#QBConnect Changed My Life – Let It Change Yours

With QuickBooks Connect 2016 (visit Seth’s #QBConnect page for up-to-the-second countdown) right around the corner, many of you may be “on the fence” to attend or not. Trust me, I am with you.  I RUN my entire business on my own and it’s hard to “break away” especially if I can’t guarantee a ROI (return on investment) on attending a conference. Just to add to that, I have 3 kids that I would need to juggle school, sitters and sports around while Mom is away on business. So I completely relate to any of you still deciding on whether it’s “worth it to go”.  For me, many of my final decisions on whether to attend an event (especially when it involves hotel & overnight stay) has come from listening to real life experiences of my esteemed mentors, colleagues and friends.

Today, I would like to share my #QBConnect true story and how this experience has literally changed my life.

Before I start and if you prefer to watch now and read later, I have created a short video on innovative ideas and best practices I learned at previous QuickBook Connect events (2014&2015)and implemented into my firm. These new efficiencies have transformed my business and personal life. I will be sharing many of these topics in the 4 sessions I will be participating in at #QBConnect2016. Watch the video and come back later to read my true Hollywood story! If you want the #truestory now, keep reading! Also, if you just want a quick reference for the sessions I am teaching, I have added direct links at the bottom of this blog; also, don’t forget to check out my awesome blog on Tips to Prepare for #QBConnect2016.

Now for my #QBConnect True Story…

I began my business in 2009 and for the first 5 years, I focused on learning and building my business. I had been watching, reading and following many of my mentors online and I was just waiting for an opportunity to meet these industry leaders “IRL” (in real life). I wanted to understand what they were doing to go from Good to GREAT!

And then QuickBooks Connect 2014 happened.

I was blown away by how much I learned and grew as a business owner in just a few days. On the plane ride there, I made a list of mentors I wanted to meet in person.  I did my best “just to say hi” to each one of them – a few even got hugs & selfies with me (selfies are my FAV).

On my flight back home, I made myself 2 promises:

• Connect with mentors & thought leaders “on my list” (aka Twitter/FB stalking) and find ways to team up with them to create magic
• My BIGGER promise was for QuickBooks Connect 2015, everyone on my “Must Connect With” list would recognize and remember me after #QBConnect2015

And then the QuickBooks Connect 2015 #IntuitFirmoftheFuture contest happened.

This was my chance to hit HARD! I wanted all my mentors and colleagues to know that I was truly passionate about our shared goal to learn and grow with our small business clients. I took this opportunity provided by our most trusted strategic partner, Intuit, and entered the contest.

I am humbly honored to say I was selected as an Intuit Top 20 Firm of the Future and this is when my LIFE was truly TRANSFORMED!

I NOW had a direct link to so many of the people “on my list” and I knew it was just a matter of time that I would be sitting “at the cool kidz table” and learning from the greatest leaders and thinkers in the industry. Since then, I have personally met and worked with many (not all) of the people “on my list”. But I can certainly say that they all know who I am now!

So to end my #truestory, I want to share that by taking this entrepreneur leap to grow myself & my business, I was able to achieve one of my lifetime milestones: to sit on the legendary Scott Cook Quicken table where it all started! It was a humbling & exhilarating lifetime moment that I will cherish forever.

After meeting so many amazing leaders in our industry, I can wholeheartedly say that we are living in the most client-centric, openly giving accounting technology era of its time. If there’s ever a time to take the LEAP out of your comfort zone to create amazing possibilities, THIS IS THE TIME. We are LIVING IN THE FUTURE, RIGHT NOW!!!

At a recent Intuit Firm of the Future roadshow, I was asked, “what does it mean to be a #Firmof theFuture”? I believe a “Firmof theFuture” is a Firm that is going to Survive in this accounting technology era and ecosystem we are living and working in RIGHT NOW. In other words, we all need to become Firms of the Future TODAY!! I guarentee you that attending QuickBooks Connect 2016 will most definitely be a direct path towards this exciting path.

#QBConnect Changed My Life, now Let It Change Yours!

As promised above, below are a direct links to my #QBConnect2016 sessions AND if still available, try using coupon codes below:

How to deliver value to the growing self-employed workforce

From red to black: managing finances between jobs

Five most important things to know while self-employed

The playbook for building a successful niche practice

When you register as ACCTPro use QBC16VIP & All others use QBC16OWNIT. Register here!!