“I want to do this, but I don’t really know how to do it, so you talk to people who have been there before that can help you on the way.” -Karla Dembik     Pennies become dollars far faster than most of us realize. Businesses (on balance) don’t fail because of a dramatic catastrophe; they suffer death from a thousand cuts. We often agree to all kinds of service and business fees, because we don’t know any better. But there are people out there who can help reduce costs and increase revenue without increasing your prices.   Karla Dembik, ex-army intelligence officer, helicopter pilot, and now the owner of Phoenix Payment Processing is this episode’s featured guest. Karla’s curious and inquisitive approach has helped her flourish in any of her chosen careers, and now she gives back to people that need a little extra help building their own road maps to success.   If you are struggling to know what to do with your bookkeeping business, if you’re drowning in additional costs and add-ons that are bleeding you dry every month, then this is the episode to help you create your own path to success. One that will let you draw on the knowledge of all those that have faced the same challenges, so you can focus on the heart of your business. Serving the people you want to help.   During this interview, you'll learn...  The value of learning to ask the right questions How to increase revenue without increasing prices The importance of being open to change  Click here to find out more about Karla.   Connect with her on LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook. Time Stamps        02:42 - Karla discusses her career journey 06:55 - Working as an army intelligence officer 09:32 - Learning to ask the right questions 13:35 - Building the road map to success 17:10 - The rise of a phoenix 19:25 - The trigger points of change 22:02 - Navigating starting your own business 25:20 - Embracing Aha moments 29:28 - Increasing revenue without increasing prices In other news... Don’t miss a chance to get your free ticket to The Successful Bookkeeper Summit! Click here for more information!

EP325: Karla Dembik - How To Build The Road Map To A Successful Bookkeeping Business

The Successful Bookkeeper Podcast is a weekly show to help increase your confidence, work smarter and build a business you love.

Each week you'll listen to inspiring guests who will share their success secrets, so you can take your bookkeeping enterprise and life to another level.

Some of them include New York Times Best-Selling Author of E-Myth, Michael E. Gerber, Pure Bookkeeping Co-Founder, Debbie Roberts, the host of The Productive Woman podcast, Laura McClellan and the author of *I Know How She Does It*, Laura Vanderkam.

If you're a bookkeeping business owner who is looking for an uplifting, entertaining and informative podcast exclusively for YOU then you have arrived at the right place!

Get ready because your journey towards success begins — now.

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Michael Palmer is an acclaimed business coach who has helped hundreds of bookkeepers across the world push through their fears and exponentially grow their businesses and achieve the quality of life they've always wanted.

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“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 

EP419: Peter Cook - Following The Plan: The Bookkeeper’s Journey

“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!  

EP418: Racheal Cook - Level Up! Freedom From Entrepreneurial Poverty

“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! 

EP417: Mike Michalowicz - How To Build A Shared Vision For Success

“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 

EP416: Peter Cook - Management 101: Taking Score Of Your Business

“Don’t just ask for the referral, deserve it. You deserve a referral, and you earn a referral by who you are and how you show up in people’s lives.” - Curtis Lewsey   Referrals are a huge part of our businesses but despite this, we often don’t spend as much time and genuine effort as we should investing in the relationships around us. How well we are referred by others is a direct testament to our character.    If we are being disingenuous, following the money only rather than the relationships, we are unlikely to build a sustainable network of connections. We have to stop expecting referrals when we haven’t made any authenticity deposits of kindness, gratitude, or appreciation into the relationship.    Curtis Lewsey, owner of AM Cards and co-author of Appreciation Marketing, is this episode’s featured guest. Curtis has spent his career helping people get appreciative about their businesses and relationships. In this episode, he speaks to the power of saying thank you, putting authenticity first, and how to set healthy expectations.    If your attempts to build client relationships are failing, or you just want to get more authentic about showing your appreciation to clients, then this is the episode to put you in the receiver’s shoes, to truly take stock of how you are showing up in the world.   During this interview, you'll learn...   The value of saying thank you How to set healthy expectations in business relationships The importance of connecting authentically   Click here to find out more about Curtis.   Connect with Curtis on LinkedIn.   Time Stamps 01:34 - Curtis talks about his career journey  04:34 - The power of authenticity and gratitude   08:27 - The chain of appreciation  14:07 - Appreciation marketing  20:05 - Leading by example  27:20 - Looking for opportunities to be grateful 32:20 - Learning more about Curtis   

EP325: Karla Dembik - How To Build The Road Map To A Successful Bookkeeping Business

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