicated to more important things, but for many reasons we're choosing to be a slave to our inboxes. Today that's about to end. It's time you take a stand and Scott will help. During this informative interview, you'll learn... Why you should space out the time in between checking emails How to turn off your email notifications Why it's important to acknowledge email requests quickly & provide a deadline to address them To find out more about Scott, visit https://www.thesuccessfulbookkeeper.com.