The Ambitious Bookkeeper Podcast
The Ambitious Bookkeeper podcast is for bookkeepers & accountants who are growing or aspiring to start their own business. Our mission is to elevate the bookkeeping profession by providing support and resources for new and experienced firm owners. We share actionable tips on running a successful bookkeeping business, tools and resources, plus guest expert interviews that will help you elevate your business. Where you can find us: Website: https://www.ambitiousbookkeeper.com BBA: https://www.ambitiousbookkeeper.com/bba Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/serenashoupcpa LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/serenashoup Instagram: https://instagram.com/ambitiousbookkeeper
Episodes
Our on-air 1-1 strategy sessions are back! Listen in today as I mentor and coach a student of mine through feeling overwhelmed and at capacity while still wanting to grow her business.
In this episode you’ll hear:
- tips for deciding on what to delegate
- steps to take to create guardrails around your time
- introducing the waitlist & intake form to filter out prospects
Would you like a strategy session? You can book yours here!
In this interview episode, I am chatting with one of my clients, Marisa, about how she’s been leveraging LinkedIn and relationship marketing to book clients and grow her audience. Grab your notebook, because we have lots of actionable tips and advice around LinkedIn!
In this episode you’ll hear:
- How to connect with B2B on LinkedIn
- What kind of content works well
- How often to post & engage
- 5 tips for growing your authority on Lin...
In this episode, our leadership coach, Meriah, is interviewing ME, Serena, on my full story & journey on getting to where we are today!
In this episode you’ll hear:
- How I got into accounting
- Tips for managing a sidehustle/studying for the CPA exam
- Creating a plan to leave your 9-5
- and much more!
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Join us for another mini episode on leadership with our Leadership coach, Meriah Ayer, as she takes you inside of the Leadership Blueprint to explore the importance of crafting & defining your mission, vision, and values, while offering actionable tips for establishing each one.
In this episode you’ll hear:
- how to create your mission, vision, and values
- why they’re so foundational to your firm (even if you don’t plan on buildi...
- why you shouldn’t fall for the trap of pricing like your competitors
- why Bench & Pilot are able to charge as low as they do
- why you should incorporate diagnostic reviews into your proposal process
- what you’ll need from clients to complete a diag...
This week we welcome back a good friend of mine and repeat guest - Alyssa Lang, the Workflow Queen, to talk about choosing a marketing strategy that’s right for you.
In this episode you’ll hear:
- Alyssa’s current marketing campaign for her bookkeeping firm
- My current marketing strategy
- Comparing and contrasting why we both chose these differing strategies
About our guest
Alyssa, aka the Workflow Queen, teaches bookkeepers and acc...
Everyone is talking about 1099s right now but there’s another tax form you should be aware of as a bookkeeper. I’m going to give you my year end pointers in this episode so you catch many of the things your clients need to handle at year end. Or that you can handle for them, and be the expert they rely on to know these things!
In this episode you’ll hear:
- Business Property Tax
- 1099s
- Annual Corporation filings
Head to ambitiousb...
Join us for the first mini episode on leadership with our Leadership coach, Meriah Ayer as she takes you inside of the Leadership Blueprint to discover whether you are a Thinker, Doer, or Dreamer, and how to strengthen the qualities you need, to be the leader you desire to be.
Meriah is the Leadership Coach and Director of Operations at The Ambitious Bookkeeper. If you’re ready to take your leadership to the next level as you grow y...
For this episode, I decided to play another panel interview I held with some students from our Elevate Summer Sprint last year. They share what this course truly has to offer!
In this episode you’ll hear:
- some of the roadblocks students struggled with before Elevate
- what Elevate entails & how it works
- how Elevate can help you finally get compensated for the services you’re providing
Resources mentioned:
In this solo episode, I’m sharing a couple of my biggest mistakes in business and how I’ve handled them. And if you’re curious about offering higher level services (CFO/advisory) to clients, you’ll definitely want to listen to this one.
In this episode you’ll hear:
- how to handle “bad” investments
- shifting perspective when making mistakes
- radical responsibility
- how not to offer advisory services
Programs + resources mentioned:
In this episode we are playing a panel interview I held with a couple of Accelerator students from a previous cohort. I thought it would be fun to take a little trip down memory lane as we kick off 2023 to inspire you whether you’re in the dreaming stage of starting your business or you have a full roster and you’re thinking of ways to grow and shift your business to serve you better.
I’ll be interviewing Bahiya Thompson and Penny R...
In this episode, I interview Simone, founder & host of the Cannabis Business Minds Podcast, a former auditor and current consultant in the financial industry. She shares her story about getting into cannabis accounting and how she helps accountants and cannabis customers navigate the industry. Many tips will translate into any type of accounting practice.
In this episode you’ll hear:
- Freelance vs consulting
- The importance of p...
This week on the podcast I have my right hand & resident leadership coach, Meriah on the podcast and we’re talking all about core values, mission, and vision for your business as a way to build the culture (and business) you want to have.
Even if you don’t plan on having a large team (or a team at all), this work is still imperative.
It took me years to nail down my Vision, Mission, and Values, and truth be told, they’ll likely c...
In this interview episode, I chat with Julee Yokoyama, a small business operational consultant who specializes in helping small businesses create contingency plans and succession planning. She helps people answer the question: “if something happens to me, what happens to my business?”
In this episode you’ll hear:
- the difference between contingency planning & succession planning
- why both are still crucial for solo-business owne...
I interview Katie Fleming, an intuitive business coach & podcast host of The Ambitious Mom Podcast, and we talk about how your presence is the most profitable thing you can do, bridging your life with your business, and the number one thing you can do to level up in your business.
In this episode you’ll hear:
- why radical responsibility is important to your success
- looking at things objectively to find the meaning
- what the both ...
I interview the CEO of Liveplan, Sabrina Parsons, and we chat about worklife balance as a mom; discussions to have with clients and how Liveplan can help support those discussions.
In this episode you’ll hear:
- the mindset shift Sabrina had to make as CEO of a company and mom to little kids
- a piece of advice that would help any bookkeeper add more value to you clients (it’s not even advisory!)
- features on the roadmap for LivePlan
In this episode, I get to interview one of my favorite podcast hosts, Natalie Eckdahl, from Biz Chix Inc. She shares a wealth of knowledge with us on outsourcing, building an enduring business, and building an agency model.
In this episode you’ll hear:
- how to talk to your partner about outsourcing things at home
- what an ‘enduring business’ means
- what building an agency could look like
and so much more.
Resources Mentioned:
In this Interview episode I chat with Co-host Erin Andrews of the Owners & Operations podcast for Accountants. We talk about the “traditional firm model” and creating a different work environment for our future accountants.
In this episode you’ll hear:
- What it’s like taking over an accounting firm from your Dad
- What we should (and shouldn’t) be doing to attract talent to our industry as a whole
- What the “traditional accounting ...
Scott Scarano - fellow Xero enthusiast, podcaster, and firm owner joins me today to riff more on getting through burnout, purpose, and building things YOUR way. If you don’t like hearing how human other accountants actually are, don’t listen.
In this episode you’ll hear us talk about:
- checkered pasts
- creativity vs productivity
- Going against the grain and other real sh**
Listen to the end to hear Scott’s Lil Toddler’s most recen...
In this solo episode, I’m giving you 7 simple steps to use when you feel like throwing in the towel or burning it all down. Entrepreneurship is hard. You’re not alone.
In this episode you’ll hear:
- How to silence the noise
- How to protect your time
- How to give your brain space to rest
- Important questions to reflect on
By the way, here’s that awesome novel I was talking about: 📘 Merewif - By Amanda Adam
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