April 29, 2025 • 28 mins
Randy Crabtree welcomes Geni Whitehouse, an influential figure in the accounting profession known for her diverse roles including founder of The Impactful Advisor, ITA president, and winery consultant, on Episode 209 of The Unique CPA. Geni talks about things that made a difference in her career trajectory, highlighting her transition from an uninspired CPA to a passionate advocate for enhancing the accounting profession and the experiences of everyone involved. She stresses effective communication, the power of humor in public speaking, and the need to connect and make an impact. Geni’s commitment to training and mentorship—and her experiences in stand-up comedy and TED Talks—underscore her mission to make accounting a better profession.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Hello, and welcome to the uniqueCPA with your host, Randy Crabtree.
(00:04):
We are committed to creating a thrivingcommunity of accounting professionals
who are physically and mentally healthy,fulfilled, and energized by their work.
Our ultimate goal is to elevatethe reputation of the accounting
profession and vastly improvedthe lives of those in it.
The unique CPA is broughtto you by Tri-Merit, the Specialty Tax Professionals.
Today our guest is Geni Whitehouse.
(00:26):
Geni actually has many hats.
One.
She's the founder ofthe impactful advisor.
She's ITA president.
She's a winery consultant.
She's been named multiple times, top 100most influential people in accounting.
I think it's, and Geni, I'll get it wrong,but top 25 Women in Accounting or I, some
(00:47):
other things I saw as well, I can lether maybe add to that things I missed.
And she is a self-proclaimed nerd.
So Geni, welcome to the en unique CPA.
Thank you so much, Randy, for beinghere and many people back in my high school days proclaimed me the nerd.
It wasn't just self-proclaimed.
I lived it, believe me.
So, yeah, so thank youfor that introduction.
(01:09):
Yeah.
Well, I've known, I think I've knownof you for longer than I've known you.
I think you and I met just like a yearand a half ago for the first time, right?
That's right.
I don't know how that happens, you know,sometimes we're so busy speaking at
things, we don't get to meet all the otherpeople that are doing the same thing.
Yeah, but what I was gonna sayis I've never looked, uh, met
you, talked to you, been aroundyou, and said, look at that nerd.
(01:30):
So I'm not sure where the nerd comes from.
So I, I'm gonna argueagainst the nerd status.
Okay.
Well, you're wrong.
I have lots of people who would saythat You don't know, that you've never seen me geek out over a spreadsheet.
I bought an abacus andtaught myself how to use it.
The slide rule was my favoritething ever in high school.
(01:51):
I mean, what more do you need?
And I lettered in Algebra two,Randy letter in Algebra two.
What?
They gave me the letter andI was like, I'm never wearing this to school on anything.
So what more do you need?
I don't, it's not a fake thing.
Alright.
It's a real
life thing.
Well, two things you did right there.
(02:11):
You're starting to convince methat the title may be, may be real.
And two, one of the goals of theshow, which we didn't talk about ahead of time, was we laugh.
So we've got those goingalready, so we're good to go.
Well that's good.
That's what keeps everything interesting.
Exactly.
So I'm listed those things You doand you seem super busy when I read
(02:32):
that out because on top of that,you're at conferences all the time.
You're speaking atconferences all the time.
Yeah.
Author, uh, have, I knowat least a book out there.
Give us a little bit deeper background on.
Let's just define thosethree things I mentioned.
I mean, 'cause those are three,you know, kind of unique things.
Impactful advisor, ITA,president and winery consultants.
So give us a little backgroundon all three of those and what you're doing there.
(02:55):
So I'm kind of gonna back up a little bit.
Yep.
And explain that they're all veryconnected to what I'm passionate about.
All right.
They sound kind of diverseand, and I do bits of different things, but it all comes together.
So it started when I was a CPA myself.
I started with Deloitte in tax and Ihad 15 years in different tax roles ending up in a small firm in Atlanta.
(03:16):
And the day I made partner, Irealized I was miserable and I quit.
So 15 years of being in accounting.
With the goal of being a partner,and I decided in seventh grade,
Randy, speaking of nerds, okay,because I loved math again, nerd.
Yeah.
I went to my teacher and I said, whatdo you do if you're good at math?
And she said, you eitherteach or you're a CPA.
And I said, which onemakes the most money?
(03:39):
And she said, accounting CPA.
And I went, okay, that'swhat I'm gonna do.
And then, I mean, literally everythingI did was to become a partner in a CPA firm from that point forward.
Wow.
Because my dad sold taxbooks to accounting firms.
He was worked for CCH, and so hethought they were the bees and knees.
So I thought, that's the thing.
Dad thinks it's cool.
I'm good at this nerdy thing.
(04:00):
I'm gonna be rich.
Here we go.
So I mean everything.
So I get into Big Eight, I immediatelyfeel like I'm not good enough
because they give me a review thattells me I'm bad at everything.
My first review was FS in every score.
Oh, wow.
Because I wasn't detailed enough, so Ispent 15 years trying to fit myself into what I'm supposed to be, and I get to
the end of the rainbow and I, this isas good as it's gonna get, and I went.
(04:25):
I don't like this, and I'mcommitting now at the partner level.
So I left and went into high techand I did my first speech, and then I really brought to that speaking
gig or that engagement inside atechnology firm, a passion to make sure nobody else felt like I did.
Wow.
And so that passion made me, and thefirst time I did a speech, and again, I was at a software company, so I did some.
(04:49):
Project management software training.
I implemented PeopleSoft and did someconsulting, and then I joined a software company, and my role there was to build
CPA alliances and I had to do a speechand I made people laugh and I saw the power of that on not only me giving me
permission and making me comfortable,but it made us all on the same team.
(05:11):
And I saw the fear go away inthe audience, and I immediately thought, I gotta get good at this.
I started trying to find ways to getbetter and eventually took standup comedy training, and I did a TEDx
talk, which talks about sort of allthe things, but part of that was
that my dad passed away shortly afterI had given my first presentation.
(05:31):
I. I thought, how can I cope with this?
What can I do to survive this?
And immediately I thought I can givehis eulogy and I can make it funny.
'cause my dad was very funny, right?
So that was a coping mechanism andthat really further motivated me to go get trained and stand up.
So I did that, whichwas Randy, horrifying.
And I bet I was terrible, I'm sure.
(05:53):
And my kids will never forgiveme for having to listen to me.
Do my own standup routineon stage at the punchline.
They sat there.
My son was literally underthe table when I was.
There's gonna be a lot oftherapy needed after this for both of us, but life changing.
I mean, if once you've done that,it's kind of like anything else is.
(06:14):
Easy.
I'll give you a ton of credit 'causeI, you know, people and you speak
all the time and I don't know how youare, but I don't get nervous at all.
It, it's just you, you get nervous.
I
wanna throw up and run awayevery single time, Randy, every single time I hear that a
lot,
but I know I can survive it.
That's the difference.
Yeah.
(06:34):
Okay.
See, and you're not
nervous.
I hate you for that, Randy.
Well, thank you.
I appreciate it.
But I'm thinking, should I be maybe what?
What?
No, what's going on, pop, what I was gonnasay is I feel like I'm brave and I would
do a lot of things, but that standup thatyou that, I mean, I would be nervous.
I would be like out speaking.
Sure.
(06:55):
I'll get laughs.
I wanna get laughs, but when Ihave to get laughs and I up there
and that's the only reason I'm upthere and then they don't laugh.
I'll be like, that wouldbe so crushing to me.
I don't know if I can handle withit, but I'm sure you'll learn a lot.
That's, I, it's, I giveyou so much credit.
It is absolutely crushing.
But you know, the thing aboutgetting the laughs, it's really not about getting a laugh.
(07:17):
It's about findingconnection to the audience.
Randy, the same thing thatmotivates you, motivates me.
I wanna feel like I'm connecting.
And a laugh is one way, but also,you know, other kind of responses.
Yeah.
So that's part of why I likespeaking because I can see immediately if I'm having an impact.
Yes.
Yes.
But the thing about standup that you haveto remember, Randy, is first of all, the audience is drunk 'cause you're at a bar.
(07:41):
And secondly, when you do this punchlinething, it's a graduation ceremony
and everybody in the audience is afamily member of somebody on stage.
So everything you do is funny, includingif you fall off the stage or forget your line or whatever, they're gonna laugh.
So that's the blessing of that.
Okay.
Especially the drinking part.
Yes.
That really helps.
(08:01):
Everything's funny at acertain level in the night.
Well, you and I, uh, have donethe drinking part together a few times and that's always been fun.
So, but yeah.
Sorry.
You were gonna go on.
Yes, we have, but I mean, most audiences.
They're trying to be on your side,but that's what the humor does.
It gets you on the same teamsomehow once you get 'em to laugh.
(08:22):
Yeah.
Especially for us, Randy.
'cause no matter who we are in accounting,if somebody comes to an event that
an accountant's gonna speak, they'regoing, this is gonna be awful, right?
They're going, this is boring andblah, blah, blah, and we're not gonna wanna listen to any of this.
And so anything you do above that verylow bar is magical for the audience.
So we have an advantage whenwe're speaking as accountants.
(08:43):
To other people.
Yeah.
Because they don't expectus to be that good.
No.
So you wear a purple shirt,Randy, and you're a rock star.
Well, I actually did have a purpleshirt on at our conference last year.
Well, they had purple highlights on it,uh, with a sparkly, uh, uh, silver jacket.
So that was, uh, oh, well
there you go.
(09:03):
See?
Yeah.
So right there, that's all Ihad to do and pay attention.
So we keep going down this, andI think we will at some level.
Before we went on, we talked about thisand how much training you've done, and
I'm just so amazed and in awe of howdedicated you are to this speaking.
And now I feel that I need to catchup and get out there and get some training, but that we can get back to.
(09:25):
I did wanna get back to you weresaying how the, these all three things tie together and what it is.
Yeah.
So do you wanna Yeah.
Continue on that route?
Yeah, so part of what I waspassionate about is the fact that accountants are undervalued.
Mm-hmm.
That was one of the things thatreally bugged me is how people didn't know what we do and how important
it is because they didn't understandanything we said, first of all.
(09:47):
'cause we bore them to death.
And secondly, 'cause we speakin the foreign language.
Yep.
So that was the first thing thatI really, we gotta fix this.
And then the second thing was.
We're not doing enough for our clients.
We're not asking que, Imean, I was doing tax.
I didn't know what the heckwas going on in the business.
I could just say, yeah, you owetax, or you get a refund and I don't know what you're doing.
And they, if they asked methat, I would go, uh, I don't know, but you owe this much.
(10:11):
So it felt very.
Meaningless the work that I was doing.
So those two things combined, thedesire to make more impact with our clients and the desire to help
accountants who do great work getrecognized for that great work.
And so that requires anability to communicate with the clients in a better way.
First to ask questions so that we knowwhat they need, and secondly, to explain it in a way that they can apply, right?
(10:36):
So.
That meant I had to communicate.
And it really, when you go fromaccounting to technology, you're going from nerd to geek, right?
I mean, you're, you know, you're still ina space where you're doing the same thing.
You're covering them both,
huh?
All right.
Right.
Yep.
So you
have the same challenge.
And so I really thought.
Again, by seeing that first presentationand imagine how terrified and the audience, Randy, were people who did not
(10:58):
wanna communicate with accountants, andmy job was to connect them to accountants.
So I have this hostile audience, I'vegot a pitch on why they wanna partner with accountants to sell software.
So that laugh took all thetension out of the room.
Nice.
And so I thought other peopleneed to know how to use this.
We, I need to know how to usethis because I'm always talking about things that are complicated.
(11:22):
Mm-hmm.
And as a result, I'm notgetting through to people.
So.
That was the motivation, and sothat went, I kept going, I gotta reach more people with this because
I know they're struggling like Iwas, and so I had to get trained, and so that's true of any passion.
You know that Randy, I mean, oh yeah.
If you're passionate enoughabout something, you'll find ways to fit it into your life.
Then I found a book that was calledEven a Geek Can Speak, which you'll notice sounds kind of familiar.
(11:49):
Yes, it does.
I read that book.
It was written by an attorneyin Atlanta when I, where I happened to live at the time.
I called him up and said.
I wanna meet you.
And he said, okay, let's go to lunch.
And so the next day I show up and I cameto the lunch and I went, I'm writing
the sequel to your book, and it's gonnabe called, even a Nerd Can Be Heard.
Ah.
And he said, go ahead, do it.
(12:09):
And so, 10 years, it took me to doit, but I wrote it in oh nine, and that's where my company name came from.
And because it's what I believe, Imight be nerdy, but you can still hear me right as long as I translate.
And so the book's actually called.
How to make a boring subject.
Interesting.
52 ways.
Even a nerd can be heard, butthat was the premise for it.
But again, the passion to helpother people speak better.
(12:31):
And also Randy, have you ever beento an accounting training class?
I.
Yes.
At school?
Yes.
Did you take accounting at school?
I did.
Was that the most boring classyou ever had in your life?
Yes.
Yeah, and so I was like, I don'twant anybody else to have to sit through something like that.
So I wanna write a book thathelps people communicate better.
Well, now I need to read the book
(12:51):
and my partner finally read itafter being together four years.
I gave him the book, like whenwe first met, and he was afraid to read it, and he finally went.
Oh, this isn't as bad as I thought.
That's a glowing review.
Thanks
a lot.
Great review is gonna goon Amazon, but, but anyway.
Yeah, but it's out there,but that's what that's about.
So the consulting I do with wineriesis living what I think we need to do
(13:12):
as accountants go out there and help'em improve their business results.
Yep.
During the course of my speakingthings and I started speaking to
all the state societies when I,after I left the software company.
I discovered some advisory training.
So I got trained in that and I went, thisis what I've been looking for all my life.
If I'd known about it, Imight've stayed in the firm,
(13:33):
right?
So then I started speaking atthose training classes, and then got connected to that course.
So now I have the rights to that trainingto help other accountants do advisory.
But in the meantime, I then.
Joined a firm in Napa and used thoseskills to deliver advisory services.
And I started doing that in 2007.
So I'm applying thistraining that I found.
(13:54):
Mm-hmm.
And now I'm teaching it to other peopleand I'm still speaking about it via my keynotes and other presentations.
And then in the meantime, a positionopened up at the ITA, which was the first
organization I joined after leaving theaccounting firm that taught me how to be.
The more marketing role.
So I attended the first meetingthere and it changed my life.
(14:17):
I met all the other influencers in theaccounting space who were working for
other software publishers, and thatwas such a meaningful experience to me.
When the president role came along,I went, I love this organization.
I love how it fosters the thingsthat I think are important, both in accounting and tech.
And I put my name in the hat for thepart-time role of being president, and somehow they chose me and I'm loving it.
(14:39):
We put on three events a year.
It's tech people, many ofwhom are in accounting firms.
So it crosses over alot of different areas.
So, confusing, it sounds like a lot,but it really all comes, comes together.
It all blends
together.
So first thing I wanna ask, isit truly a part-time position?
Not really.
None of them are really part-time.
(14:59):
Right.
And you know, but, but you, again, youexpand on things that you care about.
Yep.
And you find a way to make it all fit.
And I'm also very fortunatethat everybody that I work with.
Allows me to do that.
The CPA firm is amazing and thework that I do there, because it's strictly consulting.
Mm-hmm.
I don't have tax seasons.
I don't do financial statements.
Right.
Nice.
So I have more flexibility and Icould do project work with different clients, which is what I'm doing.
(15:23):
And it's really fun towork with wineries, Randy.
Um, and by the way, it'sfun to go to wineries.
Yeah.
And I'm in Napa Valley now, eventhough I'm from South Carolina.
That's why I sound funny.
And I don't sound like a Napa person.
We've talked about this, my wifeand I spend quite a bit of time.
It'll be 40 days in the SonomaCounty area, which is adjacent to Napa County for 40 days.
(15:46):
So you and I are going to get togetherand Kathy and your partner, whoever else wants to and go visit our winery or two.
So I'm looking forward to that
and I'm gonna hook you upwith all the cool wineries.
So I, the firm, the CPA firm that I'min, has been a part-time role since 2007.
So.
Almost 18 years I've beenworking with this firm.
Wow.
And only advisory.
(16:07):
And I also do marketing.
I do outreach, I do training classes toteach Ner about accounting and financial statement information for wineries.
And they have really supported me in doingthis and given me a platform I. To really do the work, not just talk about it.
And it's been amazing.
Wineries are amazing people to work with.
It's a great industry anda beautiful place to live.
(16:27):
Oh,
I, I can vouch for that.
We don't live there, but I,the beauty we've, we get to see every year when we go out there.
All right, so is the, these three thingsworking together, I, we said three
because, but there's way more becauseyou're out speaking all the time.
You're speaking and in fact, I think I sawa LinkedIn thing this morning or yesterday where you're speaking at a winery event.
That's right.
(16:47):
Coming up next week.
Yeah, next week.
All right, so when I saw, and this wasbefore we met in person, when I saw that you were taking this role with ITA and
I had seen what you were doing and knewwhat you were doing, all these other places, I'm like, what is she doing?
Does she have time for this?
How is she gonna do all of this stuff?
You're not spreadingyourself too thin, are ya?
(17:07):
I wanna make sure you're good.
The impactful advisor.
Training is an online training programand I was doing a lot more live, not live,
but me dependent training where I wasdoing cohorts and a lot more coaching.
Mm-hmm.
Through the online materials.
And that piece has stopped.
I'm doing a lot less of that.
(17:27):
I'm now, I'm doing one monthly webinarin association with the online training.
Okay.
For the Impact advisorand that other part.
Was really intensive on theselling and marketing side.
I had to go, you know, sell a gig, dothe gig, and it was a lot of personal time that was committed on that.
Yep.
And so that I sort of scaled back on,okay, so you figure out where the best use is and where you get the most.
(17:51):
Impact for the time commitment.
And so I was really working hard on that.
And it really got me through covid.
I launched it during Covid.
Okay.
When much of the speakingevaporated, right?
So that was a huge part of my revenue.
And so having that to do, and alsosomething that I had wanted to take
over for a long time, and it all cametogether, the timing was perfect.
All right, so.
(18:12):
Yeah, so it works out and just makingsure you're living your best life.
So
I, I every day can't believe that I getto do what I do and the people that I
work with, and knowing that what I domatters that, that was the biggest change.
And you know what that's like, oh.
Believe me, I'm like youevery day is awesome.
Yeah.
Everything I do, I love, I getto talk to people like you.
(18:33):
Yeah.
This is what I do.
Um, I get to speak at events, I getto feel, and what you just said, I
mentioned, you know, your top 100accounting today for multiple times.
I, I was fortunate to be on thatthe last two years and just the.
Knowledge or the confirmation, Iguess that what you're doing matters.
(18:55):
It feels good.
I mean it's, you know, whatever there's,is it the right top 100, whatever.
But the fact that you get confirmationthat, yeah, you're making a difference, is just pretty cool.
Yeah.
And for me, and just as you talked aboutbeing nervous when you speak, and what I realized in that TEDx talk, I mean, that
was, I think I was more nervous aboutthat than the standup because this is a 30 minute, no, up to 18 minutes talk.
(19:20):
And it's Ted, I mean, it'sgot the TED label, right?
It's a community licensed event.
It's not the big stage.
Right.
But still it's a TED Talk you're doing.
It's horrifying.
Yep.
You don't have notes and youhave 18 minutes where you're just standing there talking.
So before that, and also there's thisself-doubt about, I don't have anything.
I mean, I'm not Ted worthy,I don't have anything.
I haven't done anythingearth shattering or anything.
(19:43):
So here, I'm gonna go up here and I'm justan idiot, a nerdy idiot, and I'm gonna go on this stage and it's gonna be awful.
I. And what if I bomb andyou know, all this stuff.
And so I'm backstage, I actually wentoutside of the theater and we're in this huge opera house in Napa and it's got
all these fancy seats and I was, yousee that and then you really freak out.
So I go outside and pace up and down,and I'm going, what am I gonna do?
(20:05):
How am I gonna do this?
And I finally went.
I may not have anything importantto say, but there is gonna be one person in the audience that needs to
hear what I have to say, and that's,I've gotta just focus on that.
It may not be brilliant orearth shattering, but somebody's
gonna need to hear it, andthat's what I'm doing this for.
And so I went out there, I did it.
I came off the stage.
We had our first break, and thesecond the break started, the woman
(20:28):
came up to me and said, you saidexactly what I needed to hear.
Those were the fir.
And I just, I still get chills every time.
Yep.
And I was like, oh my God.
And I just started to soband I went, oh my God, dear.
She was like, I'm sorry.
And I said, no, that's exactly.
Why I did this.
You're my one.
And so every single time sincethen, I've had somebody say almost in those exact words.
(20:52):
That's what it's about.
Yep.
And if I could do one person,every time I speak, somebody can get it, then that's why I'm here.
That's, I believe that's whyI'm put here and that's why I suffered, which I know you agree.
The suffering is what teaches us.
Or fires the passion within.
Yeah.
Oh yeah.
(21:12):
What you said is like, I think you and Imight be the same person because I agree.
So I do.
One of the presentation, everybody thatlisten to this show knows this, but one of them is on mental health awareness.
Yeah.
Um, and it's a personal story.
I had a stroke 11 yearsago and after the stroke.
Struggling mentally.
Yeah.
So I do this and I, Iget that same response.
Somebody almost inevitablycomes up afterwards and, you know, I needed to hear this.
(21:37):
I, you made me realize that Idon't have to, 'cause I, you know, dealt with depression.
And then after this, Idon't have to accept this.
I can try to make a change.
I'm gonna go back to my hometown andI'm gonna seek out a therapist and I'm gonna start me like that kind of thing.
Just like you said, cry and goosebumps.
Yeah.
It's just crazy.
(21:57):
There's no better thing.
And you know when you're doingtaxes, I'm sorry, you don't get that kind of a response?
No.
You hand it to somebody and they saythanks, and they stick it in a drawer.
I mean, you can watch 'em.
I would go out to clientsand say, here's your taxes.
Isn't this fabulous?
Look what we did.
And they're like, yeah, thanks.
And they would open the drawer, stick itin there and go, okay, so how are you?
Or something, and then I'd leave.
(22:17):
Yeah.
And there's value in it.
Yep.
But I think we could extend thevalue much better by just having
more frequent conversations with theclient and ask 'em, how are you doing?
And you know, what's happeningwith your life and are you happy?
And you know, all of that stuff.
I mean, build a relationship.
Yeah.
And ask questions and listenand all that kind of stuff.
That's right.
That's uh, that's right.
That's pretty cool.
(22:38):
I gotta say one more thing, butbased on what we're talking about.
'cause this one just, and Idon't think I've ever said this on the show, maybe I have, but.
This one.
Just every time I even think aboutit, I, I, I'll start crying probably.
I was at a conference lastyear, it was last July, and I went in to listen to a speaker.
I don't do that that often.
Yeah, because you're atconferences all the time, you know.
Yeah.
But this is a friend of mine and heended up, we were in round tables and he asked a couple questions.
(23:04):
He spoke a couple questions.
Then he said, okay, I want you to talkabout this amongst yourself at your table.
And he said something like.
I want you to imagine you're at yourretirement party and what would have to happen at that for you to feel
like you had a successful career orsomething like that was the question.
And so we're at our table, there's eightof us, and it gets to me and I said, well, honestly, a few different things.
(23:29):
And then bottom line is if somebody atthat party came up to me and said, Randy, you made this profession fun for me.
I would just break downcrying right there.
And the woman across the table looks at meand says, Randy, you've done that for me.
Oh God.
And I literally, I want to cry right now.
I mean, that was like one of the mostamazing things anybody's ever said to me.
(23:52):
Wow.
And that's why's I continue to make a, tryto make a difference in this profession.
I'm assuming that's you too
and that makes you wannareach more people, right?
Yes, that's And the hints why theITA thing at this stage of my life.
Also, I mean, I'm, you know,I've been doing this a long time.
I'm looking at long-term, what's mypath to retirement and being in an event where we put on three events and
(24:13):
hopefully I can bring another speakersthat help communicate that because we got the same challenge in technology.
Seats, and especially technologyfolks who are inside accounting firms, they're struggling with the same thing.
Yeah.
So if I can get the reach broader,that makes me feel more, you know, happier that I can have a bigger impact
on people potentially, even though itdoesn't have to be me on the stage.
(24:36):
So I, we kind of shift as we gothrough different stages of our lives.
But yeah, that's.
I think that's what we're all here for.
Yep.
And I think many accountants cameto this profession specifically
to make an impact and they'refrustrated because they don't know how
those two words together.
Impactful advisor.
That's right.
Uh, and when I kept, somebodyinterviewed me when I was opening up
(24:56):
this business and they kept saying, andthe word I used every time was impact.
I wanna make a more of an impact.
I wanna help other peoplehave a bigger impact.
And yeah, it's a big thingabout the motivation and also I think the opportunity.
Yep.
Alright, Geni, this is this conversation.
I could keep going forever actually.
There's a ton I wanna impact onthat whole journey to partner and leaving immediately.
(25:19):
I think we might have to have episodenumber two where we dig into that
because I think there's so much thatpeople can learn from your journey.
And the ways things you feltwent right and the way things you would've changed and all that.
So let's, right now we're going toagree we're gonna do another episode.
Okay?
All right, you, you got it.
And I'm gonna interviewyou in the third episode.
(25:40):
All right.
That sounds like a plan.
Okay.
That works.
But, so this conversation was great.
I love to see the path that you've gone.
I love the passion youhave for the profession.
I think what you show is that if you canfollow your passion and still be part of this profession and make an impact in
the profession and make it fun, and thoseare things that I think need to get out there more and people need to hear more.
(26:03):
And you are doing a great job on that.
Anything you wanna wrap upon the conversation we had?
I think you're doingthe same thing, Randy.
I think we definitely are kindred spiritsand I'm just excited that there are a
lot more people that are talking aboutthings like this than there used to be.
Yep.
It used to be you couldn't get a slotas a speaker unless it was about GAAP or FASB standards or Section 179.
(26:25):
They didn't wanna hear about anything buttechnical topics, and now we have really grown such that people wanna talk about.
Other things about how to besuccessful, how to communicate, how to live the life of their dreams.
And I think that's a huge shift, apositive shift for the profession.
Yep.
And I agree, I I was gonna stop there, butwhat you just said, I just got notified.
I was selected to speak at aconference and they selected
(26:47):
my session "Creating a Happier,Healthier Firm." And I'm like, okay.
Yay.
That's good.
Yay.
I like it.
Alright, Geni, but before wewrap up, couple final questions.
First is, and I didn't tell you thisahead of time, so I'm surprising you with it, but I think it shows
through that your passion iswhat's going on in this profession.
(27:08):
But when we're not dealing with ITA andaccounting and advisory and wineries, what is your outside work passion?
What do you enjoy doingthat's not work related?
I have three grandchildren now, and Icould spend every moment just staring at the youngest one who's seven
months, and the other one, the oldestone, who's 11 and the 5-year-old.
All three different stages, and they'reall just a blast to hang out with.
(27:29):
So I would spend all my timerunning around playing with them.
Nice, nice.
That's a good passion to have.
And then finally, if people wanna findout more about what you're doing, what's a good place for them to look or contact?
So GeniWhitehouse.com is kind ofmy central page that brings all the various components together.
Or you can visit EvenANerd.comand learn about some of the stuff.
(27:51):
I don't do a lot of updates onthat one, but it talks about my speaking kind of focus.
All right.
Awesome.
And we'll put that in theshow notes and everything.
And, and Geni, I am so thrilled thata year and a half ago, uh, we ran
into each other and I am honoredto be able to call you a friend.
So thank you for being on the show.
Me too, Randy, it's been a pleasureand I'm looking forward to meeting your wife and hanging out in wine country.
(28:13):
Thank you for joining ustoday on The Unique CPA.
You can find the show notes fortoday's episode and learn more about Tri-Merit at TheUniqueCPA.com.
Remember to subscribe andleave a five star rating on your favorite podcasting app.
And join us next time for more expertiseand insights on The Unique CPA.
(28:36):
ProfessionalProductions.net
Hello, and welcome to the uniqueCPA with your host, Randy Crabtree.
(00:04):
We are committed to creating a thrivingcommunity of accounting professionals
who are physically and mentally healthy,fulfilled, and energized by their work.
Our ultimate goal is to elevatethe reputation of the accounting
profession and vastly improvedthe lives of those in it.
The unique CPA is broughtto you by Tri-Merit, the Specialty Tax Professionals.
Today our guest is Geni Whitehouse.
(00:26):
Geni actually has many hats.
One.
She's the founder ofthe impactful advisor.
She's ITA president.
She's a winery consultant.
She's been named multiple times, top 100most influential people in accounting.
I think it's, and Geni, I'll get it wrong,but top 25 Women in Accounting or I, some
(00:47):
other things I saw as well, I can lether maybe add to that things I missed.
And she is a self-proclaimed nerd.
So Geni, welcome to the en unique CPA.
Thank you so much, Randy, for beinghere and many people back in my high school days proclaimed me the nerd.
It wasn't just self-proclaimed.
I lived it, believe me.
So, yeah, so thank youfor that introduction.
(01:09):
Yeah.
Well, I've known, I think I've knownof you for longer than I've known you.
I think you and I met just like a yearand a half ago for the first time, right?
That's right.
I don't know how that happens, you know,sometimes we're so busy speaking at
things, we don't get to meet all the otherpeople that are doing the same thing.
Yeah, but what I was gonna sayis I've never looked, uh, met
you, talked to you, been aroundyou, and said, look at that nerd.
(01:30):
So I'm not sure where the nerd comes from.
So I, I'm gonna argueagainst the nerd status.
Okay.
Well, you're wrong.
I have lots of people who would saythat You don't know, that you've never seen me geek out over a spreadsheet.
I bought an abacus andtaught myself how to use it.
The slide rule was my favoritething ever in high school.
(01:51):
I mean, what more do you need?
And I lettered in Algebra two,Randy letter in Algebra two.
What?
They gave me the letter andI was like, I'm never wearing this to school on anything.
So what more do you need?
I don't, it's not a fake thing.
Alright.
It's a real
life thing.
Well, two things you did right there.
(02:11):
You're starting to convince methat the title may be, may be real.
And two, one of the goals of theshow, which we didn't talk about ahead of time, was we laugh.
So we've got those goingalready, so we're good to go.
Well that's good.
That's what keeps everything interesting.
Exactly.
So I'm listed those things You doand you seem super busy when I read
(02:32):
that out because on top of that,you're at conferences all the time.
You're speaking atconferences all the time.
Yeah.
Author, uh, have, I knowat least a book out there.
Give us a little bit deeper background on.
Let's just define thosethree things I mentioned.
I mean, 'cause those are three,you know, kind of unique things.
Impactful advisor, ITA,president and winery consultants.
So give us a little backgroundon all three of those and what you're doing there.
(02:55):
So I'm kind of gonna back up a little bit.
Yep.
And explain that they're all veryconnected to what I'm passionate about.
All right.
They sound kind of diverseand, and I do bits of different things, but it all comes together.
So it started when I was a CPA myself.
I started with Deloitte in tax and Ihad 15 years in different tax roles ending up in a small firm in Atlanta.
(03:16):
And the day I made partner, Irealized I was miserable and I quit.
So 15 years of being in accounting.
With the goal of being a partner,and I decided in seventh grade,
Randy, speaking of nerds, okay,because I loved math again, nerd.
Yeah.
I went to my teacher and I said, whatdo you do if you're good at math?
And she said, you eitherteach or you're a CPA.
And I said, which onemakes the most money?
(03:39):
And she said, accounting CPA.
And I went, okay, that'swhat I'm gonna do.
And then, I mean, literally everythingI did was to become a partner in a CPA firm from that point forward.
Wow.
Because my dad sold taxbooks to accounting firms.
He was worked for CCH, and so hethought they were the bees and knees.
So I thought, that's the thing.
Dad thinks it's cool.
I'm good at this nerdy thing.
(04:00):
I'm gonna be rich.
Here we go.
So I mean everything.
So I get into Big Eight, I immediatelyfeel like I'm not good enough
because they give me a review thattells me I'm bad at everything.
My first review was FS in every score.
Oh, wow.
Because I wasn't detailed enough, so Ispent 15 years trying to fit myself into what I'm supposed to be, and I get to
the end of the rainbow and I, this isas good as it's gonna get, and I went.
(04:25):
I don't like this, and I'mcommitting now at the partner level.
So I left and went into high techand I did my first speech, and then I really brought to that speaking
gig or that engagement inside atechnology firm, a passion to make sure nobody else felt like I did.
Wow.
And so that passion made me, and thefirst time I did a speech, and again, I was at a software company, so I did some.
(04:49):
Project management software training.
I implemented PeopleSoft and did someconsulting, and then I joined a software company, and my role there was to build
CPA alliances and I had to do a speechand I made people laugh and I saw the power of that on not only me giving me
permission and making me comfortable,but it made us all on the same team.
(05:11):
And I saw the fear go away inthe audience, and I immediately thought, I gotta get good at this.
I started trying to find ways to getbetter and eventually took standup comedy training, and I did a TEDx
talk, which talks about sort of allthe things, but part of that was
that my dad passed away shortly afterI had given my first presentation.
(05:31):
I. I thought, how can I cope with this?
What can I do to survive this?
And immediately I thought I can givehis eulogy and I can make it funny.
'cause my dad was very funny, right?
So that was a coping mechanism andthat really further motivated me to go get trained and stand up.
So I did that, whichwas Randy, horrifying.
And I bet I was terrible, I'm sure.
(05:53):
And my kids will never forgiveme for having to listen to me.
Do my own standup routineon stage at the punchline.
They sat there.
My son was literally underthe table when I was.
There's gonna be a lot oftherapy needed after this for both of us, but life changing.
I mean, if once you've done that,it's kind of like anything else is.
(06:14):
Easy.
I'll give you a ton of credit 'causeI, you know, people and you speak
all the time and I don't know how youare, but I don't get nervous at all.
It, it's just you, you get nervous.
I
wanna throw up and run awayevery single time, Randy, every single time I hear that a
lot,
but I know I can survive it.
That's the difference.
Yeah.
(06:34):
Okay.
See, and you're not
nervous.
I hate you for that, Randy.
Well, thank you.
I appreciate it.
But I'm thinking, should I be maybe what?
What?
No, what's going on, pop, what I was gonnasay is I feel like I'm brave and I would
do a lot of things, but that standup thatyou that, I mean, I would be nervous.
I would be like out speaking.
Sure.
(06:55):
I'll get laughs.
I wanna get laughs, but when Ihave to get laughs and I up there
and that's the only reason I'm upthere and then they don't laugh.
I'll be like, that wouldbe so crushing to me.
I don't know if I can handle withit, but I'm sure you'll learn a lot.
That's, I, it's, I giveyou so much credit.
It is absolutely crushing.
But you know, the thing aboutgetting the laughs, it's really not about getting a laugh.
(07:17):
It's about findingconnection to the audience.
Randy, the same thing thatmotivates you, motivates me.
I wanna feel like I'm connecting.
And a laugh is one way, but also,you know, other kind of responses.
Yeah.
So that's part of why I likespeaking because I can see immediately if I'm having an impact.
Yes.
Yes.
But the thing about standup that you haveto remember, Randy, is first of all, the audience is drunk 'cause you're at a bar.
(07:41):
And secondly, when you do this punchlinething, it's a graduation ceremony
and everybody in the audience is afamily member of somebody on stage.
So everything you do is funny, includingif you fall off the stage or forget your line or whatever, they're gonna laugh.
So that's the blessing of that.
Okay.
Especially the drinking part.
Yes.
That really helps.
(08:01):
Everything's funny at acertain level in the night.
Well, you and I, uh, have donethe drinking part together a few times and that's always been fun.
So, but yeah.
Sorry.
You were gonna go on.
Yes, we have, but I mean, most audiences.
They're trying to be on your side,but that's what the humor does.
It gets you on the same teamsomehow once you get 'em to laugh.
(08:22):
Yeah.
Especially for us, Randy.
'cause no matter who we are in accounting,if somebody comes to an event that
an accountant's gonna speak, they'regoing, this is gonna be awful, right?
They're going, this is boring andblah, blah, blah, and we're not gonna wanna listen to any of this.
And so anything you do above that verylow bar is magical for the audience.
So we have an advantage whenwe're speaking as accountants.
(08:43):
To other people.
Yeah.
Because they don't expectus to be that good.
No.
So you wear a purple shirt,Randy, and you're a rock star.
Well, I actually did have a purpleshirt on at our conference last year.
Well, they had purple highlights on it,uh, with a sparkly, uh, uh, silver jacket.
So that was, uh, oh, well
there you go.
(09:03):
See?
Yeah.
So right there, that's all Ihad to do and pay attention.
So we keep going down this, andI think we will at some level.
Before we went on, we talked about thisand how much training you've done, and
I'm just so amazed and in awe of howdedicated you are to this speaking.
And now I feel that I need to catchup and get out there and get some training, but that we can get back to.
(09:25):
I did wanna get back to you weresaying how the, these all three things tie together and what it is.
Yeah.
So do you wanna Yeah.
Continue on that route?
Yeah, so part of what I waspassionate about is the fact that accountants are undervalued.
Mm-hmm.
That was one of the things thatreally bugged me is how people didn't know what we do and how important
it is because they didn't understandanything we said, first of all.
(09:47):
'cause we bore them to death.
And secondly, 'cause we speakin the foreign language.
Yep.
So that was the first thing thatI really, we gotta fix this.
And then the second thing was.
We're not doing enough for our clients.
We're not asking que, Imean, I was doing tax.
I didn't know what the heckwas going on in the business.
I could just say, yeah, you owetax, or you get a refund and I don't know what you're doing.
And they, if they asked methat, I would go, uh, I don't know, but you owe this much.
(10:11):
So it felt very.
Meaningless the work that I was doing.
So those two things combined, thedesire to make more impact with our clients and the desire to help
accountants who do great work getrecognized for that great work.
And so that requires anability to communicate with the clients in a better way.
First to ask questions so that we knowwhat they need, and secondly, to explain it in a way that they can apply, right?
(10:36):
So.
That meant I had to communicate.
And it really, when you go fromaccounting to technology, you're going from nerd to geek, right?
I mean, you're, you know, you're still ina space where you're doing the same thing.
You're covering them both,
huh?
All right.
Right.
Yep.
So you
have the same challenge.
And so I really thought.
Again, by seeing that first presentationand imagine how terrified and the audience, Randy, were people who did not
(10:58):
wanna communicate with accountants, andmy job was to connect them to accountants.
So I have this hostile audience, I'vegot a pitch on why they wanna partner with accountants to sell software.
So that laugh took all thetension out of the room.
Nice.
And so I thought other peopleneed to know how to use this.
We, I need to know how to usethis because I'm always talking about things that are complicated.
(11:22):
Mm-hmm.
And as a result, I'm notgetting through to people.
So.
That was the motivation, and sothat went, I kept going, I gotta reach more people with this because
I know they're struggling like Iwas, and so I had to get trained, and so that's true of any passion.
You know that Randy, I mean, oh yeah.
If you're passionate enoughabout something, you'll find ways to fit it into your life.
Then I found a book that was calledEven a Geek Can Speak, which you'll notice sounds kind of familiar.
(11:49):
Yes, it does.
I read that book.
It was written by an attorneyin Atlanta when I, where I happened to live at the time.
I called him up and said.
I wanna meet you.
And he said, okay, let's go to lunch.
And so the next day I show up and I cameto the lunch and I went, I'm writing
the sequel to your book, and it's gonnabe called, even a Nerd Can Be Heard.
Ah.
And he said, go ahead, do it.
(12:09):
And so, 10 years, it took me to doit, but I wrote it in oh nine, and that's where my company name came from.
And because it's what I believe, Imight be nerdy, but you can still hear me right as long as I translate.
And so the book's actually called.
How to make a boring subject.
Interesting.
52 ways.
Even a nerd can be heard, butthat was the premise for it.
But again, the passion to helpother people speak better.
(12:31):
And also Randy, have you ever beento an accounting training class?
I.
Yes.
At school?
Yes.
Did you take accounting at school?
I did.
Was that the most boring classyou ever had in your life?
Yes.
Yeah, and so I was like, I don'twant anybody else to have to sit through something like that.
So I wanna write a book thathelps people communicate better.
Well, now I need to read the book
(12:51):
and my partner finally read itafter being together four years.
I gave him the book, like whenwe first met, and he was afraid to read it, and he finally went.
Oh, this isn't as bad as I thought.
That's a glowing review.
Thanks
a lot.
Great review is gonna goon Amazon, but, but anyway.
Yeah, but it's out there,but that's what that's about.
So the consulting I do with wineriesis living what I think we need to do
(13:12):
as accountants go out there and help'em improve their business results.
Yep.
During the course of my speakingthings and I started speaking to
all the state societies when I,after I left the software company.
I discovered some advisory training.
So I got trained in that and I went, thisis what I've been looking for all my life.
If I'd known about it, Imight've stayed in the firm,
(13:33):
right?
So then I started speaking atthose training classes, and then got connected to that course.
So now I have the rights to that trainingto help other accountants do advisory.
But in the meantime, I then.
Joined a firm in Napa and used thoseskills to deliver advisory services.
And I started doing that in 2007.
So I'm applying thistraining that I found.
(13:54):
Mm-hmm.
And now I'm teaching it to other peopleand I'm still speaking about it via my keynotes and other presentations.
And then in the meantime, a positionopened up at the ITA, which was the first
organization I joined after leaving theaccounting firm that taught me how to be.
The more marketing role.
So I attended the first meetingthere and it changed my life.
(14:17):
I met all the other influencers in theaccounting space who were working for
other software publishers, and thatwas such a meaningful experience to me.
When the president role came along,I went, I love this organization.
I love how it fosters the thingsthat I think are important, both in accounting and tech.
And I put my name in the hat for thepart-time role of being president, and somehow they chose me and I'm loving it.
(14:39):
We put on three events a year.
It's tech people, many ofwhom are in accounting firms.
So it crosses over alot of different areas.
So, confusing, it sounds like a lot,but it really all comes, comes together.
It all blends
together.
So first thing I wanna ask, isit truly a part-time position?
Not really.
None of them are really part-time.
(14:59):
Right.
And you know, but, but you, again, youexpand on things that you care about.
Yep.
And you find a way to make it all fit.
And I'm also very fortunatethat everybody that I work with.
Allows me to do that.
The CPA firm is amazing and thework that I do there, because it's strictly consulting.
Mm-hmm.
I don't have tax seasons.
I don't do financial statements.
Right.
Nice.
So I have more flexibility and Icould do project work with different clients, which is what I'm doing.
(15:23):
And it's really fun towork with wineries, Randy.
Um, and by the way, it'sfun to go to wineries.
Yeah.
And I'm in Napa Valley now, eventhough I'm from South Carolina.
That's why I sound funny.
And I don't sound like a Napa person.
We've talked about this, my wifeand I spend quite a bit of time.
It'll be 40 days in the SonomaCounty area, which is adjacent to Napa County for 40 days.
(15:46):
So you and I are going to get togetherand Kathy and your partner, whoever else wants to and go visit our winery or two.
So I'm looking forward to that
and I'm gonna hook you upwith all the cool wineries.
So I, the firm, the CPA firm that I'min, has been a part-time role since 2007.
So.
Almost 18 years I've beenworking with this firm.
Wow.
And only advisory.
(16:07):
And I also do marketing.
I do outreach, I do training classes toteach Ner about accounting and financial statement information for wineries.
And they have really supported me in doingthis and given me a platform I. To really do the work, not just talk about it.
And it's been amazing.
Wineries are amazing people to work with.
It's a great industry anda beautiful place to live.
(16:27):
Oh,
I, I can vouch for that.
We don't live there, but I,the beauty we've, we get to see every year when we go out there.
All right, so is the, these three thingsworking together, I, we said three
because, but there's way more becauseyou're out speaking all the time.
You're speaking and in fact, I think I sawa LinkedIn thing this morning or yesterday where you're speaking at a winery event.
That's right.
(16:47):
Coming up next week.
Yeah, next week.
All right, so when I saw, and this wasbefore we met in person, when I saw that you were taking this role with ITA and
I had seen what you were doing and knewwhat you were doing, all these other places, I'm like, what is she doing?
Does she have time for this?
How is she gonna do all of this stuff?
You're not spreadingyourself too thin, are ya?
(17:07):
I wanna make sure you're good.
The impactful advisor.
Training is an online training programand I was doing a lot more live, not live,
but me dependent training where I wasdoing cohorts and a lot more coaching.
Mm-hmm.
Through the online materials.
And that piece has stopped.
I'm doing a lot less of that.
(17:27):
I'm now, I'm doing one monthly webinarin association with the online training.
Okay.
For the Impact advisorand that other part.
Was really intensive on theselling and marketing side.
I had to go, you know, sell a gig, dothe gig, and it was a lot of personal time that was committed on that.
Yep.
And so that I sort of scaled back on,okay, so you figure out where the best use is and where you get the most.
(17:51):
Impact for the time commitment.
And so I was really working hard on that.
And it really got me through covid.
I launched it during Covid.
Okay.
When much of the speakingevaporated, right?
So that was a huge part of my revenue.
And so having that to do, and alsosomething that I had wanted to take
over for a long time, and it all cametogether, the timing was perfect.
All right, so.
(18:12):
Yeah, so it works out and just makingsure you're living your best life.
So
I, I every day can't believe that I getto do what I do and the people that I
work with, and knowing that what I domatters that, that was the biggest change.
And you know what that's like, oh.
Believe me, I'm like youevery day is awesome.
Yeah.
Everything I do, I love, I getto talk to people like you.
(18:33):
Yeah.
This is what I do.
Um, I get to speak at events, I getto feel, and what you just said, I
mentioned, you know, your top 100accounting today for multiple times.
I, I was fortunate to be on thatthe last two years and just the.
Knowledge or the confirmation, Iguess that what you're doing matters.
(18:55):
It feels good.
I mean it's, you know, whatever there's,is it the right top 100, whatever.
But the fact that you get confirmationthat, yeah, you're making a difference, is just pretty cool.
Yeah.
And for me, and just as you talked aboutbeing nervous when you speak, and what I realized in that TEDx talk, I mean, that
was, I think I was more nervous aboutthat than the standup because this is a 30 minute, no, up to 18 minutes talk.
(19:20):
And it's Ted, I mean, it'sgot the TED label, right?
It's a community licensed event.
It's not the big stage.
Right.
But still it's a TED Talk you're doing.
It's horrifying.
Yep.
You don't have notes and youhave 18 minutes where you're just standing there talking.
So before that, and also there's thisself-doubt about, I don't have anything.
I mean, I'm not Ted worthy,I don't have anything.
I haven't done anythingearth shattering or anything.
(19:43):
So here, I'm gonna go up here and I'm justan idiot, a nerdy idiot, and I'm gonna go on this stage and it's gonna be awful.
I. And what if I bomb andyou know, all this stuff.
And so I'm backstage, I actually wentoutside of the theater and we're in this huge opera house in Napa and it's got
all these fancy seats and I was, yousee that and then you really freak out.
So I go outside and pace up and down,and I'm going, what am I gonna do?
(20:05):
How am I gonna do this?
And I finally went.
I may not have anything importantto say, but there is gonna be one person in the audience that needs to
hear what I have to say, and that's,I've gotta just focus on that.
It may not be brilliant orearth shattering, but somebody's
gonna need to hear it, andthat's what I'm doing this for.
And so I went out there, I did it.
I came off the stage.
We had our first break, and thesecond the break started, the woman
(20:28):
came up to me and said, you saidexactly what I needed to hear.
Those were the fir.
And I just, I still get chills every time.
Yep.
And I was like, oh my God.
And I just started to soband I went, oh my God, dear.
She was like, I'm sorry.
And I said, no, that's exactly.
Why I did this.
You're my one.
And so every single time sincethen, I've had somebody say almost in those exact words.
(20:52):
That's what it's about.
Yep.
And if I could do one person,every time I speak, somebody can get it, then that's why I'm here.
That's, I believe that's whyI'm put here and that's why I suffered, which I know you agree.
The suffering is what teaches us.
Or fires the passion within.
Yeah.
Oh yeah.
(21:12):
What you said is like, I think you and Imight be the same person because I agree.
So I do.
One of the presentation, everybody thatlisten to this show knows this, but one of them is on mental health awareness.
Yeah.
Um, and it's a personal story.
I had a stroke 11 yearsago and after the stroke.
Struggling mentally.
Yeah.
So I do this and I, Iget that same response.
Somebody almost inevitablycomes up afterwards and, you know, I needed to hear this.
(21:37):
I, you made me realize that Idon't have to, 'cause I, you know, dealt with depression.
And then after this, Idon't have to accept this.
I can try to make a change.
I'm gonna go back to my hometown andI'm gonna seek out a therapist and I'm gonna start me like that kind of thing.
Just like you said, cry and goosebumps.
Yeah.
It's just crazy.
(21:57):
There's no better thing.
And you know when you're doingtaxes, I'm sorry, you don't get that kind of a response?
No.
You hand it to somebody and they saythanks, and they stick it in a drawer.
I mean, you can watch 'em.
I would go out to clientsand say, here's your taxes.
Isn't this fabulous?
Look what we did.
And they're like, yeah, thanks.
And they would open the drawer, stick itin there and go, okay, so how are you?
Or something, and then I'd leave.
(22:17):
Yeah.
And there's value in it.
Yep.
But I think we could extend thevalue much better by just having
more frequent conversations with theclient and ask 'em, how are you doing?
And you know, what's happeningwith your life and are you happy?
And you know, all of that stuff.
I mean, build a relationship.
Yeah.
And ask questions and listenand all that kind of stuff.
That's right.
That's uh, that's right.
That's pretty cool.
(22:38):
I gotta say one more thing, butbased on what we're talking about.
'cause this one just, and Idon't think I've ever said this on the show, maybe I have, but.
This one.
Just every time I even think aboutit, I, I, I'll start crying probably.
I was at a conference lastyear, it was last July, and I went in to listen to a speaker.
I don't do that that often.
Yeah, because you're atconferences all the time, you know.
Yeah.
But this is a friend of mine and heended up, we were in round tables and he asked a couple questions.
(23:04):
He spoke a couple questions.
Then he said, okay, I want you to talkabout this amongst yourself at your table.
And he said something like.
I want you to imagine you're at yourretirement party and what would have to happen at that for you to feel
like you had a successful career orsomething like that was the question.
And so we're at our table, there's eightof us, and it gets to me and I said, well, honestly, a few different things.
(23:29):
And then bottom line is if somebody atthat party came up to me and said, Randy, you made this profession fun for me.
I would just break downcrying right there.
And the woman across the table looks at meand says, Randy, you've done that for me.
Oh God.
And I literally, I want to cry right now.
I mean, that was like one of the mostamazing things anybody's ever said to me.
(23:52):
Wow.
And that's why's I continue to make a, tryto make a difference in this profession.
I'm assuming that's you too
and that makes you wannareach more people, right?
Yes, that's And the hints why theITA thing at this stage of my life.
Also, I mean, I'm, you know,I've been doing this a long time.
I'm looking at long-term, what's mypath to retirement and being in an event where we put on three events and
(24:13):
hopefully I can bring another speakersthat help communicate that because we got the same challenge in technology.
Seats, and especially technologyfolks who are inside accounting firms, they're struggling with the same thing.
Yeah.
So if I can get the reach broader,that makes me feel more, you know, happier that I can have a bigger impact
on people potentially, even though itdoesn't have to be me on the stage.
(24:36):
So I, we kind of shift as we gothrough different stages of our lives.
But yeah, that's.
I think that's what we're all here for.
Yep.
And I think many accountants cameto this profession specifically
to make an impact and they'refrustrated because they don't know how
those two words together.
Impactful advisor.
That's right.
Uh, and when I kept, somebodyinterviewed me when I was opening up
(24:56):
this business and they kept saying, andthe word I used every time was impact.
I wanna make a more of an impact.
I wanna help other peoplehave a bigger impact.
And yeah, it's a big thingabout the motivation and also I think the opportunity.
Yep.
Alright, Geni, this is this conversation.
I could keep going forever actually.
There's a ton I wanna impact onthat whole journey to partner and leaving immediately.
(25:19):
I think we might have to have episodenumber two where we dig into that
because I think there's so much thatpeople can learn from your journey.
And the ways things you feltwent right and the way things you would've changed and all that.
So let's, right now we're going toagree we're gonna do another episode.
Okay?
All right, you, you got it.
And I'm gonna interviewyou in the third episode.
(25:40):
All right.
That sounds like a plan.
Okay.
That works.
But, so this conversation was great.
I love to see the path that you've gone.
I love the passion youhave for the profession.
I think what you show is that if you canfollow your passion and still be part of this profession and make an impact in
the profession and make it fun, and thoseare things that I think need to get out there more and people need to hear more.
(26:03):
And you are doing a great job on that.
Anything you wanna wrap upon the conversation we had?
I think you're doingthe same thing, Randy.
I think we definitely are kindred spiritsand I'm just excited that there are a
lot more people that are talking aboutthings like this than there used to be.
Yep.
It used to be you couldn't get a slotas a speaker unless it was about GAAP or FASB standards or Section 179.
(26:25):
They didn't wanna hear about anything buttechnical topics, and now we have really grown such that people wanna talk about.
Other things about how to besuccessful, how to communicate, how to live the life of their dreams.
And I think that's a huge shift, apositive shift for the profession.
Yep.
And I agree, I I was gonna stop there, butwhat you just said, I just got notified.
I was selected to speak at aconference and they selected
(26:47):
my session "Creating a Happier,Healthier Firm." And I'm like, okay.
Yay.
That's good.
Yay.
I like it.
Alright, Geni, but before wewrap up, couple final questions.
First is, and I didn't tell you thisahead of time, so I'm surprising you with it, but I think it shows
through that your passion iswhat's going on in this profession.
(27:08):
But when we're not dealing with ITA andaccounting and advisory and wineries, what is your outside work passion?
What do you enjoy doingthat's not work related?
I have three grandchildren now, and Icould spend every moment just staring at the youngest one who's seven
months, and the other one, the oldestone, who's 11 and the 5-year-old.
All three different stages, and they'reall just a blast to hang out with.
(27:29):
So I would spend all my timerunning around playing with them.
Nice, nice.
That's a good passion to have.
And then finally, if people wanna findout more about what you're doing, what's a good place for them to look or contact?
So GeniWhitehouse.com is kind ofmy central page that brings all the various components together.
Or you can visit EvenANerd.comand learn about some of the stuff.
(27:51):
I don't do a lot of updates onthat one, but it talks about my speaking kind of focus.
All right.
Awesome.
And we'll put that in theshow notes and everything.
And, and Geni, I am so thrilled thata year and a half ago, uh, we ran
into each other and I am honoredto be able to call you a friend.
So thank you for being on the show.
Me too, Randy, it's been a pleasureand I'm looking forward to meeting your wife and hanging out in wine country.
(28:13):
Thank you for joining ustoday on The Unique CPA.
You can find the show notes fortoday's episode and learn more about Tri-Merit at TheUniqueCPA.com.
Remember to subscribe andleave a five star rating on your favorite podcasting app.
And join us next time for more expertiseand insights on The Unique CPA.
(28:36):
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