Business Strategy for CPA's

Today’s guest is Christine Lustik, PhD, owner of Mindfulness in Organizations. After spending 14 years in leadership and the arena of online higher education, Christine transitioned to a role of helping teams, and the individuals in them, to thrive.  Christine works with leaders and teams who find themselves in a culture of stress, disconnection, overwhelm, and chaos. And uses the practices of mindfulness and proactive resilience to change the culture to one of connection, productivity, focus, and resiliency.  I wanted to talk with Christine to tap her expertise about nourishing our bodies and our mind at the time of the year when caring for ourselves might be falling off our calendar.  Being able to find and maintain focus when there are lots of moving parts in front of us is a skill that requires constant attention and maintenance. The result of caring for our bodies, hearts and minds most often leads to increased effectiveness and productivity and getting the same amount of work done in less time.  It’s like Buddha said, sit for 30 minutes daily. When busy, sit for one hour.  My two takeaways from this episode are: Reminding myself to use “just like me,” for when I'm frustrated with someone else who is doing something that I don't like, or being a way that I don't like. It's so helpful to remind myself that, oh, just like me, this person might be having a moment of frustration. It reminds me of our common humanity.    The other one is the idea of establishing relaxed and focused as the baseline. The default to return to, rather than imagining that in overdrive is the default, and relaxed and focused is something to aspire to. Guided Meditation: Purposeful Pause on Soundcloud:  https://soundcloud.com/user-180052466/purposeful-pause    Kristin Neff on Self-Compassion: https://self-compassion.org/the-three-elements-of-self-compassion-2/   Connect with Christine: Email: christine@mindfulnessinorganizations.com Website: http://www.mindfulnessinorganizations.com Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mindfulnessinorganizations   Download ebook “6 Simple Steps to Double Your Revenue” https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/download-double-your-revenue   Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/strategy-session/ 1:1 Coaching https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/business-coaching/ VIP Day https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/vip-day/

Today I'm returning to the topic of sending mixed signals to money, resenting money and learning to love money. First, let’s go back to Episode 34 - Are You Sending Mixed Signals To Money?  The basic idea in that episode is that in our lives and in our businesses, a lot of us send mixed signals to money. We say we want more money, we want to make more money. And then we also find ways of communicating the exact opposite. So we have these competing signals that we send to money.  We develop these beliefs around money and a lot of it comes from our family of origin, and we also get other messages from society. We want to be looking at the stories that we have around money. We need to get some insight into the ways that we might be resenting money.  What I want for you is nothing short of a complete shift in your energy when it comes to how you relate to and how you think about money. And you get to decide what you believe about money. And I ask you to do this work for you and for your clients. Because when you shift how you relate to money, what will the impact be to your clients?  In the work that we do, we can only help our clients go as far as we ourselves have gone.    Top Client Assessment Session: https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/top-client-assessment/   Previous episode mentioned:  034 [Mindset] Are You Sending Mixed Signals to Money? https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/034   Download ebook “6 Easy Steps to Double Your Revenue” https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/download-double-your-revenue Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/strategy-session/ 1:1 Coaching https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/business-coaching/ VIP Day https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/vip-day/

Today, I have a few stories to tell. About driving in the snow, hockey, ice skating, skiing, and sports in general. Then I relate all these stories to things that we can do to move our business forward: Steer towards what you fear Commit Trust You will wipe out in your business Get back up and get back in the game   When was the last time you totally wiped out in your business? Wiping out is a part of the process of learning and the more beginner we are at the thing we're doing, the more we're going to wipe out. And as we get better, we wipe out with less frequency.  Even experts wipe out, screw up, miss, and they're okay. They keep playing. There is no such thing as perfect. Nobody plays a perfect game. So when you wipe out, get back up and get back in the game. Podcast mentioned:  The Sigrun Show https://www.sigrun.com/podcast   Download ebook “6 Easy Steps to Double Your Revenue” https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/download-double-your-revenue Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/strategy-session/ 1:1 Coaching https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/business-coaching/ VIP Day https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/vip-day/

Today’s guest is officially the world’s most highly rated advisor to accountants. Steve Pipe is a best-selling author, dynamic speaker and founder of Accountants Changing the World and the AVN Association of Proactive UK Accountants. I wanted to interview Steve to talk with him about where he sees CPAs and accountants getting stuck in growing their own businesses, as well as to talk about his current path being a force for good in the world, and inspiring and showing business owners and accountants how to do the same in their own businesses.   Two things stood out to me in this conversation: The role of CPAs as Steve views it Restore rationality to decision making in business  Distill data: make it simple, clear, and manageable Properly understand profitability models based on clear and simple data  Differentiate yourself in the marketplace and make your business a Force for Good.  Remember the value you provide to clients. Go through your own top clients and quantify it for each client, in order to remind you of just how valuable you are.    Book mentioned: The World’s Most Inspiring Accountants https://stevepipe.kartra.com/page/HighImpactFreeStuff Connect with Steve: Website: http://www.stevepipe.com  B1G1 Business for Good: https://www.b1g1.com/businessforgood/how-it-works/ Free Giving Plan report tailored to your business from B1G1:  https://www.b1g1.com/businessforgood/givingplan/ Download ebook “6 Easy Steps to Double Your Revenue” https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/download-double-your-revenue Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/strategy-session/ 1:1 Coaching https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/business-coaching/ VIP Day https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/vip-day/

**Listener survey - help shape the podcast to what you want to hear!**  https://bit.ly/3ay8FDt   Today’s guest is Melisa Galasso. She is the founder of Galasso Learning Solutions, where she offers custom, continuing professional education to CPAs, focused on engaging learner experience and improved performance outcomes. I wanted to interview Melisa to talk with her about Continuing Education. While it might not be the sexiest topic ever, with 40 required hours every year, it’s worth doing this right. And having seen a number of my own clients have to cram in dozens of hours right before the deadline, it made me think this was an issue worth bringing to the table.  What stood out to me in this conversation was just how easy it is for the year to get away from you, and that when it’s left until late in the game, you end up having to choose whatever is left to satisfy requirements, which is not just a waste of time and money, but a huge opportunity cost to learn the things that could potentially really move your business forward.  Connect with Melisa: Website: https://galassolearningsolutions.com/   Book mentioned: The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance---What Women Should Know, by Katty Kay https://www.amazon.com/Confidence-Code-Science-Self-Assurance-What-Should/dp/006223062X Download ebook “6 Easy Steps to Double Your Revenue” https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/download-double-your-revenue   Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/strategy-session/ 1:1 Coaching https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/business-coaching/ VIP Day https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/vip-day/

**Listener survey - help shape the podcast to what you want to hear!**  https://bit.ly/3ay8FDt   Today’s guest is Lisa Campbell, founder of The Marcam Group, where she guides her clients to profitability as a Profit First strategist.  I wanted to have her on because she started out just like many of you, as a solo practitioner, fell into all the predictable traps, until finally she realized that something had to change. So we explore her journey of her business growth and what she learned along the way. What stood out to me was her piece about mindset work and teaching herself how to focus, how to systematize the way she thinks about things.  It reminds me of something I read in “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle, where he talks about the mind being kind of like a dog chewing on a bone. The dog will chew and chew and chew on the bone and they will totally enjoy it and you give the dog a bone and it will hang out there. And as entrepreneurs, we can kind of be similar. We see shiny objects and we go towards them. It takes special effort to train our minds to focus and give our attention to the things that are most important in our day and in our lives. Watch out for dog bones! Previous episode mentioned: 044 CEO Day: Why You Need to Pick Your Head Up in Your Business https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/044   Book mentioned: The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle https://www.amazon.com/Power-Now-Guide-Spiritual-Enlightenment/dp/1577314808 Connect with Lisa: Website: The Marcam Group http://marcam.ca/ Facebook Group: The Successful Bookkeeper North America https://www.facebook.com/groups/thesuccessfulbookkeeper/ Download ebook “6 Easy Steps to Double Your Revenue” https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/download-double-your-revenue Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/strategy-session/ 1:1 Coaching https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/business-coaching/ VIP Day https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/vip-day/  

My guest today is Cyndi Thomason. Cyndi Thomason is the author of the bestselling book, Profit First for Ecommerce Sellers. She is a Mastery Level Certified Profit First Professional, and the founder and president of Bookskeep. Cyndi devotes much of her time speaking at various events such as ASD Market Week, SellerCon, ProfitCon, and other industry events. She is a regular contributor to The Private Label Insider, Inventory Lab and eComEngine blogs and newsletters. Her company consists of a virtual team located across the United States, providing bookkeeping and Profit First consulting services to e-commerce clients all over the world. I wanted to interview Cyndi to ask her about her experience of differentiating herself in the marketplace and niching down.  Like so many things in life that are difficult to learn or do, once you know how to do it, it seems easy, and you forget what it was like before you knew how to or did the thing.  And it can be that way with niching down. Once you’ve done it, you forget what it was like to be in the headspace of knowing you should do it, but feeling resistant to actually putting the process in place.  So Cyndi and I are going to talk about her process of niching to e-commerce, now that she is on the successful side of it.  There was so much to love in that conversation, but what stood out to me was her recognition that even 7-figure business owners can have a murky understanding of their financials, and how important it is to know where your clients are when it comes to their level of business financial literacy.  And I really appreciated the part about finding clients whose values overlap with yours, and with whom you connect. When you do, it makes your business life so much easier and more enjoyable. Tricky clients can absolutely be a thing of the past.  Cyndi’s book: Profit First for Ecommerce Sellers: Transform Your Ecommerce Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0960028315/ Mike Michalowicz’s book: Surge: Time the Marketplace, Ride the Wave of Consumer Demand, and Become Your Industry's Big Kahuna by Mike Michalowicz https://surgebymikemichalowicz.com/ Previous episode mentioned: 055 [Coaching] Mindset Blocks Around Hiring with Dr. Sabrina Starling https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/055 Connect with Cyndi: Email: cyndi@bookskeep.com  Website: http://bookskeep.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bookskeep/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bookskeep/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/bookskeep Download ebook “6 Easy Steps to Double Your Revenue” https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/download-double-your-revenue Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/strategy-session/ 1:1 Coaching https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/business-coaching/ VIP Day https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/vip-day/

I wanted to start the year off with top five books and reviews from 2019, but I couldn't help myself and I got to at least nine. There were so many great reads that I got through this year.  I hope you find something to enjoy that will potentially contribute to your own inside transformation. And by proxy, contribute to the transformation of your business, and lead to you living a whole and beautiful life. Here’s my 9 best reads from 2019:   This is Marketing - Seth Godin https://www.amazon.com/This-Marketing-Cant-Until-Learn/dp/0525540830/   Million Dollar Consulting - Alan Weiss https://alanweiss.com/shop/books/paperback/million-dollar-consulting/   How Women Rise - Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith http://www.howwomenrise.com/   The Pumpkin Plan - Mike Michalowicz https://pumpkinplanyourbiz.com/book/   The Soul of Money - Lynne Twist https://soulofmoney.org/   Overcoming Underearning - Barbara Stanny https://www.barbara-huson.com/books-products/   You are a Badass at Making Money - Jen Sincero https://jensincero.com/shop/   Boundaries - Cloud & Townsend https://www.amazon.com/Boundaries-Updated-Expanded-When-Control/dp/0310351804/   The Gifts of Imperfection - Brene Brown https://brenebrown.com/books-audio/ Download ebook “6 Easy Steps to Double Your Revenue” https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/download-double-your-revenue Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/strategy-session/ 1:1 Coaching https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/business-coaching/ VIP Day https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/vip-day/

Wishing you a Happy New Year and a very prosperous 2020! I’m closing out the year with a few more jokes from Hazel and a question. What if you raised your prices by 10% and dropped 10% of your clients? Where would you end up? I play with these and more  numbers is this short episode. See you in 2020.

It’s the holiday season, and it's time to step away from the mic so that I can spend time with my loved ones. And same for you. In this episode, you’ll hear my four year old girl Hazel bust out some math jokes. Merry Christmas! Happy holidays! Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/strategy-session/ 1:1 Coaching https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/business-coaching/ VIP Day https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/vip-day/