The One About Neutrality
TL;DR
This past week I went to a talk at my son’s Classical charter school all about technology in education. The speaker, Dr. John Dyer, did a quick poll and asked this question:
Is technology Good, Bad or Neutral?
Almost everyone voted for Neutral.
But he said the correct answer was that technology may be good or may be bad, but it is never neutral.
His point was that any time we interact with a piece of technology, it will change us. And we are foolish if we think it is neutral or has no effect.
As thoughtful people, we just have to decide if the ways a piece of technology will change us is better than if we did not use the technology.
He even mentioned this quote Socrates gave when asked about the invention of writing (which was a monumental technological advancement):
“For this invention will produce forgetfulness in the minds of those who learn to use it, because they will not practice their memory.”
Now, don't get me wrong. I’m glad that written communication exists! Hooray for literacy!
But written script was not neutral. Once people learned to write, they could record their history, but they certainly did not remember things as well.
Some other examples…
The farmer’s plow changed the quantity of food we were able to produce…
But it also changed the ecology of the land and it changed the muscles of farmers who stopped using shovels and hoes.
Google maps lets us find the nearest gas station when the gas tank is on “E” during a road trip…
But, not sure about you, but I literally cannot get to my sister’s house without my phone, and I love my sister and have been to her house many times.
In our accounting careers and our entrepreneurial journeys, we will be faced with technology adoption. That technology might be good. It might be harmful. But it will never be neutral.
Dr. Dyer gave the illustration about how the machines at a gym have little pictures of which body parts will be affected by using that machine. Now try to envision what parts of you will be affected as you interact with any technology you adopt. “If you use this repeatedly, it will change this part of you.”
Pause right now and ask yourself that question with the following bits of technology:
QBO only (without ever thinking about the what is happening to the T-account Debit and Credit behind the scenes)
Zoom
Your sitting desk
Your standing desk
Automatic client communication tools
Slack response emojis
Email marketing tagging and sequences
ChatGPT
Email app on your cell phone
That critical piece of tech that enables us to exclusively work from home
These are all pieces of technology that I have used extensively in my business. So I’m not making any judgment calls.
But I do want to be more mindful about how I interact with technology, in business and in my personal life.
For instance, I have a Roomba to clean my floor. Yes, my dog’s hair is gets cleaned up. But my 12 year old looks very clumsy holding a broom and I feel a little bit like a failure as a mother the few times I’ve seen him use it.
Bringing that Roomba into my house was not neutral.
P.S…you can bet your boots that my son will learn he proper way to hold a broom before he leaves my home.
Our sponsor Xenett is a piece of remarkable technology you can use in your business. It helps with your month close and collaborating with clients and resolving errors. And I’ve heard people go absolutely Ga-Ga over it as a Clean-up tool.
Like all tech, Xenett will not be neutral to your mind or to your life. Will you use the power of Xenett to be a net positive in your life and business?
Be There or Be Square
Items with a “+” are hosted by me. All these events can be viewed and registered for in the DESCRIPTIONS of each event on the Bookkeeping Side Hustle Calendar.
📅 + Monday Morning Co-working Hour: Join me on zoom each Monday morning at 11am EST for a co-working hour with other Bookkeeping Side Hustlers. RSVP for the 10/30 and 11/6 co-working hours so you don’t forget.
📅 Oct 31 - Nov 2: Accounting Salon Speaker Series. This is a CPE-qualified series. Make sure you register for each session you want to attend - they are ALL FREE!
10/31: Content Creation for Accountants with Lorilyn Wilson
10/31: Using ChatGPT in Your Firm with Brian Clare and Heather Smith
11/1: Empowering Your Clients to Trust Technology with Tate Henshaw
11/1: Growing Intentionally - A 4-Step Approach to Unlocking Sustainable Growth with Keila Hill-Trawick
11/2: Unlocking Accounting Mysteries to Empower Your Clients with Twyla Verhelst
11/2: Disengaging with Grace and Ease with Sherrell Martin
📅 +Nov 17 & 28: OnPay is presenting 2 exclusive webinars for our community to help you run your business more smoothly and help you grow.
11/17: Your Year-End Payroll Playbook - RSVP to the LIVE to learn about attacking those required year-end payroll tasks.
11/28: Boost Your Bookkeeping with Payroll Services - RSVP to watch LIVE to learn how to increase your revenue by offering payroll services via full-service payroll provider OnPay.
📅 Nov 3 & 10: Scan and Shred Party. Sit and shred your stack of papers while chatting with Jamie Campbell and Kellie Parks to learn about “Paperless Nirvana”- plus it benefits a great cause. Click HERE for more info.
📅 Nov 21: Products, Services, and Inventory in QBO. Come learn how to correctly use QBO’s Products and Services list. This Royalwise class will help you gain the knowledge and skills that will propel your company to new heights. Register HERE.
Featured Posts
🌶️ Do you ever get your clients gifts? Do you need inspiration for good gifts to give? Please add your best client gift ideas here.
🌶️ Anyone else having issues with clients using TikTok for bookkeeping help? Jack W. created a 2-pager about property investment. Thanks to Jack for being so generous with your knowledge!
🌶️ There were some unsavory behaviors on posts in the Facebook group, largely related to 1099s. But the specific topic is not what I want to write about. In order to keep our group the best facebook group in all the internet, everyone needs to act right, y’all.
If you are new, please realize how hard, hard, hard this line of work is (sorry if you bought a course promising low-stress 6 figures of profit with no experience while you nurse your baby or have a full-time job…you got had). You have to listen to trusted seasoned pros when they explain things. You also have to not be easily offended when someone tells you that you are wrong. You have to have a teachable spirit. And if you are seasoned, you have to be kind. Yes, please correct bad information, but don’t belittle anyone, even if you have to be terse with your answer. Because the one thing about our industry is that every bit of this is all learned information. Literally no one was born with innate knowledge of Accounting Theory, Bookkeeping Software, and Tax Rules. Some industries might be like that, but not ours. Every bit of information you had was learned. Don’t forget that.
And related to 1099s, I told y’all my honest opinion about how I feel about 1099 work and how the whole situation makes our industry look pretty foolish. Rereading what I wrote, I might have come on a bit strong in a moment frustration last January. But I still just can’t get my “give a care” button to turn on about this topic. So I’m actively trying to build a business where 1099s are mostly Not My Problem. Ick.
Help You Hustle
💪 Relay has launched the Reasons To Be Profitable Contest. They are awarding $100,000 in cash prizes to entrepreneurs—including a Grand Prize of $50,000. The deadline to enter is Nov. 12 - so you have time - but get started now!*
To be eligible for the Grand Prize, you’ll also need to open a Relay account*, as this step will help Relay verify your business. I’m personally use Relay as my business bank, so it is easy to tell you to check them out.
And don’t forget to share this opportunity with your clients, too!
Relay is a financial technology company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services and FDIC insurance are provided through Thread Bank and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. The Relay Visa® Debit Card is issued by Thread Bank pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa® debit cards are accepted.
💪 The Workflow Queen is hosting a 5 day challenge* beginning THIS Monday, 10/30. I asked the BSH community who has done this, and there is great feedback. Check it out to see if this would be a good fit for you.
💪 Prominent young accounting thought-leader Jason Staats released a Practice Management Roundup comparing the features of 14 Practice Management Tools for our industry. It is free (like free-free-no-email). I’ll save you a click and put a snip of the list of the apps he compared. After you have more than a few clients and when you start having nightmares about completing your tasks, you’ll want one of these sorts of tools in your business.
For Fun
💀 When ChatGPT’s advice is to contact a ProAdvisor…but you are one! Thanks for sharing Corry J.
Jobs
💼 Jobs have been added to the Job Guide. If you are looking to gain experience - quite a few part-time jobs were added. And if you live in the Phoenix, AZ area, Texas or Alabama - there are jobs there! Be sure to check it out!
Don’t forget the standing opps on my Find A Freelance Job article. 1099 and W-2 opps.
Kate Builds In Public
🎢 October Billing (NEW BOOKKEEPING BUSINESS ONLY, totaling $2,804, not including my regular MRR)
$450 - 3 hours of FreshBooks training for accounting pros (priced higher than client training, but they are allowed to only book one hour instead of clients who are required to book 2 minimum)
$1,375 – Total client training (some new, some returning, which are the best)
$250 – Diagnostic review that lead to 👇
$729 – 12 month easy clean up (2 connected bank accounts)
🎢 I’ll be darned if I didn’t use the code DEPOSIT to spend $500 yesterday to reserve my spot to Hector Garcia's “Creative Accountant Conference” for next year. Total impulse purchase! Gah! I might have just succummed to a very expensive case of FOMO! But also not really. When my business goal is “To be the Hector Garcia of FreshBooks”, I realized I should probably go to his conference. Also, ever since the Bookkeeping Buds retreat a month ago (read here for my review), I’ve been thinking that I’d like to attend small industry conferences in 2024 instead of the large ones.
🎢 I joined a co-working space in my new city. $200 per month get me a new business address, unlimited fancy coffee, free printing, phone booths for privacy, and HUMANS. (If I find my days home alone this quiet and lonesome already, can you image me empty-nesting…gotta put some safeguards in place). I was finally able to join one again in my new town because we made some changes to my youngest child’s school situation and he started at an in-person school last week. The schooling part of our lives can best be described as “not-like-we-expected”.
🎢 I completed the brand new FreshBooks Certification. Thank heavens I scored a 100% (whew!...or what the heck have I been doing with my life pivoting to niche in FreshBooks the last 2 years!)! The training itself was delivered in a very pleasant way. Took me about 3 hours. They claim it takes new folks about 4 hours. If you finish by Oct 31, you get entered into a prize valued at $4,500 (please wait until November 1 to complete yours certification so that I have higher odds of winning the prize 😉). I’m working on a full video review of the training and their new “Collaborative Accounting” method. Keep your eyes out…
From The Vault
⚡This community is amazing and I love the way we support and encourage each other (1099 drama aside). If you haven’t watched this video about the mission of Bookkeeping Side Hustle, I encourage you to do so to truly understand the purpose of BSH.
Letters To The Editor
✉️ Corry Jankowski write this in response to this video about forming your own business “mastermind group” with a few fellow bookkeepers.
“This was so fantastic! I have many times considered starting a group to just bounce ideas off of, discuss challenges, and learn together. I've never implemented it but think I am going to once I finish my current ginormous project.”
Classifieds (Clickable)
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Keep hustling!
Kate
-Chief Hustler-
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I am down right rabid about transparency and full disclosure. If a link has a * beside it, it means it is either an affiliate link where I might receive compensation if you make a purchase, at no additional charge to you. Or it could be a tracking link that another business provided me to see how many readers click on that link.