I Love Bookkeeping

Latest Episodes:

How to Get Away from the Day-to-Day with Amy McLaughry - Encore Presentation Oct 27, 2022

Show notes

Amy worked at a bank for 14 years and eventually it became not worth the hours she had to put in anymore, so she decided to retire. This led her to thinking about what else she could do for work, ideally from home. Since she was good with numbers already, bookkeeping seemed like a solid choice. She signed up for Bookkeeper Business Launch and went from there.

[6:00] Nonprofits were the niche that Amy chose to work with because working around or in them has been a part of her history and experience. She felt like she was in a unique position to help nonprofits specifically.

[7:50] In the beginning, Amy felt like everything had to be ready to go before she officially launched her business and she ended up pushing her launch back until the last week of August. She got her first three clients in the same week right before Thanksgiving.

[9:25] The first client was a Facebook referral, the other two were found on Indeed by applying for remote bookkeeper positions. There is always a price to getting clients, it's either your effort, your time, your money, or some combination of all of them.

[11:30] The best way Amy has found to get clients has been to spend time in Facebook groups where she knows her ideal clients hang out. Giving value first is the basic strategy. Niching down is one of the keys to Amy's success.

[14:10] Now that Amy is running her own business she can turn down the work that doesn't fit the lifestyle she wants to live.

[15:25] Confidence in her ability to execute was one of the biggest challenges she's had to face in starting her business. She learned a lot in the first 60 days. Each new client brings its own set of challenges. Knowledge has to be combined to gain confidence.

[19:00] All of Amy's clients are across the country and she can essentially operate her business from everywhere.

[20:05] Running her own bookkeeping business has drastically improved Amy's family life.

[22:10] In the beginning, Amy just wanted to bring in something for her family but at this point she's looking at breaking past six figures and bringing additional staff to handle the workload. She's focused on building a real business complete with brand identity.

[25:10] Get specific on your goals and what your business is going to do for you. You're going to be much more motivated by internal goals rather than external goals.

[27:20] What do you want to be when you grow up? Now that Amy is becoming established she has to put some thought into her branding and how she wants to be viewed in her market. As you scale your business your brand becomes more important.

[30:45] A brand is a perception of who you are as an organization and perception is reality. Your brand needs to attract and repel. When someone is looking at your business, what do you want them to feel?

[34:35] Write down the words you want people to use to describe your business. Ask your clients how they would describe you already. A brand is something that is crafted, it's not created overnight. Don't be a copycat brand, your brand should be unique to you and your company.

[38:20] Amy may not need to market her business very hard at this point, her current methods have worked pretty well. You shouldn't start to look for new growth strategies until the one you are using effectively stops working.

[41:10] Amy has walked in an Executive Director shoes so she knows what they need in terms of a bookkeeper. The feelings and perceptions of her ideal client will inform the brand she is trying to create. Additional perceptions can come from the auditors and board members that Amy can tap into.

[46:10] These words and descriptions will become the core beliefs, the manifesto that determines your steps going forward. Some core values are better than others but there is no wrong or right set. Establishing your core values is key to keeping people on your team long term. There is no proven methodology to creating your brand other than what comes from within.

[50:35] Amy always thinks back to her future obituary and what she hopes people will eventually say about her. She hopes her business will allow her to spend more time with her family and live the life she wants. Once you understand your brand and core values, it makes your business decisions much easier.

[54:30] Amy's action items include figuring out what she provides to her clients and what her company stands for. Building a brand is intentional and done over time.

hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Focus on What's Important with Tracy Rosenberry - Encore Presentation Oct 25, 2022

Show notes

Tracy's 35th birthday really changed things for her. She was working as a substitute teacher and wasn't really enjoying it when her husband suggested that taxes may be a way to go. She stumbled upon some videos put together by Ben Robinson, and she decided to jump in with both feet.

[4:20] Tracy learned most of her bookkeeping skills by going through Ben's course, in addition to some minor experience in high school and college accounting.

[5:40] If you don't have clients you don't have a business - you have a hobby. Once Tracy completed the course she dove in to trying to secure her first client, and she actually connected with her first client through a Facebook post.

[8:45] You can't give away too much for free. Giving value always seems to come back to you.

[10:00] Tracy is currently serving 18 or so bookkeeping clients plus another handful of tax clients.

[11:00] The first year was the hardest. Tracy was studying for her EA and some other exams at the time and combined with some personal issues she faced a few challenges. Around May of 2018, things really took off, largely due to a mindset shift and a snowball of referrals.

[15:40] Tracy's vision is to start hiring some help and growing her business while still maintaining her family time. Our business needs to fit into our life, not our life into our business.

[17:30] Entrepreneurs never arrive, but it is important to stop and take stock of what you accomplished. Overcoming challenges builds confidence.

[19:50] Time management is crucial. Keeping up with the momentum Tracy has built is a challenge.

[23:20] The STEP Framework is key to getting stuff done. Time management happens across the whole Framework, but Execution is what needs to happen right now. What do you naturally gravitate towards that you're happy to do? For Tracy, it's the client interaction.

[25:50] Where do you add the most value to your business? The goal of hiring someone should be about optimizing that work. Even the thing you love can wear you down though, if that's all you do.

[28:20] Tracy also enjoys putting together the processes of the business as well as blogging and video creation. As bookkeepers, there aren't many ways to be creative. What you want to do is maximize the things you like to do while at the same time providing value to your clients and helping you feel fulfilled.

[32:10] You have to schedule time to be creative and dream. Be intentional about putting the things that are important into your life. Start off with just 15 minutes and you'll find you have much more energy when you're done.

[34:50] Time management isn't the thing you need, it's what time management can bring into your life.

[35:15] Bookkeeping is first and foremost a relationship business. If you build your business on relationships and not the transactions, you will be job secure forever.

[37:50] The repetitive tasks are starting to get tedious for Tracy. That doesn't mean it's trivial, but they are not important and not the best use of Tracy's time. List the tasks you do in your business and then ask if they fall under your Unique Ability.

[41:50] What is the hourly rate for your Unique Abilities? What about your competencies? If you can less than the dollar equivalent for those tasks you're making money. Look at your business tasks and ask is this something to continue doing, stop doing, outsource, or delegate? The point is to free up your time so you can focus on what you do best.

[43:40] You shouldn't be looking to hire a specific person, you should be looking to outsource a specific task. Don't throw people at a process problem. The tasks you're competent at but don't really enjoy doing, are the first to outsource. Time efficiency is all about saving 15 minutes at a time, those 15 minutes add up fast.

[48:30] You can do the work and set up the process by recording those tasks. Videos are a powerful way to offload the tasks you don't want to do anymore. Dissect the task and show the logic behind it. Upwork is a great place to find freelancers that you can offload your tasks to.

[54:15] It's going to cost you time at the beginning. The first task you should offload is something that is not going to directly affect a customer. Start with the admin or support work, the lowest hanging fruit.

[57:50] Processes before people. You build the processes then you bring in the people to run them.

hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Prospecting for Quality Clients with Ben Day - Encore Presentation Oct 20, 2022

Show notes

Ben had graduated with his degree in 2017 and worked part-time for a local music guy, which was great until music turned out to be not very lucrative. After getting hooked by a Facebook ad, Ben decided to check out a great course that helped him launch his bookkeeping business.

[3:00] 99% of what Ben focuses on is real estate. Oklahoma has a growing real estate market so it made a lot of sense to niche down.

[5:20] Ben spent around 6 hours per day networking and connecting with various professionals in the market, specifically meetup.com, and that time evolved into those people asking Ben to help them with their books.

[7:00] Take it slow, ask questions, engage and offer value before you ask for money.

[8:05] Ben formed his business in a way that facilitated a freedom lifestyle. He found that building a virtual business is more of a challenge but is totally worth it.

[10:20] Fear setting is one of the major challenges that Ben has overcome in growing his business. Every day he finds new fears around talking to people and seeing what he can do to conquer them.

[11:45] Understanding when to upgrade the conversation after offering value is a particularly tricky subject.

[12:10] Fear is the number one impediment in not getting the life that you want.

[12:50] Ben considers himself an introvert but has learned how to turn it on when necessary. There is nothing easy or attractive to the process, you walk up to someone, shake their hand and say something. Then you rinse and repeat that process.

[14:50] Nothing makes you feel quite like a rockstar than providing value to someone and them saying "this is the best thing I've ever had, I'm going to tell everyone about you." Knowing you're doing a good job does wonders for your business.

[16:20] Ben's business is a one-man show other than his marketing and web design. He also has coaches and mentors that help him out as well. Entrepreneurship is incredibly lonely and having good people around you is vital.

[18:10] Entrepreneurs wear too many hats and are afraid of taking time off, and that feeling becomes very real when they begin to scale.

[20:30] Ben's challenge is in pre-qualifying leads. There is a huge difference between telling someone how to do something and being paid to do it for them.

[21:50] Conversations and communication is where most things fall apart. Real estate is especially tricky for this because of differing definitions of the term "transaction".

[23:50] When you don't have to take on more clients to cover your costs, you can be more selective about the clients you work with.

[24:40] There are four components to scale, there is Strategy, Team, Execution, and Profitability.

[27:00] Make your prospects work to see you. Once you have clients, you want new clients to vet themselves for you. Marketing is more about repelling the people you don't want than it is attracting the people you do want.

[29:30] List out all of the things you want to know before talking with someone. What does your perfect client look like? Most of us are people pleasers, you need to make your clients work for it so you don't waste their time or yours.

[32:25] Creating a qualifying funnel is a great way to establish authority in your niche as well as filter your prospects down to the right people.

[36:30] Bookkeeping is a relationship business, it's not about numbers. During the interview process, you should emulate as much as possible what the workflow will be like. Never give someone a proposal after speaking with them only once, there should be a few conversations before that point.

[41:45] One of the keys to financial statements is getting them in a timely manner. Any homework you give to a prospective client should be completed quickly.

[43:15] You have to think about who your ideal client is. Most of the time we think we know who we want to serve but you have to get very detailed about that. Be slow to take on new clients. Do you have one or two clients that you like a lot? What traits about those clients make them a pleasure to work with?

[46:30] Without being explicit about your price, you can list a minimum amount on your qualifying page that will filter out the wrong kinds of clients.

[47:45] You have to deliver value in advance. Take the information a potential client has given you and tell them how to run their business more effectively. If you put enough value into the marketplace, you will get value in return. Take the pressure off and deliver the value before you give them the proposal.

[50:15] Know what you're going to charge them once that's done and put it on the table then be silent. Let them decide. The more decision points you give your client, the more friction they encounter.

[52:40] Stick with your pricing and never budge. If you're working with friends and family, double it.

hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Discussing Pay Expectations with Qualified Candidates Oct 18, 2022

Show notes

Why should you ask candidates about their salary expectations? Co-hosts Hannah Robinson and Melissa Honan discuss how business owners can set salary expectations based on a candidate's skill level, experience, and location.

Hannah and Melissa start the conversation by announcing that this will be their last episode on the podcast. Ben Robinson will go back to hosting the show next season.
Hannah explains how inflation is changing salary expectations and making it harder to attract high-quality candidates.
According to Melissa, the first step to navigating pay expectations is having an idea of the type of candidates your budget can attract.
Melissa believes business owners should set a pay range for salary negotiations because stating a specific number can weaken your negotiating power.
Hannah and Melissa describe why business owners should create and stick to a realistic business budget.
Melissa is a strong proponent of fair pay and keeping up with inflation but never at the expense of your business.
For Melissa, your business model needs an update if you cannot afford a yearly pay increase to keep up with inflation.
Hannah describes why business owners should always have a number in mind before going into pay negotiations.
Hannah reveals the frustrating feeling of overlooking the "perfect" candidates because their pay expectation exceeds your budget.
Melissa and Hannah agree that having a good team with less profit is better than having higher profits and managing a bad team.
Melissa highlights the differences between managing pay rates for full-time employees and subcontractors.
Hannah illustrates why new business owners should hire subcontractors first before going after full-time employees.
Melissa points out the direct link between higher pay and higher employee retention rates - but company culture and work-life balance also play a significant role in retention.
Employee turnover isn't always your fault - but at the bare minimum, Melissa believes business owners should always plan for turnover.

Mentioned in this episode:

hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Make a Job Offer Your Candidate Can't Refuse Oct 13, 2022

Show notes

You think you've found someone who would be a good fit for your bookkeeping business. How do you make them a job offer they can't refuse? In this episode, co-hosts Hannah Robinson and Melissa Honan go through the key steps to creating enticing job offers that get you the right candidates every time.

Hannah and Melissa start the conversation by describing how making an offer is arguably one of the most important elements of hiring.
Melissa shares her go-to strategy for making a job offer that candidates simply cannot refuse.
According to Melissa, the first step to making a job offer is sticking to your budget - be a little flexible with pay expectations, but never pay more than you can afford.
Hannah and Melissa discuss the impact of inflation on the job market and how candidates have way higher pay expectations than 12 months ago.
Melissa explains that making a job offer is a high-stakes negotiation, and business owners should always expect the candidates to counter.
For Hannah, incentives that have nothing to do with salaries are a great way to attract high-quality candidates.
Melissa agrees with Hannah's thoughts on incentives and reveals they provide benefits like self-care reimbursements to try to sweeten the deal.
Melissa shares what she would do if she found the perfect candidate but they couldn't agree on reimbursements.
Melissa highlights the benefits of paying candidates for taking part in the practical interview.
Hannah believes hiring is like business dating - it's risky, and you will get catfished, but never lower your expectations.
For Melissa, the most unrealistic candidate demand she's ever heard was when a prospect expected the business to cover health insurance.
Melissa doubles down on her earlier comments on sticking to your budget - the right candidate is out there somewhere; you just have to go out and find them.

Mentioned in this episode:

hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Interviewing Candidates for Better Hiring Results Oct 11, 2022

Show notes

Want to learn how to conduct successful interviews and improve your skills in assessing candidates? Co-hosts Hannah Robinson and Melissa Honan go through the main elements of an effective interview and how you can significantly increase your chances of hiring the right person.

Hannah starts the conversation by highlighting how interviewing can be daunting, especially if you're a new business owner.
For Hannah, the first step to having a successful interview is being clear on the type of person you're looking for.
Melissa goes through the benefits of having a well-defined interview process.
Hannah and Melissa agree that business owners would rather not fill the position than panic hire - a bad hire can be expensive, both financially and culturally.
If it's your first time hiring, Melissa feels the best way to develop a hiring process is to Google other people's processes, implement them, and learn as you go.
Melissa tries to compare an interview to a romantic first date and the risks involved when it's not a match.
For skill-based roles, Melissa believes business owners should have a practical interview to gauge the interviewee's understanding of the tasks.
Hiring is risky. This is why Melissa feels businesses should never ignore the red flags in an interviewee.
Hannah reveals the quality of candidates is more important than quantity - business owners should have a screening structure on their job posts to weed out unqualified candidates.
Hannah and Melissa go through the red and green flags to watch out for in a job interview.
According to Melissa, the best way to improve your interview process is to ask for feedback after a successful hire.
Hannah points out that interviewees can make a positive first impression by asking well-thought-out questions at the end of an interview.
Melissa adds that not having questions at the end of an interview is a huge missed opportunity - this is the interviewer's way of gauging your level of interest in the job and your chance to end the interview on a high.
Melissa shares her thoughts on candidates asking about compensation during the interview.
Hannah and Melissa share their past interview experiences and the difference between being the interviewer and the interviewee.

Mentioned in this episode:

hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

How to Write Effective Job Postings Oct 06, 2022

Show notes

Want to know how to create job postings that attract stronger candidates? Co-hosts Hannah Robinson and Melissa Honan discuss creative, inviting ways to write effective job postings that filter out unqualified applicants and attract the ideal candidate.

Hannah introduces the topic by highlighting the struggles new business owners face when it comes to job postings.
Melissa highly recommends the Bookkeepers.com community for posting bookkeeping jobs due to its high talent quality..
While the job description must be clear and straight to the point, Melissa feels the job posting is where your personality and creativity should stand out.
To get your job posting to stand out, Hannah is convinced you must be creative - This is why Melissa uses Bernie Sanders memes to gain people's attention.
Hannah and Melissa agree that hiding "trivia eggs" in the job posting is a great way to ensure applicants read the entire post. Applicants that do not respond to the trivia are automatically filtered out.
For Melissa, the last thing you would want is to hire a bookkeeper who is not detail oriented. The job posting is the best place to screen for such soft skills.
Melissa goes through the benefits of using video in your job posting.
Hannah explains why the job description needs to accompany the job posting, helping applicants apply for the right positions.
According to Melissa, networking and being part of a professional community is by far the best way to land exceptional team members.
Should employers disclose pay information on job posts? Hannah and Melissa believe they should.
Melissa adds that making prospects go through the entire application process without letting them know your pay structure is just unethical.
Hannah also points out that higher-quality candidates that know their worth will not waste time applying to jobs that don't have a clear pay structure.
Hannah explains why the job posting is the ideal place to highlight the benefits of working for your organization.
Hannah and Melissa discuss the pros and cons of posting jobs on recruiting sites like Indeed and Upwork.
Melissa believes business owners should consider in-house talent before going after new employees.

Mentioned in this episode:

hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Flat Rate vs Hourly Rate: Which is Better For Bookkeepers? Oct 04, 2022

Show notes

When should you use fixed rates versus hourly rates for your bookkeeping tasks? In today's episode, co-hosts Hannah Robinson and Melissa Honan explore the pros and cons of flat-rate pricing versus hourly billing - and which payment type works best for a bookkeeping business.

Melissa starts the conversation by highlighting the difference between paying an hourly rate versus a flat rate and what the law says about it.
For Melissa, all new hires should be paid a flat rate until they get accustomed to the core business processes.
When working with subcontractors, Hannah believes a fixed rate will get things done faster than an hourly rate.
Melissa goes through the benefits of setting a fair rate for both the employer and the employee.
Hannah reveals how hourly rates are mostly influenced by the economy and the demand for skilled labor.
According to Melissa, one of the main benefits of hiring full-time employees is they only have to worry about production quality and not putting in as many hours as possible.
Melissa doesn't really care how an individual gets paid as long work gets done and the rate is fair for the parties involved.
Melissa shares what she would do to keep high-performing employees during a recession.
Hannah and Melissa discuss the benefits of having a consistent pay structure - there's nothing worse than working for an organization with inconsistent pay.
Hannah explores a simple way to pay employees according to your budget and still attract top talent.
Melissa is a huge advocate of fair pay - employees are more likely to leave if they believe the potential pay is not worth their time.
Hannah and Melissa agree that business owners should not take advantage of the job market and pay less for high-quality labor.
Melissa breaks down the benefits of implementing a bonus structure in your business - bonuses are a great way to improve employee retention, increase productivity, and thank employees for their contribution in the team.
Melissa goes through the mistakes she made when developing a pay structure for her business.

Mentioned in this episode:

hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Subcontractors vs Employees: Which One is Best For Bookkeeping Businesses? Sep 29, 2022

Show notes

Should you hire an employee or a subcontractor for your bookkeeping business? Co-hosts Hannah Robinson and Melissa Honan break down the difference between hiring an employee and a subcontractor, their pros and cons, and when it makes sense to go with either.

Melissa starts the conversation by describing the difference between hiring employees and hiring subcontractors.
Melissa explains why it's important that subcontractors and employees be held to the same performance standard.
For Melissa, performing a task audit is the first step to understanding whether you need to hire an employee or a subcontractor.
Hannah and Melissa go through the difference in workload for sub-contractors and employees.
Melissa breaks down the steps to making a successful first hire in your small business.
Melissa believes it's more beneficial for your first hire to be a subcontractor than an employee while you figure out what you want.
Hiring and onboarding is expensive. To help increase the odds of a successful hire, Melissa believes all new team members should go through a 90-day probationary period.
According to Hannah, the most effective way to reduce employee turnover is to make it clear from the beginning that you're investing in a long-term relationship.
Melissa adds that the goal of every successful hire is to be clear on the level of commitment you expect from the new team member.
Melissa highlights that employees don't like too much freedom - as a business owner, you must set clear expectations, rules, and processes.
Hannah describes how having a well-defined business structure leads to increased productivity.
While there's no way to guarantee an employee stays with you long term, Melissa believes maintaining a positive work environment will increase their odds of staying.
Hannah and Melissa share the pain of investing in an employee only for them to move on.

Mentioned in this episode:

hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

How to Write a Compelling Job Description Sep 27, 2022

Show notes

Want to know how to write a compelling job description? Co-hosts Hannah Robinson and Melissa Honan discuss the process of writing compelling job descriptions. They break down the key components of a well-written job description and explain why it should accurately reflect the duties and expectations of the position.

Hannah starts the conversation by highlighting the negative impacts of a poorly written job description - new hires feel conned when the job description doesn't match the role.
Hannah explains that crafting a compelling job description is essential to attracting the most qualified candidates.
Melissa and Hannah agree that transparency is the most important part of writing a persuasive job description.
For Melissa, a properly written job description is supposed to give applicants the best perspective of what it's like to work with you.
Melissa believes a great job description should accurately highlight the responsibilities and duties of the position.
Hannah and Melissa go through the best places to post job openings and attract qualified candidates every time.
Melissa breaks down the benefits of creating a video job description - and why she believes video is an impactful and highly personalized approach to hiring the right talent.
Hannah asks Melissa what should come first, the job description or the title of the role. Melissa feels the job description should come first - look at the type of help you need and build from there.
Melissa shares her job description writing process - you don't have to be Shakespeare to write a compelling job description. Just be clear and to the point.
Hannah and Melissa discuss the process of writing job descriptions for non-defined or complicated roles.

Mentioned in this episode:

hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

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