“A lot of people say, ‘Oh retirement, that’s for old people. I don’t need to be thinking about that now.’ But it is just good cash flow management. It's good financial planning. To be thinking not only about what I am spending my money on today as a business owner but also what does this look like in 5, 10, 20 years.”
-Courtenay Shipley

As bookkeepers, it is our job to help others understand how the flow of money works in and around their business. A critical yet often overlooked part of that, is how we plan for the future. It’s easy to get excited by success, so much so that we don’t feel the need to save for a rainy day. This is true for our clients too. They’ve worked so hard. They want to enjoy the profits of their labour.

When planning for the future, it’s hard to ignore the glaring warnings of our own mortality. This is perhaps why we take the first most accessible retirement plan we find, and let it tick over in the background.

But saving doesn’t have to be from a place of fear in what the future holds, you can create a plan that celebrates your success and keeps you solvent long after you’ve stopped working.

Courtenay Shipley, founder of Retirement Planology is this episode’s featured guest. She has spent her career helping businesses navigate the retirement landscape in a way that aligns with their values, saves time and makes their money work harder. In this episode, Courtenay and Michael discuss all things retirement, from finding the right plan to essential resources for success.

If you are finding yourself in a place of success but aren’t sure how to provide yourself and your employees with a plan for the future then this is the episode for you!

During this interview, you'll learn...

• The value of building long-term financial freedom
• How to effectively plan for the future
• The importance of sticking to the plan

To find out more about Courtenay, click here.

Connect with with her on LinkedIn.

Time Stamps

01:46 - Courtenay discusses her career journey
05:28 - Planning for the future
08:54 - Finding the right fit
13:47 - Sticking to the plan
16:34 - The essentials of a great retirement plan
18:06 - Building your financial freedom
23:23 - Resources that can help you
25:50 - Getting integrated
28:35 - Learning more from Courtenay

This episode is brought to you by our great friends at Payworks!

If you're looking for a reliable and affordable payroll platform for your business, look no further!

To learn more, visit Payworks.ca TODAY!

“Oftentimes, we’re our own worst enemy, and so we listen to the one negative comment or the one negative undertone that someone gives us, and we hold onto that.”
-Trixy Castro

Every challenge provides an opportunity for growth. A chance to build a mindset of resilience, that will let us face any problem with a mind to solutions. That bias and barriers to success exist, is not in question. What is in question is how we react to them.

We spend far too much time paying attention to the opinions of people who aren’t paying our bills. It is time to cut out the noise, get focused and start chasing our goals with everything we have in us. Criticism is important, but we must cultivate the ability to filter out whether it is really something about us that we need to work on, or about someone else wanting us to feel as bad as they do.

Trixy Castro, business executive and entrepreneur, is this episode’s featured guest. She has spent her career founding and selling businesses while breaking down every barrier put in her path. She speaks powerfully about the need to build a resilient mindset, embrace challenges as learning experiences and how to get focused on your goals.

If you are struggling with negative self-talk, quitting before you’ve even begun, or after a few bumps in the road, then this is the episode that will set you free of your limiting beliefs and put you on the path to enduring success.

During this interview, you'll learn...

• The value of embracing challenges as learning opportunities
• How to build a resilient mindset
• The importance of getting focused on your goals

To find out more about Trixy, click here.

Connect with her on LinkedIn.

Time Stamps

01:46 - Trixy discusses her career journey
13:35 - The path to success
19:07 - There’s always a way around
22:37 - Building a resilience mindset
27:10 - Getting it done

“All of a sudden, the customers no longer perceive us as valuable because we failed to reframe the value that we created. The accountant and the bookkeeper’s job should be giving the business owner confidence in their number.”
-Hector Garcia

For as long as we define our value by our skills alone, we will have to bear the threat of replacement. If all we are communicating to our clients is the completion of tasks that could just as easily be automated, we cannot be surprised that automation seems like a better option.

AI is here to stay. If we don’t want to be replaced by it, we have to start reframing what it is our clients are actually paying for. We need to move away from charging for the completion of tasks, towards charging for the relationships and insights we create and offer.

Computers aren’t going to steal our jobs, they are going to enhance them by freeing up more of our time to give clients more personal and meaningful services than just fixing their numbers.

Hector Garcia, a popular YouTuber and CPA, is this episode’s featured guest. In this second half of a two-part series, Michael and Hector discuss the value of doing things differently, and how to build client confidence and stay ahead of the curve.

If you are struggling to innovate, not sure how to get creative with your business or build client confidence, then this is the episode to get you thinking about how to leverage AI rather than be afraid of it.

During this interview, you'll learn...

• The value of doing things differently
• How to stay ahead of the curve
• The importance of building client confidence