Happy Mother’s Day for all the mum’s around Australia! I hope you were made to feel special and surrounded by your family who love you. There is nothing quite like sitting up in bed, watching your children carefully bring breakfast into your room after having lovingly prepared toast and tea and then watching the excitement on their face as you show appreciation for all their efforts and their gifts. I’ve still got a fridge magnet made of cardboard with the word “mum” in pasta and spray painted in gold that was made in primary school!

In business, there is nothing more satisfying than when a client shows their appreciation for who you are and for everything you do for them. When we go above and beyond what the job requires, provide more than just impeccable books and offer additional services we become an integral part of their team which we need to be paid well for and to be shown appreciation from time to time.

But what if you aren’t appreciated by your client?

• You have set up systems in their office to gather the information you need but they don’t follow them
• They don’t take time to answer questions so that you can give them reliable information
• They leave everything until the last minute until it suddenly becomes a priority for them
• They want you to be “creative” with dodgy purchases
• They won’t make time to sit with you to educate them around their finances
• They tell you how to do your job, how long it will take, how much it will cost them and when they will pay you!

AND THEN THEY SACK YOU BECAUSE YOU WON’T COMPLY AND COMPLAIN TO EVERYONE THAT YOU WERE A BAD BOOKKEEPER!

It’s hard to take. It hurts. You are a person of integrity. You can honestly say that you did everything possible to make this work. He has his point of view and he will justify why he failed by blaming you. The alternative is that he would have to admit that he was wrong (or at least contributed) and that’s unlikely.

There are a few things that you can do:

• While you are licking your wounds surround yourself by family and friends who know your integrity and love you for who you are
• When you are in the right head space be honest with yourself and analyse your contribution to the failure and implement strategies to avoid that from happening again
• Throw yourself into those clients who do value your contribution to their business
• Continue with your marketing strategies
• Make sure you are not too busy to appreciate those who are helping you

So today, in the next five minutes, make sure you thank someone or acknowledge someone for a contribution they have made to you or your business. Because for them, nothing will be more satisfying than your appreciation.

And on that note I’d like to thank everyone who has written back to let me know that the Word from Deb has made a difference to them. It makes a huge difference to me … and I appreciate it every time. Thanks.

PS Had a great couple of days in Sydney and Brisbane with the Grow Your Bookkeeping Business Bootcamp, and looking forward to Perth and Melbourne over the next couple of weeks. There are still a few spaces in each, so if you’re in Perth and can join us on Mon 21/5, or Melbourne on Thur 31/05 Go to www.bookkeepingprofits.com.au/boot-camp to check it out. I would love to see you there.

We’ve now returned from holidays and highlights were definitely Mayan ruins and snorkeling in fresh water Cenotes in Mexico with colourful fish and huge caverns filled with stalactites and stalagmites.  Put that one on your list!

Now back to reality and hitting the ground running! I’m madly finishing off the updates to the Pure Bookkeeping System for release during the Bookkeeping Bootcamp and ready for our licensees in the next few weeks. With less than a week to go to the start of the Bootcamp Peter Cook and I are getting very excited about spending a day in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth & Melbourne over the next couple of weeks giving great bookkeepers strategies to grow their business. What I love about the content of the Bootcamp is the fact that we have got a full day to spend so there’s time for “workshop” type activities like creating a Business Plan on a page for the 12/13 FY. We’re going to make sure that everyone who attends will be completely sure about what their goals are and strategies in place to help them achieve that. That’s working ON your business and giving you an opportunity to change the trajectory of it.

A trajectory is the path that a moving object follows through space as a function of time according to Wikipedia where I also got this diagram of a bullet hitting a target. Let’s say you’re standing on a spot and you can see clearly where the target is. As you aim for it you notice that you need to adjust your trajectory just a little otherwise you’re going to miss it.

A good analogy for business. The “spot” in business is a point in time (e.g. the Bootcamp). The target is the Business Plan on a page that you will create that day along with other stuff. Being clear you’re your target is for 12/13, creating effective strategies to hit the target and being persistent and determined to see it through MUST make a difference. It’s impossible not to.

Albert Einstein said the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. It seems to me you have three choices:

• Attend the Bootcamp and guarantee that you will dedicate the time to create a plan and the strategies you need
• If you simply cannot attend, promise yourself that you will set aside a day in June to create a plan and the strategies you need
• Do nothing to change the trajectory of your business (and nothing will change)

Am I being a bit harsh? That’s one way of looking at it but here’s another view – let’s call it tough love. It’s what we do for our kids when we know they will be better off even though you know they are going to suffer a bit until they get through it. If you want to grow a profitable bookkeeping business for 12/13 and change the trajectory with a plan and strategies in place you have to spend time NOW doing that and stick to your plan regardless of what comes at you (and stuff will I can promise you that).

I’m fired up and want more than anything to see you be profitable and have the lifestyle you always thought you would get running your own business. Is that what you really want? What are you prepared to do about it NOW?

Although spaces are limited because of venue sizes, if your choice is to book into the Bootcamp it may not be too late. Go to www.bookkeepingprofits.com.au/boot-camp to register. I would love to see you there.

We are in the last week of our holidays and waiting at the airport in Cancun leaving Mexico and returning to LA for a few more days. And we stuffed up. We had bought small gifts for our family carefully chosen with each person in mind. Our daughter’s boyfriend loves spicy food so we selected a small bottle of hot salsa with a hand-made Mexican figurine glued to the bottle. It was something a little bit different. We decided for safe-keeping to bring the bottle in our carry-on luggage instead of checking it in forgetting that the allowable size for fluids in carry-on is 350ml and the bottle was 400ml. So we had to leave it behind. To say that I was unhappy was an understatement!

OK so let’s put that in perspective. We are on an overseas holiday during BAS-ON so it’s really not that big a deal but initially I wasn’t able to think that clearly. I was furious with myself for being stupid and not packing the bottle with our check-in luggage. Since my husband Neil and I started traveling overseas about five years ago we created a mantra that we have often used while traveling to help us quickly overcome unexpected issues. We say “no phasements”! In other words, there is a good chance that despite our best plans it is possible that the unexpected will happen like this or worse. Whether we let that spoil the rest of our holiday is our choice. We can stay angry or upset or we can get over it quickly by adapting, improvising or just simply letting it go.

In business there are often times where the unexpected happens despite your best efforts. Some things are out of your control like if a client suddenly sacks you saying they weren’t happy even though you know you have consistently delivered uncompromising service and they have distorted the truth rather than taking responsibility. And some things are in your control and maybe you just stuffed up.

My list of stuff-ups while growing my business is vast! And after initially beating myself up about each one and worrying about the consequences I make sure I don’t wallow in that place too long. That’s where an attitude of “No phasements” can help, along with a friend or mentor who understands you to pick you up, dust you off and send you on your way again.

I also ask myself an important question – “What system do I need to create to avoid that from ever happening again?” I take responsibility for what happened even if I wasn’t directly involved. I’m the Leader of my business and that’s what effective Leaders need to do. It could be a system about how the bookkeeping is done, a system about how you’re going to find great bookkeepers or it could be a system related to how you administer and manage your business.

I would love to hear what strategies you use when the unexpected happens.

Also Pete’s put up a new 12 minute video with some great tips about what to do at the different stages of a bookkeeping business – check it out.

And if you’re already a “Friend” feel free to post comments or thoughts whenever you like.

My husband, Neil, and I are overseas on holidays for three weeks leaving my fabulous 2IC, Bernie, to hold the fort for my business and get the BAS’ lodged and my billings done while I’m away. This time we are visiting the States and Mexico. It’s our second trip to the States but this time staying at a magnificent Hotel in San Diego built in 1888 called the Hotel del Coronado. The rich and famous have visited here over the years and they made the iconic movie here “Some Like It Hot” with Marilyn Monroe.

They have exclusive (read expensive) shops within the Hotel and it was fun “window shopping”. In one of the shops the attendant commented on how lovely my leggings were and asked where did I buy them and what brand were they? I had this feeling that she expected me to prattle off fashion names like Yves Saint Laurent or D & G and something deep inside wished I cared about fashion labels a little more so I could do that! Unfortunately I blurted out “I have no idea” although I suspect I bought them from Target! I probably would have left a better impression if I indicated that I mix in the right circles and wear the right clothes. In this instance it’s not important but don’t get me wrong. We all work hard from time to time to keep up appearances and sometimes that works, but in business keeping up appearances is a double-edged sword.

Just before our first trip to the States 5 years ago I made some decisions that were nearly fatal for my business. I’m going to assume you’ve heard about this so I’m not going to go into detail now. If you haven’t heard I invite you to come along to our next Seven Secrets of Growing Your Bookkeeping Business Webinar or our Bootcamp scheduled in May (register at www.bookkeepingprofits.com.au/boot-camp). In summary, because I had the wrong model, insufficient systems and too many wasted Admin hours my business nearly went under in 4-short-months!

What’s that got to do with appearance? Well after I returned from holiday none of my team, my clients or my network knew there was a problem. The appearance was that my business was doing well and that all the stakeholders were fulfilled and rewarded. That gave me time to turn the business around without anyone bailing. That was vital to the rebuild. The only reason I was able to keep up appearances was because Peter Cook and I sat down and had one of the most important meetings since I started my business – the choice was to push on or resign myself to the fact that my business couldn’t be salvaged. We decided that we could salvage the business and importantly went on to map out strategies to turn the business around.

Sometimes keeping up appearances does have a purpose but in business you can’t afford to deceive yourself for long. Create a spreadsheet to track every hour that you and your team spend in your business and face the facts. If you are running a business that is not profitable and you don’t sit down to create strategies to turn it around you are fooling yourself and you may as well get a job and work for someone else.

How are you faring? Are you keeping up appearances while you are growing it to black belt or do you need to face the facts?

Over the years I’ve used all of the 7 x 5 Marketing Strategies that Pete Cook talks about in the Seven Secrets of Growing Your Bookkeeping Business Seminars. However the one I focus on now is building relationships with Accountants and I’m always looking for opportunities to make contact with my client’s Accountant at least 4-6 times a year.

Here’s a few ways I do it:

• Meet with the Accountant to establish your relationship and expectations
• Email them with “high end” bookkeeping questions
• Send the information they need to get the tax return done
• Follow up with a call to make sure they have everything they need
• Refer suitable clients
• Drop in for coffee or a chat (as your friendship and trust builds)
• Support their relationship with their client at all times
• Give them the information they need to help their clients plan for June 30

It’s the last point that I want to mention this week. I’ve recently contacted clients who I thought would benefit from advice from their Accountant and asked them if they would like me to send their Reports and other information. Suitable clients are those who would like to know their potential tax obligations well in advance or would like to get advice about reducing their tax.

I contacted my own Accountant and asked what sort of information would Accountants need (in general) in order to provide their clients with strategic tax planning and this is what he said:

• P & L  for July-Mar
• Projections for April – June (could be based on LY but should be discussed with client)
• Client’s personal financial commitments prior to June 30 (what loans they may have outside the business that they may need to service before June 30 reducing their capacity to action any additional super contributions or other strategies)

Obviously you would charge your client for the time you spend preparing that information which is why you should contact them first. And the Accountant will definitely charge them, but if that results in significant tax savings or the certainty of their tax obligations then the client will feel empowered around their finances and you’ve done your job!

So what I recommend is that you send an email as soon as possible to your suitable clients with your plan and, once approved, send another email to their Accountants asking them what information they would need and by when. Both your client and their Accountant will be impressed by your proactive approach.  Once the Q3 BAS is completed is the perfect time to gather the information, discuss the numbers with the client and send onto the Accountant for their comments and timely advice.

I would love to hear of your successful marketing strategies and what you think of this one.

I would love to hear your thoughts.

I took my team out for dinner last week to a lovely restaurant which is run and owned by a client of mine (by the way, if you live in Melbourne I can highly recommend Bramble and Vine in Nicholson Street Carlton!).

I like to do this after every BAS period and at Christmas. It’s my way of thanking my team and acknowledging the fact that without them I wouldn’t have a business.
Why celebrate? The following has been adapted from an article written by Pratish from www.lifecoach-pro.com.

We are constantly bombarded with eternal clichés like “life’s a journey”, “enjoy the ride” or “be sure to stop and smell the roses”. While cringe-worthy at times, these expressions exist to firmly remind us to take time out to celebrate our experiences and that it is important to do so. Celebrating our successes helps keep us on track and motivated towards our goals.

The stronger the sense of purpose we have, the more meaningful our actions are to us as we take steps to fulfill that purpose. If one assumes that at some level people know what their purpose is, then we should take time out to acknowledge the steps they’ve taken to fulfill it. It is precisely this celebration that is needed to keep people both driven and happy.

Regardless of whether you have achieved something concrete or not, or even if you think you have failed, get what you can out of every experience and celebrate your progress. Do so before rushing head-first into the next project or goal. Take some time out to celebrate where you are right now – you deserve it and so do your team!
I realise it’s BAS-ON again and perhaps you didn’t take time out to celebrate the successful end to the last BAS period but it’s probably not too late although that knot in your stomach may have returned already and you know it won’t go away until it’s BAS-OFF again! I know that feeling. But I would encourage you to stop for a night and celebrate. If you’re on your own then go out with someone close to you who understands your journey or if you have a team do something that acknowledges their contribution to your Vision.

Pure Bookkeeping has something to celebrate this week. We now have a Facebook page and we would love to have you as our “friends”. Just click on the link below to “like” us and as a special thank you, you will receive the fantastic eBook “Love Your Business”. “Love Your Business” is a 3 part common sense method that will help your company grow and prosper.

Click here now to receive your free gift

We look forward to seeing you on Facebook!

I googled the meaning of the word belief:

• The mental act, condition or habit of placing trust or confidence in another (www.thefreedictionary.com)
• Acceptance of a fact, opinion or assertions as real or true without immediate personal knowledge (www.ardictionary.com)

In other words, believing is a decision to trust someone or something when you haven’t experienced it yourself. My eldest son has always learnt by doing things himself. When he was about 2 years old he was watching me iron the clothes. He pointed at the iron and said in baby talk “that”? I said “It’s an iron and very hot. Mustn’t touch or it will hurt”. The words had barely left my mouth as I turned to reach for another piece of clothing and he quickly reached up and touched it because he wanted to see for himself and guess what….it hurt! This way of learning has caused him grief from time to time but he quickly adapts and improvises. I have a great deal of respect for his courage.

When I was growing my bookkeeping business there was no “template” to follow and no colleague was prepared to share their secrets with their competition. So when I engaged Peter Cook as my business coach we met weekly to plan strategies and to discuss issues. We’d decide on a logical solution to the issues and I would test it. Then we would meet the next week and discuss what worked and what didn’t. We’d change the things that didn’t work and improve the systems that did. I met with Pete every week for several years, then fortnightly, then monthly for years after that. There were many times we discussed whether it was possible to grow a PROFITABLE bookkeeping business. Of course, now I KNOW it’s possible because of my experience, but there were times the only thing that kept me going was the belief Pete had in me and my determination to make it happen.

If you had a crystal ball which showed you, without a doubt that you were going to be successful you’d know for certain that you would not fail and that the hard work was worth it. You wouldn’t need to “believe” it because you had proof. No challenge big or small would diminish your enthusiasm, in fact overcoming hardships would make your story all the more powerful. You would play flat out.

Unfortunately I don’t have a crystal ball, but I do have the template to grow a profitable bookkeeping business and I’m happy to share that with you because when you are successful you help me fulfil my mission to empower business owners around their finances. However, just because you have the tools to be successful doesn’t guarantee that you will. Sorry. It still takes commitment, determination, passion and an unwavering focus in your Vision. But there’s another thing. To make the most out of the tools you need to make a decision to believe in someone or something other than what you have experienced.

So what do you believe?

Exercise has always been a part of my life. I was a sprinter as a girl and won many sporting awards throughout primary and secondary school. My love of exercise has continued only these days I’m not a sprinter but happy to take part in exercise classes or walk and jog on my treadmill. It’s more about health and fitness now that I’m in my 50’s, something I took for granted when I was younger. Now I have to work harder to maintain my health, have to watch what I eat, be more consistent with exercise and rest from time to time. Without exercise I don’t think I would have the energy to do all the things I do. The consequence of taking a break from exercise (because I’m too busy) is that within weeks I lose much of the aerobic fitness I worked so hard to gain. Sure, there are times when that happens and I don’t beat myself up over it but one of the incentives I have for maintaining a regular fitness regime is the thought of how hard it’s going to be to get my fitness back. Having a fitness goal, being committed to it and maintaining consistency creates momentum.

As my business grew randomly, I started to think about momentum and it all came together in one of those epiphanies you get from time to time. The revelation started when I was using an exercise video one day and the instructor said something like “when doing squats or lunges, pause for a moment at the bottom to reduce momentum. When you reduce momentum your muscles have to work harder and you’ll get better results”. Although I’d heard that over and over I didn’t think much of it until I took part in an adventure race about five years ago. It was a team event along part of the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. I was in the run leg which required rock hopping over boulders and small rocks for part of it. It was pretty scary with several people slipping and breaking or spraining their ankles. During the pre-event instructions the organiser said “Momentum is your friend!” He went on to explain that you will move more quickly and safely over the rocks if you put aside your fear and allow momentum to take over. It required planning your moves several steps ahead of you instead of looking down at your feet watching every step carefully. I didn’t get it when the organiser explained it, it was only when the race started that I quickly realised I would be there all day if I stopped and started trying to pick my way along a safe path. So I gathered my courage, took a leap of faith and felt a great sense of achievement when my part of the race was completed in good time.

Without momentum everything is much harder including growing your business. So how do you create momentum in your business? If you have a new practice your job is primarily Marketing. If you have five days a week available and only one day is spent billable, you need to spend at least another three on implementing all of your Marketing strategies. If you are already full and have started to engage bookkeepers you have to prioritise Marketing AND HR. That might seem bizarre when you are already full, but as you engage bookkeepers you need to be able to feed them consistently otherwise they won’t wait around for long. To create momentum at this level you need to spend at least a day a week on your Marketing strategies (especially meeting with Accountants and networking) AND you need to spend about a day a fortnight on recruiting and training great bookkeepers (more as the work flies in the door). Yes, it’s busy! But it’s the right activity to get you to Black Belt quickly.

What you will find is that creating momentum removes some of the distractions that can take you away from your goals and the need to make as many little decisions along the way. With the route planned and looking ahead instead of down, you won’t need to decide if you will have time to do Marketing this week or what day you need to set aside to implement one of your other Marketing strategies. You will have planned a week ahead, made the calls and booked appointments. Often we stop and start with the Marketing based on the amount of time we have available. That will result in your business growth being random and that won’t feed hungry bookkeepers. Not only that, creating momentum is more fun. When you know what your job is, have the tools to get the job done effectively and get busy doing the right activities then you create momentum in your business and that creates its own energy. You will feel it and so will your team.

In the past couple of weeks I have mentored several licensees about momentum and helped them create strategies to achieve that. During the conversations they had similar epiphanies. I hope you do too!

While I was away last week on the roadshow the ducted vacuum cleaner blocked up at home. I arranged for a man to come and fix it named Fred. While he was there he asked who tiled my bathroom because he wanted to do something similar. I was happy to pass on the phone number of a client of mine who did a fabulous job. When I mentioned he was a client, Fred asked what work I did for him. I said that I took care of his bookkeeping and then I asked “Who looks after yours?” Turns out he was trying to manage it himself and not doing a very good job of it. I gave him my business card and we’ve made a time to meet next week.

In the movie Sliding Doors with Gwyneth Paltrow the plot splits into two parallel universes based on the two paths her life could take depending on whether she catches a train or not. I’m not going to give away the ending if you haven’t seen it but it’s an interesting analogy when I think about the choice I just made to speak to Fred. OK maybe it’s not the life-changing choice which Gwyneth’s character was faced with, but choosing to ask Fred that key question led me to an opportunity to meet with a prospect and who knows what other opportunities might present themselves as a result of that contact (who he knows etc). I could have chosen not to ask that question and he would have left that day and it would have been a marketing opportunity lost. I’ve done it for the local plumber, carpet cleaner and electrician. In fact, any tradie who is a contractor and walks in my door to repair something. Not all have resulted in work but that’s not the point. It’s about the opportunity and choosing to take advantage of it.

Why wouldn’t you ask a question like that? Often it’s because it feels pushy or needy. It feels like selling and we justify why we don’t do that for lots of reasons (which are made up and not true). If that’s you (as it was with me) then I’ve listed down some question or comments to make it easier for you to nonchalantly use (especially when you are about to pay their bill) which might make it feel less of a “sell”:

• Who takes care of your BAS?
• You must keep your bookkeeper busy with all the work you have
• Did you get your BAS lodged on time?
• Are you happy with your bookkeeper?
• Do you have to give up a weekend to get your BAS done?

Give your family and friends a list of questions to make it easy for them to strike up a conversation with their contacts. Let them know that they are on your team and you need them to help.

Is that being pushy? It depends what story you are telling yourself. I know the service that I provide will empower my clients around their finances so I’m looking for opportunities to do that. Obviously you’re not meant to grill your prospects with 20 questions. I’ve found that just asking one or two opens the door wide enough for you to step into. But we often don’t take that step do we? We see opportunities but don’t take action. We watch potential clients drive away in their cars without asking leading questions that may result in business because we think we are being pushy (or something).

We don’t ask our clients for referrals for the same reasons. What we should be doing is rewarding our clients for referrals. You could by a 10 pack of gift certificates for the local cinemas or Director’s Suites and have them in your office ready to post when clients send you referrals. Imagine how they will feel when they take time out for themselves and a partner thanks to a gift from you. What a treat! If that’s what it takes for you to feel comfortable about asking for referrals then do it. Whatever is going to unblock your resistance.

Now that my marketing radar is finely tuned I take advantage of opportunities wherever I can and what’s exciting is that they seem to pop up even when I’m not really looking. You don’t have to be dressed in a suit with a marketing pack under your arm for opportunities to present themselves. There are lots of small business owners out there who are going about their business servicing, repairing and installing stuff for you or family and friends and many of them are not being empowered around their finances.

I would love to hear about an opportunity that has come your way this week which you seized with both hands and which resulted in new business for you.