The One Where She Did It
And I'm not talking about me
TL;DR
Something really cool happened in Seattle, Washington this past week. And the only reason I wasn't there was because it was the same day as 5th grade graduation and I happen to have a 5th grader.
My friend Erin Pohan hosted a mini-conference for women in the accounting profession called WAVE-Seattle. From all the evidence on social media, it was a smashing success. I also confirmed with Erin that it was amazing because I'm in a private group chat with her.
Erin did it, y'all. She did it.
I'll put a link to her LinkedIn profile down in the “Help You Hustle” section if you want to lurk on all the social media excitement.
I don't know what her ultimate long-term goal is for this event. I'm not even sure that she knows.
But what I do know she had the spark of an idea, and instead of letting it fizzle out, she fanned it into a flame.
I've been able to have a sideline seat this year watching Erin navigate running her bookkeeping business as the main breadwinner for her family. And now that business model includes hosting a large event.
Doors are opening for her. Some really cool doors.
You know what? That sentence I just wrote is true, but I'm also going to rewrite it without the passive voice. She is also opening doors for herself. Some really cool doors.
Side note, I'd be just as excited to see someone do the guy version of an event like this. I would love to see a “Bookkeeping Bros” conference one day. I am super-duper “pro” man. And as a lover of many men (Yikes! That sounds totally inappropriate! But you know what I mean!), it pains me to observe that there seems to be an epidemic of loneliness and isolation of men. Guys need guy-only groups as much as gals need each other and it pains me that that almost feels transgressive to write that in 2025. If I ever see an equivalent event for guys in our industry, I’ll be a huge hype gal for sure. Who can pull off that event?
Everyone's got ideas. The vast majority of ideas stay on a shelf. They go nowhere. The ability to just DO is one of the most important skills in entrepreneurship.
What ideas do you have that you just need to DO?
Will folks be able to look back and say “He did it!” “She did it!”
And in a really cool series of unplanned fortuitous events, it just so happens that one of the presenters at the WAVE-Seattle event is this week's title sponsor. The Workflow Queen’s 15 Day Firm Reset audio series might be just the mental cleanse or inspiration you need to do that big thing on your list that you know you need to do.
Deals Deals Deals
💰 There will be 6 Xero Roadshows in the US this summer. These are 1-day events. I’ve been to one. I can confirm they are valuable even if you don’t use Xero. And even more valuable if you do use Xero. Early bird pricing through June 13. Only $45. Whaaatt??? The food and drinks alone are valued at more than that. That’s like making money.
💰 10 Year Anniversary sale for Bookkeeper Launch training program*. Use code celebrate10 for 40% off all their programs.
💰 Use code MEMORIAL2025 to get 20% off all courses from Akadian Accounting Education* (formerly Fast & Easy QB). They have full blown “become a bookkeeper” programs all the way down to simple “QBO ProAdvisor Recertification" short courses.
💰 Only $37 for the 15 Day Firm Reset Audio Series for Bookkeepers & Accountants. Sounds like a deal to me!
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.
📅 May 28: FreshBooks Discovery and Demo webinar. Free session put on by FreshBooks to learn all about the platform and the Accounting Partner program. Go see if that software might be a good fit for you and then come and be my FreshBooks friend! I need FreshBooks friends!
📅+ June 2 - Keeper Features That Power Users Swear By. Part 1 of a 2-part series with Keeper will highlight the features that “power users” love. If you use Keeper, be sure to join to unlock it the full potential. Watch live on YouTube!
📅June 3 - Expense Management in QBO*. Do you know what to do when you need to manage employee credit cards and approval workflows? Learn the best way to use QBO expense management workflows and best practices. Check out this Royalwise course HERE*.
📅+ June 11 - Keeper Demo: 2025 Edition. This is the 2nd part of the 2-part series with Keeper - and will be a demo of the app. This is perfect for anyone who has considered Keeper or just wants to learn more.
📅 June 17 - QBOA for ProAvisors*. This Royalwise course will teach you the difference between QBOA for Accountants and the client's QBO and a long list of other account-only tools. Sign up HERE*.
Featured Posts
🌶️ Tanya P. asked how to politely decline when a client asks for a lower monthly rate if you can teach them how to do some of the bookkeeping tasks on their own.
🌶️ Bobbi M. asked if Upwork is a good way to get clients and the comments were split! Have you ever used Upwork?
Help You Hustle
💪 There are lots of bookkeeping courses to choose from. Bookkeeper Launch is the one that I took to start my business. It changed my family’s entire life. Figured it was time to interview them and ask them to show off what the course looks like now. This was a great “Behind-The-Scenes” view deep in the course learning portal, resources, and continuous support options. And a very good illustration of the vibe of this particular program.
Watch the interview I did with the CEO here.
Read the course syllabus here*.
Use celebrate10 for 40% off.
💪 I wrangled a replay of the “In The Ring: Xero vs QBO” webinar. Community members were giving their thoughts about it in this post, too. I see so much potential in “Xero-niched” firms.
💪 Please, please, please take this Survey of The Virtual Bookkeeping Industry* survey. It takes 5 minutes. The analysis of this data will be published in June. The bigger the sample size, the better the more useful the data.
💪 A new cohort of a 12 week “college style” class by Alicia Katz Pollock called QuickBooks Online Complete Hands-On Training* is starting in July. Take your summer vacation in June and then tell your family and friends that you are unavailable for 12 weeks because you are on a mission to get a big QBO brain and change your life.
💪 Erin Pohan’s LinkedIn Profile. If you want her to host her event again, you should tell her.
Jobs
💼 The Job Guide had 2 positions added - both are part-time and were posted this past Thursday and Friday! Check it out HERE.
My Family Circus (43F, 40M, 13M, 11F, 10M)
🎪 The staples that I always buy when I venture to Trader Joe’s Grocery Store
Frozen Mandarin Orange Chicken - Always in the freezer as a backup when a night gets desperate
Frozen French Green Beans - Always in the freezer to steam on nights when we need a backup vegetable
Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup - To die for with grilled cheese.
Jalapeno Limeade - Not really spicy. Add tequila or not.
Soyaki Marinade - Marinade diced up chicken, red & yellow bell peppers, and a red onion and grill in a grill basket for deconstructed shish kabobs.
Greeting cards - Only $1! And simple, not super dumb.
Fresh flowers - Best deal on flowers in America, hands down. If you have children, teach them how to arrange them in a vase. Youtube is your friend here.
Dark Chocolate Covered Mini Pretzels - My main vice in life.
Spicy Snack Bar Mix - Only seasonal, which is a travesty. This is a perfect hostess gift when I’m invited to someone’s house for a social event.
Wish I had a connection to have had Trader Joe’s to sponsor this edition! Ha! 🤣
Share your favorite Trader Joe’s items!
Kate Builds In Public
🎢 Last week I delivered a presentation entitled “Choosing Your Financial Tech Stack with Confidence” to the National Association of Professional Organizers virtual networking chapter. I crushed it! These professional organizers loved me! What does this have to do with you?
I got this gig because I asked my firm email list if they had any leads on networking groups or podcasts that might want a really great bookkeeper as a guest instructor. I gave you the exact text of the email I sent to my firm list in the Kate Builds In Public section of this past newsletter edition. (Pssst…that is your reminder to always read all these newsletters 😉).
I decided to share the exact presentation including my fully written speaker notes on my firm Gumroad Storefront. Maybe I can market this digital version to the rest of my email list. And if any accounting pros reading this want to get it and repurpose this presentation as their own or just take a look and see an example of a well-received presentation to SMBs, that is permissible as well.
🎢 Truly, truly, most of my days I feel like I’m living a life that is better than my wildest dreams. And a huge part of that is because of the “lifestyle” bookkeeping business I’ve built (and this community).
And then some days, DANG. You can get smacked over the head with an unhappy client and their tax pro who YOLO’ed the 2023 tax return based on bad bookkeeping. And when that happens, it can lead to some really hard days. Hard like people skills hard. And hard like accounting skills hard. Those of you who read these emails for the last many years and follow my business journey know that I don’t actually have a lot of monthly clients that I’m responsible for. I mostly do FreshBooks training and host my FreshBoosk Office Hours group. So even though I’ve been in business quite a while, I am still relatively green when it comes to the skill of matching a new set of books to a previous year’s tax return. Most days I truly believe value pricing monthly clients is better than hourly pricing, but it still stings in the moment when I’m working so many more hours than I expected and won’t see a single dime in more money. I think things are going to work out with this client. They might not. I’ll let you know if they don’t. Stay tuned (that means subscribe to this newsletter).
For Fun
😹 Making accounting fun is one of the official goals of the Bookkeeping Side Hustle Community. The Unaccountable Podcast definitely fits in the category of fun accounting thing. And they just hit 50 episodes. You can earn CPE if you need it. So darn proud of Tyler and Jeremy for their “won't stop” attitude. 50 of anything is sooo hard!
From The Vault
⚡ I was a past guest on the Unaccountable Podcast. I talk about the history and mission of Bookkeeping Side Hustle Community. And also give the lowdown on FreshBooks. Listen to episode 39 here.
Classifieds (Clickable)
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.
I used to be an accountant, now retired. Over the years, the accounting field became 60% female, and the men were pushed out the door. One of many fields where there is discrimination against men. I had to retrain to be a truck driver, and now that I am retired, I might look into this.
But the fact that you targeted this ad towards women is not encouraging