Smaller is better. At least two surveys over the past two years show that the Big Four accounting firms are losing clients. Some of them are dropping clients by choice, but many of their clients are leaving the big firms in search of a more personalized service and lower prices.

This is great news for you. Although the Big Four accounting firms aren’t servicing the small businesses that you and I talk about, smaller and mid-sized CPA firms service both corporate and small business clients. As large corporations do more and more business with smaller CPA firms, this provides an excellent opportunity for Small Business Bookkeepers and Accountants to service the businesses that the CPA firms are leaving in favor of doing larger corporate accounting.

Small Business Accounting is Where it’s At

85% of the opportunities that exist in bookkeeping and accounting exist in small businesses. A few weeks ago, we talked about the 550,000 new small businesses that open each month in the United States.

Not only is the opportunity great, but small business accounting is the most exciting.

As a small business bookkeeper/accountant you’ll be a big part of the profitability of the small businesses that you work with. From payables to receivables, even payroll, the small business bookkeeper/accountant is a business owner’s profit expert.

Small Business Accounting Expertise - It’s Achievable, Profitable and Easy

Universal Accounting Center has been teaching small business accounting since 1979. That’s over 25 years.

Universal does what others can’t. College and university accounting graduates are more interested in finance, analysis and corporate accounting… and most university programs don’t spend any time teaching the intricacies of small business accounting.

It takes a small business expert to teach small business accounting. As a small business accountant, you’ll need to know about many different kinds of businesses. From flower shops to bicycle shops. Bakeries to Construction companies. Universal Accounting understands the needs of small businesses.

Businesses Need What You Have to Offer

Most accounting software packages are sold as if the business owner doesn’t need to know anything about accounting to do the books. While this may be true of data input, it’s not true for understanding what the accounting system is telling him or her via the numbers. It takes a skilled bookkeeper/accountant to do that.

The accounting process is critical to the success of any small business. The small business bookkeeper/accountant provides the important interpretation of the numbers that allows the business owner to make informed decisions concerning the financial health of his or her business.

Become the Small Business Profit Expert and Be Well Paid

Most freelance small business bookkeepers earn an average of $300 per month per client. When you first start working with a new business, it might take you 8-10 hours per client week to do the books each month. But over time that hourly commitment will drop. Even at 8-10 hours a week for each client, at the end of the month you’ve just grossed $6000. That’s a minimum of $30 per hour.

Of course some clients will bill more… some less. Part of what you’ll learn with Universal Accounting is an easy and practical way to know what to bill for your services. You’ll learn how to set-up your business. You’ll learn how to find and keep clients. You’ll become a profit expert.

Now is the Time

I know you’ve heard this before. There are many out there telling you the same thing. Let me show you why the Professional Bookkeeper Program is different. As the regulations that face small businesses continue to become more and more complicated and the number of new businesses each month continues to grow, the need for qualified small business accounting experts has never been greater. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says that this trend will continue for the foreseeable future.

If you want to earn what you’re worth and create the lifestyle that you and your family deserve, owning a small business bookkeeping and accounting practice is the perfect solution. Discovering for yourself how profitable and attainable this will be for you is only a couple more mouse clicks away. Click on the link below and find out why so many people just like you and me are starting their own small business bookkeeping and accounting practice.

Click Here and Discover How Achievable, Profitable and Easy Starting a Small Business Bookkeeping and Accounting Practice Will Be

Just a few decades ago, accountants were tracking transactions on paper. Thankfully that’s no longer necessary. With advances in technology, not only can you manage books on the computer but you have a wide variety of software programs with which to do it. As you try to keep your business current and advance with technology instead of getting trampled by it, you should have a technology plan. Like business and marketing plans, a technology plan will align with your business goals and anticipate how technology can make your business more efficient and profitable. As you create a technology plan, consider the following:

Include technology in your budget

You should plan for technology costs by including them in your yearly budget. This makes the process of purchasing technology much easier; you can take your time to purchase the product that best meets your needs rather than searching for the least expensive gadget to get the job done.

Ensure your technology plan supports your business goals

You shouldn’t purchase technology willy-nilly. Take the time to ensure your technology dovetails with your professional goals, enabling you to use technology to accomplish your business objectives.

Remember that technology is an investment, not an expense

Technology is expensive. It can be difficult to sign the dotted line when making those purchases. That’s why it helps to remember that technology is an investment; your ability to use technology to perform key accounting functions enables you to work more efficiently, and in the end, make more money.

Brainstorm ways technology can enhance your business and fulfill key needs

You should use technology to improve your business, enabling you to accomplish more in less time. You may be surprised at the technology that exists to enhance your business and its operations. First, it might be a good idea to list functions you need help performing more efficiently. Then you might need to research products that could help you better perform those functions. Consult with colleagues as well.

Consult the experts

As you look for technology that will fulfill your business’s needs while aligning with your goals and objectives, it’s important that you consult with professionals who know technology well enough to recommend specific products while sharing the pros and cons of each.

Master QuickBooks, the Most Popular Accounting Software on the Market

When looking for computer software you want to find products that enable you to work more efficiently while increasing your income. QuickBooks Pro is one of those programs. Over 80% of small businesses use Intuit’s QuickBooks software to manage their accounting. While other programs may be useful, Quickbooks has definitely captured the small business market. Mastering this program and becoming a Quickbooks Specialist will enable you numerous ways to bring in more business, increase your income, and make your job easier.

Our new and improved Professional Bookkeeper’s Guide to QuickBooks includes the following:

• Training for all user types
• The ability to work more efficiently
• The ability to offer QuickBooks consulting services
• 6 months of follow-up support
• The ability to earn a QuickBooks Specialist (QS) designation
• 16 CDs with 15 hours of training
• 4 books with over 800 pages of instruction

This is one piece of technology your business cannot do without! Once you master QuickBooks you will be able to manage your own accounting more efficiently as well as that of your clients. Increase your business appeal, attract more clients and make more money. Take advantage of this program now!

Click to enroll.

Resources

Banning, Christine. “5 Tips on Technology Planning.” SCORE. 10 June 2008 http://www.score.org/5_tips_bp_9.html

Serving You with Our Free Newsletters

We enjoy sending you information that we hope improves your work as a freelance bookkeeper or accountant. Our three newsletters, AB Tips, Tax Tips, and Career Tips, are intended to help professionals like you advance in whatever their current position in the financial field. The AB Tips Newsletter is designed to share accounting and bookkeeping tips with subscribers. Intended for individuals with their own accounting practice or for those who would like to start their own practice, we specifically include tips on how to market your services, how to streamline tasks, how to organize your office space, etc. Our Tax Tips Newsletter is for tax preparers or those interested in tax preparation. We provide tax news, information on starting your own business, tips on building your clientele, etc. And finally, we have our Career Tips newsletter, for those who work or would like to work in the accounting field. In this newsletter we include information on getting the right job, advancing in your field, moving into management positions, etc.

As we learn more about your needs, we alter our approach in order to better serve you. We’re adding a few things to the newsletter that we hope you enjoy. Here’s a breakdown of what’s included and how we hope it helps you.

Two articles

Since we began running our free ezines over two years ago, we have included two articles every issue that offer accounting and tax information, tips on running and marketing a small business, career guidelines and promotional pieces. The newsletters provide us with the opportunity to share our products and services with those we believe they best serve. Universal’s programs are top of the line and life-changing; we promote them because we know they help people like you achieve career goals and realize your business dreams.

We also use the newsletter as an opportunity to expose you to our many free resources, including personalized information from our President and CEO, Allen Bostrom in Allen’s Blog, UAC’s accounting and tax forums, the newsletters, and the Universal video tour.

Recently we’ve responded to requests for purely informational pieces as well. Last summer we asked newsletter subscribers to tell us what you wanted to read about. For the past six months we’ve tried to include articles on all suggested topics. Each newsletter contains one, if not two, informational pieces. We continue to welcome your feedback as we write articles intended to help you improve your financial services. Please visit our forums for a chance to give us feedback on past articles and suggestions for future articles.

Press Releases and New Products

We want you to be in-the-know about everything Universal, so we include all press releases, enrollment offers, and information about new products in our newsletters. From our new interactive testing center to our customized Professional Bookkeeper Program for Canadian residents, we want you to be the first to know what’s happening at Universal Accounting Center.

Quotable Quote

Everyone could use a little inspiration now and then, so we like to include a quotable quote in each issue of our newsletters. Funny quotes, somber quotes, quotes that make you want to get up and accomplish something, we try to include a variety that inspire and uplift.

“The Bottom Line”

And last but certainly not least is a new addition to our newsletters: a video clip we call “The Bottom Line.” In the serious world of financial statements, taxes, and projected profits, the bottom line is that we like what we do and can enjoy a good laugh now and then. The humorous clip is intended to help lighten your load and improve your day. We hope you look forward to this new feature and share it frequently with coworkers, family, and friends.

We want our newsletter to help you move forward in your goals as a financial professional. So stay tuned as we continue to improve our newsletters so that they can better serve your needs. We appreciate your support.

6 Tips for Enjoying a More Lucrative Business

As a small business owner yourself and as an accountant who continually interacts with small business owners, you should always be on the lookout for ways to increase profits: your own and that of your clients. Doing so makes you a much more valuable accountant, not to mention, a much more profitable small business owner. What are some simple things you can do to accomplish that?

1. Remember the 80/20 rule

Also known as Pareto’s Law, this rule states that 80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers. Do you know which of your customers comprise that 20%? If not, it’s time you found out. You can then target them for special promotions and service offerings.

2. Getting that 20% to retain more services more frequently

Now that you know which clients comprised that valuable 20%, you must try to get them to use more of your services more frequently. In these newsletters we often return to the concept of geometric growth which means you expand your service offerings so that you are billing current clients more often. Geometric growth also enables you to attract new clients who might be interested in more than just your new services. This tip may require you to add complementary services to your menu, like QuickBooks consultations or tax preparation. But the effort would pay off in increased profits.

3. Determine what motivates the 80%

By focusing on the 20%, don’t forget there is still value in the 80%. Studies show that it’s better to spend your time retaining current clients than it is trying to find new ones. That 80% represents a client base that is familiar with your services and value as an accountant. Now you need to determine what motivates them and how you might be able to get them to join the 20% by retaining more of your services more frequently.

4. Ask clients what they want

No one can tell you how to best serve your clients than your clients themselves. What do they need? Are there other services they wish you offered? What might get them to more readily refer your services to friends and family? You may discover things that are difficult to hear. You may also get the most valuable business advice yet! These clients will definitely offer more personal and specific information than you could get from any other source.

5. Demonstrate gratitude

Nothing makes a client feel more valuable than by a genuine show of gratitude. This is also a good way to increase client retention and inspire loyalty in your clients. Whether you do this by giving them a modest gift (movie tickets, a gift certificate, or free lunch) or by thanking them personally for their business, it will be a gesture well remembered.

6. Show your face

You just can’t put a price tag on becoming a familiar face in the community. The more exposure you get the more free exposure your business gets. Ensure you’re aware of all the community events and, when possible, become a permanent fixture. Be especially aware of those that would afford you the opportunity to have a little booth from which you can distribute business cards and brochures about your services. Remember that everyone you meet is a potential client and may associate with hundreds of other potential clients. In this it becomes a numbers game. The more people you meet, the greater your potential for increasing your client base.

These six simple tips can help you take the necessary measures to increase your business’s profitability as well as the profitability of those small businesses you work for. Allen Bostrom, President and CEO of Universal Accounting Center, has a lot of experience helping small businesses do just that, and he’s written a book about it called In the Black: Nine Principles to Make Your Business Profitable. Practical and easy-to-apply, you can finish this book one day and begin implementing those principles the next. To learn more about this book and some of the principles he shares, visit his website today!

The Real Scoop on Being Awarded Money to Start or Expand Your Business

You’ve probably heard the commercials promising big bucks for entrepreneurial-minded individuals looking to start their own businesses. Grants are a great source of income because you are not required to pay them back; it is money awarded to you, free of charge. But how easy is it, really, to secure a small business grant? Unfortunately, not as easy as those commercials suggest. But it is possible.

While the federal government doesn’t award grants there are state agencies that do. Check out our resources below to discover the local opportunities that exist for your business.

What might you do to make your application more appealing? The following four tips should help:

Recognize the process may be long and exhausting

It’s important that you be prepared to spend a significant amount of time and energy researching potential grants and their requirements. It may help to assign someone on your staff the responsibility of laying the ground work. You can visit the links below to get started.

Create a thorough Business Plan to evidence your preparedness

This may help you stand out from the competition. A thorough Business Plan demonstrates your attention to detail and the fact that you have thought about your business enough to devise a plan from startup to exit strategies.

Submit a complete and thoughtful application

The grant approval process is long enough as it is; you don’t want to delay the process further by submitting an unacceptable application. This also projects a poor image of your business and implies that your products and services just might be as sloppy as your grant application.

Maintain contact with the organization awarding the grant

Just as you would maintain contact with a potential employer that had interviewed you, so should you maintain contact with the organization awarding the grant. While you should avoid being intrusive and annoying, you can check on the review status and determine how long it might be until you are notified. It’s also a good time to see if they need anything else in order to decide whether or not you are the right candidate for their grant.

While it is possible to receive grant money to fund your business startup, it’s not always an easy process. You must pay close attention to the requirements and ensure that your business is eligible. You must also be willing to spend considerable time and energy preparing the necessary application. However, it’s not impossible and if you believe your business is suitable for a grant; it could be well worth it to go through the process.

A Business with Little Startup Costs

While every owner of a fledgling business would like some free cash to get going, starting an accounting practice requires little in startup costs. With no expensive equipment to purchase, the ability to work from home with as little a computer and internet connection, and the flexibility to work from the spare bedroom in your basement, an accounting and bookkeeping practice might just be the best home business yet. In fact, authors of The Best Home Businesses for the 21st Century, Paul and Sarah Edwards, rate a bookkeeping service as the “Best of the Best” home-based businesses. With a little training and professional certification, you could be on your way to a low-cost start-up with big returns.

Currently there are countless students trying to earn their accounting degrees by spending hours at a university, learning accounting theory, but not much practice. Once they graduate and try to get a job they will discover that they have been prepared for less than 20% of accounting opportunities. They have been groomed to act as corporate accountants. Unfortunately for them, more than 85% of opportunities are with small businesses which continue to grow and grow every year. These small businesses have unique needs that are not easily met with corporate accounting practices. They need a specialist-a small business accountant.

The Professional Bookkeeper Program

Since Alf Bostrom opened its doors in 1979, Universal Accounting Center has been training individuals in the practical application of small-business accounting. With more than 25 years experience, we know what the small business needs, and we also know how to effectively train you to master small business accounting. In less than 60 hours you could complete the Professional Bookkeeper Program and start a small business’s books from scratch. You could also become that business’s Profit Expert. With such valuable skills you could manage not one, but multiple small business accounts, becoming the most popular contract accountant in your area.

The Professional Bookkeeper’s Guide (PBG) to QuickBooks

But why stop with just small business accounting? Why not add another valuable complementary service to your practice? Our Professional Bookkeeper’s Guide to QuickBooks will help you master QuickBooks, by far the most popular accounting software used by small businesses. Upon doing so you will not only be able to add QuickBooks services to your menu, but you will begin attracting a new demographic that will bring more business your way. And if you order both the Professional Bookkeeper (PB) Program and the Professional Bookkeeper’s Guide (PBG) to QuickBooks now, you will receive our newly released 2008 version of the PBG. This version beats out other QuickBooks training programs. Its features include the following:

• Training targeted for all user types
• The ability to work more efficiently
• 6 months of follow-up support
• The opportunity to earn a QuickBooks Specialist (QS) designation
• 16 CDs with 15 hours of training
• 4 books with over 800 pages of instruction
• The ability to quickly pay your bills so you never incur late penalties.
• The ability to write checks with one single click!
• Be reminded when bills are due.
• Quickly and effortlessly create invoices so you get paid sooner. It even takes care of sales tax.
• Get organized. QuickBooks streamlines the process of tracking customers and vendors so you can easily look them up in one place.
• Keep on top of incoming and outgoing payments. It’s like having your own accounts receivable and payable clerk you don’t have to pay.
• Access easy-to-read financial reports NOW!

Start your own accounting practice by getting trained in small business accounting and QuickBooks. With minimal to no startup costs and services that will appeal to a wide market, you can be up and running in no time at all. This is as close as you can get to a guaranteed startup. So take a deep breath and imagine yourself working as a thriving contract accountant. Enroll today! Click HERE to pay in full or HERE to finance the programs.

Resources for Finding Grants

• Federal Funds Express
• The Grantsmanship Center’s Local Funding Sources
• The University of Michigan’s list of grant information

Gain the right skills and you will earn a better income. Bookkeepers can anticipate a 6.8% rise in base compensation in 2006. That’s great news provided you have the right skills.

The 2006 Salary Guide is based on an analysis of thousands of job placements managed by Robert Half International Inc., and predicts that heightened competition for accounting and finance professionals will lead to increases in base compensation next year.

Companies are Recruiting Accounting Staff

Max Messmer, Chairman and CEO of Robert Half International says, “Organizations are actively recruiting accounting and finance staff to support business expansion initiatives and corporate governance efforts.”

“To attract and retain skilled financial professionals, firms are reassessing their hiring practices and enhancing compensation packages for current staff.”

Bookkeepers are Doing Better than Average!

Robert Half International forcasts an increase in starting wage for bookkeepers and accountants of 3.1%. An increase of 3.1% is OK, but according to the Salary Guide, bookkeepers can anticipate a 6.8% rise in base compensation in the year ahead. Over twice the average. What a great time to consider a bookkeeping and accounting education.

The opportunities for you have never been better in accounting. Click on the link below and discover the potential for you to earn a great income and enjoy a stable, recession free career.

Show Me a Stable Career With a Great Income

The Accounting Department Has Always Offered Great Opportunities

For hundreds of years accountants have contributed to the profitability of businesses all over the world. And they have been well paid to do it. With the right skills you will not only find the right job or enhance your present career, you’ll also enjoy the benefits of increased competition in the marketplace and can expect a bigger paycheck.

Where Can I Find the Right Skills… I Don’t Have a College Degree?

You don’t need a college degree. You do need a specialized education. And you can find it at Universal Accounting.

For the last 25 years, Universal Accounting has taught thousands of people the profitable and exciting skills of small business bookkeeping and accounting. We’re the small business experts and we can teach you to be too.

You don’t have to take my word for it, let’s look at what some of our graduates have said:

“I was amazed how practical this course was, and surprised how much I learned. Having an accounting degree and over 17 years experience in accounting, I didn’t realize how much I didn’t know. This is well worth the time and money, and you will be benefited from this class for years to come.”
-Philip Lufkin

“This was an excellent course. I have a B. S. in accounting, and this class taught me stuff I never learned in college.”
-Catherine Ferguson

“Universal’s accounting course is a very thorough approach to learning small business accounting. The materials and work sets are presented in a professional learning atmosphere. …I felt this class really helped my confidence and mastery of the accounting principles.”
-Bradley Jensen

You don’t need to be a math wiz to enhance your career. Calculus and algebra aren’t necessary. Basic math skills are the building-blocks to a successful career in bookkeeping and accounting. With your basic math skills and a willingness to learn, you’ll be on your way to an incredibly rewarding and satisfying career.

Businesses Have to Do Accounting… It’s Required By Law

It doesn’t matter what type of business, it has to keep financial records and has to have bookkeepers and accountants. Follow the link below and find out for yourself how an education in bookkeeping and accounting will enhance your present career, increase your paycheck and provide personal and professional satisfaction.

Show Me Why Becoming a Bookkeeper or Accountant is Right For Me

Growing a Self-Sustaining Accounting Practice

Are you running the business or is the business running you? Imagine leaving your practice to go on vacation for a couple weeks. Does the thought make you shudder? How would your business function without you? Would it function at all? While you may believe that having full control of your business is the best management approach, it doesn’t leave you with much freedom. Growing your business to become a self-sustaining accounting practice is an option worth considering. This requires you to start working “on” your business rather than “in” your business. It’s definitely a shift in perspective, but with it comes greater profitability and freedom.

This shift, however, also requires a major transition for your business, a transition Doug Tatum calls no man’s land. And Tatum should know after releasing a book of that same name: No Man’s Land: What to Do When Your Company is Too Big to Be Small but Too Small to Be Big. If you’ve considered growing your business beyond its current size and capacity, the following tips will help you better prepare for this tricky transition.

1. Realistically consider your business’s growth potential

Not all businesses must go global in order to achieve success. There’s value in running a small business out of your home and earning a comfortable living for you and your family. But if you’ve considered growing your practice to include a handful of partners and a considerable support staff, then you must stop and realistically consider your business’s growth potential. Tatum uses the example of a great chef attracting a large clientele to a fairly small restaurant. Will that chef’s value be diluted if the same restaurant were to open in three other cities? Does that restaurant truly have the ability to grow beyond that chef’s reach? The same applies to your practice. Does your business revolve around your unique abilities, or could you bring in partners and employees who could continue to offer those same valuable services to a larger client base? Before you consider crossing no man’s land you must have answered this important question.

2. Recognize signs you’ve entered no man’s land

If you’ve decided to move forward and take your business to the next level you must be able to recognize the signs that you’ve entered no man’s land. The biggest indicator is a reduction in revenue and a slowing of business. This means your business has grown beyond current capacity and changes must be made, and quickly, in order to see the business through this often difficult transition. Tatum also says businesses in transition encounter a capital gap where many must enter capital markets but are unsure how to proceed.

3. Appreciate your changing role

You can’t micromanage a self-sustaining business. Eventually you’ll be required to stop performing certain tasks in order to let the business become more independent. Stepping back a bit to let the company take care of itself may be difficult at first, but is necessary for those who want to enjoy the fruits and freedom a growing business provides.

4. Brace yourself for a change in the game plan

You can’t manage a big business the same way you manage a small business; the result would be a failing business. In order to successfully cross no man’s land you must change your game plan and consider infrastructure changes, new management, and the addition of employees with more specialized skills.

While crossing no man’s land may be difficult, it isn’t impossible. If you determine that is where you want to take your business, you’re certain to get there as long as you’re prepared.

If you would like to learn more about starting your own accounting practice, our Professional Bookkeeper Program is the perfect place to start in order to launch a successful business offering valuable services that are marketed effectively. To learn more, order our DVD “Intro to the Professional Bookkeeper Program.” It just may be the beginning of a lucrative future as your own boss.

Reference

Perman, Stacy. “No Man’s Land.” 1 August 2007 BusinessWeek.com

It’s amazing how much mileage you can get from a little confidence. As an accountant you’ve probably spent a lot of time determining your most valuable business assets and how to preserve them. But have you considered how to secure and improve the one asset around which everything else revolves? YOU. Without you, there would be no accounting practice. There would be no clients. There would be no income. It’s time you acknowledged your value in order to advance your business to the next level.

Trust your instincts

While your impressions may seem somewhat whimsical, remember that you have experience and training which informs your instincts, giving them great value. You need to learn how to trust them as you move forward and advance your business. This means attending to those impressions as you interact with clients, peers, and other professionals within your community. Start with the small impressions first. Once you gain confidence in your instincts you’ll be able to move on to bigger and better things.

Be yourself

Accountants are known for being reclusive and somewhat introverted. If this describes you, we’re guessing you may feel somewhat uncomfortable when interacting with clients and other professionals. But it’s important that you be yourself. Doing so may make you feel self-conscious, but you’ll come across as genuine and trustworthy, two traits greatly admired in business-more so than a good sense of humor and witty dialogue.

Value your own services

If you’re not charging what you are worth, you don’t value your own services. Without saying a word your clients will sense a lack of confidence and will devalue your work as a result. When you come to recognize just how much you’re worth, you will exude self-assurance and promote your practice with ease. You’ll find you don’t have to negotiate your fees as often and you will begin to attract clients willing to pay for quality work.

Talk yourself up

Don’t apologize for what you do or how much you charge to do it. Once you come to value your own services you’ll find this step becomes much easier. You’ll welcome opportunities to talk about what you do and how well you do it. You’ll recognize that you’re only providing potential clients with the opportunity to benefit from your services.

Invest in yourself

YOU are your most valuable asset. It makes sense that you would invest in yourself. Consider ways you can improve your skills and become even more valuable to clients. This may require that you receive additional training, earn credentials, and learn new skills.

Universal has a DVD 4-Pack designed to introduce you to all the valuable services we offer, each and every one of them intended to enhance your accounting career. This power pack includes:

Introduction to the Professional Bookkeeper Program. Learn how becoming a Professional Bookkeeper will improve your accounting skills, enabling you to expand your business and become a full-service financial provider.

Yes Sample Marketing CD. Learn how to introduce your services to a potential client. Use this either for role playing, watching it while meeting with your client or passing them out.

Start Today and Have Your Own Bookkeeping Service. Learn how to make over $80,000 per year working from home while getting more clients than you can handle. Know how to charge your client so you can afford to take that next vacation while they get such a great deal they will be telling all their friends about you.

The Art and Science of Getting Clients. Learn how to get more clients by using our proven methods.

Purchase the DVD 4-pack and add to your reference library while learning how you can enhance your best asset. Order now!

How to See Failure as Opportunity and Turn Hardship into Success

Every failure, obstacle or hardship is an opportunity in disguise. Success in many cases is failure turned inside out. The greatest pollution problem we face today is negativity. Eliminate the negative attitude and believe you can do anything. Replace ‘if I can, I hope, maybe’ with ‘I can, I will, I must.’ —Mary Kay Ash

To begin to think with purpose, is to enter the ranks of those strong ones who only recognize failure as one of the pathways to attainment. -James Allen

It is lemonade season-the time of year when thousands of kids take lemons, turn them into lemonade, and sell them on street corners for profit. We could learn a thing or two from these budding entrepreneurs.

So what do you do when life hands you a basket of lemons? When failure makes an appearance in your business? You turn it into lemonade, or see it as a stepping stone to success. Here are 5 steps that will show you how.

1. Redefine it

You’ve got to redefine failure. It shouldn’t be seen as a bad omen, but an opportunity to learn and grow. And do you really think you can become insanely successful without learning more than you know right this instant? The best learning experiences often come in the form of failures and mistakes. Don’t fear them; embrace them. While some view failure as an obstacle, it is often the stepping stone that will take you higher and farther, enabling you to achieve true success.

2. Analyze it

You can’t learn from a mistake or failure without taking the time to dissect it and determine what, exactly, went wrong. Some would rather walk away from the failure and never look back, but that would be the worst mistake you could make. In looking closely at what happened you will learn how to improve, repair, change, and excel. But don’t overanalyze. Once you’ve learned what you need to learn, move to the next step! Otherwise you become subject to that age-old deterrent: paralysis by analysis.

3. Apply lessons learned

Once you’ve discovered what caused, prompted, or encouraged the failure, apply the lessons you’ve learned so it won’t happen again. Often we engage in destructive actions again and again because it’s all we know. Unfortunately, that will not help you achieve success. Success requires you to continually evaluate your actions and determine how they can be improved. This is what you must do with failure. Once you realize why something didn’t work, you can change your behavior, and in turn, change the outcome.

4. Move on

” . . . our doubts are traitors; And make us lose the good we oft might win; By fearing to attempt.” —William Shakespeare

You’ve learned, you’ve applied, now move on. Do not let fear of failure paralyze you. Katherine Mansfield once wrote, “Risk! Risk anything! Care no more for the opinion of others, for those voices. Do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for yourself.” Do not be afraid to move into the unknown in order to move forward. You wouldn’t tell your child to put her two-wheeler away simply because she fell and skinned her knee. You would encourage her to get back on that bike as soon as possible and continue to ride. Take your own advice: continue to ride!

5. Expect greatness

Just because you experienced failure doesn’t mean you should expect it to continually litter your journey. Be positive and expect great things to happen. When you do, not only will great things happen but you’ll be in the right mindset to take future failure and see it for what it really is: opportunity in work clothes.

References
“Turn a Failure into a Success,” by Rhonda Abrams

Client Secrets are Your Secrets

As accountants we are exposed often to our client’s sensitive proprietary information such as the names and status of our client’s customers, performance reviews, salary information, legal matters, research data, company reduction or expansion plans, labor negotiations, finances, and product development. It becomes are responsibility to make sure we don’t share this information with the wrong person or people.

To help maintain confidentiality…

* Never discuss confidential company business outside your client’s office unless the client is present or has given you specific authority to do so.

* Keep your voice low-pitched so that you won’t be overheard when talking about your client’s company matters in public. Be especially careful in restaurants, shuttles, at the water cooler, and on airport phones.

* Minimize client-related chitchat. Don’t initiate discussion of sensitive client information with other accountants, and change the subject if associates bring up such topics.

* Be on guard at social functions. That new acquaintance
you talk to shouldn’t be counted on to keep any information you may reveal in confidence.

By practicing discretion, you can help prevent sensitive
information from leaking out.

Other sections from this week’s newsletter:

• Purchase the Professional Bookkeeper Program and get the Financing a Small Business Course at No Additional Charge
• Make Your First Impression a Lasting One
• Keep Your Bookkeeping Service Flying High