I’m Remembering 9/11
Eight years later, and when I turned on the news this morning – seeing the real-time footage being replayed – I was taken right back to that morning. Looking at our clear blue sky here today, the same brilliant blue it was that Tuesday morning, it takes me back.
September 11, 2001 – I was a new Mom, heading to work on the train into Chicago. My husband had dropped our son off at a friend’s and he had gone to work. I commuted every morning, and didn’t know anything about what had happened until I got in that morning. Then standing in our conference room, watching on TV as the second tower was hit, I looked out the window and up at the Sears Tower. Couldn’t help but fear that it could happen there next.
Who didn’t want to call a loved one that morning? I had to call my husband, I seriously was in fear of what could happen, if a plane might still be on the way to hit the Sears Tower. That fear – brings tears to my eyes as I think about it still. I called him back later to let him know we were being evacuated.
I so remember looking up into the clear blue sky as I rode home on the train, knowing that there were NO planes flying. Nothing but blue for as far as the eye could see.
The world changed that day. Our lives were changed that day. Priorities shifted. For me – it was a triple whammy. Our childcare provider called later to say she couldn’t take care of our son – it was just too much with her own kids to take care of. (Understandable that her priorities shifted as well) To compound things, it was the day that my Mother was diagnosed with a terminal illness. That night, as we sat holding each other, my husband and I made the decision that our son would have his Mom at home to take care of him.
So, I’m deep in thought today…thinking about my Mom, thinking about that morning and how much things have changed since then. I’ll never forget that pivotal day in my life. I will always remember!
Plan Ahead for Time Away
Working your business online doesn’t have to mean being absent from it for a week if you go on a trip, or want to take some time away. Having your business run on auto-pilot for a few days is not a bad thing, as long as you plan ahead. Of course with technology the way it is, you can usually decide the degree of “away” you want to have. However, maintaining an online appearance during your absence may be something you’ll want to consider.
Use your blog’s scheduling feature – Most blogging platforms (I use WordPress) allow you schedule your blog posts in advance so that they are published on specified dates and times. This way you can have have the time away from your business knowing your posts are being published while you’re gone. This keeps your blog updated, and offers no interruption and fresh content for your readers.
Keep your newsletters going out – If your newsletter goes out on a weekly basis, or some other interval like the first and third Monday of each month, it is important that you keep your schedule. Many email providers (I recommend Aweber) allow prescheduling of newsletters. So, if you’re going to be out of town on the 15th, you could format your newsletter on the 10th and schedule it to go out the morning of the 15th without skipping a beat.
Outsource some tasks if necessary – If you already work with a VA, this is the perfect opportunity to assign some tasks that will help your business run while you are away. If a VA is not in your budget, then bartering with a trusted online friend, or recruiting family members to assist might be an option.
Check in when/if you can – You don’t want emails going unanswered for days, so depending on what coverage you may have arranged, it’s a good idea to check you email everyday, or every other day. If you’re on Twitter, hop on and tweet every so often. The idea is to maintain your relationships, even while you’re away.
I’m writing from experience here, because I just got back from being away for a week. I prescheduled posts on two sites, had 2 newsletters go out with the help of prescheduling, checked my email every day or so, and kept up on Twitter through my iPod Touch Twitter app. 
Did ya miss me??
5 Characteristics of a Good Bookkeeper
Before we start talking about a bookkeeping business let’s distinguish between a bookkeeper and an accountant. A lot of people interchange the words bookkeeper and accountant often times not realizing they are two different things. In reality they are two very different things.
For the most part a bookkeeper doesn’t have a college degree in accounting where as an accountant does. A bookkeeper does more basic type duties such as data entering. This can include things like creating and mailing invoices to the customer, entering bills, paying bills and processing payroll data.
An accountant is going to handle the more detailed oriented type tasks. They will take care of handling expenses that have occurred but haven’t been entered by the bookkeeper. These entries will need to be adjusted by the accountant. An example of something like this would be bank loans (interest that has incurred since the last payment).
Another example would be money earned (wages) by the employees of a company that will be paid next week. It could also include things like miscellaneous expenses, etc. There’s several different things. The other important aspect that the accountant will do that the bookkeeper doesn’t is they will prepare financial statements and work with upper management on understanding these things.
Now that we have distinguished a bookkeeper and an accountant let’s talk about a bookkeeping business and what makes a good bookkeeper. Here are five characteristics that a good bookkeeper should possess.
*Enjoys working with numbers
*Detail oriented
*Time Management skills
*Familiar with current technology
*Analytical
If running a bookkeeping business is something you think you would enjoy, possess the skills necessary and want more information pick up a copy of Mom’s Talk Biz Guide to Starting Your Own Bookkeeping Business. You will find tips on what you need to get your bookkeeping business started, earning potential, keeping your clients satisfied and that’s just to name a few!
