The One Where I Was Afraid
TL;DR
My main goal of running the Bookkeeping Side Hustle Community is that I want to expose smart and hard working people to the idea of building a flexible, virtual career in the accounting industry, whether via entrepreneurship or via working for someone else.
One subset of “people” is “blind people”. For over 2 years I’ve been on the lookout for someone who is blind in our industry.
I’m proud to introduce you to Taylor Arndt here in this interview. Yes, she is blind. But more importantly, she is a go-getter and helpful and smart. I want all people (sighted and blind) to be aware of what is possible in this field and also what real limitations blind people currently face because some software is not very accessible.
Taylor also has a goal of getting her Enrolled Agent credential this year and is looking for a study group. I would LOVE to help facilitate a study group for all you crazy tax lovers (I am NOT a crazy tax lover, so I won’t participate, but I want to be a connector, so comment below or in the Bookkeeping Side Hustle Community if you want to form a study group!).
One big limitation Taylor has encountered as a blind person is related to the Practice Management Software side of things. She said that none of the platforms she tested were accessible to her. Like they ALL get a failing grade.
So you know what I did. I immediately told Shahram Zarshenas, Founder of Financial Cents (a practice management solution built specifically for accountants and bookkeepers) and asked him to promise me to listen to the replay. And he listened to it!
Make sure you check out our sponsor Financial Cents and snag the 25% off deal if you are looking to improve your practice management in 2023. And keep an eye on Financial Cents as a company with a founder that has been exposed to the idea that this part of our industry is behind in accessibility for the blind. Let’s all hold our industry vendors accountable.
Deals Deals Deals
💰 I scored out community a $500 off deal for the “Let It Go Retreat”! Thanks to Cindy Schroeder from Bookkeeping Buds for offering a deal. Cindy will share specifics on how she has run her successful bookkeeping business for the last 15 years to live the life of her dreams and have plenty of time to play. This 3 day all inclusive event includes lodging, food, activities, and a once in a lifetime VIP day at Walt Disney World. It is coming up quickly! Don’t delay, if investing in yourself is a goal for 2023.
💰 Fast & Easy QBO is having a 3-course bundle with over $550 of savings. If you want to get your QBO Basic, Advanced, & Payroll certs in 2023, check out this deal*.
💰 Booming Bookkeeping is a very popular (and legitimate) course for starting a virtual bookkeeping business. The price is going up next week. By a lot. It is going to more than double. I’m just the messenger. If YOU have already decided that this course is for you, then you should jump on it before the price increase. Yes, I have a link to purchase*, if you’d like to support my work in BSH Community.
Please always send me any news of deals that you hear of that others might benefit from.
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.
📅 +Mondays in January: Bookkeeping Side Hustle Community Co-working Hour. Join me on on Zoom every Monday at 11am EST and do some work. Zoom link (password: HUSTLE). Note: There will NOT be a co-working hour on MLK, 1/16.
📅 January 10: 1099 Wizard in QBO with RoyalWise will show you how to use the 1099 Wizard in QBO to send 1099s to contractors. More information HERE.
📅 January 11: Crypto 101 for Accountants and Bookkeepers. Want to learn more about cryptocurrency bookkeeping? I think it could become a lucrative niche. Matthew May and Anthony Zepeda from Acuity will discuss crypto bookkeeping. Sign up HERE.
📅 January 16: MediaBooks kicks off the 1 Week Website Launch. Get your firm’s website ready to go to market your business in the new year. Sign up and learn more about it HERE. Building my business website was a HUGE mental turning point for me. I wish I had had a group of friends and a teacher to do it with! And this opportunity is free!
📅 January 18: Intro to Xero. Join Xero for a demo of the platform and learn if you want to start serving clients on Xero. Register HERE.
Featured Posts
🌶️ Lynsie Joseph reminded us the importance of contracts and getting things down in writing BEFORE you start a job. An important lesson learned.
🌶️ Never miss an opportunity to share your business. Alyssa Ellis made a connection with a plumber while he was fixing an issue for her! You never know who might need a bookkeeper!
🌶️ Charles David Hall asked 2 questions. Is 46 years old too old to start in this virtual cloud accounting industry? (No, of course). So then he asked for opinions about getting the training he needed to make this career move.
Help You Hustle
💪 Stay healthy by meal prepping with this Busy Season Breakfast. This guy Logan is the same man who made a video outlining how much money he made during his first year running his solo CPA firm. Make sure you subscribe to his channel because he is about to release his 2022 business profit. I will 100% be watching that one. 👀
For Fun
😹 These signs always make me chuckle. Were you productive during the last week or 2022? Or were you able to take some time off?
Jobs
💼 Tyler Otto of Specialty Bookkeepers is hiring. This is a pretty good sized firm. He really wants his firm to be WELL RUN. I have heard him speak before and he has something called “The Mom Test” where he has him mom come in and do someone’s job for the day. If it isn’t documented properly enough for his mom to step in and do it, then it isn’t documented well enough. THAT is a well run firm.
💼 Amber Esquibel of Moose Creek Bookkeeping shared her job application. This is for someone who is not also trying to grow their own business.
💼 Lindi Lou Parker is looking for a part time bookkeeper and account manager. QBO experience is a must.
Don’t forget the standing opps on my Find A Freelance Job article. 1099 and W-2 opps.
Kate Builds In Public
🎢 So I Hired My 11 Year Old. I made a video (on my business YT chan) where I give all the details about the first few months of hiring my son as my first official W-2 employee in my business.
🎢 I created a landing page for a “New Business Support Package” where I am offering 90 day trial of FreshBooks, 2 hours of 1-on-1 training, and 3 free months of my office hours for DIYers. I have had such an impossible time selling my office hours service, but I’m stubbornly not giving up. I think if I can get them in to the office hours, then they will stay. That is my hope.
🎢 What are you main goals for the next quarter or next year? Share them below for some accountability. My main goals for 2023 are the following:
#1 goal: Don’t grunt when I get up off of the ground.
52 YouTube videos on my real business channel about FreshBooks and small biz.
26 videos for Bookkeeping Side Hustle Community (topic suggestions anyone?).
Exercise WITH someone in my family 1x per week. I don’t care who it is or how strenuous it is.
25 members of my FreshBooks Office Hours group by December 2023.
3 paid speaking engagements.
🎢 My calendar is getting booked up with prospect calls. It is a beautiful thing. I even have pricing listed on a page on my site that they have to read before scheduling an appointment so I can only assume that the pricing it turning people away before even scheduling (a good thing). I also use my intake questions to let me write back to some that I know won’t be a good fit and cancel before the call. But if I do get on the phone, I still have a hard time saying goodbye quickly if I know the person will not become a paying client. And you know, surely they would appreciate their time back, too. Why can’t I just move us to the inevitable outcome more quickly? Any advice? Anyone able to relate?
🎢 And speaking of having a hard time getting off the phone, I am embarrassed by my behavior this past week with an unhappy clean up client. I was afraid of the unhappy client leaving a 1 star review. That is really the only negative outcome I could have experienced (because by this time I did not even want any more money), but it took ONE HOUR AND 40 MINUTES of my time for us to resolve to part ways.
This client engaged me for a partial clean up and 2 hours of training. The bookkeeping file was very messy with 6 years of data but the client did not want to pay for the entire clean up. So, some corners were going to have to be cut, you know? Jam some historical stuff around with some Journal Entries based on some tax returns (which were not filed at the time of our initially agreeing to the clean up project). Long story short, I was paid for 50% of the engagement to start the project. The work was OUTSTANDING (an awesome subcontractor did it). The client leaves with slightly more than 50% of the work we agreed to do.
But this client was not satisfied. My one flaw I will admit to is that I was not able to clearly articulate why a partial clean up always leads to a less-than-perfect/clear balance sheet. But really, within 5 minutes of the call I knew that the client was NEVER going to be satisfied with anything we did. Ever had one of those types of clients?
I finally was able to say those words “Honestly, I don’t think that you will be satisfied with any continued work that will be done.” When I finally said that out loud, it was as if our minds aligned. We finally agreed on something.
But I was afraid during the entire call and I acted like a coward instead of acting with some self confidence. And gave up so much time. UNPAID time. Professional communications skills and time management are big league, y’all.
Part of me thinks I wish I could just get bad 1 star review and not die (because of course it won’t kill me) to just get it over with.
🎢 Annnnddd the fire alarm went off THREE TIMES during a training session I was having while working from the library. They were testing it! I’ve downgraded my co-working space membership and am trying to work more often out of the library near my kids’ little school. What a mess that that training was! Thankfully the client was so understanding and gracious. Adventures in entrepreneurship…
From The Vault
⚡ January is the time when a lot of people want to “take action” and for some folks that means “buying courses”. When your head and heart are ready, investing in training for yourself is definitely that most efficient way to go and gives the best ROI. BUT, if you aren’t really ready, no course is going to be the secret solution to your life. So, make sure you are ready. And watch this replay about how bookkeeping gurus market their courses and get you to buy to help you make EXTRA sure you are buying for the right reasons, not because of high pressure tactics.
Classifieds (clickable)
Interested in advertising in the Bookkeeping Side Hustle Pub? Email bookkeepingsidehustle@gmail.com.
Keep hustling!
Kate
-Chief Hustler-
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