Engaging In Communities Is The Best Thing You Can Do For Your Business - And Your Self!
Community is not a place, it's a feeling.
- Unknown
I am lucky to be a part of many communities, personally and professionally. All of them add richness and depth to my life. They make me feel part of worlds larger than me, give me deep meaning to my business and life and add immeasurable joy to my day!
I mentioned last week that I am coming off a good run of being at live events where I got to engage IRL with the accounting community, which energizes me deeply. It’s not just about the sessions and the planned social events. I am all about the “hallway conversations” where you can really get into the heartful conversations with friends and peers.
I was at the Tri-Merit/Unique CPA Bridging The Gap conference in Chicago at the end of August. There will be another one in Summer 2024 that you should attend!
And I was at the CPB Canada Ignite conference last week - this is my will-not-miss, changed-my-business event. Some of my American friends were there for the first time, and they were blown away at the level of education, collaboration, passion for our industry - and party skills - our Canadian Certified Bookkeepers have :-}
I will be in Las Vegas for QBConnect in mid-November, where I am hosting two sessions and hanging out with Ryan Reynolds. Okay, maybe I'm not actually hanging out with him, but I will be hanging out with lots of accounting peeps, which is more important to me.
Being a part of communities has made me feel connected to like-minded individuals. It has, more importantly, opened my world to people who are not “like me”. I still hang out with many of the same friends I’ve known since grade and high school. I have some friends I made in my 20s and 30s that I see regularly and travel with. When I moved to our lake 30-some odd years ago, I became part of the community life there, and these are the peeps I spend a ton of time with. I love them all to the moon - my lifelong, my adult-chosen and my lake friendies - but the thing is, we are of similar demographics, values, experiences and lifestyles. It can be a bit of an echo chamber - a great one - but my long-held beliefs and values are being reinforced by people who are just like me.
My accounting friends and peers are very diverse demographically, geographically, economically, philosophically and experientially from each other and from me. It has changed my life not just professionally to have engaged in the accounting community, but my personal life has been enriched deeply as well.
How to become engaged in communities so they are life-changing:
Start by joining and going, even if you think you don’t have anything to say
Voice positive comments and thoughts
These help cheer folks on and add depth of knowledge to conversations and sessions
Listen with intent
Ask questions
I am truly friends with people I started out “meeting” on social media
Some I met on social I have only interacted virtually with (webbies, community groups, one-one-on-one Zooms), and I met many over the years at live events; it’s such an easy opening if you have engaged with them virtually
You can start by observing and then lean in as you get comfortable
Introduce yourself at live events - seriously, all of my “influencer” friends love when people say hello
Hint: Make sure you tell them your name and why you know them or what community you are in together - they (me) can be overwhelmed stunned bunnies at events just like you can
If you can swing live events, they are da bomb! But there is a whole online world of communities to engage in. A combination of both is terrific, but the online ones will make you feel a part of a community even if you can’t make it to live events.
Here are some of my favourite virtual accounting communities.
Freeeee online communities
This is a group I host!
A Facebook group of nearly 5,000 engaged acctg pros and app partners.
“Workflows?! You know you need them. You know they are the key to efficiency, consistency, transparency and accountability. But where to start? Which App to use? And exactly what the heck is a workflow? We are glad you are here! Together, let’s share so we can all learn from our big wins and flops. The workflow and fintech app partners will drop by, too, to let us know what they have to help us. And the best practices and fits for their programs. This group is based around workflows & apps, systems & processes and best practices for Accounting Professionals but welcomes members of all industry types to our Wateringhole.”
You are thinking, “Really, Twitter/X is a community”? Um, hells, yes. The folks on here are funny, smart, and collaborative. Being on #TaxTwitter has led to many IRL friendships. When we meet at events (some of which I would have only heard about through #TaxTwitter) we are already comfortable and ready to roll as friends in minutes.
(#TaxTwitter hosted it’s own IRL event in August, and there is another one in the works for 2024)
Hosted primarily by Tiffany Stewart
“Your Headquarters for tips, tricks, training, and support for ProAdvisors, Accountants, and Bookkeepers using QuickBooks, whether it's Desktop (QBD) or Online (QBO), and the apps with which they integrate. We are a community in the truest sense of the word. We support each other, encourage each other, and keep each other accountable for the success of our clients and ourselves. We do this by always being humble, gentle and patient with each other and being gracious with faults and errors; each other's and our own.”
Hosted by Kate McGill Johnson
“For people interested in learning more about bookkeeping as a side hustle (or main hustle) to earn more income!”
Hosted by Heather Smith
“MasterMind community with a common theme centred around solutions that connect and extend the use of Xero. Over 6000 advanced global members of the cloud community, who together share knowledge, discuss and solve business process and integration issues, explore, connect and form casual and formal partnerships, and support the community on their cloud journey. It's an opportunity to be amongst the best of the best, and brainstorm issues with knowledgeable colleagues.”
There are a ton more online community groups, so yes, I left some out; a blog can only be so long!
Paid online communities
There are many great groups out there; choosing one (or a few) is hard, but just get on with it!
Calling these communities “online” is a bit of a misnomer. When there is a live event, many of these groups have a meetup where you can meet the other members IRL, so that’s fun! Some of these communities also host their own live events.
This is where I met my first group of accounting friends. This is my OG community, and it changed my professional life. I am forever grateful for the organization, the staff and every single member!
Get certified while immersing yourself in a community of like-minded bookkeeping professionals.
Certified Professional Bookkeepers of Canada (CPB Canada) is a member-based association, a national certifying body, and the leading professional and career development organization for bookkeepers in Canada. Created for bookkeepers by bookkeepers, we are the largest and
Jason Staats’ Realize Community
::ShamelessPlug:: I host a series all about onboarding, re-engaging and dis-engaging to create harmonious client relationships.
Where Accounting Leaders Build Confidence Through Community.
Ever had the feeling accounting professionals are doing the same work in parallel? We created Realize as a private space to come together and share what we're learning & building in the community.
Founded by firm owner & content creator Jason Staats, Realize is a first-of-its-kind community that isn't underwritten by industry partners. We develop and acquire shared resources to enable community members to exchange value more efficiently with their clients.
Join some of the sharpest minds in our profession for monthly live events, carefully matchmade mastermind groups, and community showcase events to highlight the best new no-code technology being developed by accountants.
Ryan Lazanis’ Future Firm Accelerate Group
Ryan is going to show you how to fast-track the growth of a modern, scalable 7-figure+ accounting firm
Future Firm Accelerate is an online coaching program that helps accountants & bookkeepers fast-track the growth of a modern, scalable firm through online courses, online coaching and a community of like-minded firm owners.
Where Everyone Counts: An entire community to support you in growing your business and accomplishing your goals. Accounting professionals connect in Roundtable to build and nurture relationships, learn how to solve real-world problems, celebrate wins, and build better practices.
Roundtable members get accountability, the push to practice better self-care and set boundaries, and a network of peers who have been there and can help navigate whatever challenges you face.
It’s the advisory board every business owner needs...and the social group you crave.
When you sign up, make sure you tell them, “Kellie sent me”. I want them to know how much I love them!
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It can be a lot of work to put together a comprehensive Client Guidebook from scratch.
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• Long version (has a glossary, cloud accounting explanation and sample client workflow) Guidebook template. Short version is more succinct. Supplied as in horizontal and vertical layouts, in PowerPoint (PPT) and Google Slides (GSlide) versions.
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Here is what the branded, short version for my bookkeeping business looks like
Join Your Peers Here
- Realize Meetup - Creating a Sweetheart Client Profile
Tuesday October 17, 2023
1:00 - 2:00 PM Eastern
Swiping Right - Creating a Sweetheart Client Profile
A mastermind session, in Jason Staats’s Realize Community, on defining who you want to work with, what services you want to offer and what technology you want to use.
This month, we define who we want to collaborate with!
Join us as we move through a worksheet and a lively discussion on what are your sweetheart clients.
Your sweetheart client is not just what their personality, niche or demographic profile looks like. In this masterclass, we look deeper at what makes our clients sweethearts - from providing only services you love and technology you are confident working in - we will add depth to the traditional “ideal client profile”.
This is a monthly series on client engagements I’ve developed just for the Realize Community event series. You must be a member to participate.
I highly recommend you join Jason Staats's amazing group - you will love it there!
Sociable
- said in your head in a loud sing-songy voice
A fellow member of Jason Staats’ Realize community, Ashley Francis, agrees that community is amazing!
Simply yours, Kellie :-}
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I sell bookkeeping templates, standard operating process handbooks and client guides.
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