The One Where They Flubbed It In Public
The One Where They Flubbed It In Public
TL;DR
Blake Oliver and David Leary flubbed it.
Do you know who those 2 guys are? They are “accounting sub-culture” famous. They have a very successful podcast called The Accounting Podcast, among other things they do. This duo is considered some of the main thought leaders and have a lot of influence in our industry.
And they are not rookies at producing content. They are probably some of the most successful content creators in the accounting space. I think they have produced over 450 episodes! (tip o’ the hat for that consistency)..
And in one of their most recent episodes…they flubbed it in public.
See, they record their weekly news podcast live on YouTube but on their July 17th episode, they had a pretty awkward failure during a live demo. The particular details aren’t super important, but, the short version is that they were trying to demonstrate how Intuit’s Public Affairs folks could have used ChatGPT to get feedback about their truly abysmal press release about the recent Intuit layoffs.
Listening to this part of the podcast was uncomfortable. We listeners could tell what the point was supposed to be and the bot was not cooperating.
Finally Blake pulled the plug on this particular topic and said “well, I’m disappointed in the AI’s response. It is not flagging the issues that are clearly wrong with this press release. We tried this same type of question before going live and it gave us a different and better response.. Anyway, let's move on to our next topic, David”.
But I am not here to knock Blake and David for their flubbed demo.
No. I am here to commend them.
In fact, I want to be like them and I want you to be like them. I want us to be able to handle setbacks with confidence.
They handled it like a champ. I had no doubt that they would be right back in their recording seat for their next episode.
Because their vision of great success in building their business looms so much larger for them than the discomfort of the mistakes and setbacks and flubs.
As you are running your business, especially when you are trying to learn new skills or during periods of business growth, you will mess up along the way.
But even when you think you’ve got your skills and business exactly how you want it and you are an experienced bookkeeping pro (like David and Blake are at podcasting), something will not go like you want it to go.
How you handle these inevitable setbacks and bad days are what separates the businesses who have longevity from the businesses that don’t.
But sometimes you’ll realize that your problems are more deeply ingrained. Like, if David and Blake were having flubs every single week, they probably have some bigger problems to deal with if they want to succeed in their craft. But that doesn’t seem to be the case for them.
But what about your business? Are you having flubs pretty regularly? Do you have a nagging feeling of teetering on the edge of disaster most days? Then perhaps you aren’t having the occasional bad day, and you have more fundamental problems to deal with.
If that is you, consider the upcoming Power to Breakthrough Bootcamp hosted by our sponsor, The Workflow Queen. This bootcamp is specifically designed for established firm owners who are hitting roadblocks due to challenges such as lack of team structure, ineffective systems, pricing issues, or difficulty delegating tasks. It is for bookkeepers and accountants who are ready to identify and solve their #1 business problem so they can scale bigger, hire better, and break through to the next level. And it is Free! Bang that graphic. 👇
Deals Deals Deals
💰 Theater of Public Speaking Fall Cohort starts August 7. Use the discount code kjtopsfall24 for 10% off (not a paid referral code…I am an alumni of the course and simply asked her if she’d give our group a discount). This course is strong on helping you become more confident at speaking, but it also gives you access to an alumni group of influential people in our industry. I think YOU have something great to share! This course can help you!
💰 AutomationTown.io just launched. Described as an “Automation and AI Community For Accountants”, this will be a place for you to learn and collaborate with other modern, tech-curious folks in our industry. $39 per month launch price. And it is even risk free for 60 days.
💰 You can get 45% off the Fast & Easy QBO Clean Up course*. That means only $997. Not sure when this low price will expire. Based on their marketing I’ve seen, I think they have revamped and added a lot of the material after their initial launch this past January. All their promotion talks about teaching you the tools and systems to land and tackle $6,000+ clean up projects. Note, Clean Ups are not for newbie bookkeepers.
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.
📅 +August 14: How to Know Which Problem to Fix Right Now in Your Accounting Biz. Alyssa Lang, the Workflow Queen, will help you figure out which problems are a priority to address in your busines. RSVP in the FB group.
📅 August 19-23: Power To Breakthrough Bootcamp. This is a FREE bootcamp for bookkeepers who are ready to solve problems in their business and breakthrough to the next level. Sign up for this FREE bootcamp HERE.
📅 + August 20: Bookkeepers MUST Do This To Get Clients on LinkedIn. Isiah King from the CFO Accelerator will be sharing tips on how to get clients on LinkedIn. RSVP for this live stream.
📅 August 29: Intro to Xero. Want to learn more about Xero? Register for Intro to Xero and get a demo of the platform and discover all Xero has to offer. Sign up now!
Featured Posts
🌶️ Erika N. asked how you keep track of tasks and deadlines. There were good suggestions on this post, but mostly the usual suspects. Anyone have anything else they love for this purpose?
🌶️ Sara G. said she gets tired of writing the same thing each time financial reports are sent. Do you send the same thing each time, or do you change it up, offer feedback, just upload with a notification? How do you handle this?
🌶️ Gustavo C. asked about whether a bookkeeping business can succeed only serving the small clients. He received every answer imaginable. To summarize, “It Depends”. 😂. But many folks went into pretty great detail about their experience. Where do you fit on the spectrum of serving small vs large clients?
🌶️ To file or not to file these pesky new BOI reports for clients?
🌶️ How long should your business domain be? I regret mine!
Help You Hustle
💪 Want to niche in church finances? Michelle Brown launched her Intro to Church Finances Course.
💪 Erica Goode made a splash with her LinkedIn series earlier this summer about how she works 15 hours a week and makes $200k.per year She decided to polish it and put it in eBook form. You can get it for free. 25 pages.The 15-Hr Accountant: Anatomy of a $200k, 1-employee, 15 hr/wk Accounting Firm.
💪 Add your opinions on this LinkedIn post about what Bookkeepers want Tax Pros to know and what Tax Pros want bookkeepers to know. So we can all get along and serve our mutual clients better!
💪 If you’ve ever been officially diagnosed with ADHD or just think you might have a touch of those symptoms, Financial Cents created a resource called “Working with ADHD: A Toolkit for Accountants”.
My Family Circus
New section of this newsletter for 2024. Completely non-bookkeeping related.
🎪 I want my kids to want to go to college and thrive while they are there. One thing we are doing to hopefully achieve that is that we have a goal of showing our kids 100 colleges before they finish high school. We track it in a note on Google Keep.
So we drive through all sorts of college campuses any chance we get. If we need to stretch our legs or a bathroom stop, we actually get out and see if we can enter any buildings. This opens the door for all sorts of interesting conversations about college life.
See those two girls running over there? They are probably workout buddies. Do you think you’ll work out in college? Oh, and see that tall blue light that they just ran past. That is a safety button that will call the police. Don’t live in fear, but use that noggin of yours to make safe choices.
See these students in this library. Some are by themselves. Some are quietly studying in a group. You better study to keep up your grades, kids! And you know boys, if there is a gal you are sweet on in one of your classes, you can always ask if she’d like to study together at the library. Woo Woo (groaning ensues).
Look at the name of that building. Not every college has a Theater/Engineering/Business/Education/Etc building. It is helpful to know what you want to study before you pick a college so it has that discipline.
Now those buildings are the dorm rooms. Living on campus is kinda crazy, and kinda cool. Never boring. You might get a weirdo for a roommate. You have to walk down the hall to shower. Your closet will be pretty small. Dad lived on campus all 4 years. Mom lived in a dorm and an apartment. What do you think you will want?
This building is the Student Union Building. And wow! It has a Chick-Fil-A inside! No, you can’t eat CFA every day. #1, you won’t be able to afford it. #2, let me tell you about this phenomena called “The Freshman 15”
This campus is huge! We can’t even drive across the entire thing! It is 10 times bigger than mom’s hometown (looking at you, LSU and Maryland). Would you like to attend a big, well known school like this?
This campus is really small. Google says less than 700 students go here. I bet you’ll get to know almost everyone on campus if you want. That could be interesting. What do you think about small schools?
This is a simple way to expose our kids to the vast array of options available and to discuss how the choices we make when we are young have big impacts on our adult lives.
Kate Builds In Public
🎢 Vacation Mode:
I’m writing this on the last day of a road trip vacation to New Mexico and Colorado. Not a lot of business happening. We return to Texas with only 10 days left until school starts. In my house, I think we’re officially all ready. 🤪
I did record 2 FreshBooks tutorial videos right before I left for vacation so that I could do some video editing when I wake up before the rest of my family.
The only client work that I did was host my FreshBooks Office Hours weekly group. I did it from a parking lot in downtown Denver after we toured the US Mint. I sent my husband and children to an art museum.
I’ve held these weekly office hours every Tuesday afternoon for over 2 years now, and I think I’ve only officially canceled them 2 times because I was on vacation. No matter where I am, I try to use a hot spot and log on to the zoom meeting. I’ve mostly felt proud that I’ve been so resourceful, but this particular time I started to have a twinge of “Kate, what are you doing? You are a whole grown up with your own business and yet you are sitting in some sketchy parking lot with your laptop camera looking up your nose. Not sure you are exuding ‘Successful CEO’ vibes”. I’m not sure what that slight feeling means. Maybe I’m growing out of the scrappy “side hustle” mentality. But I also really like the scrappy side of myself. I know I’m not completely done having meetings from my car, but I do wonder if I should at least find someone to hire as the substitute instructor on these Office Hours when I want to be logged off.
From The Vault
⚡ Owning your own business can be very lonely and isolating. But being in community of peers is important, and having smart, business-minded people to share ideas, ask for advice, etc. can help you grow. Watch this video with 5 bookkeepers who formed their own mastermind group. Who can you ask to be in a group like this?
Letters To The Editor
✉️ It is always so nice getting feedback from BSH Pub readers! Be sure to comment on a post if you have something to share!
You do such a great job with this newsletter! It's so easy to read, well structured, fun, educational, DISCOUNTS and we get to know you a little better with each one. I love your willingness to be open about how you run your business, the struggles and the wins. Everyone benefits when you're willing to let others learn from your growth. - Dena M.
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Keep hustling!
Kate
-Chief Hustler-
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