The One With A Hype Man
TL;DR
Let me tell you a story about my new friend Drew and his friend Vinny.
So, last Saturday we were hosting some dear friends in our new town of Fort Worth. We decided to go full-blown-tourist and take these Virginians to the Fort Worth Stockyards to watch the daily longhorn cattle drive, and then we walked to the iconic Fort Worth restaurant called Joe T. Garcia's for some tasty Mexican food.
Well, Joe T. Garcia's is PACKED on a Saturday night. We had a long wait outside. It is a bit chilly. Everyone is huddling under propane heaters and already drinking pitchers of margaritas in line, so folks are getting really friendly and chatty.
And that is when I met Drew.
We all get to chatting as we huddle under a heater. Less than 3 minutes into talking to this group, Drew’s friend Vinny says something like “Oh, y'all are new to Fort Worth. Well, my man Drew here is a CPA and he is awesome and really good and you should call him if you need tax help. Don’t call anyone else.”
Since we had accounting and entrepreneurship in common, Drew and I basically just talked the rest of the time in line. He took a huge risk and quit his job and started his own solo firm this past summer. He gave me TWO business cards (he insisted on two because he said his wife told him to always give two, not just one…also, here is an example of a use-case for old-fashioned business cards).
Eventually our groups separate when we get called to our table. But all during dinner I couldn't stop thinking about Drew and Vinny.
I guarantee you that this was not the first time Vinny told someone they needed to call Drew for tax help. The way he said it, I can just tell. He genuinely loves his friend, is proud of him, and wants him to succeed.
And with a hype man like Vinny, he probably will succeed! I should also note that his wife being supportive and giving him business advice about those business cards also means he likely has a Hype Wife, too, which is also hugely valuable.
I still can't get these guys out of my head. Selfishly, it makes me want to have more people in my life hyping ME and my business to others.
But the more unselfish part of me just keeps thinking, who can I be a Vinny for? Am I actively looking for ways to spread the word about the awesome things that friends I love are doing?
Probably the best way to get people to be a hype man for you is to be known as a hype man for others. That is my main takeaway about Vinny and Drew.
I would bet $100 that Drew would never have uttered a word about his new business to my cold, ragamuffin family or put a business card in my hand if Vinny had not first said something about Drew's business. Vinny opened the door, but Drew had to walk through. Drew had to capitalize on the conversation Vinny started and tell me what he did and give me those business cards.
And before you shy introverts come at me about the discomfort of chit chat with strangers, surely introverts at least have an easier time talking about their loved ones than themselves. So start singing the praises of others. And I bet you will see it come back to you. What goes around, comes around.
To wrap up this story, Drew and I scheduled a networking lunch in January to discuss referrals (hooray in-person interaction!). I plan to tell him about the free “How To Price Bookkeeping” vCon from our sponsor Mark Wickersham so that he avoids some of the early pricing mistakes that new firm owners can fall into. You should register for it, too, and learn how to charge higher prices. Bang that banner graphic. 👇
Deals Deals Deals
💰 Bookkeepers.com* has a 50% off sale for 6 of its courses. Use code “newyear50”.
💰 People on the waitlist for the QBO Clean-Up Course* will receive the lowest price for the hands-on clean up course from Fast & Easy QBO (I do not know what the final course price will be, just have been told that there will be a special price for waitlisters). Get on the waitlist AND grab the slick “earnings calculator” they created to see how much can be earned with clean up projects.
💰 To support folks as we approach year end, The Ambitious Bookkeeper is offering her “Confident Compliance Bundle” as a stand alone product. This is like a took kit for year-end tasks. Our community discount code is “KATE” for 10% off*.
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.
📅 Jan 3: Mastering Cleanup: How To Make 2024 A Six-figure Year. Learn the method + math behind building a sizable income without taking on too many clients. Sign up HERE!*
📅 +Jan 8: Monday Morning Co-working Hour. Join me for the FIRST co-working hour of 2024. RSVP and add it to your calendar. See you in 2024!
📅 Jan. 9: 1099 Wizard in QBO. Alicia Katz Pollock is going to teach you how to confidently use the QBO 1099 Wizard to prepare, review, and file all the required copies of your federal 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC forms. Sign up now!*
📅 Jan 16: QB Time. Learn from Royalwise how QuickBooks Time can transform your business operations. This Royalwise course will show you QuickBooks Time in action, including importing in a payroll run. Register to learn more about this game-changer for your business.
📅 Late Jan: Stay tuned for announcment about an interview with the creator of the new “Associate Digital Bookkeeper Certification”. I asked him if I could grill him about the cert, and he agreed! High level details about the cert on page 12 on this course syllabus.
Featured Posts
🌶️ Have you ever gotten push back about using ACH? If we are supposed to systematize things, how do we handle the outliers that want to pay a different way? Thanks to all the feedback y’all gave. Also, who can connect me to Anchor to sponsor this newsletter since the thread had a lot of Anchor fans on it!
🌶️ A ton of folks shared their minimum price for monthly bookkeeping. 👀
Help You Hustle
💪 Michael Ly was not shy about giving us all the details about how he uses cold email to grow his (big) business. Must listen if you’ve ever considered using cold email outreach in your marketing.
💪 Jaime U. reminded folks that there is a template for a Price Increase Letter in The Motherload of Email Templates from the Workflow Queen.* The entire template library is only $57! Think of the ROI on that investment if you just send that price increase email to ONE client (but there is a motherload more in the library than just that one template)!
💪 New industry podcast alert. Gentle Frog’s Bookkeeping Lilypad has hit 9 episodes, which is already longer than most podcasts that try to launch. Check out what Rachel Barnet has to say!
For Fun
💀 Perfect gift for the Lego-loving tax person in your life.
Jobs
💼 Two new jobs were added to the Job Guide! Check them out and always be on the lookout for people posting jobs in the group.
💼 Lots more candid feedback about the QuickBooks Live and Turbo Tax Live jobs added to my “Request for Real-Life Feedback” post. Must read if you are considering working there.
Don’t forget the standing opps on my Find A Freelance Job article. 1099 and W-2 opps.
Kate Builds In Public
🎢 Fundamental IT and Admin changes related to EMAIL ADDRESS FOR A CONTRACTOR: My Christmas present to myself was hiring Ross Feldman, my Google Workspace genius consultant, to help me set up a 2nd email seat for my business. I bought 30 minutes of his time. I swear it would have taken me 3 hours by myself and I still would not have gotten it as polished as he did.(Details of how I’ve previously used him as an IT Guy. Highly recommend.).
During our zoom call, I also was able to talk through my security and management concerns with him to make sure that I understood exactly how it would work to have ultimate control over an inbox that I’m giving to someone else to use. Maybe you’re thinking I’m a technology lightweight, but this was a big deal to me, and he helped ease some of my trepidations.
The reason I wanted a new email with my domain is because I’ve hired a contractor to do a big clean up, but I want to present us to the client as more of a “team”.
Though I’ve had contractors work for me, things have been very separate (as they ideally should be). For this new woman I’m partnering with on this clean up, I just have this desire to test out what it is like to bring things a little closer to my own business with an email address with my domain. But I kind of want it to be temporary. When we’re done with the project, if I don’t have her contract for me again, I want to remove her access, but still have the records of the inbox.
So here is how I did it (with the guidance of my Ross, the IT Guy).
We set up a new Google Workspace seat called Support@ My Domain.
Then we set up an “alias” under that seat called HerName@ My Domain. She will operate under the alias as she interacts with the client.
At any point, I can change the password to the Support email and she would not be able to access it. So later on this year, if I want to hire another contractor, I can create another alias under Support.
Thankfully, I really trust this contractor and I know that she is also interested in thinking about ways to build a simple, mostly-solo, bookkeeping business, so I’m confident that she will be a great person to work out the kinks on this with. I’ll keep you updated about how we move forward.
Yes, there are employment and security issues that I have to manage. Don’t think I’m taking this lightly. And neither should you take it lightly as you think about growing to where you need to bring in some help one day.
Who wants to roast this plan?!?! I’m an open book and know I won’t die if you fry me.
🎢 My Car Office: Did you see the picture of my tech set up when I had to work from inside my car, including taking a zoom call with prospects? This might be a great set up for any sports families who get stuck at tournaments/meets all day long. Or for anyone in the “chauffeur” stage of life where you find yourself stuck in your car in parking lots waiting to drive to the next thing.
🎢 OOO: We hosted visitors from VA and now my dad is visiting until Christmas. Then we travel for a week. Starting last week, I kept a few select chunks of time open on my calendar to funnel everyone to who might need me from mid-Dec to Jan 9 , but mostly I am unavailable. And it feels really good.
🎢 My source of joy: Our Christmas card this year contains the verse from Psalm 126:3, “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” Even though 2023 has been one of the most challenging and emotional in recent memory, I have still found joy because of my hope in the saving work of Christ, whose birth we celebrate at this time of year. If you ever have questions about that, my DMs are open.
And speaking of Christmas cards, I ordered a ton of Christmas cards and haven't put a single one in the mail. I’m signing off and getting to it!
From The Vault
⚡ With 2024 quickly approaching, maybe you are beginning to think about goals or changes you want to make. If you are looking for a job change but aren’t quite ready to be your own boss - check out this video about job placement tips. Good advice for those wanting a career change.
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Keep hustling!
Kate
-Chief Hustler-
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