Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.

• Ryunosuke Satoro

Who are you hanging out with these days?

But the better question is “why are you hanging out with them?”

Are they positively influencing you? Reinforcing the best of you? Do they represent your values and drive your best you forward? Do they make you feel good about your best self and lift your not-feeling-good-about-you-self up? Are they a collective force for good?

Or are they reinforcing the worst of you? Pushing your self-worth down? Are they self-aggrandizing? Creating chaos and disharmony for you and for others? The collective good is of no interest to them.

It’s the bluest time of the year.

I’m sure many of you may be feeling the effects of shorter days, colder weather and an impending tax season.

Plus, you may be feeling like the only one who doesn’t have their act together on everything (anything…). You are comparing your reality with your picture of your peers’ “success”.

Worse, maybe you aren’t even considering yourself a peer of people with a big social footprint (BSF’rs).

Well here’s a reality check for you. No one - and I mean no one - has it all together, all the time. And for some, it’s a challenge to get it together even some of the time…

It’s interesting times for clear directions.

I’m going to preface this discussion with I wouldn’t want to be making Covid decisions for the masses & imparting them. I have the utmost empathy and admiration for anyone trying to keep us safe from our silly selves. And I am more than happy to follow whatever directives I can figure out - I’ll do my part willingly.

I recently realized that not everyone knows about app-generated, copy/paste 2FA back up codes.

I was posting about sharing 2FA codes with team members in my FBGroup and an inquiry came up asking what these wee bits of magical security are (the inquirer didn’t call them “wee bits of magical security”, that’s all me). I couldn’t find a good article to reply with about them that wasn’t app-specific.

So I decided a quick overview - right here, right now - was in order.

Unsubscribing.

So make your one thing for this week relentless unsubscribing!

Except for this newsletter of course!

I’m still pausing (aka hanging out on Estero Island, Florida) to try to figure out what I want to do when I grow up. But I did go to Scaling New Heights last week and that definitely gave me some insight into one thing.

I am going again!

It’s back to its usual time slot in June. If you can swing this one or any of the upcoming #InRealLifeConferences I suggest you do.

Using tech to create 5 Star Client Experiences

We have had many renovations done over the years. Some went better than others.

The one thing that was consistent with the great experiences were great processes that were clearly communicated.

We have another one coming up in January and we are using a contractor that we used previously. We loved our experience with them and are happy to be having them do the work again.

What is the definition of an accountant?

Someone who solves a problem you did not know you had in a way you don’t understand.

Now back to the real purpose of this note…

Next week I am leading a session on branding and marketing for accounting professionals with the Dext Academy.

Last week I suggested some homework for it - visualizing your best you and what you want your business to look like.

Start to visualize - really, really visualize - the 5 Star Business, the 5 Star Client and the 5 Star You that you desire.

Make some quiet time just for you, create stillness in your mind. Close your eyes, picture what kind of business you want to run, what kind of accounting professional you want to be and what your rewarding life-work would look like.

I’ve changed that to “I could so I did”.

This blog is super personal about what I am up to in the next little while and why.

But it’s also about you.

• Why are you doing what you do?

• Why are you doing it how you do it?

• Are you on a path that’s good for you and those around you or do you need to find another trail?

Can you take a breath and re-think what isn’t giving you joy, what you can give up and what you can re-align?

"It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price"- Warren Buffet

It's also far better to adopt a wonderful app at a fair price than a fair app at a wonderful price.

Or a free app that sucks the time and efficiency out of your business rather than enhancing it.

"If you aren’t going all the way, why go at all?"- Joe Nameth

I have chatted before about back-ups, data location redundancy and internet security. Some of you may have listened to me go on about the need to adopt a cloud security policy and communicating it - some of you have done my workshop on it.

Our coffee maker is shot

I was tempted to get a wifi coffee maker. Of course, that would add more smart tech to my home - which usually I am all about.

But I had a stern conversation with myself (and conducted a consult with my dogs of course) to decide what I really needed in a machine that brews my morning magic.

And it wasn’t a smart coffee maker.

Even though I love new tech at home and in my business there is a limit to what will actually suit how I live and work.

I don’t profess to be a life coach - I can barely manage my own life.

But I am one of the calmest, truly happiest, least overwhelmed people I know. That’s why I’m pecking out a few thoughts on creating healthy habits and calm in your day. Not because I’m an expert, but because I want everyone to have the rewarding days I do.

If you’re involved with SEO, content marketing or any kind of web marketing, you’ve probably heard the phrase “evergreen content” and been told that your site needs to have it. So what is evergreen marketing, and why are evergreen articles good for SEO?

WHAT IS EVERGREEN CONTENT? A DEFINITION

Evergreen content is SEO content that is continually relevant and stays “fresh” for readers.

Before I launch into my favourite systems and automation that have changed the way I work and live I need to preface with three key things you must do before you create any automation.

And I want to emphasize that systems, routines and processes are as powerful as automation.

Not everything needs to be automated - in fact automation can wreak havoc if not thought through properly.

I can’t stress enough the importance of backing up your cloud data and implementing 3 location redundancy

“Redundancy for the sake of redundancy was my salvation.”

In 2005 my business was in a building that suffered a fire, and it burned to the ground.

I was already on my way to internet-based file management but more importantly, I was practicing 3 location data redundancy.

It was my saving grace for having my business up and running the next day, and client files intact.

I run for no particular reason. Of course, it’s to stay in shape but mostly it's for the time alone, enjoying nature and the rhythm of my feet. Same with skiing.

You can imagine that I’m thrilled.

Ryan’s podcast from today is all about Accounting Communities and our fabulous collaboration.

“Accounting communities are a great place to share best practices, learn from others and collaborate with like-minded professionals. Below I share my favourite 6 accounting communities for modern accountants that I regularly frequent.”

And he put our Facebook Group on the list of communities to join.

I consider it our - the members and myself - group.

Zapier is one of the most versatile apps, and their blog is one of my “must follows.”

Building authentic customer testimonials is a key driver for increasing your business.

But it is no small feat. This article from Zapier is solid advice that you can action smoothly and quickly.

Enjoy!