The Successful Bookkeeper Podcast Michael Palmer

“You have to be willing to think a little bit differently about your business. If you follow what everyone else is doing, you’re going to get the same results everybody got.”
-Racheal Cook
Building a business is hard. There are so many barriers to success that the last thing we need is to get in our own way, either by supremely undervaluing our skills, or dramatically overestimating the market for them. We all want to follow our passions, but we need to temper that desire with the real-world potential of earning from it. 
We start our own businesses to gain the flexibility and freedom often not afforded to us elsewhere. But we must be careful not to let our pricing trap us into a situation where we may be our boss but have no time or energy for anything else. 
Racheal Cook, owner of the CEO Collective and host of the Promote Yourself To CEO podcast, is this episode’s featured guest. She has spent her career helping women create sustainable success on their own terms. She speaks to the power of breaking free of entrepreneurial poverty, how to price your value, and why investing in relationships matters. 
If you are struggling, unsure why everyone else seems so successful, but you are working more and more hours and only being rewarded with less time and energy, then this is the episode to help level up your thinking into a more proactive and strategic mindset. 
During this interview, you'll learn...
The value of investing in relationships How to break free of entrepreneurial poverty The importance of pricing for the value of your skills To find out more about Racheal, click here. 
Connect with her on LinkedIn and Instagram.
Listen to Racheal's Promote Yourself To CEO podcast.
Time Stamps    
01:37 - Racheal discusses her career journey 
04:05 - Eliminating entrepreneurial poverty
08:12 - Finding the value in your offering
11:05 - Pricing for your business
13:01 - Underpriced & overworked 
17:50 - Lifetime client value
27:35 - Committing to building relationships 
32:10 - Promote yourself to CEO
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“The importance of your own personal achievement needs to be equal to the importance of everyone else’s achievement. We are all just harmoniously and fortunately moving towards the same thing: survival.” 
-Mike Michalowicz
Are we working with the business or for the business? A great way to find out is to pay attention to the way you speak about the business. Are the successes and failures ‘ours’ or are they ‘theirs’? From this simple recognition, we can build a really clear picture of who is sharing the vision and who doesn’t feel like they belong.
From there, the hard work begins. In order to maintain our success, we have to make sure those who work with and for us are benefiting too. No one is an island unto themselves; we all need help and support to achieve our dreams. And when we reach our peak of success, we must look back and help those who have supported us on our journey to achieve their own idea of success.
Mike Michalowicz, author and keynote speaker, is this episode’s featured guest. He has spent his career helping people eradicate entrepreneurial poverty, fixing and removing barriers to true success. Mike speaks powerfully about the need to understand your people, how to get inspired, and why remembering your past successes matters.
If you are struggling to share your vision, aren’t sure how to recognize the contributions of others, or inspire them to action, then this is the episode to get you thinking less about your dream and more about ‘our’ dreams. 
During this interview, you'll learn...
The value of inspiring others to achieve their dreams How to effectively communicate a shared vision The importance of taking stock of your success To find out more about Mike, click here.
Connect with him on LinkedIn.
Buy his new book, All In: How Great Leaders Build Unstoppable Teams by visiting this link.
Time Stamps

01:47 - Becoming a great leader 
09:27 - Appreciating collective goals 
16:04 - Communicating a shared vision 
21:04 - How great leaders inspire their teams 
24:38 - Creating psychological ownership
This episode is brought to you by our great friends at Forwardly!
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“You don’t have to be the best salesperson in the world. To be good at marketing a bookkeeping business, you just need to be good enough that you stand out in that crowd. You have to get good enough, you don’t have to become the world’s best marketer. “
- Peter Cook
We might be excellent bookkeepers, but that doesn’t mean we are automatically great business managers. It’s important to take the time to figure out where our skills are strong and where they could use improvement. If your passion and skill lie in the numbers, there is nothing wrong with focusing your attention there. 
Things start to slip or feel unmanageable in our businesses when we find ourselves spending a lot of time doing things we don’t love. Even if we are not in a position to outsource the work, by connecting with others, we open up a world of experience, where we can find people who have already solved our problems. And whose problems we may have already solved. 
Peter Cook, co-author of the E-Myth Bookkeeper and co-founder of Pure Bookkeeping, is this episode’s featured guest. This third episode on The Emyth Bookkeeper explores management, the challenges of growing a business, and why community matters. 
If you are drowning in your business, or want to learn more about what it takes to be a better manager, then this is the episode to help you take stock of your skills and explore connections with people who can help.
During this interview, you'll learn...
The value of challenges as steps to growth How to manage your business with your passion in mind The importance of community in solving problems  Click here to find out more about Peter.
Connect with Peter on LinkedIn.
Get your copy of The E-Myth Bookkeeper.
Click here to listen to the first episode.
Click here to listen to the second episode.
 
Time Stamps
03:00 - The challenge of growing a business 
06:23 - Getting good enough 
08:45 - Taking score of your business 
12:46 - Finding your people 
17:24 - Building a business you love 

“Don’t just ask for the referral, deserve it. You deserve a referral, and you earn a referral by who you are and how you show up in people’s lives.”
- Curtis Lewsey
 
Referrals are a huge part of our businesses but despite this, we often don’t spend as much time and genuine effort as we should investing in the relationships around us. How well we are referred by others is a direct testament to our character. 
 
If we are being disingenuous, following the money only rather than the relationships, we are unlikely to build a sustainable network of connections. We have to stop expecting referrals when we haven’t made any authenticity deposits of kindness, gratitude, or appreciation into the relationship. 
 
Curtis Lewsey, owner of AM Cards and co-author of Appreciation Marketing, is this episode’s featured guest. Curtis has spent his career helping people get appreciative about their businesses and relationships. In this episode, he speaks to the power of saying thank you, putting authenticity first, and how to set healthy expectations. 
 
If your attempts to build client relationships are failing, or you just want to get more authentic about showing your appreciation to clients, then this is the episode to put you in the receiver’s shoes, to truly take stock of how you are showing up in the world.
 
During this interview, you'll learn...
The value of saying thank you How to set healthy expectations in business relationships The importance of connecting authentically
Click here to find out more about Curtis.
 
Connect with Curtis on LinkedIn.
 
Time Stamps
01:34 - Curtis talks about his career journey 
04:34 - The power of authenticity and gratitude  
08:27 - The chain of appreciation 
14:07 - Appreciation marketing 
20:05 - Leading by example 
27:20 - Looking for opportunities to be grateful
32:20 - Learning more about Curtis 
 

“I think we just get sucked into this pattern of being busy, and telling ourselves that there aren’t any other options and that we have to accept this. That ‘it is what it is’. Instead of taking that step back, taking a deep breath and thinking what would I want this to look like, what could this be?”
- Erin Daiber
We are creatures of habit, but all too often those habits become a prison, preventing us from growing and stepping into our greater potential. Just because things have always been done a certain way, doesn’t mean we cannot choose at any moment to try something different. 
It is scary to step out of our comfort zones, but much worse to be trapped in a repeating cycle that will never lead us to the success we desire. As long as we remember we are the ones setting the rules for our lives and business, we can change them. 
Erin Daiber, returning guest and owner of Well Balanced Accountants is this episode’s featured guest. Erin speaks to the power of connecting with your passion, how to navigate high-stress environments and what your life could look like with the right coach and a willingness to set rules that work for and not against you. 
If you are feeling stuck, sure that success is within your reach, but are unsure how to grasp it, then this is the episode to help you take that step back, that deep breath that will bring clarity on the best way to move forward into a more successful business. 
During this interview, you'll learn...
The value of setting rules that work for and not against you How to navigate high-stress environments The importance of connection to your passion Click here to find out more about Erin.
Connect with Erin on LinkedIn.
Time Stamps    
01:54 - Erin talks about her career journey
04:42 - Navigating high-stress environments
07:47 - Things don’t have to be as they’ve always been
14:57 - Creating your future perfect scenario 
17:56 - Taking control of your business 
23:30 - Transforming your business with small changes 
27:00 - Holding yourself to account
32:50 - Learning more about Erin

“I find, even just that connection, talking to other people… helping each other out, so important to the success of an entrepreneur because you can’t do it alone.”
-Roger Pierce
Starting our own businesses is a daunting prospect. There are many roads to becoming a successful entrepreneur, and each person’s journey is so different, it can often feel like we have to walk the path in isolation. 
Acting in isolation, it can be hard to maintain course or connect to our purpose, chasing instead the hope of more money and clients. This is why support systems matter. When we surround ourselves with people who have or are on a journey of their own, it really helps us avoid common pitfalls and feel like we are a part of something bigger.
Roger Pierce, who is an entrepreneurship expert, is this episode’s featured guest. He has spent his career not only as a successful entrepreneur but also in bringing other like-minded people together to create their own business success. Roger speaks to the power of networking and community in building successful businesses, learning to pivot and how to approach your life with purpose. 
If you are tired of working for other people or are already on your journey but feel lost and isolated, this is the episode to get you thinking about the people you surround yourself with and the power of your purpose. 
During this interview, you'll learn...
The value of learning to pivot How to approach your life with purpose The importance of building lasting relationships To find out more about Roger, click here. 
Connect with him on LinkedIn.
Time Stamps
01:43 - Roger discusses his career journey 
05:42 - The challenges & opportunities of small business 
09:05 - Approaching your life with purpose 
13:05 - Evolving through education
16:30 - The Unsure Entrepreneur 
22:09 - Learning to pivot 
25:52 - What’s next for small businesses 
29:56 - Building lasting relationships 
34:50 - Learning more about Roger