Business Strategy for CPA's

Today’s guest is Kate Ahl of Simple Pin Media. Simple Pin Media makes Pinterest Marketing easy to understand and implement without feeling overwhelmed. In today’s episode I talk to Kate about her journey from food stamps to running a 7-figure business that supports a team of 40 women and clients around the world. I love hearing successful women stories of being an entrepreneur. I especially admired the moments that Kate decided to go all in.  There’s so much power in deciding to do something, in saying “This is what I’m committed to trying and making happen.” Because once you decide, the rest has a way of figuring itself out. So ladies, what have you decided to create in your business? And how committed are you? What I want from you is to decide and to be committed. Because with those two things, you will make happen whatever you want. I'd love to hear from you. Share your key takeaways from this episode in the She Thinks Big Facebook group.   Get in touch with Kate: Website: https://www.simplepinmedia.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simplepinmedia Twitter: https://twitter.com/simplepinmedia Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/simplepinmedia/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-ahl-79a653107/ For CPAs, Accountants, Bookkeepers: As business owners, it’s not always possible for you to see the picture when you’re in the frame. It can be easy to see that it’s possible for your business to grow. But hard to see exactly how, especially when you’re caught in the day-to-day. The 3 biggest challenges I see my own clients struggling with are: How to fill your calendar with the right clients Clarifying your goals and laying out the steps to reach these goals Creating clear and strong business boundaries If any of these topics are of interest to you, check out the 3-part webinar series - Where to Find the $50K Hiding in Plain Sight for Accountants and Bookkeepers, coming up 3 Wednesdays in August: on the 14th, 21st and 28th. These webinars are all free, for you to create more value and more profit in your business. Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session 1:1 Coaching VIP Day

It's July, and six months of the year have now gone by.    At the beginning of the year, back in January, you were so excited, and you were all on fire after the winter break. “I’m gonna rock 2019!” So I want to know, are you rocking it? And if you're not rocking it, where are you off course? Have you yet planned to take a day or a half day out of your business to take stock of the progress that you've made and where you need to go for the rest of the year?  You know it’s important to take time off to look at your business. What I hope to do in today's episode is to convince you, through a story, of the importance of periodically stopping and picking your head up to take stock of where you are and compare that to where you want to be going. Listen to my story of when I had this crazy idea in 2002 of doing an Ironman, which is a 2 1/2 mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and a marathon. So what does my Ironman story have to do with you and your business? There comes a time when you get uncomfortable in your business and you do things that have you drift off course. And you're drifting and drifting, and your head is down in the water. And you tell yourself a story that you don't have time to pick your head up. But you DO need to pick your head up every now and then.  And halfway through the year is the perfect time to pick your head up. Because now you have 6 months of metrics, KPIs, of solid financial data.  And if you haven't been keeping track of your metrics or your financials, call me. Because it's time for you to pick your head up in your business and look around.  Because if you don't, what it’s going to cost you is TIME and MONEY. Keeping your head down in your business could be costing you in countless ways. And it could be costing you right now.  Let me be the one to tell you to pick your head up. We need you to see where you're going in your business.  What do you need to do? Open up your calendar and find half a day or a day where you can stop and step out of your business. And look at what's going on. Schedule that time for yourself. Now could be the time that you're off course and come December you don't want to look back at July and be like, "Ugh, if only I picked my head up then, because it would have made a difference." If stepping out of your business is hard for you and you want help with it, I would love to help you. One of the things I'm good at is hovering above your business and seeing what's working in it, and what is not working in it, that needs tweaking.  Know that I would love to work with you to get your business back on course.  Now, head to the website, SheThinksBigCoaching.com and click on the Work with Me tab to see what's available to you. Ladies, I'd love to hear from you. When are you scheduling time to step away from your business? Share in the She Thinks Big Facebook group.  

Today's guest is Kate Baker, a Physical Therapist from East Missoula, Montana.  Kate has been a Physical Therapist for 5 years. After having her first child, she decided to go from working in a clinic to stepping out on her own as a solo practitioner. Being in business is new to her, and just like most new business owners, she's figuring it out as she goes along.  In this coaching call, Kate and I talk about making the money and the time add up so that she has time to parent her 7-month old boy. We talk about the best use of her time, should she outsource her bookkeeping, what to do about her website, and should she outsource that, and what are the best avenues to build an ongoing client base. Kate has everything she needs in order to build a successful practice. It's just a matter of focusing her time on what drives revenue, and not getting bogged down in the work that she's not great at, doesn't love, and frankly, would prefer not to do anyways. If you're feeling overworked and overwhelmed, chances are good it's because the time and the math don't add up. And the glue that holds it all together is YOU. And it comes at the expense of your own self-care, and your own physical and emotional wellness.  If you're overwhelmed or overworked, if something isn't working, start putting pencil to paper and bust out your calculator and see if what you're trying to create actually adds up. A note on outsourcing: When you do everything in your business, you cap your income. It's that simple. There's only so much you can get done as one person inside a week. If you want to grow your income, you need to free up your time. And you do this by paying other people to do work they're skilled at, and that you're not so skilled at.  Thinking of hiring a bookkeeper? Get the free PDF download in episode 009 - Shame, Money Mindset, and Your Profit and Loss, which contains 17 interview questions to ask a bookkeeper. Ladies, what were your key takeaways? I'd love to hear from you. Come share in the She Thinks Big Facebook group. Get in touch with Kate: Website: katebakerdpt.com Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session 1:1 Coaching VIP Day

I’m here today to help translate from CPA-speak to regular person English, sometimes known as layman English.  How many of you have met with your bookkeeper or your CPA and honestly it’s like they’re speaking Greek and like, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”  I’m here today to make CPA and bookkeeping-speak a little bit easier for you. And I’m also here to remind our friendly, much-beloved bookkeepers and CPAs just how foreign this language is to your everyday business owner who is super busy with their graphic design clients, who has a full plate already writing content for social media posts. Who already can’t quite get their handle on when is the next time, who is the next person they should hire. Much less try and wrap their brains around an entirely new way of speaking about numbers and new ways of showing and displaying finances. What I want our bookkeepers and CPA listeners to get is, “Oh yeah, this stuff is super-foreign to them, I really need this not just to simplify it but talk to them in terms that sound familiar to them rather than the ones I’m used to.”  What I have today are 9 terms that CPAs and bookkeepers use all the time, that the rest of us nod and go, “What?!” Profit and Loss Gross Net Balance Sheet Chart of Accounts Accounts Payable Accounts Receivable Cash or Accrual Owner’s Draw I want these terms to be less foreign to you. I want you to have some kind of imagery that you can use to help you remember what these terms mean. So that you’re less intimidated by your numbers and financials, so that you’re more confident, so that you can start to use them and be savvy with them.  So that you can ask yourself, “What do I need to know about these numbers? How can I find what I’m looking for? How can these numbers help me be smarter in running my business?” For your reference, I’ve created a cheat sheet of these terms plus further explanation. I also include some tips about which Profit and Loss reports I think are handy to look at every month and what you’re looking for in each one of them. It also includes references to previous episodes about money.  Ladies, what were your key takeaways in this episode? Come share in the She Thinks Big Facebook group.   Download PDF: Decoding CPA-speak    Previous Episodes on Money: 009 Shame, Money Mindset, and Your Profit and Loss 019 Stop Magical Thinking: The Math Needs to Add Up 026 Simple Financials and KPIs for Your Business with Virtual CFO Hannah Smolinski Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session 1:1 Coaching VIP Day

Have you ever felt awkward answering your kids questions about sex? Well my guest today knows exactly how you feel. Amy Lang teaches adults how to talk about sex and sexuality to kids.  She has been an educator for more than 25 years, and has a degree in adult education. And volunteered as a sexual health educator.  In 2005 she decided to put the two together, and her company, Birds and Bees and Kids was born.  Today Amy teaches adults how to talk to kids about sex and sexuality so they can grow up to be whole, healthy adults.  And, I know you’re disappointed… but today instead of talking about sex we’re going to talk about the super successful business that Amy has built, the mistakes, and what she has learned along the way.  I absolutely love talking with Amy. She’s down to earth, funny, and never takes herself too seriously.  I want to call particular attention to this phrase that Amy slipped in - she said, “I didn’t envision myself as an entrepreneur because I just wanted to help people.” Ladies, you can be an entrepreneur AND help people. In fact, you can help LOTS of people. Just look at Oprah Winfrey. Incredibly successful entrepreneur, and HUGE impact helping millions of people. So if helping people is what you want to do, then be an entrepreneur, and make money. The more money you make, the more people you can help.  And ladies, I know you want to have a big impact in the world, and I hope you will open your arms up wide to being an entrepreneur and making the money you need to support your big vision.  And remember, Amy’s big ask is a connection to someone at the high levels of organizations like Girl Scouts or Campfire so she can increase the size of the audience she reaches and the number of kids she impacts.  Ladies, what were your key takeaways? Come share in the She Thinks Big Facebook group. Find out more about Amy and her work:  Website Birds & Bees & Kids  Podcast Just Say This!  Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session 1:1 Coaching VIP Day

I’m back from the B A M Success Summit, hosted by Julie Fry, which took place in Seattle a couple weeks ago.  Business Among Moms is more than just an annual conference, it’s a collection of more than 30 locally-based chapters around the country, and a whole lot more.  In this episode I gather takeaways from some of the great women I met.  Kate Ahl, founder of Simple Pin Media, makes Pinterest Marketing easy to understand and implement without feeling overwhelmed. Website: https://www.simplepinmedia.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simplepinmedia Twitter: https://twitter.com/simplepinmedia Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/simplepinmedia/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-ahl-79a653107/   Katy Blevins Calabrese is the Chief Leadership & Training Officer for Business Among Moms.  Website: www.businessamongmoms.com  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katyblevins Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seasonofkaty/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/seasonofkaty LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katyblevins/ Michelle Cooper owns Alchemy Accounting. Alchemy Accounting uses the Profit First cash management system. Her team is trained and certified by Profit First professionals to guide business owners and entrepreneurs in maximizing their profits through excellent bookkeeping and accounting. Website: http://MichelleBCooper.com Website: http://AlchemyAccounting.ca Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michelle.h.cooper.9   Karen Nelson helps website owners use Facebook ads and Pinterest ads to drive traffic to their products. Email: Karen@karenjnelson.com Website: KarenJNelson.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarenJNelsonDigitalSupport/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karennelsondigital/   Melina Palmer is the founder of Brainy Business. She helps companies of all sizes to incorporate behavioral economics in their businesses, to make them “”brain-friendly” to increase conversions and ROI. Website: www.thebrainybusiness.com Podcast: Listen to the Podcast Youtube: Check out my speaker reel! What I got from the summit is countless, genuine, authentic, fun, and valuable connections. Because of the time that I spent connecting with amazing women, I’m not noticing just an uptick, but rather like an explosion of activity in my business. If you want to know more about the BAM Success Summit, go to https://bamsuccesssummit.com. Registration and tickets reopen in December. Register here:   https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2020-bam-success-summit-conference-all-access-tickets-61727767414 Ladies, what’s your takeaway from this episode? Come share in the She Thinks Big Facebook group.   Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session 1:1 Coaching VIP Day  

My guest today is Kim Bostrom, of Dancing Goat Gardens and the Hope Center. In 2014, Kim left her job in the pharmaceutical industry, ready and in need of a change. A few years later, Kim and her husband Jay founded two companies and a non-profit all housed under one roof: To provide education, wellness, and cannabis products to those looking for alternative therapies. You may have heard of CBD oil: it’s legal at the federal level, but up to each state to manage it. That’s not Kim’s only challenge as a business owner: she’s in an industry that is a patchwork of sometimes clear, sometimes ambiguous, sometimes downright contradictory laws. And, she is part of a small but growing force of women aiming to shift the old black market paradigm to one that is legitimate and operates above board. It’s hard enough to start a business. Never mind one that has all kinds of hoops to jump through, won’t let you use traditional banking, and won’t let you market your products. I admire Kim’s courage to lead in an industry that carries around all kinds of baggage, stereotypes, and pigeonholes, and the effort required to shift the paradigm in an industry that has operated in the shadows for so long. I am also grateful to Kim and her husband Jay, not as a user myself, but on behalf of those who do legitimately need medical cannabis. I want to say it’s high time, but that’s a terrible pun, that we give this plant the recognition it deserves for its medicinal properties, and get it off the black market. Ladies, what inspired you about Kim, and the work she and Jay are doing? Know that I would love to hear from you. Come share in the She Thinks Big Facebook group. Get in touch with Kim: Dancing Goat Gardens website Dancing Goat Gardens Facebook page Dancing Goat Gardens Instagram page The Hope Center website The Hope Center Facebook page The Hope Center Instagram page Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session 1:1 Coaching VIP Day

Finding Solutions to the Problem of Childcare I love it when people see a problem and they go, “Huh, I wonder if I could fix that?” Today’s guest, Erica Mackey, did just that. She returned to work with her six-week old only to find that basic childcare is basically broken. But rather than shrug her shoulders in resignation, she asked herself if she could use business to address the problems in childcare. Now, two years in, with 17 employees and 40 educators, MyVillage is a community of high-quality, in-home childcare and preschool programs in Colorado and Montana, with plans to expand nationwide. Erica’s Vision for MyVillage Erica’s vision for MyVillage is to see a network of incredibly talented and skilled caregivers and educators that are community leaders. And to inspire children to do the same, and create and instill that sense of confidence and the skill set to be able to act on that confidence. Which means a sea of entrepreneurs, of budding educators, and of capable children who are ready to be the citizens of this country that we deserve. What Erica Asks from the She Thinks Big Community Erica asks that you reach out and encourage anybody you know in your network who just needs a little confidence boost to be able to take the next step forward. If you have somebody who has touched you or your family in a way that you know that they would be incredible at providing this service to their community, reach out and encourage them to check it out because sometimes it just takes a little nudge to get over that initial fear. I’m just blown away by what Erica and her team are creating, in the same way that I was blown away when I first used Lyft and Square. MyVillage is taking a system that was so archaic and bringing it into the 21st century and solving dozens of problems elegantly in one fell swoop. Thank you, Erica, for your big vision. Ladies, I would love to hear from you. What is your biggest takeaway from this episode? Come and share on the She Thinks Big Facebook group page. Get in touch with Erica: https://www.myvillage.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericamackey/ Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session 1:1 Coaching VIP Day

Miri Disney Faller of Back on Track Physical Therapy is a Physical Therapist who helps those with neck and low back pain, headaches and vertigo return to wellness. Like many health and wellness practitioners, she sometimes finds it challenging to run the business side of things the way that she wants, so that the patients, the time and the finances all balance out. It gets even trickier in the summer when the usual calendar goes out the window.   Today, we take some time to look ahead of summer and get real about putting plans into the calendar so that we can see what the implications are for various work schedule, so that she can decide what choices she has to make around how many patients she can see and when. We talk about what is the balance she can handle and find a compromise that she can live with. One of the pieces I hope you'll listen for in this episode is how Miri has some reluctance to get specific. The temptation is to leave things loosey-goosey. But loosey-goosey often leaves the door open for negotiating with yourself at a later date, justifying choices that aren't aligned with what you want to create in your life and dropping out on your bigger vision. In this episode I help Miri get really clear about the summer that she's trying to create and not let her slide where she wants to leave the crack open, all in service of enjoying both her work and her family time. If you're looking for Miri because you have a headache, neck, low back pain or vertigo, you can find her on backontrackptmt.com. And if you need some guidance planning out your summer, you can download a Prep Your Summer Calendar PDF from the link below. Ladies, I would love to hear from you. What is your biggest takeaway from this episode? Come and share on the She Thinks Big Facebook group page. Links: Download PDF: Prep Your Summer Calendar Back on Track Physical Therapy Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session 1:1 Coaching VIP Day  

In this episode, we’ll be talking about Key Performance Indicators or KPIs in your business, why measuring them is important, and how to think about which ones you should be measuring. Most business owners I run into are not tracking much more than revenue, expenses, and net income. What we don’t realize is that sometimes, there’s information that’s hidden, and it’s really useful. Imagine if all of a sudden you found extra money hanging out in your business. And extra time. How would that feel? It’s important to know what to track and how often, and to have a system for tracking. And  most importantly, what decisions you’re going to make based on the information that you find. Because the real problem here is that you’re likely to be leaving opportunity in the form of money, profit and time on the table. And working harder than you need to be. I want to teach you how to think about what you need to measure. I want to help you figure out what your own pain points are. And from there, figure out which KPIs to measure in order to help solve your pain points. When we look at our numbers, when we start asking questions, and measure what’s working and what’s not, it becomes really clear how we can save time and not not work so hard, and make more money.   Download this PDF for some questions you need to ask to determine what KPIs you need to measure for your business. Ladies, I would love to hear from you. What’s your biggest takeaway from this episode? Come and share in the She Thinks Big Facebook page.   Download PDF: Questions to Determine What KPIs to Measure Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session 1:1 Coaching VIP Day