The One With A Buddy
TL;DR
I am composing this newsletter on my way back from the Bookkeeping Buds retreat in Chicago. I had the honor of being invited to speak, but I knew I personally needed to attend as a participating member, so had my booty in the seat for every bit of the agenda.
I needed to learn from the leader Cindy Schroeder and the many very accomplished firm owners in Bookkeeping Buds. If you don’t know Cindy, you are missing out.
Meet Cindy here:
My video interview with her about different ways to get technical bookkeeping help
How ‘bout I start by sharing some facts about the event and the group:
Bookkeeping Buds is a year-round group for women (and Cindy’s encouraging and devoted husband in the background who was there every.single.minute of the retreat supporting his girl…#MarriageGoals).
The motto of the group is “Dream Big. Shine Bright. Be Kind.” I mean…wouldn’t the world be better off if that was everyone’s motto!
There were about ~35 people in attendance (note, there are ~80 members of the private Bookkeeping Buds membership group).
The group is full of some very serious bookkeepers. I mean, Cindy herself is already well-known as someone who has an extremely successful bookkeeping business that allows her to literally live the life of her dreams (watching Disney fireworks every night from her backyard), but a good percentage of these ladies were what I’d call “heavies” - lots of clients, been in business quite a long time, several staff members, high paying clients, a good number with their CPA license, a.k.a not just a “side hustle” like me.
If you read my newsletter edition comparing Scaling New Heights to BKX, I’d say Bookkeeping Buds has more in common with SNH in terms of demographics.
The event was full of wonderful little “delights” with lots of thoughtful gifts and a fun trivia night and everyone was given a crown to wear (to Shine Bright).
During the introductions and continuing throughout the entire event, there was a common refrain from the long-time Buds members - Cindy and the Buds group have been a critical component of their business. The secret sauce, if you will.
This was the least sale-sy conference I’ve been to. Cindy didn’t tell the audience to buy anything from her or try to upsell anything to the already-paying members. I mean, as a conference attendee, I was thrilled to not be sold to a lot. BUT, that means the conference is a labor of love (I’ve heard Cindy use that phrase before), which leads me to my final point…
Cindy announced that this was the last year to host the Bookkeeping Buds Retreat! Alas! So I’m extra glad that I was there for this last one. She has hosted this for many years and should be so very proud. Bookkeeping Buds isn’t going away. Only the retreat portion is sunsetting.
I’ve heard Cindy describe this intimate conference as a stepping stone to get apprehensive bookkeepers to attend the bigger bookkeeping conferences like XeroCon, or QBConnect, or Scaling New Heights, etc. So this is definitely a loss for those of you for whom getting on a plane to spend 4 days with 1,000 strangers at a big conference sounds like your definition of a nightmare.
But she said that her plan is to have the Buds sort of “piggy back” on those larger events to still meet up in person. So, that is just a different type of stepping stone. In the private Buds membership group, you would get to find a travel buddy, possibly a roommate, a wingman, if you will. You’d have those online friends to sit with in the breakout sessions and at lunch and a pack of friends to walk to dinner with.
Anyway…in the last newsletter I told you I’d give my review of this retreat, and there you have it.
You know, late September in Chicago is lovely and all, but do you realize that means it is just over 3 months until year-end? Gah! Are you ready? Xenett is holding a webinar series about preparing for year end. Do not put this off until December, y’all! Have a plan. Let Xenett help you be that “Bookkeeping Boy Scout”. Be Prepared! And maybe ask an online “buddy” to attend the webinar series with you so you don’t do business alone.
Deals Deals Deals
💰 Bookkeepers.com launched TaxBiz and it is $1000 off if you purchase by 9/28. Plus, you will get the 2023 updates included if you sign up now. Sign up HERE* if you are ready to add taxes as a service line. If you want to learn more first, there is an info session on Sept. 19 at 3pm EST. REGISTER* to save your spot and get the replay.
💰 Seth David of Nerd Enterprises is releasing his new course for Bulletproof Bookkeeping For Real Estate Brokers and Agents* on Sunday. Apparently the first 100 sign ups get a special price. All a bit mysterious. Join the waitlist to find out the details if this niche is of interest to you.
💰 The Bookkeeping Business Accelerator with Serena Shoup is on sale for $500 off. This program is for people who already know accounting fundamentals (not brand newbies) and is designed to help you build your business in 3 phases: Design, Attract, and Optimize.
Also, if you purchase and then email her the word “BONUS”, you will also get the bonus “Confident Compliance Bundle” which includes 1099 Prep Toolkit, Sales Tax Toolkit, and Year End Toolkit.
💰 You can get 75% off your ticker to the 2023 Value Conference - that means your ticket is only $35! This 3 day online event hosted by Mark Wickersham teaches the foundations of pricing, getting better prices, and how to create more value for your clients. Use code HUSTLE75OFF to get your discounted ticket.*
💰 The fee for joining Breakaway Advisors goes up in October. If this affordable franchise model is of interest to you, tell them I sent you.
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 September: BSH Co-Working Hour. Join me on Mondays to kick start your week with Co-Working Hour. Log on, say hi, and check items off your list. Click HERE to join on Zoom (password: HUSTLE).
📅 Sept 19: TazBiz Launch Info Session. Have you considered adding taxes as a service line? Learn how that could work at this info session* and use this link to register* for this course!
📅 Sept 19: 10 Ways to Add 10 Clients in 10 Days in Your Firm. This workshop with Shanita Jones will equip you with the tools and insights you need to propel your accounting business to new heights. Register HERE*
📅 Sept 20: Bookkeeping Buds EVENING Magic Hour. Are you unsure of what to do next in your business journey? Cindy Schroeder will share her experience of running a firm and answer your questions. It is free! If you are unable to attend live be sure to submit your questions and you will receive a copy of the recording. RSVP HERE.
📅 Sept 26: Value Pricing with Tanya Hilts. Join Tanya Hilts from Bookkeepers Bootcamp and discover the extraordinary benefits of alternative pricing strategies beyond charging hourly rates. Learn the potential of value billing and subscription models in this Royalwise course. Register HERE*
📅 Sept 28: Bookkeeping Buds Lunch with a Leader. Sales expert Carlos Garcia is going to breakdown pricing into mindset and implementation. This session will give you ideas on how to start the process of raising your prices for the new year. Register HERE.
📅 Oct 3-5: Value Conference 2023. If you want to MASTER VALUE PRICING, this could be the most important conference you will attend this year. Mark Wickersham FCA will show you the foundations of pricing, the critical steps to getting better prices, and how to create more value for your clients. GRAB YOUR TICKET NOW* - and use HUSTLE75OFF to get a 75% off.
📅 Oct 3: FreshBooks Unveiling The Future of Accounting. Even if you don’t use FreshBooks, you can still attend this virtual event. Twyla Verhelst and Geni Whitehouse will be presenting how you can expand your practice and increase your firm’s value. Register HERE. Oh, and one lucky attendee stands a chance to receive a gift package worth over $4500 USD.
📅 Oct 10: Prepare for Year-End Webinar. Xenett is hosting this webinar to show you their Intelligent Clean-Up Tool that can help you expedite and streamline your review and close processes and make sure January is not a disaster. Sign up for this webinar HERE.
Featured Posts
🌶️ Y’all delivered when I asked for advice to help me keep my hour training meetings to just an hour. This thread had really good ideas on how to end meetings on time. I really want to get better at this! I’m tired of working for free!
🌶️ Jennifer R. wanted to know which free email platform would work best for sending mass client emails. Do you have a favorite to add?
🌶️ Angies S. wants to know how you would respond to a potential client that has “one question, but doesn’t need a bookkeeper.”?
🌶️ Kyle L. asked for ideas for being a vendor at a small business expo, and there are great suggestions. Have you ever been a vendor before? Good ROI or no?
Help You Hustle
💪 Joana L. shared Bookkeeping Bud’s webinar replay "Lunch with a Leader: What Every Bookkeeper Should Know About Tax". The presenter Nancy McClelland is known as “The Dancing CPA”, in other words, not boring.
💪 Have you heard of the free study app called Addictive Accounting? Lydia W. shared that it is her favorite app. Check it out for free practice! If you have staff, what if you had a challenge/competition of doing an accounting problem every day.
Jobs
Note to people looking to hire help: NOW is the time of year to be finding and training help for Year-End. Hired help will be no good to you if you wait until December or January when you can’t sleep because you are overwhelmed. You can list your positions in the Facebook group. Be sure to add #JobOpportunity in your post so we can add them to the “Guide”. And make your application a bit “tough”. Require a written answer about an accounting problem. And/or a short Loom video about anything (most important KPIs for your niche, or how they handled a tricky bookkeeping situation, etc).
💼 Quite a few interesting jobs were added to the Job Guide. Check it out HERE.
💼 The opportunities include:
Local positions in PA and TX
A very part-time position
2 CPA positions
Don’t forget the standing opps on my Find A Freelance Job article. 1099 and W-2 opps.
Kate Builds In Public
🎢 New Business (remember, on top of my existing MRR of monthly clients or FreshBooks office hours members)
I’ve had a banger (for me) last 2 weeks with $2,675 in new billing:
1 Diagnostic Review ($250)
1 2023 clean up ($800)
5 new 2-hour training clients ($250 each)
3 returning training clients for an extra hour ($125 each)
🎢 I helped select the 3 scholarship winners that the Accounting Cornerstone Foundation is sending to QuickBooks Connect. Lots of inspiring applicants who (correctly) realize how much attending their first in-person conference will positively affect their bookkeeping business and help them build the life of their dreams as they provide for themselves and their family. (Psst…if you’ve never attended an industry conference before, subscribe to my newsletter because I’ll tell you when the next round of scholarship applications is).
🎢 I was paid to go to Chicago and speak and spend 3 days with amazing Bookkeeping Buds! How is this my life!?!
This was my thesis that I endeavored to prove:
Modern bookkeeping entrepreneurs who utilize video in some capacity in their business will drive more sales, increase revenue, increase client satisfaction, and ultimately have an overall more valuable firm than those who don’t use video.
I think I convinced some of them. 🙏
My shoulder is a little sore because I schlepped all of my video creation gear on the plane with me 👀. Whyyyyy, you might ask? Well, because I ended my talk with a “Petting Zoo” where I showed them all of my equipment. My point was to show that my video equipment is UNDERWHELMING. It fits in a carry-on, by golly. Your equipment can be underwhelming, too! I give you permission! Here is the list so you can see the progression of my video equipment purchases.
People who see your face and hear your voice (yes, your amazing face and unique voice) are going to be more drawn to you. Doors will open for you that you didn’t expect. I believe it with all my heart.
From The Vault
⚡ Want to learn more about Xenett? Check out this Resource Rundown and learn more about what this software has to offer.
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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.