Ten Tips to Making Yourself Better Understood in the Work Place
(Part I)

The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has occurred.
—George Bernard Shaw

How many of us have a mental image of the accountant as the bean counter in a back room, surrounded by accounting ledgers and calculators? Accountants should be the profit center experts in an organization, but that’s impossible to accomplish when fraternizing with numbers alone. One of the keys to becoming an invaluable accountant is in effectively communicating with colleagues, many of whom have no background in accounting and may be a little skittish talking profit margins.

So how should an accountant engage with coworkers in a manner that puts everyone in the financial know? Here are five of ten tips to becoming a better communicator, which will enable your colleagues, including management, to become profit center enthusiasts.

1. Listen

Effective communication can’t take place if one person is doing all the talking. Part of effectively engaging with colleagues is in understanding their goals, responsibilities, and concerns. This can only happen when you listen to them. Once you do, you better understand how your objectives can align with theirs, making you true business partners.

2. Determine Your Audience

After listening to your colleagues, you can better understand who they are and how your message can be catered to them. Ask yourself the following questions in order to better understand your audience:

• How much accounting knowledge do they have?
• Do they have responsibilities that can contribute to profit center success?
• How does your message or purpose relate to their organizational role?

Once your understand how your message relates to their role and the company’s success, they will be more likely to respond favorably.

3. Identify Your Purpose

You must identify the purpose of your message. Are you simply sharing information or do you want to effect organizational change? Once you understand what you’re trying to accomplish, you can eliminate the fluff and ensure your message is communicated clearly and succinctly.

4. Determine Your Method of Presentation

After identifying your audience and the purpose of your message, you need to determine the best method of presenting it. Not all messages are created equal; pick the method of presentation best suited for your audience and purpose. Should you present in staff meeting, write a company memo, or schedule a one-on-one meeting? It would be silly to share your message in a staff meeting if your purpose is to communicate one individual. It would be a waste of time to schedule one-on-one meetings with a handful of people all getting the same message.

5. Use Plain Language

Accountants have a tendency to use accounting jargon that can intimidate, confuse, and even bore an audience. Be sure to use plain language, especially when communicating with colleagues who don’t have an extensive accounting background. Consider ways to explain accounting concepts simply and clearly.

These five tips can help accountants effectively communicate with colleagues and ensure a profit center’s success. Return next week to discover five more ways to improve your communication skills as an accountant.

Learn more to speak the accounting language.

How to Design this Powerful Marketing Tool

Business cards for success”The business card . . . is kind of an extension of yourself. It’s a little bit of giving yourself to someone else.” Ken Erdman, founder of the Business Card Museum, Erenheim, PA.

The most effective and least expensive marketing tool is literally at your fingertips. What is it? The business card. Just 3½ inches long and 2 inches wide, this small piece of cardstock packs a marketing punch when properly designed and distributed. Not only is it economical, but it’s low-tech, compact, and can have a lasting impact on those you give them to. But how can you be sure that your card will stand out while giving potential clients all the information they need?
Getting Ideas

The first thing you should do is look at other business cards. Thumb through those you have received or surf the internet to view sample cards online. Find a handful that appeal to you. What do you like about them? How do they stand out? Is the information clear and easy to find? Are there extra creative touches that you like? Maybe there’s a wow factor you’d like to incorporate on your own card. Keep these memorable business cards in mind as you design your own.

As you create the card that best represents you and your business, remember these three simple tips on business card design:
1. Make it clear

The recipient of your card should have no question as to what you do and how you can be contacted. There is critical information that should be included on every business card: your name, job title, business name, address, phone number(s), fax, email address, website URL, tagline (or slogan), product(s) and/or service(s) offered. With all this information, it’s important that the card display the information clearly. Keep fonts consistent, and remember that whatever graphic elements you want to include, content is king.
2. Make it concise

Remember, a business card is small. If you pack it with too much information, it will be cluttered and, quite possibly, illegible. If you decide to include more than what’s absolutely required, be sure it’s done in good taste and with an economy of words. And don’t trust your own judgment alone. Having designed the card yourself, you may not be objective enough to recognize flaws. Request that a second and possibly a third-party proofread the card and give honest feedback.
3. Make it unforgettable

Typically personal business cards for many professions are encouraged to be clean and minimalist. You have a bit more leeway when creating a card representing your small business. A card for your small business can be seen as an opportunity to promote your brand. The look and feel you choose should coordinate with current promotions you’re running. It should also reflect the image you want to project to potential clients. Considering all that, you should also make it stand out. Below are some creative ideas you might consider in making your business card unforgettable.
Other creative ideas

Rotarize. Create a business card the recipient can easily transfer from a wallet to a rolodex. Rotary business cards have the upraised tabs containing your business name and notches in the bottom for easy fit in a rolodex.

Make it useful. Provide information (generally on the flip-side) that many potential contacts will find useful and will frequently refer to. A popular choice is to include a calendar, but remember you want to stand out. Consider information that is accounting-related.

Include testimonials. If you’re thinking of ways to utilize the flip-side of your business card, consider including a testimonial or two.

Add incentive. Give the recipient a reason to keep and use your business card, perhaps by including some type of discount in small print.

Give it magnetic appeal. Turn your business card into a magnet. A small business will likely stick it to a filing cabinet only to be remembered when in need of your services.

Once you’ve decided how to approach your business card, start designing. And if you need a credential or two to help your card stand out, consider one of these:

UAC’s QuickBooks Specialist Designation
Become a QuickBooks Specialist and enhance your resume and your services all at the same time. By mastering the accounting software that over 80% of small businesses use, you could increase your client base by offering setup and consultation services. Not only that but you’ll help your clients prepare their data in a way that becomes even more useful to you.

You Bet!

Victoria Richardson started her business in January of 2004, and has seen incredibly rapid growth and profit ever since. She only spent the first 6 weeks marketing. Since then, she has had all the clients she can handle. In fact, she tells us that she has had to cut down to “only” 18 clients so that she has the quality time that she wants to spend with her children. Victoria is a stay-at-home mom and Professional Bookkeeper.

USA Today notes that while there are no statistics on the number of work-at-home moms (WAHM), the National Association of Women Business Owners reports that there are more than 10 million female-owned businesses in the USA. Many of those are run by stay-at-home moms who manage their businesses and take care of their children from the comfort of their own homes.

Perhaps you’ve wanted to return home to raise your kids but have worried about losing that stable income. But there’s no need to worry. Accounting is a lucrative profession that can easily be done while taking care of your family. Just ask Victoria.

Victoria Richardson, AAHM (Accounting-at-Home Mom)

At the time Victoria started her own accounting business she had two young children: ages one and two months. She was having ethical conflicts with her employer and had reached a point where she wanted something different.

As she considered her options Victoria said:

. . . my list of wants and needs included: complete flexibility to be able to be with my children when they needed me, if they were sick, or something had come up where they needed to spend time with me. I needed to be making at least $60,000 a year. I needed to be able to have a lot of flexibility, and wanted to work an abbreviated work week. And what I found was that … there was nothing out there that was willing to give me that package. . . . I discovered that the only option that was available for me was to be able to start my own business.

The Professional Bookkeeper Program

But Victoria knew she needed more practical education. She had a bachelor’s degree in business, but didn’t feel she had the confidence to manage the accounts of multiple clients without hands-on training. So she decided to enroll in Universal Accounting Center’s Professional Bookkeeper (PB) Program; it would give her the flexibility she needed to finish the course quickly and at her own pace.

When she was close to completing the course, she decided to quit her full-time job and become an independent contractor. Her ex-employer became her first client, and within 6 weeks she had enough clients that she could stop marketing.

Victoria feels like she has the edge and doesn’t worry about competition.

I know what they want to hear. I know what’s going to make them feel comfortable, and I know what their concerns are. And the Universal Accounting Courses taught . . . a lot of it has to do with . . . it’s semantics . . . it’s the language that you present it in. When I talk to them about increasing their profitability, they listen. It makes sense to them. I can feel confident in helping them discover what problem areas they have, and what ways they can work through that, so it’s not a situation where I feel like, you know, anybody else is coming in and giving them that because, unfortunately, that’s what they’re looking for and they’re not finding it anywhere. I can come in and do it, and I can do it and save them money.

The PB Program not only teaches you practical, day-to-day accounting for the small business, but it also trains you on marketing your unique skill-set. It gives you the edge over the competition so that you can feel confident in your ability to provide a better service for your clients.

More information on the Professional Bookkeeper Program

References

“Job Opening? Work-at-Home Moms Fill the Bill” by Stephanie Armour, USA Today

By Andrea Kay — Gannett News Service

It seems every job hunter has a “what-will-they-say” or “how-it-will-look” phobia.

The typical job hunter worries, for example about what “they” will say about the fact that he or she hasn’t worked for two years and wants to get back into a particular field. Or the worker frets about “how it will look” that he or she is older than the average person in this field.

We need to put this phobia to rest right now.

It’s pointless to put an ounce of energy into worrying about this. First, just who are the “they” you’re worried about? You could end up talking to most anyone in a job hunt – from former associates and vice presidents in your industry to neighbors and relatives. It’s impossible to pinpoint everyone you might have contact with.

And it’s impossible to predict what each person will say or how your goal will look to him or her. Some will think you’re over-the-hill or crazy. Others wouldn’t blink an eye. Your situation will look different to everyone.

Besides, who cares what they think? If you want to go into a particular field at your age or back to doing something you did five years ago, that’s your business.

Base your future on what you want, not what others might think. The only two questions to ask are: How do you want it to look? And what do you want them to say?

Here’s what I mean. Let’s say you’re a 55-year-old marketing professional. How do you want that to look to others? You want there to be no question that you’re quite the catch.

You want to be seen as a vibrant, knowledgeable, innovative, results-oriented marketer. You want to convey the impression that you are a mature leader with hands-on experience and a phenomenal track record in introducing new products or services to the market, a skilled professional who can propel a company into the global marketplace or turn around a low-performing product line.

And you’re going to give them plenty of evidence to prove it. Like the time you developed and implemented a marketing strategy for a new product at your last company that led to first year sales of $8 million, 75 percent over the projected goal.

What do you want them to say? When they’re through talking to you, you want them to be so wowed they say, “Now that’s someone I’d like to hire. She’s got the energy, skills, expertise, experience and mindset we need.” Or, “I need to tell so-and-so about her.”

I’m not suggesting you don’t anticipate objections. For instance, you may be worried someone will say, “But you’ve been away from this field for five years.” You do want to have a reply ready, or bring it up before they do.

But this is not the first thing to focus on nor the reason you don’t follow through on what you want. It’s just comes with the territory. So get over it and get on to what matters most: How you want to be seen and what you’re going to tell them so they do.

Career consultant Andrea Kay is the author of “Greener Pastures: How To Find a Job In Another Place,” “Interview Strategies That Will Get You the Job You Want,” and “Resumes That Will Get You the Job You Want.” Send questions to her at No. 133, 2692 Madison Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45208; www.andreakay.com. She can be e-mailed at: andrea(AT)andreakay.com.

Focused Education Is Key to Getting Noticed

In the accounting and bookkeeping fields, you need a way to stand out from the crowd to move up to a better job. The training that is taught in the Professional Bookkeeper (PB) program gives you that edge over other applicants. The PB designation proves to employers that you have the real-world skills needed to get right to work with minimal training.

Learn More About the Professional Bookkeeper (PB) Program

Contract employee, freelance accountant, self-employed bookkeeper. They’re all basically the same thing. When you do contract work, you are in business for yourself, working for clients who can choose to employ your services long-term or temporarily. There are many perks to consider when weighing the pros and cons of contract work. But before making any rash decisions you must determine whether or not you’re ready to run your own business.

I’m a freelance writer so I’m familiar with contract work. There are perks. You can spend the entire day in your bunny slippers. You can work early in the morning and spend the afternoons with your children. You can labor hard and long one week only to take it easy the next, controlling the ebb and flow of your workload. But there are also some serious differences between contract work and full-time employment. And I wouldn’t call them cons, but they do have a significant impact on your life should you choose the path of self-employment. Ask yourself these 5 questions to determine whether or not you’re ready to become a contract employee:

1. Are you self-motivated?
The biggest difference between contract work and full-time employment is the paycheck. When you have a full-time job you can expect a paycheck every week, two weeks or once a month, depending on the pay schedule. When you are a contract employee you only get paid for billable hours, meaning you won’t get a paycheck until you submit invoices. This means you are responsible for managing your time, prioritizing your work and finishing projects. As a contract employee you’ll have no boss (other than yourself) to crack the whip and see that you get it done.

2. Are you a go-getter?
I can promise you that work won’t fall from the sky into your lap (or onto your laptop); you must be willing to find work when necessary. This means changing your perspective so that you recognize an opportunity (or potential client) when you see it, and more importantly, go after it.

3. Are you organized?
You must be able to prioritize projects and allocate your time well. And don’t forget that some of your time must be spent building good relationships with your clients. It also helps to have all your files in order so you can minimize wasted time by finding what you need quickly and efficiently.

4. Are you flexible?
The 9 to 5 schedule is out. You must be willing to rethink your work schedule to accommodate some clients and projects (and of course, your family). Learning how to juggle all those interests will require flexibility (and a hearty dose of creativity).

5. Can you manage uncertainty?
As mentioned in number one, there’s a certain amount of uncertainty or risk involved in becoming a freelance accountant. But any investment requires a certain amount of risk, so don’t let that scare you away. The best way to deal with uncertainty is to have a contingency plan that anticipates problems before you encounter them.

Universal Accounting Center’s Special Business Package

Another way to manage the uncertainty is to ensure you have all the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed. Universal Accounting Center (UAC) can help you appeal to a lucrative niche market: small business. Not only that, but we’ll train you how to market those skills and build a significant client base that will ensure your success.

The Professional Bookkeeper PB Program

While universities and other accounting training programs prepare students to work for large companies, over 85% of accounting opportunities are with small businesses that need accountants who understand their unique needs. For over 25 years UAC has been training individuals like you who are looking to become freelance accountants. And it doesn’t matter how extensive your experience; our program is designed to help beginner, intermediate, and expert accountants.

The Universal Practice Builder (UPB) Program

Once you have the skills, you’ll need to market them to that niche market. For years we’ve been offering the Universal Practice Builder Workshop, designed to train you how to market your practice in order to experience significant growth and profitability. You had to attend this two-day workshop in order to glean all the amazing information offered. Now, to accommodate students and make this information more convenient we have turned this workshop into a DVD program. Imagine all that you could learn from our experience training thousands of individuals like you!

This new program offers the following:

• $30,000 in new annualized billings in only 12 months
• Tactical goal planning and setting
• The generation of 15 to 25 qualified leads per month
• Phone marketing instruction and training
• Training in the benefits of newsletters and websites
• 12 proven marketing strategie.
• Financing options

Receive a Free Gift

But wait, there’s more! We want you to take advantage of this offer so you can realize your potential. And what better way to help you accomplish that than by combining these two powerful programs with another profit-building program, QuickBooks Made Profitable, for FREE!

And if you don’t recognize what a valuable offer this is, let us tell you! Over 80% of the small businesses that use accounting software have chosen QuickBooks. But knowing that is not enough to build a bigger client base. UAC has created this program to teach you how to use QuickBooks to generate more clients. You’ll be trained in a proven system of how you can use QuickBooks to attract larger numbers of potential clients offering expert QuickBooks services. Learn how to leverage your time, meet potential clients and offer them services that will help them reduce taxes, increase profits and put money in the bank in such a way that you will be asked the question that we are all longing to hear: “How much do you charge for your services?”

With this one investment you’ll not only achieve your potential but you’ll surpass it! Your practice will grow and become more profitable than you could have imagined. Take advantage of this special package quickly, before we run out of inventory. We expect them to go fast, so order now!

UAC Helps Financial Professionals Create Personalized Websites for their Businesses

One great way to promote your business is in having a website. People can get to know you a little better even if they are across the continent. A good website will speak directly to your target audience and let them know how you can make their lives better. A good website will represent you well and increase your clientele. A good website will also work 24/7 as a virtual receptionist, getting the word out about your business while you spend your time doing what you do best: accounting. But where do you start? Getting your own website up and running can be an intimidating endeavor. Not anymore.

The New and Improved AccountWeb Tool

Universal Accounting Center (UAC) has recently announced the release of their expanded and improved Accountweb website development tool, available exclusively for accounting, tax, and bookkeeping professionals. Within minutes you can create a personalized website for your practice, enabling potential clients to access your business even after your office closes.

Much more robust and customizable than the earlier version of the AccountWeb tool, this version includes several templates to choose from along with an in-depth and user-friendly administration tool. Additionally, users will receive an email account and the ability send out monthly newsletters, developed by Universal, to their own in-house list of accounting contacts to be used as a marketing and client retention tool.

Regardless of the package you choose, you will have access to:

• UAC Support
• A personal domain (i.e. www.rickpotter.com)
• The ability to change, remove, add textual content in the form of posts or page.
• The ability to update user and contact informatio.
• The ability to display any UAC designations you have earned (PB, PTP, QBS.
• The ability to add personal Link.
• An upload images feature
• UAC’s basic database of images (with resize and customization features.
• Basic listing in the Accountweb.net director.
• 100 MB Web Spac.
• 1000 MB Transfe.
• 1 Email addres.
• The rebuild-website functio.
• RSS fee.
• Automatic search engine submissions (ping notifications.

“In past years, Universal provided a relatively simple website to its students but the customizability was limited,” said Mike Rigby, Accountweb developer. “With this new upgrade, the user will be able to choose from a large variety of templates, text, and domain names, making their web site unique to their situation.”

Imagine how difficult it would be to create your own website with all the above features without spending much of your own time managing the process. Now imagine that UAC can manage that process for you, enabling you to create a strong web presence without expending much energy.

To see a sample of a website developed from the Universal Accountweb platform, go to www.UniversalAccountingServices.com.

Whether you run a full-time accounting practice or do taxes on the side, you need a website that tells potential clients about your business even when you are unable to. You can add this URL to your business card, increasing your marketing efforts with minimal cost. If you haven’t yet developed a website for your business, today is the day! Order your subscription now-your website will be up and running while you do other important tasks in the 1-2 business days. And if you are a Universal Accounting student you will receive a free six-month trial!

Accountweb Website Signup

(Note: The setup process will adjust for all students terms and the free trial that was sold to them.)

Nike does it. Starbucks does it. Even Nabisco does it. In fact, it’s all the rage. Branding. And before you say that branding is only for businesses, let me clarify by saying that branding is all the rage in career advancement.

When a company brands their products and services they are making a public promise that they will live up to the name, or the brand they have created. The same idea can apply to a person trying to advance is his/her career.

Ten years ago Tom Peters first introduced the concept of personal branding in a FastCompany.com article entitled “The Brand Called You.” He said, “Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You.”

So how do you create your own personal brand? Here are three simple steps:

1. Define Your Brand

Ask yourself, what makes you different? In what ways do you rise above your colleagues and offer more to employers? And don’t confine yourself to your current job description and job title. Consider what you’ve done this month, this week, today, in order to stand out and make a statement. The characteristics that make you different also define your brand.

Peters explained, “You’re every bit as much a brand as Nike, Coke, Pepsi, or the Body Shop. To start thinking like your own favorite brand manager, ask yourself the same question the brand managers at Nike, Coke, Pepsi, or the Body Shop ask themselves: What is it that my product or service does that makes it different? Give yourself the traditional 15-words-or-less contest challenge. Take the time to write down your answer. And then take the time to read it. Several times.”

These 15 words are the start of your own personal brand. Use them to focus your efforts as you move through the next two steps.

2. Enhance Your Profile

Perhaps you feel that your brand could use a little help. Never fear. You can always enhance your profile in order to create a more powerful brand. In what ways would you like to stand out? Define those areas and then take action to enhance them. Volunteer for new responsibilities in the workplace, take a community enrichment course, enroll in a professional training program, or earn a certificate or professional designation. It’s never too late to build a brand of your own. And while you enhance your profile you’re also promoting your brand by letting your current employers and all your colleagues know what you wish to do well. For example, if you enroll in UAC’s Professional Bookkeeper Program, you’re telling employees that your brand has expertise in small business accounting; you’re also telling them that you’re willing to enhance your skills as you enhance your brand. This is a great step in the direction of promoting your brand.

3. Promote Your Brand

Once you’ve determined what, exactly, your brand is, you must take measures to promote it. Like any business, you must market yourself in such a way that your brand takes on a life of its own, becoming memorable and attractive. Consider all the ways you can showcase your brand and all those characteristics that make you a unique employee. Volunteer for specific projects at work, teach an enrichment course in your community, write an article for a local publication, or join a panel discussion. Any of these things would get your brand more exposure as you focus on letting others know what makes you distinct.

As Peters said, “It’s over. No more vertical. No more ladder. That’s not the way careers work anymore. Linearity is out. A career is now a checkerboard. Or even a maze. It’s full of moves that go sideways, forward, slide on the diagonal, even go backward when that makes sense. (It often does.) A career is a portfolio of projects that teach you new skills, gain you new expertise, develop new capabilities, grow your colleague set, and constantly reinvent you as a brand.”

Universal Can Help You Enhance Your Brand

Let Universal Accounting Center help as you consider all the ways you can create a personal brand. Our DVD 4 pack is designed to let people like you discover those skills that can make you a more valuable employee. The DVD 4 pack includes the following DVD’s:
Introduction to the Professional Bookkeeper Program–Learn how becoming a Professional Bookkeeper will improve your accounting skills and help you in your accounting career.
Introduction to the Professional Tax Preparer Certification–Learn how becoming a Professional Tax Preparer will improve your tax skills and help you in your career.
Start Today and Have Your Own Bookkeeping Service–Learn how to make over $80,000 per year working from home while getting more clients than you can handle. Know how to charge your client so you can afford to take that next vacation while they get such a great deal they will be telling all their friends about you.

The Art and Science of Getting Clients–Learn proven marketing strategies designed to help accountants market their skills in order to get more clients.

Each of these DVD’s can help you better define your own brand. Order now and save nearly $25.00 on this valuable set. For less than $20 you can be on your way to a valuable personal brand.

By Anita Bruzzese — Gannett News Service.

If you’re a woman with children, you are probably used to being called something like “Bobby’s mom.”

Or if you’re working for someone else, you might be known as “Susan’s assistant.” There are monikers that could be worse, of course, but maybe you’re getting a little tired of being known by such titles.

If so, then Robin Fisher Roffer said you must be the one to change your “brand.”

“Branding is something that begins in college,” she said. “You declare a major, and that’s the first time you say who you are. Or you get your first job, and the boss pigeonholes you. This is the moment when we have everything in front of us, and we get branded.”

Roffer, who develops and produces brand strategies, marketing plans and promotional campaigns, often advises women that they must take steps to “develop their own reality.”

She said that if more females in the workplace “took off their masks of who we think we should be and became the real person we are,” then women would be much happier.

“I tell women that we are standing on the shoulders of giants, and it’s our turn to be real,” said Roffer, who is based in Los Angeles. “Women are so scared, and they’re jockeying for turf, but we need to declare who we are and honor ourselves.”

She said women need to:

Dig deep. There’s only one you – you are distinct and authentic. That means you need words to express your personal beliefs, values, how you want to live and what you consider the most important to your inner-life and well being. “Your challenge is to capture the essence of what you have to offer, create interest and enthusiasm for it, and enhance your image in the business world,” she said.

Define dreams and put them into action. Create a mission statement for yourself and write it down. “You are very likely to get what you ask for, because when you finally uncover and get serious about your heart’s desire, the universe starts listening,” she said. “When you think of a mission statement, think trumpets in the background; imagine a drum roll.”

Go after the target audience with a vengeance. No matter what your mission or goal, identifying and earning the devotion of your target audience is critical to your success. Just don’t be fake.

Avoid crash and burn. It’s important to overcome inner fears that can stop you in your tracks. “In many cases the thing you are afraid to do is in fact the one thing you need to do to solidify your brand,” Roffer said.

Recruit a squad of brand cheerleaders. Look for guides, teachers and promoters among your friends and family and colleagues who can smooth your path and help create an atmosphere for success. Listen to their advice.

Learn the secrets to packaging your brand. “In any business situation, appearance counts, big-time,” she said. That means you must not only make your exterior appealing to your target audience, but also make it a genuine reflection of your inner self.

Get comfortable in your own skin. You’re not perfect; no one is. But you can develop your personal style and make it part of your brand. How do you show others that you’re creative, or steady, or self-deprecating, or curious?

“A lot of people think that charisma is something you’re born with, and they’re right,” Roffer said. “But what not everyone knows is that we’re all born with it. Whether or not we all use it is another question.

Be Seen As the Winner You Are

Certification is a key way to convince others in your workplace that you are competent and that others can count on you. The training that you receive in the Professional Bookkeeper program is the kind of background that you need to show that you can do what you say you can and get the attention of your employer. Get noticed and get paid what you are worth!

Learn How the Professional Bookkeeper Designation Can Help You Be Seen As a Winner!

There’s More Than One Way to Peel a Banana

Strike while the iron’s hot. And the iron’s hot right now! Tax season can result in a lull of business for some accountants. For others it is a time to gain more clients as a result of small business owners looking for help managing their finances. Right now most business owners working as sole proprietors; LLC’s or corporations are going through their financials right now with the guy or gal who did their taxes last year.

Right about now these business owners are realizing that their tax professional isn’t an accounting expert, like you. They are realizing their current system which includes a shoe box full of receipts doesn’t pass as a solid financial plan. Yet a great many are realizing that because they were busy running the business doing what they are good at they missed countless opportunities to harness their income power, and now they are facing a situation where they may even owe the IRS money. Still there are many others who are now facing fines, fees and penalties because of the way they did (or didn’t do) their accounting.

You are probably saying, “So how does this help me right now?” The iron is hot, remember? This is an opportune time for you to step in and be the hero! Here are a few suggestions:

First, pick the “low laying fruit.”

We’re guessing you personally know many individuals who own their own businesses-those who are going through the pain we just spoke of. Ask them how things are going with their taxes this year. Be prepared to hear everything they want to tell you about it. Sympathize and empathize and then ask this one question: “Can I help you plan better for next year?”

Be the hero—the one with all the accounting answers. Those you talk to will welcome your input. Now, take note; you can give a tidbit here and a tidbit there, but make sure they understand that what you are offering is not a free service. If they like what they hear, encourage them to enlist your accounting services. Set those boundaries as clearly and early as possible. You’ll avoid lots of confusion later if you take these precautionary steps in the beginning.

Second, enlist those who are currently doing business with you.

We all have what business management guru Stephen R. Covey calls a “Circle of Influence”: a group of individuals that you know and affect on a close level. In business that circle of influence includes those you do business with daily, weekly, or monthly. These individuals don’t necessarily have to be clients; they could be those who you buy your water cooler services from. They could be the delivery service you use. They could be the copy store where your P.O. box is located. They could even be the local donut shop where you buy your daily treat. Whether the individual is a business contact or a client, this individuals you have positively influenced are the ones that could potentially refer you to those in their circle of influence.

Many times students of Universal Accounting have recounted how someone they knew had a friend with a business and because they were in this circle of influence, that friend became a client. This marketing tactic works exceptionally well when the one doing the referring is a client of which you’ve taken good care. See how you can harness the influence of others to do some good business with them.

Third, wear your accounting business “on your sleeve.”

Now this doesn’t mean that everything you say is about accounting or your practice. Life is a balance and you have to find that balance with your professional life and your private pursuits. But how many times have you been out and about to find others engaged in a conversation in which you could have participated? How many times have you ridden silently up an elevator full of people? Could there have been someone there in need of your particular services? Pick and choose those opportunities within your comfort level, but try not to let opportune moments pass when you could be handing out your business card or sharing your services with potential clients. Who knows, the next time you sit down at your child’s ballgame the parent next to you could be your next new account.

Fourth, proactively seek out like-minded businesses.

You have one or two businesses that you are working with, and you are really starting to like working with that type of business. Are there others in that industry you could contact? Local eateries, print shops, car dealerships etc. You already know their “lingo” and their hot buttons from working with previous clients. Why not try to market yourself as a specialist for that industry?

Take the opportunities presented to you as an accounting professional. Building your accounting practice isn’t tough; it just takes consistent effort to meet potential clients. Soon you will have to turn business away or partner with others in order to manage those clients you will be able to attract with these solid marketing tactics.

If you would like to learn more about marketing your services, adding tax services to your menu, becoming a Professional Bookkeeper, or starting your own accounting practice, order our special 4-DVD pack which includes the following:

Introduction to the Professional Bookkeeper Program. Learn how becoming a Professional Bookkeeper will improve your accounting skills and help you in your accounting career.

Yes Sample Marketing CD. Learn how to introduce your services to a potential client. Use this either for role playing, watching it while meeting with your client or passing them out.

Start Today and Have Your Own Bookkeeping Service. Learn how to make over $80,000 per year working from home while getting more clients than you can handle. Know how to charge your client so you can afford to take that next vacation while they get such a great deal they will be telling all their friends about you.

The Art and Science of Getting Clients. Learn how to get more clients by using our proven methods.

You can learn more about the countless opportunities that await you as a financial professional. Don’t delay your grand future. Order now!

Financial Professional DVD 4 pack

Under the Universal Business Model (UBM), there are three business functions that must work well together in order to increase profit. Accounting is one of these three functions. If you work in any department that deals with accounting, bookkeeping or taxes for any business organization, you have access to much of their financial data, and as a result, you have the capacity to become a priceless resource: the Profit Center Expert.

Accounting, marketing, and production are the three functions that must work well together to ensure success. Any business function that acts independently of the other two can doom a company. For example, if production has not told marketing what it currently produces, marketing dollars are wasted. Likewise, if accounting does not tell production what products are profitable, the company losses money.

As a accounting professional, you should not only encourage communication among these functions (when possible), but you should lead by example in freely sharing your information with others. This begins with the business owner — freely communicate and explain your findings. And your focus should not only be to prepare taxes, but to help your clients save money, and possibly make more money next year. Encourage tax planning and show your clients how they may be able to save money in the end by working with you year-round.

You have access to financial data that can inform crucial decisions and make the entire company more profitable. And when you encourage this communication, others will follow suit, especially when they see how it can improve business. When one business function is working well, but the others are failing, it is like two people on a small boat out to sea. One person says to the other accusingly, “Your half of the ship is sinking!” When the boat goes under, it will be of little comfort to the accuser if his half of the boat sank last.

A good example of this is a frame shop that frequently bragged about how much business it was stealing from its competitors. But once you looked at it more closely, it was found that every sale was losing money. They were outselling their competitors only because their competitors couldn’t afford to sell the frames at those low prices either. The key difference is that their competitors were aware of this fact. A profit expert not only has access to this information, but shares it with those in marketing and production so the business doesn’t lose money.

The important thing to learn here is that these functions can begin working closer together today. Finding the problem is only useful when there is still time to do something about it. A coroner wastes his time scolding bodies on his slab when he tells them they should have exercised more. Make sure that you don’t wait to analyze your financial data during a “post mortem” exam. Begin working more closely with the other two functions today. This will not only improve business profitability, but it will increase your value as a tax preparer.

As an accounting professional you enjoy the tremendous capacity to increase your value to the businesses you work with. Imagine advancing from your current position to full-financial service provider. You will then have the ability to inform business owners of key decisions they can make to increase profit and enjoy true financial success.

Universal Accounting Center can help you become the Profit Center Expert of any organization you work with. UAC’s expertise in small business accounting can help any tax preparer become that invaluable cog in the business machine. Most small businesses lack the confidence and the knowledge to analyze their fiscal standing and make profitable financial decisions. With training as a Professional Bookkeeper, you could provide the information and direction they need to make their businesses succeed. Don’t wait to give yourself a promotion as the Profit Center Expert of those businesses you work with. Enroll today!