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38. Behind the Numbers With a Professional Bookkeeper with Jodie Strong
10 Plays4 months ago
Join us for a chat with Jodie Strong, a certified bookkeeper and QuickBooks Pro Advisor with a passion for helping entrepreneurs make sense of their money. After overcoming personal challenges and rediscovering her professional identity, Jodie found her calling.
Learn how a bookkeeper can change your business for the better, make tax time less traumatic, and help you make informed decisions about your future.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How bookkeeping differs from tax accounting and why it's essential for small businesses.
- Strategies for small business owners to effectively manage their finances.
- Tips for fellow bookkeepers on creating efficient systems and workflows.
- Ways to become your bookkeeper's dream client (so they can be your dream supporter).
- The importance of balancing professional passion with personal well-being.
For more inspiration, subscribe to Unbound Turnarounds on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!
LINKS:
- Connect with Nicole
- Connect with Mallory
- Connect with Jodie: https://jstrongbookkeeping.com/ or https://hughesandstrong.com
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Transcript
Podcast Introduction and Theme
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to Unbound Turnarounds, a podcast all about the challenges women business owners think about constantly, but rarely voice. We're Nicole and Mallory, entrepreneurs, friends, and co-founders of Business Unbound. Our mission is simple, make business feel better. And that starts with honest conversations about the ups, downs, and turnarounds of entrepreneurship.
00:00:26
Speaker
So whether you're just starting out or you've been your own boss for years, tune in for stories, insights, and strategies that actually make work work for life.
Season Overview and Guest Introduction
00:00:38
Speaker
Welcome back to Unbound Turnarounds. To remind everyone, in this season, we are digging into different kinds of support and systems for entrepreneurs. And today we have a guest who can speak to both things. Mallory, who's with us today? Yes, today I'm excited to welcome Jodi Strong. To the show, Jodi thrives on connecting with people in ways that make their lives a little bit easier. And she's passionate about helping small business owners grow and thrive.
00:01:04
Speaker
She grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina and then attended Appalachian State University where she met her husband and also got a degree in graphic arts and imaging technology, but that's an aside. Jodi has extensive experience in customer service, account management, and system setup. She also worked in several roles for a large national nonprofit.
00:01:25
Speaker
She and her husband eventually found their way to Raleigh, North Carolina in the area there where you can now find her wrangling their three small boys.
Jodi Strong's Professional Journey
00:01:34
Speaker
Jodi opened J Strong Bookkeeping in April 2021 and she became a certified bookkeeper and a QuickBooks Pro Advisor and she greatly enjoys handling the finances to allow her clients the freedom to do what they most love in their business.
00:01:49
Speaker
And then in July of 2022, she partnered with Erica Hughes to launch Hughes and Strong Consulting. And this duo, they exclusively work with bookkeepers to create the solid foundations they need, the systems, the workflows, and a positive mindset to help grow their businesses.
00:02:05
Speaker
Jodi and I actually worked together in that large national nonprofit back in those days many moons ago. And then she has been basically a nonstop supporter in my endeavors, and then me and her most recent ones. So I am deeply grateful for her then, for her now, and then for you being on the show today. So Jodi, welcome. Thank you so much. It is an absolute honor to be here.
00:02:31
Speaker
So I want to talk about how you guys met. Mallory said you guys have worked together before a couple of times, but I want to know the story of how you guys met and how you became one of the main support pillars of Mallory's company. So take me back in time.
00:02:48
Speaker
Okay, let's see. So, I had been working for the nonprofit Leukemia and Poem of Society in their Charlotte office. And my husband decided to do a big career change. So, he was a teacher for six years and then left teaching to go to law school and become an attorney. So, during that transition,
00:03:10
Speaker
We went from Charlotte, big city, to a very small town in Lexington, Virginia, where there really weren't that many job opportunities for me. About the exact same time, LLS opened up a call center.
00:03:25
Speaker
for to support their different programs that I had been a part of already. And timing worked out beautifully that I got to transition into that. And that's how I met Mallory. She was the manager, I guess, or I'm not.
00:03:40
Speaker
I don't know if I can recall what the role names were then. But yeah, that's how we connected. And as the call center grew, both of us kind of moved up in the rankings of the call center. And yeah, we worked very closely together for three years or so.
00:03:58
Speaker
And was that your first time working from home, too, I'm curious? Yes. OK. OK. Because I remember, Mallory, that was kind of your first virtual work experience as well. Yeah. But that was before it was a thing. Yeah. It was before it was cool. Yeah. Before it was cool, you guys. Yeah. But then you left. So I did. I decided to leave to be stay home with mom and raise my little ones while my husband started his career in law.
00:04:26
Speaker
And it was after my second child, so two years, two and a half years after leaving the workforce, I was actually, to be honest with you, I was dealing with a pretty intense case of postpartum depression.
00:04:43
Speaker
I was trying to figure out how to help myself get out of that and how to find myself again and everything that comes along with that crazy ride. A friend of mine invited me to an Usborne book party. It's one of those multi-level marketing business things. I was like, I love books. Sure, I'll try this as something to do.
00:05:06
Speaker
And I ended up doing that for maybe a year and a half, almost two years. And I was like, this is not fun anymore. I don't want to do this. Every penny I'm making is going back into it. This is just not, I'm done. And at the time that I was making that decision, out of the blue, Mallory calls me.
00:05:27
Speaker
It says, hey, my business is growing and I would love to have some help. Are you interested? And I said, this is perfect timing. I am looking for something to do, but I don't want to do what I'm doing right now. So yes, let me help. And yeah, rest is history, I think.
00:05:43
Speaker
I had no idea. It's like the mom and me saw the mom and you from afar. I was like, I wonder if she just needs something. And Jodi came on and you and then the other person we brought on like a month later, we also knew. We really built the agency. We figured it out together of like how to make it work and we kind of had maybe some
00:06:05
Speaker
missteps in the beginning or not missteps, but learning to go through and then transitioned into the agency. And then fast forward, Jodi becomes a bookkeeper, starts her own bookkeeping business, and then now hit company. So she doesn't work in the agency if the more you side anymore, but she is my bookkeeper, which is fantastic. So we just can't seem to get rid of each other.
00:06:28
Speaker
Well, it's funny, it all it all happened around the pandemic. So pandemic kit and the client that I was working on for her, along with a lot of other people who had to their whole business just shut down. So that dropped meals like it's OK, it's OK. I'm fine. Like I've got to focus on getting my kid to start kindergarten from a virtual world here. Like this is insane. So let me just navigate that.
00:06:52
Speaker
And I had been looking at bookkeeping for a while, like just when I had the time to kind of surf the net and everything, I was like, okay.
Bookkeeping During the Pandemic
00:07:01
Speaker
And so January of 2021, I dove head strong. I just went straight into it. And as I was going through my little program, it was like, how had I never thought to do bookkeeping before?
00:07:15
Speaker
because it was just unbelievably perfectly meshed everything that I love to do. I get to geek out over numbers and help take a piece of business off of people's plates that they don't enjoy doing. And when I told Mallory about it, she was like, oh my gosh, that is perfect.
00:07:34
Speaker
Speaking of which, I hate doing it. You're like, Oh, okay. I mean, there's a lot of different things you said that I think we both want to talk about. But but really simplify it for us. Like, what what is a bookkeeper? And what tasks do they or can they do? The simplest way I think of saying it is we keep records.
00:07:57
Speaker
So bookkeepers are primarily in that data entry world, right? They're in your day to day transactions. Where does money come in from? Where does it go to? And being able to track all of those things.
00:08:11
Speaker
They can do more than that, but I think at its simplest, at the base of it, that is ultimately what most people think of when they think of bookkeepers, is that data entry, that record keeping. Some of that is, when you say the record keeping and data entry, you're talking about keeping the books clean. That means that your bookkeeper is not the same as an accountant.
00:08:34
Speaker
A person could be both, but I think of a bookkeeper as make sure that my system is in perfect shape when quarterly estimates are due, end of year taxes are due, and my accountant needs to be making decisions based on that. Is that accurate? Yes, I would say that's accurate. I would also say that terms can be interchangeable.
00:08:59
Speaker
the bookkeeping industry, at least my corner of it and all the people that I interact with, it's changing. So now there's a phrase that's floating out there called the 21st century bookkeeper. They're doing more than your typical just data entry or record keeping. What is this? They do more. So it's actually kind of a blend between bookkeeping and accounting.
00:09:23
Speaker
And so like when you ask what's the difference between bookkeepers and accountants or like are they the same or are they different? That gets tricky because you have to figure out how are you defining those words? Because nowadays bookkeepers can do accounts receivable accounts payable payroll They can produce the financial statements and numbers for you. They can help you read that and understand it accountants do some of the same things
00:09:50
Speaker
And so is it a bookkeeper or accountant or are you talking about a CPA or a tax professional? Like to me, that's where the dividing line is in my head is who's doing the tax side of it and who is offering those deeper advisory services. Now there are a lot of bookkeepers out there who are moving into the advisory services as well.
00:10:16
Speaker
So they are kind of bridging that gap and making it a smaller gap between bookkeeping and taxes.
Bookkeeping vs. Tax Professionals
00:10:22
Speaker
Where it used to probably be three entities, now it's becoming more of two.
00:10:28
Speaker
So bookkeepers have kind of an eye on the day-to-day, making sure that all the data is there when you're making those tax decisions, whether someone else is advising you or not. Do you find in your work that you are at all involved in that tax process or those discussions? Or is that something that people should hire a bookkeeper for XYZ reasons and also you need a tax accountant? Is that what you would say?
00:10:54
Speaker
So if you hire me, I'm going to tell you, you also need a tax person because that the tax world does require a lot more knowledge base. You need more training on all of the taxes and tax laws. They change all the time. Bookkeepers.
00:11:12
Speaker
they can help you stay compliant so they can help make sure all the data that's needed to be able to file taxes is in the right space so i can get you all the way up to and that is actually the way a lot of bookkeepers are working these days now you will also see a lot of combinations people who offer bookkeeping and tax.
00:11:33
Speaker
So it really depends on who you're connected to and what type of service you want depends on the industry that you're in, which way you go and who you're, you're kind of connected to
When to Hire a Bookkeeper
00:11:45
Speaker
there. But there is a lot of overlap between the bookkeeping realm and the accountant world there. And I just want to mention, like some people will try to do bookkeeping themselves, right? Some business owners will do that. Some people are probably are,
00:12:01
Speaker
the kind of people that can do that and that's fine. And then there's people like me and we shouldn't be doing that. So how would you advise someone on whether they're a candidate to just like keep QuickBooks up to date in air quotes versus someone who would benefit from having a bookkeeper who's in there day to day handling some of this stuff so that by the end of the quarter and the end of the year, they're not going through like shoe boxes of receipts.
00:12:31
Speaker
Well, I will probably say this a lot, but there is no one right answer. It's really going to depend on that personal business owner, the type of business they have, the volume of business that they have and transactions. So if there's only a few transactions a month,
00:12:50
Speaker
and they feel comfortable and they want to, by all means do your own books, right? When it gets to a point where you don't like doing it, it causes you anxiety, you feel resistance or friction, and you start to avoid your books, that would be the time to ask for some help.
00:13:11
Speaker
And then for those who want more insight, for those who want help trying to figure out, okay, I want to grow. I want to scale. I'm not sure how to do that. Can I get some help analyzing my numbers? Like you mentioned the bookkeepers have their finger on the pulse of a business, all the interactions in and out.
00:13:34
Speaker
they can take that information and that knowledge and help say, well, these products or services are really profitable, but these aren't your expenses are going to products or services that aren't profitable. If we can adjust this, you'll have more room for growth over here. So it depends on why you're looking for a bookkeeper or what you're wanting to do within your own business.
00:14:02
Speaker
and that can help lead you to decide when or who might be the best to assist you in that. Okay, so on the who side, how do we distinguish or maybe are there things we can ask when we're interviewing if somebody actually knows what they're doing and that they're going to be good? Nicole has personally had some rough
00:14:25
Speaker
rough go around with some bookkeepers. And we have on her business landed with one that's exceptional. But it took some some time. So is that just part of it? Or are there some tells some things we can look for when we're trying to interview bookkeepers that we could keep in mind? Well, something to keep in mind is that bookkeepers aren't required to be licensed or certified.
00:14:48
Speaker
So anyone who enjoys numbers or somewhat understands books can do it. So that means that there can be a lot of people out there who claim to be bookkeepers who may not be doing it at the level that you want them to be doing it at.
00:15:09
Speaker
So a great thing to ask is, are you certified? Did you do any kind of program? Have you educated yourself at all to see how much have they invested in their own business? What industries do they work with? If they're a restaurant industry and that's kind of their niche and they really like that, but you're not, do they still have the knowledge base that will be able to help support your goals for what they're doing for you?
00:15:37
Speaker
just asking them who have they worked with, what types of services have they provided to other people, and knowing how much they've invested in themselves, whether it's just, you know, time says a lot, right? So if you've taken a 10 hour course versus something that's taken you a couple of months to do, that's a different investment. And would it also be a factor to have like, I assume there are some system specific certifications
00:16:02
Speaker
that a bookkeeper might have. What are a couple of those? What do those mean? Should we be on the lookout for those? It's always a nice thing to have. If you want somebody to help you, you want them to be confident in whatever system you're in. So if you're using QuickBooks,
00:16:21
Speaker
Ideally, you'd want them to be a QuickBooks ProAdvisor or AdvancedAdvisor or whatever, all the different levels that are there, because that means that they have learned the system and they've learned the processes that are in there, and QuickBooks in particular, you have to re-up that every single year. So all the changes that they make, ProAdvisors have to be knowledgeable of that and stay up to date with the changes.
00:16:49
Speaker
So that's helpful. I believe other accounting software, I only work in QuickBooks right now. So I don't, I can't speak for all the rest of them, but I'm pretty certain that they have similar setups there where they've got certifications and as changes come out, you continue to get recertified. So yes, asking for those types of things. That's a great point actually is what do you do? How do you,
00:17:14
Speaker
provide the service. What systems are you using to do that? Are they solely in QuickBooks? Do they use anything else to help them process or analyze data? They roll in, yeah, that kind of stuff, yeah. Yeah, there's any number of ways and systems and software out there, just like any industry, there's so many tools available for bookkeepers, accountants, and all of those types of firms to be able to help assist you with that. But also, knowing your own goal,
00:17:44
Speaker
is probably pretty key before you start searching for support with your finances, because that too will help you determine what type of person you're looking for. And what I would caution people is don't just go with the cheapest person.
00:18:03
Speaker
because oftentimes what you get is what you pay for. And there have been, I could not tell you the number of times that I have heard, when I first started, like the sticker shock to people, because I'd invested in my business and myself as a bookkeeper. And so I was like, okay, this is the service I'm offering, this is my price. I was like, that's ridiculous, it's too much. So many people can do it for less. I was like, okay.
00:18:30
Speaker
But kind of the joke in the industry is, OK, I'll see you back in a year when those books are messed up and you need me to fix them. So don't always get too scared off by the pricing because oftentimes they're priced that way because of the quality that they are. I mean, this is probably you probably can't answer this. This is probably across the board. But since you brought up pricing,
00:18:57
Speaker
Is there like, is it usually hourly rates? Or is it like, what can an entrepreneur expect? Is it like, for these three things, you do it for this? Or is it hourly? Is there like a general rate to keep in mind? I know that's kind of vague, but is there anything around pricing you can share? So again, in my corner of the industry, because I'm sure
00:19:19
Speaker
Other areas may be different but in the circles that I run with the majority of people are pricing flat rate So it's one monthly fee for all of the services that you have there and typically that includes unlimited support so you don't have to worry about the clock or how many hours am I asking, you know meetings or questions like usually there's some type of package and
00:19:44
Speaker
And it often comes with unlimited email and that kind of client portal support to where you feel assured that if you have a question, they'll be able to answer you and they're not just taking time off the clock there. So that's a very, very popular one. It used to be hourly, and then a lot of people have shifted away from that.
Pricing and Routine Bookkeeping Tasks
00:20:04
Speaker
And I think it's kind of like a win-win. A lot of people that I know, they're looking for that win-win of
00:20:11
Speaker
They're not out there to price gouge people, but also they know they're worth and they want to make sure that everybody's supported on either side. So I think.
00:20:21
Speaker
flat rate for your general like month to month or quarter to quarter bookkeeping is most common. When it comes to cleanups and that's something like where you're trying to catch the books up or do history, basically it's all the historical stuff. So if you haven't filed taxes in a year or two, they'll help make sure the books are up to date so that you can file your taxes. Is that an option?
00:20:46
Speaker
I don't recommend it. How do I get in on that? That sounds great. I would like to skip it. I would like to apply to skip it entirely forever. Please don't do that. Okay. All right. Love what you're hearing? Go from big idea to business owner in five days with our free be your own boss bootcamp email course.
00:21:09
Speaker
Or learn how to implement the insights from this show in your existing business with our complimentary guide, Five Ways to Make Business Feel Better. Packed with practical tools and solutions, these resources draw from our collective 15 plus years of entrepreneurship and work with more than 100 clients. Visit unboundboss.com to grab your freebies. It's time to make work work for life.
00:21:38
Speaker
Walk me through what a typical, so let's say that you do kind of one of these monthly packages. And to me as a business owner, that's better for me too, because I like to know what I'm going to be spending. So that's.
00:21:48
Speaker
preferable for me, but what types of tasks would you be doing in that monthly period? What kind of cadence are you looking for? Are you looking at credit card statements and client invoices? Talk us through what specifically you might do in a month.
00:22:10
Speaker
So you're looking at every transaction, money in, money out, and you're classifying those. You're categorizing those into specific areas or accounts or buckets within your books to make sure that every dollar has a name.
00:22:25
Speaker
And a lot of people, I highly recommend it, but not all clients do it, is keep your receipts. Having a paper trail for every single transaction is also highly recommended. Highly recommended, not, but it's actually kind of uncommon. But that way you have the paper trail, so proof. So in the event, if you're ever audited, it's easy, everything's there.
00:22:52
Speaker
So a lot of what we do is kind of preemptive as well as like, let's just be proactive, have everything together. So in the future, it's much easier. So yes, we would look at every transaction, categorize them into the appropriate accounts that they should be categorized under.
00:23:08
Speaker
which tax professionals use later on to help as they file. And then on a regular basis, whether it's monthly or quarterly, depending on the services that you're getting, you'll have bank reconciliations or account reconciliations. So we're going to look at all those bank statements, all the credit card statements, merchant statements, anything that has an account that's associated with that money coming in and out. We look at those, we compare it to the books and make sure they match.
00:23:37
Speaker
So it's like balancing a checkbook. It is exactly like balancing a checkbook. Not many people know how to do that anymore. No, it's not a thing now. Because most people don't keep checkbooks anymore. I have one. But that is exactly what it is. But then on top of that, you're saying then there's other add-ons where you could be billing. You could be billing all their clients every month. You can be paying all their vendors and all their bills. And you can be chasing. You're kind of like that.
00:24:05
Speaker
that external voice so that the person delivering the service doesn't also have to be the one chasing money. Yes, absolutely. So that would be your accounts receivable and your accounts payable. So that's helping with that cash flow. And especially it seems like because
00:24:20
Speaker
Those are often in a different system. They might also live in QuickBooks, but they could live in a different system, right? It could be build.com or something else. We've used many things. And then you're kind of the single point of reference for all of that incoming data and you don't have to catch up either because you are doing the invoicing or you're doing the receivables and things like that. We tie it all up with a nice pretty bow.
00:24:45
Speaker
But like I said, it kind of goes beyond that too now where I can even pull the financial statements for you and present them to you.
Advisory Role of Bookkeepers
00:24:56
Speaker
And a lot of us will give advice from that and say, hey, look, this was off this month. Why? We'll help questions so that you can make the adjustments.
00:25:07
Speaker
in your day to day instead of having to wait till an end of a quarter or end of a year to adjust for things. So again, it's trying to help.
00:25:17
Speaker
Be proactive. So in nature, the natural realm of the bookkeeping world, financial world, all of that, it's all reactive. You're always looking at historical information. So anytime that we can help you bridge to looking at the future, to forecasting, to advisory, like that's just a whole nother level of service that's out there. Some people offer that and some people don't, but that's also theirs. Like we don't have to just be the number crunchers and be like, okay, here you go.
00:25:47
Speaker
They can also go beyond that into helping you to forecast and make wise Financial decisions so that you can continue to grow and be successful. I'm sure it's helped save a lot of businesses from From downfalls. Well, so we have to talk about
00:26:05
Speaker
business reports. We have to talk about accounting reports. As a person like me, I don't like them. I don't get them. I don't understand them. I went to business school. I did all the classes. I did the things.
00:26:18
Speaker
I just, that is not how my brain works. So do you find that you have clients where you take a different approach versus just saying like, here's your profit and loss statement. And it's like, that doesn't do anything for me. I don't, I don't get literally anything out of it because there's all these different factors. And like the way I run my business that I know about that a report doesn't know about or whatever, like, are you finding that there are cases where you're taking on that advisory role to be like,
00:26:48
Speaker
okay, here are the traditional reports. Every system is going to spit out for you. But I know that my client doesn't think that way or that kind of information presented that way is not useful to them. How would you approach that of being like, okay, here's someone who either needs these normal reports or they need me to talk them through some other way of looking at the data.
00:27:14
Speaker
Yeah, so take comfort and you're not alone. I think you're in the majority of people who are like, this is why I'm paying somebody to do the bookkeeping is because I, the numbers just, I don't get it. And you didn't start a bookkeeping business. So that's not the prime reason why you're in business to begin with. So it's very natural that it's like, yeah, it's just numbers on a page.
00:27:36
Speaker
So having somebody that you trust to be able to interpret that for you or even give you just a little bit of guidance on that is really helpful. So I only have a handful of bookkeeping clients, but I have worked with a lot of bookkeepers across the board and there's a variety of ways that people present information to their clients. So some of them will sit down with the statement and walk them through it.
00:28:03
Speaker
A lot of times I hear the clients, like their eyes just gloss over. They're like, I don't know. So what they do is they start talking about KPIs, key performance indicators. Okay, what are the key things that you want to know about that matter to you? That's important. Okay, then we'll highlight those. And if anything else outside of that, sends up a red flag.
00:28:27
Speaker
I'll keep I'll bring you in on the loop like I'll let you know and we can dive into it otherwise like just look at what's the most important to you and and trust that if something's wrong or if something is questionable that they're going to bring it up and discuss it with you but a lot of times it's you kind of have to be that
00:28:47
Speaker
Like I said, the interpreter to translate numbers into words that can help paint a picture to help them understand like, okay, this is what that means. Or, okay, now I understand that I need to focus on this part of the business because it will affect numbers here. Yep, that's a great point.
00:29:06
Speaker
Okay, so a lot of us business owners like to get gold stars and A pluses. So if we wanted to get an A plus from our bookkeeper, if we wanted to be an A plus client to our bookkeeper, what are some things we could do to be a good client for a bookkeeper?
Importance of Communication in Bookkeeping
00:29:26
Speaker
Communicate. Answer their questions in a timely manner.
00:29:32
Speaker
I cannot tell you the amount of time that bookkeepers spend chasing answers. All we can do is present information in an organized way based on what we receive. So if we don't know what a transaction is, what is this expense for? What was purchased? Who was paid?
00:29:54
Speaker
I can't do anything with that unless I know what it was from. And a bank statement can only tell you so much. So we've got tools to help us with that too, but yes, being responsive, answering questions, getting back to them about those details helps to make their jobs a whole lot easier and more efficient. And turning that back around, it gets you the information that you need faster
00:30:22
Speaker
and in a more accurate way. Because if we don't know what it is, then we put it into an account that says uncategorized or ask the client, like I don't know what to do with this because I don't have any, I don't have enough information. So to have the most accurate information provided back to you, you've got to give that to your bookkeeper.
00:30:45
Speaker
And do you like when your clients, like if they have an expense that they know you won't have seen before or that's a different vendor or something like that, do you like to just get kind of one off notes saying, Hey, you're going to see this coming through. This is what it is. Here's how to classify it, you know, or do you prefer going to the end of a month and being like, here's my 10 open questions and I will just ask them, you know, personally, what I tell people, all clients from both my businesses, you can't give me too much information.
00:31:16
Speaker
I would rather have more information that I have to filter through than a lot of empty spaces that I have to then go find answers for. And I would say as the client, it's easier for me to send my bookkeeper a quick note when something is a transaction than to go back in a month and be like, yeah, I don't know what that means on the Facebook either. It's some weird code with an LLC that I've never heard of. And you're like, oh, I don't know.
00:31:45
Speaker
And that's the thing is you're being proactive. Once it happens, you proactively tell your bookkeeper before they even ask the question. And the more proactive we can be with the financial records, with all of your information, it sets you up for success in so many ways moving forward. Yeah. So there was a thing that I did this year that was related to that. It was doing classing, classing different expenses and
00:32:14
Speaker
Since we did a big systems deep dive earlier in the year, I basically made a spreadsheet of every system, vendor, et cetera, et cetera. And then I put which business it aligned to. And then I just gave her the one list. And I was like, anything that falls outside of this, like we can chat about. But otherwise, she has now a reference list for the day-to-day stuff where she doesn't have to ask or wonder or go check.
00:32:41
Speaker
And it keeps me from having nearly as many questions because I've already just said, here's everything I expect to happen. And here's where it goes. That's amazing and rare.
00:32:53
Speaker
Okay, so talk to us about the second business. So you guys, there was an experience at a bookkeeping conference and it inspired the second business. And I want you to share it today because I think really it comes down to support because it was like filling a need that you saw. So can you share a little bit about that?
Industry Insights from a Conference
00:33:14
Speaker
Yeah, so like I mentioned, I started my certification, my training for becoming a bookkeeper in January of 2021, actually opened the business in April. And I had one little client that I was working with, she was a brand new business, I was a brand new business, and we were kind of
00:33:31
Speaker
navigating that together. I actually did work for her pro bono for a few for a little while until both of us were kind of on our feet. And I still have her as a client today. But so that was the only client I had. And the group that I had done my certification through and the community that I was a part of, they were hosting a bookkeeping conference. And it was
00:33:58
Speaker
2021. So like, not everything's open, not everybody's comfortable traveling. And so they were really, really pushing to sell out their tickets. So he offered a deal I couldn't refuse, it was actually cheaper to go in person to this conference, because he was giving us a free course
00:34:22
Speaker
By doing that, then it would have been if I had just paid for the course outright and stayed home. So everything, flight, ticket to the conference, the house I shared with three other moms, all of it just ended up being like, okay, this is an opportunity I don't want to turn down. I want to take advantage of it. So even with one client, I went to this conference.
00:34:43
Speaker
and a whole new world opened up to me. A part of myself that I had either forgotten about or never tapped into before, blossom there, like just bloomed. I'm not an extrovert, I'm definitely an introvert, but you wouldn't have known that at that conference because I was surrounded by people who had the same passions as I did with the numbers and all of this and who were also growing their businesses. And so I made a lot of really great connections there
00:35:12
Speaker
And the way that they had the conference set up is that you were at round tables. So there was always opportunity to chat with your neighbors. And then they encouraged you to go out to lunches or go out to dinners with people as well. So every day of the conference, we went with different groups. So we just got to meet so many different people. And at all of those times, we discussed the information that was being talked about or presented to us. And at this particular conference,
00:35:40
Speaker
The focus was primarily on systems and workflows, and it just felt like they were just drilling that into us session after session about how important they were. And I noticed that everybody was kind of grumpy. They would groan, and they would just be like, oh, I don't know how to do this. I hate systems.
00:36:06
Speaker
you know, set up all the stuff and I'm like actually looking around going like, I like it. This is exciting. I'll do it for you if you want me to. And then at the last lunch that I went to, we actually got into a pretty serious conversation about this, about how much the other bookkeepers at the table just resisted sitting down and doing systems.
00:36:32
Speaker
And I was very much like, please, let me help you. And then it like a giant light bulb went off and was like, this is something that I could do to support my fellow bookkeepers.
00:36:45
Speaker
And I it would be awesome. And at the time I was thinking like, oh, I don't want to I don't want to build a mini empire with my bookkeeping. It was really meant to be a little side hustle to bring in some extra funds to pay for my kids hockey and that kind of thing. And so I was like, well, I don't really want to.
00:37:05
Speaker
to put the networking and the marketing into my bookkeeping business. I'd much rather just help other bookkeepers. I have the industry knowledge and I also have the systems knowledge. Let me put the two together. So that seed was planted then within a year. I was launching the second business with a partner to create this thing to fill a gap. And we continue to look for,
00:37:34
Speaker
Where's the gap? Where's the need? What support do bookkeepers not have that they wish they did? And how can we feel that? Well, what I love about that story is that from a person on my side of the table, I would have thought bookkeepers would love systems like that. That's the same person. That's the same person, right? They love
00:37:58
Speaker
data and you know like I don't know like routine and the structure and and all of that and I would have literally just thought they all love that right because they work in crick books and they work in fresh books or like they're in systems all the time but that's different than workflows
00:38:18
Speaker
Yeah, I would have just assumed that that's also your skill set, like your natural set. Not at all, no. I think it's actually a minority of the group that was like, okay, I can now take this information and put it into words or put it into a recording to train somebody else to be able to help me with all of these numbers. So yes, what we have in common is we love the numbers, we love the books, we like getting in there and doing it.
00:38:45
Speaker
But then to translate that into training material or organizing it in a way to get it out of your head into something else that can help you stay organized because the bigger you grow, the more knowledge you have to keep in your head. That is when you start missing deadlines. That's when you start forgetting to do something or
00:39:09
Speaker
getting overwhelmed easily. And so to be able to take all that information out of your head and put it into something that can be a tool to help you be more efficient is actually pretty difficult to do for a lot of bookkeepers. For a lot of entrepreneurs. Yeah, business owners in general, absolutely. What are some of these types of workflows that you are setting up for people?
00:39:33
Speaker
Like what are you doing for a bookkeeper from a systems perspective to make it easier for them to serve their clients? So it actually feels kind of full circle for me. So at that first bookkeeping conference, I met an up and coming business called Keeper. It is, there's a couple of different Keepers out
Streamlining with Keeper Software
00:39:53
Speaker
there. There's a security one, but there's also Keeper that is a tool for bookkeepers and accounting firms to use to be able to
00:40:03
Speaker
help be more efficient and process the data and double check and all that. It's an amazing program. I met them at that first conference three years ago. For the one person that I was doing some subcontract work for, I was stepping into a operations manager type role for her and was helping her to set up her systems because she had a team of people and we needed to be more efficient as a team.
00:40:32
Speaker
So I set that software keeper up for her, and I pushed it to be a system that could take on more than it was originally designed for. And from that, I actually got on to a, I had a great connection with the guys who own it, who created it, and they brought me into a webinar that they had to showcase how you could use this software
00:40:59
Speaker
in more ways than what they originally designed it for. And over the last three years, they've continued to build out the software and continue to grow it so that what I pushed it to do is now a lot easier to do with the task management. You know, on due dates, what tasks do I have to do every day? How do I stay organized with my day-to-day tasks? And how do I remember all the quarterly and annual things that have to happen? So we took a task management
00:41:29
Speaker
and merged it into a bookkeeping specific software. And so that's what we specialize in. I specialize in that software. Yes, I could set up ClickUp or Asana or Teamwork or any of the other task managers out there. I've probably set up all of them at least once.
00:41:47
Speaker
But I am a huge advocate of this particular software because of what it does for bookkeepers. And that's who I work with. So what we do is people come in and they love. They love what they hear about this system. But it's overwhelming. It's a new thing. You have to be able to think about things or learn about a system before you can implement it in your own business. Well, if you're already overwhelmed with business,
00:42:12
Speaker
Having to learn a tool and set up a tool and then implement that tool is just, it can be very daunting, very overwhelming and challenging, and to us.
00:42:24
Speaker
We are here. We have some free resources available. We have a done-for-you thing where I will do the setup for you. You give me the information, I plug it in, you run with it. There are people out there who do similar things with similar software. I think what makes us stand out is the fact that
00:42:47
Speaker
My business partner and I have such big hearts. All we want to do is help. We want our business to be profitable, but we are not in this to be making lots of money. We are in this strictly for
00:43:02
Speaker
to be a service to this bookkeeping industry and all the members of it. And so we walk with you. We don't just set it up and walk away. We don't just give you resources and let you walk away.
00:43:19
Speaker
very much a part of what we offer is hands-on. I'm going to walk with you until you're comfortable enough to say, I've got this. Thank you. And I'm still going to stay in touch. But that, I think, really sets us apart as far as our branding is.
00:43:36
Speaker
in the industry. And again, I think it's to fill a gap because we've run into it. And a lot of our clients have come and said, I've tried to do other things on my own. I've done these courses. I've gotten these templates. Nothing. I'm still lost. I don't know what to do. Like we 100% understand that. And that is exactly why we've designed ours to be different. And we're going to walk you through it.
00:44:00
Speaker
I just want to thank you for sharing all that because really this season is about support and systems. And that is everything that you just said in such a beautiful way. And so for the people who are in the bookkeeping space, the importance of having support and system is obvious. It can fill these gaps that we have. You know I'm a big advocate of workflows.
00:44:23
Speaker
We've spent many a day talking and learning about them together. And so there's, there's workflows for people not in bookkeeping. It's the same thing, but just, just to kind of wrap us up then, why do you think it's important for business owners to have these systems in place, especially in their processes?
Systems for Entrepreneurial Balance
00:44:44
Speaker
Why do you think that is such a game changer? I think it creates space for business owners to have some freedom.
00:44:54
Speaker
Entrepreneurs live and breathe their business. And if they don't have support, then they can never take a break. And that's not healthy. Like we all need to be able to take a break. So even if you are a solo person,
00:45:17
Speaker
you can still have a system set up that allows you space and it allows you to be able to continue self care and whatever other life things that you have built in. It helps to juggle life and work and all of the things a little bit easier. I don't know if balance is always the right word because it always feels like it's a juggling game to me. So even as a solo person, having systems can be important.
00:45:46
Speaker
because it can help create that space to support yourself. Now, of course, if you have a team or other people working with you, those systems that support enables your team to be more efficient. And with systems and all of that builds consistency, and that's huge for efficiency. When things are consistent, it makes it a lot easier for team members to cover for one another.
00:46:15
Speaker
It makes it a lot easier for management, so those who are above the team, to be able to easily see what's going on. Anybody can know at a glance if you have things set up in a way that offers that up. The one thing to keep in mind though is that there's no one right way. There's not one system that every person could implement and done. There'll be a lot of people who tout that, but
00:46:42
Speaker
Each and every person is unique, right? So a natural extension of that is going to be your business. Your business is just as unique as you are. And so how you operate and the way that your brain works is not going to be the same as your neighbor, even if you're in the exact same industry. So it's good to know that you just
00:47:06
Speaker
having it there will help support you and, you know, take things out of your brain. Well, when you, yeah, when you say add space, that's what I hear is add mental space, right? Not even just the time back in the calendar. I think about it as like, this is time that I am not thinking about this, that I can do whatever I want with whatever else I want.
00:47:26
Speaker
And when it's written out or written down or recorded somewhere, it's out of your head. So you don't have to carry it around all the time. Yes, I love that. My gosh, Jodi. Well, you've basically said everything that I believe in. So so thank you. But I think that was just hearing you go through it and the importance of systems and support cannot be negated and the benefits you get from it cannot be negated. So
00:47:48
Speaker
I want to thank you. It's so lovely to see how far you've come and what you've done and the career changes and pivots and the service you're offering. So thank you for being on the show today and thank you for your continued support always. It's my absolute pleasure. Thank you guys. All right, you guys, that wraps us up for this week. We will see you next time.
00:48:11
Speaker
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