The Successful Bookkeeper Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

"A lot of people say, 'Oh retirement, that's for old people. I don't need to be thinking about that now.' But it is just good cash flow management. It's good financial planning. To be thinking not only about what I am spending my money on today as a business owner but also what does this look like in 5, 10, 20 years."
-Courtenay Shipley

As bookkeepers, it is our job to help others understand how the flow of money works in and around their business. A critical yet often overlooked part of that, is how we plan for the future. It's easy to get excited by success, so much so that we don't feel the need to save for a rainy day. This is true for our clients too. They've worked so hard. They want to enjoy the profits of their labour.

When planning for the future, it's hard to ignore the glaring warnings of our own mortality. This is perhaps why we take the first most accessible retirement plan we find, and let it tick over in the background. 

But saving doesn't have to be from a place of fear in what the future holds, you can create a plan that celebrates your success and keeps you solvent long after you've stopped working. 

Courtenay Shipley, founder of Retirement Planology is this episode's featured guest. She has spent her career helping businesses navigate the retirement landscape in a way that aligns with their values, saves time and makes their money work harder. In this episode, Courtenay and Michael discuss all things retirement, from finding the right plan to essential resources for success.

If you are finding yourself in a place of success but aren't sure how to provide yourself and your employees with a plan for the future then this is the episode for you!

During this interview, you'll learn...

• The value of building long-term financial freedom
• How to effectively plan for the future
• The importance of sticking to the plan

To find out more about Courtenay, click here.

Connect with with her on LinkedIn.

Time Stamps
 
01:46 - Courtenay discusses her career journey 
05:28 - Planning for the future
08:54 - Finding the right fit
13:47 - Sticking to the plan
16:34 - The essentials of a great retirement plan
18:06 - Building your financial freedom
23:23 - Resources that can help you
25:50 - Getting integrated 
28:35 - Learning more from Courtenay 

This episode is brought to you by our great friends at Payworks!

If you're looking for a reliable and affordable payroll platform for your business, look no further!

To learn more, visit Payworks.ca TODAY!

"Oftentimes, we're our own worst enemy, and so we listen to the one negative comment or the one negative undertone that someone gives us, and we hold onto that."
-Trixy Castro

Every challenge provides an opportunity for growth. A chance to build a mindset of resilience, that will let us face any problem with a mind to solutions. That bias and barriers to success exist, is not in question. What is in question is how we react to them. 

We spend far too much time paying attention to the opinions of people who aren't paying our bills. It is time to cut out the noise, get focused and start chasing our goals with everything we have in us. Criticism is important, but we must cultivate the ability to filter out whether it is really something about us that we need to work on, or about someone else wanting us to feel as bad as they do.

Trixy Castro, business executive and entrepreneur, is this episode's featured guest. She has spent her career founding and selling businesses while breaking down every barrier put in her path. She speaks powerfully about the need to build a resilient mindset, embrace challenges as learning experiences and how to get focused on your goals.

If you are struggling with negative self-talk, quitting before you've even begun, or after a few bumps in the road, then this is the episode that will set you free of your limiting beliefs and put you on the path to enduring success.

During this interview, you'll learn...

• The value of embracing challenges as learning opportunities
• How to build a resilient mindset
• The importance of getting focused on your goals

To find out more about Trixy, click here.

Connect with her on LinkedIn.

Time Stamps

01:46 - Trixy discusses her career journey 
13:35 - The path to success 
19:07 - There's always a way around
22:37 - Building a resilience mindset
27:10 - Getting it done

"Spend 15 minutes a day every single day on something that matters to you. I don't care if it matters to anybody else, but something that matters to you, and preferably do all this before you check your email."
-Sam Bennett

Habit building is hard, especially when we aren't always sure which way to direct our energy. The more we build a habit, the more momentum we gain, and the less we want to quit whatever it is we are doing. Unfortunately, the same is true of negative habits. If we struggle to even try, that is all that will happen. We'll give up before we start to see results, and the more we give up, the more we'll keep giving up.

We can't just copy others and hope to find the same success, we aren't them. It's scary to realize there is no right way to success, there is only our own way, all we have to do is lean into it, and build it up with good habits. Success is what follows those good habits. 

Sam Bennett, author of The 15-Minute Method, has spent her career helping overthinkers get things done, 15 minutes at a time. She has created an environment to help people live their best, most fulfilling and productive lives. 

In this episode, Sam and Michael illustrate the power of the 15-minute method, how to beat procrastination, and how to spend more time in your flow state. If you are an overthinker, constantly worried about making the right choices, then this is the episode that will get you believing you can be who you want to be.

During this interview, you'll learn...

• The power of the 15-Minute Method
• How to spend more time in your flow
• The importance of overcoming procrastination

To find out more about Sam, click here.

To explore the Get it done! Daily Practicum, visit this link.

Connect with Sam on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram

Time Stamps

01:35 - Sam discussses her career journey 
04:30 - Adjusting to a new reality 
10:10 - The power of 15 minutes 
17:43 - Getting to grips with procrastination
20:58 - Building time in your flow state 
32:03 - The daily practicum 

This episode is brought to you by our great friends at Forwardly!

With Forwardly, you can send free instant payments while keeping funds in your bank longer, receive instant payments for 80% less than credit card fees and enjoy same-day ACH—absolutely free!

The best part?

You can leap into the future of business payments with Forwardly and possibly earn yourself a FREE iPhone 15 Pro this summer!

Visit thesuccessfulbookkeeper.com/forwardly for more information! 

"The sales conversation isn't about the details of how we do the bookkeeping, it's about, what are the benefits of that for a business owner."
-Peter Cook

Most of us would say that referrals have been our best avenues to new business. Yet when quizzed about how we get them, many of us have no system or proactive approach in place with which to attract them. 

It's a fine line, make too many cold calls/posts and no one will take us seriously, but sitting back and waiting for things to happen to us, doesn't yield positive results either. This coupled with the issue that most of us are good at bookkeeping, not marketing, can make gaining and retaining clients a real problem.

Peter Cook, co-author of The E-Myth Bookkeeper and co-founder of Pure Bookkeeping, is this episode's featured guest. He takes a deeper look at effective systems and strategies for marketing, and how prioritizing meaningful connections can make all the difference.

If you are unsure how to market yourself, but not really gaining any meaningful leads, then this is the episode to help you move away from telling people what you're good at, and start actively showing them.

During this interview, you'll learn...

• The value of letting your skills speak for themselves 
• How to build meaningful relationships
• The importance of being proactive in your approach to referrals

To find out more about Peter, click here.

Connect with him on LinkedIn.

Get your copy of The E-Myth Bookkeeper.

To learn about Pure Bookkeeping, visit this link.

Catch-up on the full E-Myth Bookkeeper Peter Cook podcast series with past episodes below!

Episode 1

Episode 2 

Episode 3

Episode 4

Time Stamps

02:09 - Growing your bookkeeping business 
08:10 - Systems for marketing 
13:00 - Seven effective marketing strategies for bookkeepers
16:52 - Building meaningful relationships
24:22 - Creating referral systems 
28:30 - Is paid advertising worth it? 

This episode is brought to you by Pure Bookkeeping. It's the proven system to grow your bookkeeping business.

"We are in a supply/demand economy that favours the suppliers. And it's economics 101, if you have a supply shortage that can't meet all the demand of the market, then you increase price."
-Joe Woodard

Compliance is one of the biggest realms of challenge for bookkeepers, but it also provides consistent opportunity. The rules and regulations change so frequently that it can be hard to keep up, and if we feel that way, just imagine how non-bookkeeping businesses feel about it.

Supply and demand rule the market, and there is always going to be a supply of potential clients who would rather just pay someone to take care of the books for them. Despite this, we have to be careful not to fall into the trap of undercharging and over-promising. 

Having hundreds of clients might feel like a success, but it probably doesn't to the clients who barely get any of our time and, of course, if you're overworked for long enough, burnout will likely be in your future.

Joe Woodard, acclaimed speaker and trainer, is this spotlight episode's featured guest. He has spent his career helping businesses solve their complex operational needs and scale to new heights. In this episode, Joe and Louie Prosperi explore the importance of pricing, how to value your skills and experience and the role practice, planning and AI have in your business. 

If you are taking on more and more clients but are starting to fall behind your promises, then this is the episode to get you focused on building connections and pricing based on your unique abilities, not just how many people you can get on board.

During this interview, you'll learn...

• The value of having a solid plan & sticking to it
• How to value your skills & experience
• The importance of knowing your worth when it comes to pricing

To find out more about Joe, click here.

Connect with him on LinkedIn.

To buy your tickets for the upcoming Scaling New Heights conference, check out this link.

Time Stamps

01:30 - Getting to grips with compliance 
04:35 - Making the best of engagement letters 
06:55 - Staying on track 
09:54 - Knowing your price 
18:25 - Thinking long-term 
24:40 - Valuation & profitability 
29:58 - Practice, planning and AI

"If you want to stay viable in your bookkeeping business, you're going to have to make that shift, and make your customers understand that they need you, and value you and your thought process that AI can't do for them." -Lora Lonesberry   There can be no doubt that AI is changing our world. Yet we are not all as doomed to be replaced by technology as some would have us believe. AI, like all new inventions, offers us the chance to grow, by embracing a technology that can make our lives easier, while giving us more time to focus on the unique insights only we can provide.    Without challenges there can be no growth, they keep us on the cutting edge of industry, daring us to keep up, deepening our skill set, experience and knowledge. Experience that clients are in desperate need of. AI can do the numbers faster than us, but it can't contextualize them for the specific needs of a client. It can't understand the dreams and hopes tied up in our client's businesses.    Lora Lonesberry, owner of Positive Statements, is this episode's featured guest. She has spent her varied career helping people get proactive and creative when facing the challenges of business and personal growth. She speaks to the power of finding your niche and leveraging your unique skills to overcome any challenge and the need for strong community networks.    If you are struggling to keep up, and don't know which tools to use or how to leverage your skills, then this is the episode to get you asking the question; 'What might your business look like if you implemented strategies to use AI to enhance, not replace, your services?'   During this interview, you'll learn...

• How to leverage AI to improve the success of your business
• The value of thinking about the little things
• The importance of community & networking 

To find out more about Lora, click here.   Connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter.   Time Stamps   01:47 - Making the most of changes  04:18 - Embracing a change in thinking 07:06 - Getting to grips with AI 21:08 - Thinking about the little things  26:04 - Levelling up on your gaps  30:32 - Finding your niche

"People do that with their bookkeeping business, they start, they want to get some clients and they want to make some money, but they actually really have no idea what the journey looks like and where they are trying to get to. It's a very different experience if you don't know where you're trying to get to."
-Peter Cook

There is a common misconception among business owners, that we are never truly successful unless we can claim to have done everything ourselves. While there are advantages to stepping out of others' shadows, it's also far more likely we'll get burned. 

There is nothing wrong with taking stock of what other business owners are doing and seeing how we might apply their approach to our own bookkeeping business. Walking the same path as someone else doesn't mean trying to walk precisely in their footprints. It's just a chance for us to enjoy a slightly easier path made possible by those who walked it before us. 

Peter Cook, co-author of The E-Myth Bookkeeper and co-founder of Pure Bookkeeping, is this episode's featured guest. This fourth episode on The E-Myth Bookkeeper series explores the bookkeeper's journey, the challenges of transitioning your business, and why sticking to the plan can make all the difference. 

If you are struggling to let go of old ideas about success, aren't sure how to move your business to the next phase of prosperity, or just want to get a better idea of what to expect on your journey, then this is the episode to show you it's okay to follow the trail.

During this interview, you'll learn...

• The value of sticking to the plan
• How to navigate transitioning your business  
• The importance of understanding the phases of your business 

To find out more about Peter, click here.

Connect with him on LinkedIn.

Get your copy of The E-Myth Bookkeeper.

Catch-up on the full E-Myth Bookkeeper with Peter Cook series with past episodes below!

Episode 1

Episode 2 

Episode 3

Time Stamps

02:01 - The bookkeeping business journey 
07:41 - Helping bookkeepers grow their businesses 
10:30 - The four stages of a bookkeeping business
16:26 - The challenges of transitioning your business 
24:21 - Creating your freedom 

This episode is brought to you by Pure Bookkeeping. It's the proven system to grow your bookkeeping business.

"You have to be willing to think a little bit differently about your business. If you follow what everyone else is doing, you're going to get the same results everybody got."
-Racheal Cook

Building a business is hard. There are so many barriers to success that the last thing we need is to get in our own way, either by supremely undervaluing our skills, or dramatically overestimating the market for them. We all want to follow our passions, but we need to temper that desire with the real-world potential of earning from it. 

We start our own businesses to gain the flexibility and freedom often not afforded to us elsewhere. But we must be careful not to let our pricing trap us into a situation where we may be our boss but have no time or energy for anything else. 

Racheal Cook, owner of the CEO Collective and host of the Promote Yourself To CEO podcast, is this episode's featured guest. She has spent her career helping women create sustainable success on their own terms. She speaks to the power of breaking free of entrepreneurial poverty, how to price your value, and why investing in relationships matters. 

If you are struggling, unsure why everyone else seems so successful, but you are working more and more hours and only being rewarded with less time and energy, then this is the episode to help level up your thinking into a more proactive and strategic mindset. 

During this interview, you'll learn...

• The value of investing in relationships
• How to break free of entrepreneurial poverty
• The importance of pricing for the value of your skills

To find out more about Racheal, click here. 

Connect with her on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Listen to Racheal's Promote Yourself To CEO podcast.

Time Stamps    

01:37 - Racheal discusses her career journey 
04:05 - Eliminating entrepreneurial poverty
08:12 - Finding the value in your offering
11:05 - Pricing for your business
13:01 - Underpriced & overworked 
17:50 - Lifetime client value
27:35 - Committing to building relationships 
32:10 - Promote yourself to CEO

This episode is brought to you by our great friends at Sage!

On May 30th at 5:30pm ET, join their team for an exciting night in Toronto to celebrate the launch of their new product, Sage for Accountants. :)

Meet fellow colleagues, enjoy free drinks and food, experience amazing entertainment, and best of all, get a chance to win an evening at the all-inclusive Blue Jays Suite! 

Spots are limited so make sure you secure your tickets TODAY by clicking this link. It's a party you don't want to miss!

 

"The importance of your own personal achievement needs to be equal to the importance of everyone else's achievement. We are all just harmoniously and fortunately moving towards the same thing: survival." 
-Mike Michalowicz

Are we working with the business or for the business? A great way to find out is to pay attention to the way you speak about the business. Are the successes and failures 'ours' or are they 'theirs'? From this simple recognition, we can build a really clear picture of who is sharing the vision and who doesn't feel like they belong.

From there, the hard work begins. In order to maintain our success, we have to make sure those who work with and for us are benefiting too. No one is an island unto themselves; we all need help and support to achieve our dreams. And when we reach our peak of success, we must look back and help those who have supported us on our journey to achieve their own idea of success.

Mike Michalowicz, author and keynote speaker, is this episode's featured guest. He has spent his career helping people eradicate entrepreneurial poverty, fixing and removing barriers to true success. Mike speaks powerfully about the need to understand your people, how to get inspired, and why remembering your past successes matters.

If you are struggling to share your vision, aren't sure how to recognize the contributions of others, or inspire them to action, then this is the episode to get you thinking less about your dream and more about 'our' dreams. 

During this interview, you'll learn...

• The value of inspiring others to achieve their dreams
• How to effectively communicate a shared vision
• The importance of taking stock of your success

To find out more about Mike, click here.

Connect with him on LinkedIn.

Buy his new book, All In: How Great Leaders Build Unstoppable Teams by visiting this link.

Time Stamps

01:47 - Becoming a great leader 
09:27 - Appreciating collective goals 
16:04 - Communicating a shared vision 
21:04 - How great leaders inspire their teams 
24:38 - Creating psychological ownership

This episode is brought to you by our great friends at Forwardly!

With Forwardly, you can send free instant payments while keeping funds in your bank longer, receive instant payments for 80% less than credit card fees and enjoy same-day ACH—absolutely free!

The best part?

You can leap into the future of business payments with Forwardly and possibly earn yourself a FREE iPhone 15 Pro this summer!

Visit thesuccessfulbookkeeper.com/forwardly for more information! 

"You don't have to be the best salesperson in the world. To be good at marketing a bookkeeping business, you just need to be good enough that you stand out in that crowd. You have to get good enough, you don't have to become the world's best marketer. "
- Peter Cook

We might be excellent bookkeepers, but that doesn't mean we are automatically great business managers. It's important to take the time to figure out where our skills are strong and where they could use improvement. If your passion and skill lie in the numbers, there is nothing wrong with focusing your attention there. 

Things start to slip or feel unmanageable in our businesses when we find ourselves spending a lot of time doing things we don't love. Even if we are not in a position to outsource the work, by connecting with others, we open up a world of experience, where we can find people who have already solved our problems. And whose problems we may have already solved. 

Peter Cook, co-author of the E-Myth Bookkeeper and co-founder of Pure Bookkeeping, is this episode's featured guest. This third episode on The Emyth Bookkeeper explores management, the challenges of growing a business, and why community matters. 

If you are drowning in your business, or want to learn more about what it takes to be a better manager, then this is the episode to help you take stock of your skills and explore connections with people who can help.

During this interview, you'll learn...

• The value of challenges as steps to growth
• How to manage your business with your passion in mind
• The importance of community in solving problems 

Click here to find out more about Peter.

Connect with Peter on LinkedIn.

Get your copy of The E-Myth Bookkeeper.

Click here to listen to the first episode.

Click here to listen to the second episode.

Time Stamps
03:00 - The challenge of growing a business 
06:23 - Getting good enough 
08:45 - Taking score of your business 
12:46 - Finding your people 
17:24 - Building a business you love 

This episode is brought to you by Pure Bookkeeping. It's the proven system to grow your bookkeeping business.