JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedomDo you have your sights set on a conference or event that you want to speak at? How can you increase your chances of being chosen? Today I talk with Julie Fry, the owner of Business Among Moms, and the Business Among Moms Success Summit. Julie tells us her best Do’s and Don’ts around the process of applying to speak. We also talk about how to get the most out of attending a conference, what to think about in advance, and who you might want to speak with.   JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedom

JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedomYour questions around financials and KPIs in your business get answered in this conversation with Hannah Smolinkski, of BrightenUp Financial.  As a Virtual CFO, Hannah is a strategic partner in the financial side of owners' businesses.  We talk about the importance of tracking Key Performance Indicators, which ones to track, and what each one can reveal. A favorite is Net Cash: a measure of your overall debt. It's not on your Balance Sheet: you need to calculate it by hand.  We talk about how women differ from men in running their businesses, and that it is borne out in the numbers.  We also include a number of links to resources you might find helpful in managing the numbers in your business.  JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedom

JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedomIn Part 2 of this series, we find the rest of the $50K hiding in plain sight in your business. Common places include: -Opportunities flying past you unseen -Losing money to bad hires and subcontractors -Clients who are lovely people but who are energy drags as clients -Underestimating RFPs -Bonus for those who bill insurance: not staying up-to-date on billing schedules.  JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedom

JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedomI list out 10 places I look in my clients’ Profit and Losses, while I cross-reference their calendar, to find more than $200,000. Of course, most people are not leaving money on the table in all ten of these places. But it’s not uncommon for me to have clients who are leaving $75,000 on the table, every year.  Easy targets are areas around unclear or weak boundaries: friends-and-family discounts, last-minute cancellations, and scope creep.  Another place to look is pricing: many of my clients have not increased their rates in years – not just to cover inflation and cost of living increase, but to reflect their increase in value as their skills grow. Women also tend to undervalue their services by 28% compared to men who do the same work, according to a recent study by Freshbooks.  In a recent article, Natalie Eckdahl, host of the Biz Chix podcast, discussed how women entrepreneurs are creating their own glass ceiling when it comes to rates – that women themselves set.  Raising your rates to reflect the value you offer, either in services or in RFPs, is the single biggest lever for finding $50K hiding in plain sight in your business.  JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedom

JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedomIf you struggle with email, if your gmail inbox is a source of distraction, stress, and overwhelm, and if you tend to your email in an order that is not based on importance or priority, then this episode will be a huge help. Inside an hour you can set up a simple system of labels that will help you right away. You will get that time back in no time. Use categories of labels: one by priority, and another by topic.  See the screen shots of my own label system and grab the PDF download of the steps - both available in the shownotes.  JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedom

JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedomOur unintentional thoughts inform our unwanted feelings.  Many of us erroneously believe our feelings and emotions are caused and attributable to outside forces and factors, like the weather, website crashes, bad drivers, and things people say.    But it is our thoughts about these things that lead to our emotions and feelings.    In this episode I want through 9 examples of phrases overheard in conversation, that I then update to reflect how this process actually works.    The benefit of updating your own scripts is that you become 100% free from being at the effect of outside forces. The bummer - and the joy! - is that you become 100% responsible for your thoughts, and your feelings.  JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedom

JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedomMany of us have an undercurrent of self-doubt running inside. Perhaps it got put in place from a lifetime of others around you doubting you, doubting themselves, or even doubting others. Perhaps it came from a series of life experiences where you thought you knew what you were doing, but then... turns out you didn't.     No matter where it came from, self-doubt is likely to be showing up somewhere in your business. Here is how it shows up in my clients' businesses: Paralyzed. Knowing what needs to be done, but not doing it. Just getting the basics done, but not reaching up for the next level of growth.  Undercharging. Most of my clients are undercharging by significant amounts. Not just $5/hr. Often by 10-50% under what they could be charging, and what the market around them is charging. (I'm not advocating for price-gauging or ripping people off. I'm advocating for you charging what the value of your services is worth to people.) (2b.) Fear of raising rates. "What if people hate me? Will I lose clients? Will they be mad? Are you sure I can do this?" All those questions lead to the fear, that keeps rates stuck where they are.  Trying to do too much. As in, if you can get everything done, and make it all happen, and get your ducks in a row and poop in a scoop, that will somehow prove that you are actually ok. It looks like trying to be super-hero-amaz-a-mom, or any other cape that gets donned.  Stuck in indecision. Can't decide, can't decide, can't decide... do nothing.  Not trusting yourself... that you can handle whatever shows up. See #5, and #1 - they are interconnected. Excellent Game-Face. To cover up faltering self-esteem. Which means you hide out, limit yourself, and don't put yourself out there... so the very people who need you cannot find you or your services.    You can address your self-doubt, and loosen its grip. There are many ways; find 5 tools by downloading the PDF "How to Turn Self-Doubt into Confidence" here.  JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedom

JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedomThere are only 59 female astronauts. It was a real treat to talk with Nicole Stott, who flew on missions STS-128, STS-129, and STS-133, and spent more than 3 months on the International Space Station.  We talk about the view out the window, getting to know the Earth intimately from above, and more.  There is no point talking about it here: just go listen.  Watch these Spacesuit Art Project videos: https://youtu.be/m1bSaWGN1L4 As always share your thoughts in the She Thinks Big Facebook Group. I love hearing from you. JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedom

JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedomAre you running your business on borrowed time and magic math? Do you get to the end of the day feeling overworked, exhausted, and wondering why you just can't seem to make it all work?  The culprit could be Magical Thinking: you have not done the math to determine if how much you charge, how many clients you see, how long you see each client for... fits into a 40 hour work-week and meets your income needs.  In this episode I use 3 colorful metaphors to keep it interesting, while I talk about 1) How many PBJ's do you need for a 15-mile hike? 2, or 3? Turns out, the math says you need 5. We use this metaphor to get clear about your income needs, and the number of clients you need to serve at what rate and for how much time.  2) Assume a spherical cow. We don't want guessing or eyeballing, but sometimes approximate is good enough. Don't get lost in the weeds.  3) There is a formula behind everything. Even your pressure cooker uses PV = T. Your business runs on a formula that we can figure out. And once we do, why you are overtired and underpaid suddenly becomes clear, and no longer deniable.  JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedom

JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedomIn a cluttered and attention-grabbing world, it is easy to lose track of where our focus and attention is - and needs to be. Our attention becomes fragmented and our brains cannot keep up with the minutiae. Yet, our success relies on having large chunks of time to do deep, focused work, to become an expert in what we are doing.  In this episode I explore the idea of focus - where yours is and where it needs to be - from the more global view of what trajectory to stick to, down to the day-to-day of how to block one's time, down to the neuron-level of how the brain operates and how to care for it so that it supports your best thinking.  JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedom

JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedomHave you created a plan for your business, your goals, your success in 2019? If not, you are likely leaving a bunch of money (and time!) on the table. Taking the time to plan for your business allows you to look at what is and is not working, and make smarter choices about how best to run it. Here are 7 simple steps to creating a plan for your business in 2019. Block 3 hours in your calendar to plan Look at your 2018 financials - clean them up if need be! Decide where you will focus, and what you will stop doing and offering in 2019 Set Revenue, Expense, and Profit Goals in a spreadsheet Determine how much time it takes to create and deliver that quantity of services Make sure that fits in a real-life calendar Block 10% of your calendar for white space Download the extended version How to Create Your 2019 Strategic Plan in 7 Simple Steps worksheet here, so you lay out your plan in a methodical, non-magical-thinking way.  What was your takeaway from this episode? Come share in the She Thinks Big private Facebook group. It's free, and it's the best place to be if your big ideas need airtime and support to grow. JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedom

JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedomDo you struggle with sales conversations? Do you fear coming across as pushy, aggressive, or smarmy? Do you wish sales could just. be. easier? Nikki Rausch is Your Sales Maven, and in this episode she will tell you about the framework she has created called the Selling Staircase. This framework provides a structure for you to know where you are inside a sales conversation, which helps you know exactly what to say next.  Skip a step and you risk your clients banging their shins, or not wanting to move forward with you: Nikki explains each step of the Selling Staircase to help you understand the flow of conversations. We also talk about sales mindset, and how there is a decent chance that a negative sales mindset is infiltrating your sales process, dragging down your revenue, and sabotaging your potential. With myself as an example, we discuss a blind spot Nikki I had that Nikki shined a light on, that resulted in buying signals floating right past me, unobserved and uncapitalized on. I cannot recommend highly enough that you check out Nikki's website and trainings at YourSalesMaven.com. JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedom

JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedomIf in 2019, you're feeling beat down by a work project, queue up this episode for some instant encouragement.  JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedom

JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedomTime to step away from the mic and spend time with family. My 3-year old girl sings you a lil' song about reindeers, and sends you kisses. JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedom

JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedomAre you a self-proclaimed "great multi-tasker?" Then you will want to listen to this episode, where I guinea pig myself with 4 tasks that I try to run simultaneously.  Laugh along as I jumble up 4 tasks that I can hardly get in the right order. I hope that after this episode, you are convinced that serial monotasking is a time-saver.  JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedom

JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedomWe all have a voice (or voices!) in our head that tell us all kinds of lies and old stories. In this episode I share 10 common lies and stories I hear just while being out in the world. Chances are, you hear some of these too.  I hope that one or two of these trips your radar and makes you reflect, and helps you see something more clearly.  JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedom

JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedomIn this episode, I speak with 7 guests from Biz Chix Live, a conference for women entrepreneurs, held annually in Irvine, CA and hosted by Natalie Eckdahl.  These women have successful businesses and I wanted to hear from them what their main takeaways were from the conference. Many of them talked about how attending helped them shift their view of what was possible in their businesses in 2019.  Here they are, in order of appearance: Nikki Rausch, Your Sales Maven: https://yoursalesmaven.com/ Amanda Berlin, with the Empowered Publicity Podcast: https://amandaberlin.com, https://amandaberlin.com/thepodcast/ Jamie Lieberman, Hashtag Legal: https://www.hashtag-legal.com/ Betsy Walling Furler: https://medium.com/@betsyfurler Debbie Gonzales, Guides by Deb, the Debcast, & Girls with Guts: http://www.debbiegonzales.com/the-debcast-podcast/ Jaime Slutzky, Tech of Business & Tech of Business Podcast: https://techofbusiness.com/, https://techofbusiness.com/episodes/ Hunter Clarke Fields, Mindful Mama: https://www.mindfulmamamentor.com/ What was your takeaway from this episode? Come share in the She Thinks Big private Facebook Group.  It’s free, and it’s the best place to be if your big ideas need airtime and support to grow. JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedom

JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedomI coach Jeannine Widmann, the VP of Human Resources and People Management at a software start-up, around Imposter Syndrome, holding back, and speaking from a place of knowing, truth, and power.  As a woman at a roundtable of men, she sometimes finds herself challenged by her own stories around the importance of her work and her view of the landscape. In this episode we explore and separate truth from fiction, helping her find clarity around what to say, and how to say it, so that it aligns with who she is: an intelligent, perceptive woman with an important project to implement.  Without making anyone wrong, we discuss how sometimes as women, we devalue our own work and our own importance, when what is needed is exactly the opposite.  What are you holding back on, that isn’t aligned with your big dreams? You can share in the Facebook group for Big Thinkers - join here. JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedom

JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedomThis episode is for those of you who have money challenges in your business. I know there are a lot of you because I talk to you and I hear the things that you say about your books, about what you don’t know about your books, about the messiness of your books, about your money and your mindset, and the fear that you have around money, the shame that some of us have around money, the embarrassment around asking, the beliefs that we have around "I’m no good at numbers" and "I suck at math." And what to do when you have messy books, how to handle and hire a better bookkeeper, and how to understand your Profit and Loss. JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedom

JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedomIf you find yourself knowing you could be playing a bigger game, but perhaps only vaguely aware of how you are thinking and playing small, this episode will help you step up and out. Here are 9 ways we think and play small, and what it looks like to play bigger. 1. Overcomplicating & making projects too big and too hard 2. Endless editing and perfectionisting 3. Omitting Your Story 4. Uptalk, Sing-song, sounding like everything is a question 5. Talking too fast 6. Minimizing words, like "sorry, just" and asking permission when it's not needed 7. Shoulders slouching or forward, chest caving in 8. Hiding behind hair, clothes, makeup, sunglasses 9. Not showing up at all Download the 9 Keys to Thinking and Playing Bigger worksheet here, so you can spot the places you are playing small and make choices for how to play bigger. What was your takeaway from this episode? Come share in the She Thinks Big private Facebook Group.  It’s free, and it’s the best place to be if your big ideas need airtime and support to grow. Books: Tara Mohr: Playing Big Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session 1:1 Coaching JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedom

JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedomIf you forgot to pick up your copy of Algal Research, you might have missed that microbiologist Carrine Blank made an important discovery in 2016 - namely, that the genome sequences of certain cyanobacterial species contained predicted chitin metabolizing genes.   That’s right. In this episode I take you on a wild scientific ride. If you took molecular biology, it will come in handy today! This discovery means allows Carrine to grow algae using products from 2 different waste streams: A polymer called chitin, which is a material used by crustaceans and mushrooms in their shells and cell wall structure. Waste water with dissolved phosphorus. The algae turn all this into 2 viable market products: Astaxanthin, which can be used for it’s red dye or antioxidant properties. Biofuel - as a replacement for fossil fuel. while cleaning the phosphorus from the water. If you get lost in the science, don’t worry - I throw you a rescue line with a simple explanation of the whole system part-way through this conversation. The implications of Carrine’s discovery are far-reaching -- I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about this discovery, where she might take it, and what other developments and technologies may eventually spring from it. What was your takeaway from this episode? Come share in the She Thinks Big private Facebook Group.  It’s free, and it’s the best place to be if your big ideas need airtime and support to grow. Connect with Guest www.carbonnutra.com [email protected] Work With Me Strategy Session 1:1 Coaching JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedom

JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedomToday I pass the mic to Jodi Flynn of the Women Taking the Lead podcast. With this podcast I want to flesh out what it is to think and play big, so that women all around the world can step more fully into their authenticity and power. We talk about adopting a mindset of moving your fear out of the way, or at least, befriending it; learning and practicing shifting into this space so that it becomes the default space to operate in, rather than spending most of our time pushing and dragging fear around. My ask of the She Thinks Big community is to be willing to step forward again and again, even when you are scared. This world needs you to show up. My vision is one where women around the world can speak and tell the truth - even if there may be reprisals. With #MeToo lifting us all, it has become abundantly clear that we can speak and be heard. Listeners, please share your takeaways in the Facebook Group. I really do want to know what stood out to you from this episode. You can connect with Jodi at [email protected] You can find her podcast on iTunes and on her website at womentakingthelead.com. Here is the Women Taking the Lead Facebook Group JOIN PEAK FREEDOMFor solo and small accounting firm owners who want peace and calm without hiring, scaling, grinding, or reducing profithttps://geraldinecarter.com/peak-freedom