Breaking Beliefs

Ever wonder how stepping out of your comfort zone can completely transform your career and personal life? Join Amy Vetter for an inspiring conversation with Derek Distin, VP of Community at Rightworks, as he reflects on his unique journey from a childhood of frequent moves to building supportive professional networks in the accounting industry. Through stories about his career pivots—from computer science and Spanish to hospitality and sales—and his experiences as a coach, Derek explores the essential power of leadership, resilience, and maintaining healthy personal habits. This episode offers actionable wisdom on embracing being "uncomfortable" and learning to show up for others, making it a must-listen for anyone looking to navigate professional transitions and foster authentic, lasting community connections.

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Navigating organizational shifts and personal transitions requires a strategic approach to change management that balances business objectives with human-centric leadership. In this article, B2B sales expert and VP of Sales at BILL, Stephanie Valenti, joins Amy to explore her unique journey—spanning her upbringing in a creative family and life as a young parent to her path into successful sales leadership. Beyond her professional milestones, Stephanie discusses how she guides teams through transitions using the change curve model while addressing key industry challenges like the impact of technology on the accounting profession. She also gets candid about her own experience with burnout, sharing how she learned to prioritize joy, set boundaries, and focus on self-reflection to build resilience. From the value of due diligence in professional partnerships to realigning your career trajectory, this conversation offers a powerful roadmap for building a more sustainable, fulfilling future.

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Rising from humble beginnings in North Central Indiana to becoming a powerhouse partner at Kemper CPA Group, LLP, Michelle Smith demonstrates that resilience and dedication can transform your career trajectory. In this episode, Michelle shares her inspiring journey of overcoming early challenges, including balancing motherhood at sixteen while pursuing her dream of becoming a CPA. Discover how she achieved significant audit practice growth, scaling her practice from $350,000 to over $1 million through strategic networking, board involvement, and an unwavering commitment to her professional vision. Join us as Michelle discusses the importance of hard work, maintaining strong relationships, and finding the essential work-life balance necessary to thrive in the competitive world of auditing.

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Growing up as a pastor’s kid in Grand Junction, Colorado, Chris West learned early on that leadership is not about directing others, but about serving them. Today, as the CEO of DWC CPAs and Advisors, Chris credits his servant leadership philosophy for his ability to maintain a people-first culture and guide the firm through its impressive 80-year history. Join us as Chris details his unique path, from his initial aspirations of becoming an archaeologist to his 30-year tenure at DWC CPAs. We discuss how his father’s influence shaped his commitment to listening, extending trust, and allowing himself to be influenced by those he leads. Chris also reflects on bridging generational gaps in the workplace, finding personal purpose through Simon Sinek’s Find Your Why framework, and rediscovering his creative passions. This conversation offers a profound look at how personal values drive professional legacy and long-term career fulfillment.

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Career pivots and transitions are indeed challenging, but you can handle them with finesse if you just trust your intuition. Amy Vetter sits down with Anne Bonney, who grew up in multiple countries and took on several jobs before finding her biggest purpose as a keynote speaker and emcee. She reflects on her childhood experiences in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Greece, which instilled in her a strong sense of independence and trust in people. Anne also looks back on her various career paths, including teaching special education and working as an animal trainer at aquariums and wildlife museums. Learn how you can succeed in any endeavor you embrace in life if you do not ask permission to be authentically yourself and simply unleash your very own superpower.

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What is the best team approach to achieve your goals and secure success? Baxter Lanius, Founder and CEO of Alternative Payments, breaks down how leaders can make everyone feel empowered to do their best work, even if it means facing failures together. He joins Amy Vetter to share the importance of aligning a person’s strengths with their respective work roles, inspired by his experiences in playing lacrosse. Baxter also explains how they leverage AI to improve payment processes and client experiences, significantly speeding up payment times. 

This episode is sponsored by Alternative Payments. Alternative Payments is a financial technology platform trusted by 1,000+ service businesses nationwide and the clients they support. They help service providers embed and monetize payments within their existing workflows, creating a new recurring revenue stream while simplifying billing and eliminating operational lift. 

To learn more: https://go.alternativepayments.io/see-it-in-action-2?utm_source=b3method&utm_medium=email&utm_content=newsletter

AI has evolved tremendously in just a few years, and it is not going anywhere. We have to learn to live with it and use it to our advantage. Amy Vetter chats with Jessica McKellar, co-founder and CTO of Pilot, a provider of AI-powered bookkeeping and advisory solutions for small-to-midsized businesses and startups. She shares how they leverage AI to automate bookkeeping and help small businesses achieve huge success. They also discuss the future of accounting and finance, the role of automation in transforming the industry, and why professionals need to adapt to these inevitable changes while maintaining their role as trusted financial advisors.

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The Simple Firm is more than a book; it's a revolutionary blueprint for accounting professionals seeking true professional freedom. Join author Darren Root, a veteran CPA, firm owner, and Founder of Better Everyday, as he breaks down the structured approach from his new book. Root, also the author of bestsellers like The Intentional Accountant and The E-Myth Accountant, details the four essential components of this freedom: time, money, relationships, and purpose. Learn his personal and practical insights on creating a clear business model that supports your ideal lifestyle and how to develop proactive roadmaps for advisory services. He emphasizes that moving away from a generalist mindset to choosing the right clients is the critical step to creating a lifestyle business that aligns with your desired work-life balance and future goals.

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Major career and life transformations are a necessary, messy process that teaches us how to emerge from the goo to become a butterfly. Optimistic futurist and serial entrepreneur Josh Allan Dykstra transparently shares his life story and career journey, detailing his path from his South Dakota upbringing and rockstar music aspirations to his eventual pivot into consulting and launching his technology company, #lovework. He discusses how a deep fascination with leadership, first observed in his family, guided his evolution when the music industry was not the right fit, offering valuable lessons on how to lead yourself through significant change. Josh reflects on the importance of timing, embodiment, and listening to his gut, key leadership principles that inform his career, all of which now guide his current focus on his family and future business endeavors as a keynote speaker and author.

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Entrepreneurial poverty continues to challenge business owners who work tirelessly yet struggle to find true financial stability and fulfillment. Mike Michalowicz, a business author known for Profit First, opens up about his personal and professional journey from growing up in New Jersey to becoming an entrepreneur and writer dedicated to improving the financial well-being of business owners. He shares lessons from building and selling multiple companies, his current work as a business investor, and his mission to help entrepreneurs overcome financial stress through his Profit First methodology and lifelong commitment to eradicating entrepreneurial poverty. His story reminds us that success isn’t just about revenue, but about creating a sustainable, purpose-driven path that frees entrepreneurs from the very struggles they set out to escape.

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