Join the challenge to Shine Bright this May!  The best way to get the attention of new clients is to be seen.  Ways to do this include having a website and posting about your business on social media.     Be sure to post on your personal page what you do and the type of clients you are looking for.   Referrals from friends and family will be the easiest clients to sell to since they already trust the person who referred you.  Show the world your AMAZING self.  

I challenge you every week this May to take a picture of yourself doing something fun or with those that you love.  Post the pictures on Bookkeeping Buds social media (Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram) or tag us in your post.  For every post you will be entered into a raffle for a special prize.  It’s time for you to SHINE BRIGHT!

Instagram: Bookkeeping Buds

Facebook: Bookkeepers With Heart

Twitter BkBuds

Over the years, the word “bookkeeper” has gotten a bad rap. People often hear the word and think of a nerdy number cruncher, spending their day with a calculator. However, I am proud to be a bookkeeper extraordinaire. As the pandemic occurred, I was fortunate enough not to experience anything different in my work life as a remote bookkeeper.

When I first started in this industry, I worked for others, but quickly learned that this was not for me. Then, I started my dream of owning my own business. I turned to teaching myself QuickBooks®, along with their online training, and then began networking with others. My business began to grow and so did my dreams.

My big dream was to have my husband join our business full-time and live in Disney World. In 2017, this is exactly what happened after many years of hard work, and we now have a lifestyle business, where we help clients across the country, while also getting to play at the parks.

I know running your own business is not for everyone, but here are some of the reasons why you may want to reconsider and pursue your own dreams.

You can work from anywhere. Beach money is a real phenomenon. It may not be ideal (and a little sandy) to work from the beach, but you really can work from anywhere that has internet access. This means you get to be in charge of where you log in. Originally from Chicago, I wanted to make sure the Florida experiment would work before making it permanent. I was a snowbird for two winters to test it out. My clients never even knew I was working from sunny Florida in February, rather than in two feet of Midwest snow.

You get to make the rules. The best part of running your own firm is that you get to make the rules. You get to decide who you work with and what you do for them.

It is recommended to become clear on the type of clients you want, perhaps a specific industry, but, more importantly, the type of person. Are there specific characteristics that you want to work with or avoid? It’s best to determine this before you start taking sales calls, so that you can decide quickly if it makes sense to continue the sales conversation. When bookkeepers are starting out, they tend to overlook this and take on any client that calls simply because they will pay. This makes sense, but what you end up with are a bunch of clients that drain your energy. If you’re selective from the beginning as to the type of client you want to work with, then you can build a practice that you love, with clients you enjoy helping.

You also get to make the rules with the services you want to offer. You get to pick and choose what you prefer doing, and what you want to delegate. To get started, decide what core set of services you want to offer. Tou can always add to them as you grow or gain more experience.

By knowing what services you offer, it will be much easier to let others know specifically what you do. Will you be offering monthly bookkeeping, or only training and consulting? Will you be offering payroll? If you dislike payroll, then you would want to have options available that the client can use instead. The cool part is that it’s your business, so you’re in charge.

Make your own schedule. The flexibility of running your own business on your schedule is a definite plus. You get to determine when and how often you want to work. It works well for those who have other obligations, or for those that work better on an unusual schedule. Personally, I am not a morning person and work much better later in the day. I am able to schedule calls and appointments that fit my lifestyle.

Your earning potential is up to you. When running a practice, you’re in charge of deciding how many clients you want to take on and how to price them. This allows you to reach whatever income levels you want. If you’re looking to run a lifestyle business, then you start with determining the amount of revenue you need, and can easily calculate the number of clients you would have to obtain. If you want to have a legacy business with lots of clients and larger earning potential, that takes more work, but is also accessible.

What starting your own bookkeeping firm looks like

The benefits of running your own bookkeeping firm are that you can work from anywhere, work with clients you enjoy on your own schedule, and make the amount of money you want. There are a lot of decisions, but in the long run, you can create an enjoyable and rewarding business. Then, when people ask what you do, you can say, “I am a bookkeeper old word, new definition.”

“No thief, however skillful, can rob one of knowledge, and that is why knowledge is the best and safest treasure to acquire.” ―L. Frank Baum

What did you do on your summer vacation?  I spent my summer organizing a Bookkeeping Retreat for my Bookkeeping Buds community.  If you run a bookkeeping firm and are looking to connect with others to learn from and get support from then this may be the event for you.

I have a confession, I am a conference addict.    I love being around other like minded individuals who all understand what it is like to run a business.  By talking to others it helps me get reenergized in my business and look at things in a whole new light.

Since I saw how beneficial the conferences that I attend have been on my bookkeeping business since I began in 2007 I started talking with others to see why they don’t make it a priority.  The first answer I typically get is the cost. The cost of the conference ticket along with the travel and being out of work for a few days definitely does add up, but the value that you get from showing up is priceless.  After I dug a little deeper I found that the cost is typically not really the biggest issue. The issue really is finding the courage to try something new, the confidence to walk into a room of thousands of people, and the conviction to travel on your own.

Seeing how much the benefits outweigh the obstacles I created an event that makes it easy to attend by creating a boutique atmosphere at a competitive price.  The Bookkeeping Buds retreat isn’t like any other event out there for women who own a bookkeeping firm. We have brought together the best parts of the big conferences into a safe retreat where you can learn, network and leave inspired.  

The first day of the event revolves around health and wellness.  It includes sessions about you and ways to bring balance to your life.  We try to introduce new things that you may not have tried before and since the sessions are short, it isn’t scary.  This year there are sessions that include how to use journaling to help with decision making and stress reduction, breaking your mind set out of the normal routine with improvisational exercises and creating boundaries to add more time in your day.  We finish the first day off with an evening dinner reception to celebrate and get a chance to talk in a more informal setting. 

The second day is all business related sessions, where we bring in top name speakers in our industry to share their knowledge.  In past retreats, we have heard from legends like Leslie Shiner, Geni Whitehouse, Marine Stretch, Dawn Brolin, Karine Woodman and Misty Megia just to name a few.  This year is no exception, as we will be joined by some more amazing presenters who are leading the industry. Brittany Brown of LedgerGurus (@LedgerGurus) will discuss her journey going from a one person office to leading a large team.  Sharon Means of Redmond Accounting (@RedmondAccountg) will be presenting on how to use Zapier to be more efficient. Cathy Iconis of Iconis Group (@QBOChat) will be leading our first ever track for Employees of Buds members where they will learn tips and tricks about QuickBooks Online.  Cathy will also be presenting to our whole group on the benefits of using social media to grow your business. Finally all the speakers will be on a panel to talk about the apps that they love and use in their business. 

Meeting vendors and learning new apps are another part of why attending conferences are so important.  Again it gets a little overwhelming when there are so many to choose from. At the Buds Retreat we limit our onsite vendors so you are able to really hear what they have to offer your clients and build those relationships.  We are excited to have Intuit back for the 4th year, featuring Valerie Heckman who will discuss whats new in QuickBooks Online. New this year we also have Tracy Hansen from Bento for Business showing us how to control our business expenses.  There is also a raffle to raise money for the American Cancer Society, with prizes donated from generous vendors like ScanSnap, CPA Academy, and PauseBox.

The event is an intimate event with less than 50 attendees so that it is easy to quickly connect with new friends and build a community of support around you to tackle all the struggles that come along with running a business.  Attendees of our event come back year after year to reconnect in person with each other, continue to learn and leave inspired with new energy.  

This years event will be held September 23rd and 24th in Naperville IL, a suburb of Chicago.  If you would like to attend or are interested in learning more about future events, log on to www.BookkeepingBuds.com to sign up for our newsletter and get more information..

Michelle Long does a fantastic job of collecting information to put this study together each year.  Get the full results by clicking here.

If you are headed to San Jose next month for QuickBooks connect, fill out our short survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7QJBS28 so that we can get you connected to the Buds.  This way you will already know someone at the event and it will not be so overwhelming.  See you soon!

Whether your business is poised for growth or already kicking it up a notch, QuickBooks Online Advanced is the right choice to keep you moving with ease. With full access for 10 or more users, your team will get the tools it needs to drive your business forward. You'll be able to delegate more and get more done. Plus, you'll be enrolled in our customer loyalty program, Priority Circle

Click here to find out more about this new product.

Check out my new article about why you should become a QuickBooks ProAdvisor.

Boost Your Career — Become a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor

There is a ton of exciting news for QBO this month:

• Finally PROGRESS Invoicing has arrived.
• The Work tab keeps improving
• The payroll within QBO now offers Direct Deposit for Contractors
• Special ProAdvisor discounts for certain Apps up to 20%
• Revised Paypal App to connect through the Banking screens
• Redesigned Invoice emails to make them more mobile friendly

For more detail on all these features click here.

Have you heard of all the changes they made on the ProAdvisor Site?

If you have not looked at your profile lately, you will want to add it to your To Do List.  In an effort to help us grow our practices Intuit has increased the number of services you can select.  Potential clients are searching by these services so be sure to update yours.  They also added additional industries to choose from.  If you check the OFFERS FREE CONSULTATIONS then a blue box shows up on your profile.  Anything that makes your ad stand out from the others will result in more leads your direction.  You can get to your add from QuickBooks Online Accountant by clicking the ProAdvisor Tab on the left hand side once you log on.

Goals are what take us forward in life; they are the oxygen to our dreams. They are the first steps to every journey we take and are also our last. It‰'s very important that you realize the significance and importance of goal-setting and apply this knowledge in your life.

Begin with the end in mind. - Stephen Covey

What Is A Goal?

According to Wikipedia the exact definition of a goal is: A desired result a person or a system envisions, plans and commits to achieve a personal or organizational desired end-point in some sort of assumed development. Many people endeavor to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. In other words, any planning you do for the future regardless of what it is, is a goal. So the next time you are planning on doing the weekly chores or decide on watching that really cool action movie after work, always keep in mind that these small tasks account as goals and while seemingly insignificant you are goal setting.

1. Goals Give You Focus

2. Goals Allow You To Measure Progress

3. Goals Keep You Locked In And Undistracted

4. Goals Help You Overcome Procrastination

5. Goals Give You Motivation

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