Bookkeepers – How to Keep Forward Momentum for Your Business Building Goals

  By Linda Hunt | February 20, 2012 - 6:29 am | Bookkeeping, Guest Bloggers, Small Business Advice, Spotlights
Leave a comment

You don’t want to be like business owners who go blindly year-to-year, making just enough money to get by, but knowing deep down they’re capable of so much more. Each year they make New Year’s resolutions or goals to do things differently. Each year they stay in the same old rut. Is it your goal this year to increase your income to reflect your true value as a freelance bookkeeper or accountant? Wonderful! Now that you’ve made it, what have you done with that goal? Are you consciously building the energy to accomplish it or have you already allowed the energy to fade away? To me, the energy of this year feels hopeful and limitless. It feels like this will be a breakthrough year for many freelance bookkeepers. How about you? Are you feeling like this going to be your year for taking your freelance bookkeeping business to that 6 … Continue reading →

CASE STUDY: A Coffee Ship with a Kick Part 1–A Job Well Done

  By E.T. Barton | February 14, 2012 - 11:04 pm | Case Studies, Getting Customers, Small Business Advice, Spotlights
4 Comments

In previous case studies, I said that I wouldn’t call out the name of any businesses that I named in my Case Studies.  I said that because I do not wish to inadvertently harm any businesses that I discussed.  I am about to break that rule, however… but for a reason.  I am naming this business because I think they are doing so much right, they deserve the accolades.  However, no matter what business you are in, there is always room for improvement.  So today, I will name this business, point out everything they are doing right, and then make recommendations on how to make their business even better.  AND THE “AWESOME JOB AWARD” GOES TO… JAVA JOE’S Today’s case study is a little coffee shop in Ventura, California named Java Joe’s (www.MyJavaJoes.com).  Located right off a freeway exit, they are in a shopping center that thrives on “turn over” … Continue reading →

Diary of a Bad, Bad Bookkeeper – (Day 9) In the Clear

  By "Betty Bookkeeper" | February 7, 2012 - 10:49 pm | Diary of a Bad Bookkeeper
4 Comments

Dear Diary, Well, it’s been a little over a week, and I would say I’ve got “the lay of the land.”   Apparently, the Owner wasn’t kidding when he said he’d be out of the office a lot.  I have yet to actually see him in the office for more than an hour a day.  He comes into the office in the morning to give his field guys their daily assignments, then he talks to me for about 10 minutes before he too heads out.  Right before he walks through the door, he stops and talks to the receptionist, telling her to forward all of his important calls and take messages on the less important ones.  Yada yada yada.  Everyday is the same.  (Which bodes well for me.) Today though was a really good day.  Since the first day I got here, I’ve been the sole person in charge of the … Continue reading →

The New American-Style Customer Service

  By E.T. Barton | January 31, 2012 - 10:43 pm | Getting Customers, Small Business Advice
11 Comments

As I’ve begun my year-long journey around the world, my mind has transitioned from constant worker to constant customer. Yet at the same time, my researcher’s brain has shifted into high gear. Every town and attraction I’ve visited, I have analyzed, weighed and compared that location to “what we do back home.” Because I’ve done market research for so many years, I can’t help but notice what these attractions are doing wrong, what they are doing right, and what they could be doing better. Through all of this constant analysis, there is one themed-thought that has been uppermost in mind. That one themed-thought is: “This would (or would not) be successful in America because…” The rest of the sentence usually has to do with the American’s demand for excellent customer service and the good old American Motto: “The customer is always right.” The thing is… we seem to be the … Continue reading →

Growing Your Business in a Screwed Up Economy

  By E.T. Barton | January 24, 2012 - 10:35 pm | Decreasing Expenses, Getting Customers, Increasing Profits, Small Business Advice
1 Comment

I don’t know about you, but I am SOOOOO tired of hearing about the screwed up economy. I see it on TV shows and in movies. I hear about it on the radio and in casual conversations. I even read about it in books, newspapers and on blogs. Everyone – no matter where they are in the world – seems to be freaking out about the worst economy that has happened in nearly a century.  This panic seems to lead to more panic until finally, all I can think is, “How is the economy going to recover if no one is looking at it in a positive light?”  About two years ago, at this time of year, there was a day in publishing called “Black Wednesday.” Black Wednesday was the day that a large part of the publishing industry cut as much as 25% of their workforce, even going so … Continue reading →