Mastering Your Small Business Finances ~ Money Management, Bookkeeping, Entrepreneurship, Side Hustle, Accounting, Cash Flow, Solopreneur, Strategy, Tax, Virtual Assistant Marketing Mindset QuickBooks

If you’re an accountant, CPA, bookkeeper, tax preparer, business owner, or other high-stress professional, there’s something I know for sure.  Having spent over 20 years in accounting and owning my own business, I know we’re really good at getting things done.  We meet deadlines, we solve problems, we take care of our clients, we answer the emails, we handle emergencies, we make the numbers work. ...

Many high-performing professionals experience feeling behind.  You may be behind on your work, behind on your emails, behind on your projects, your goals, things at home, or even behind on taking care of yourself.  Sometimes, you can even feel behind before the day has really started.  You wake up thinking about everything you didn’t finish yesterday.  You check your email and there are twelve new...

Something I see over and over again with accountants, CPAs, bookkeepers, tax preparers, business owners, and other high-stress professionals is that they are always saying yes.  Yes to another client request.  Yes to another deadline.  Yes to helping someone on your team.  Yes to answering the email right away.  Yes to taking care of something that really isn't yours to take care of.  Yes to one m...

Have you ever had one of those days where you look at your calendar, your inbox, your to-do list, your text messages, and everything seems to be demanding your attention?  If you’re an accountant, CPA, bookkeeper, tax preparer, business owner, or other high-stress professional, you’ve probably experienced it.  You’ve got a client who needs something.  You’ve got a deadline coming up.  You’ve got a...

You’re good at managing your work.  But who’s managing you?  If you’re an accountant, CPA, bookkeeper, tax preparer, business owner, or other high-stress professional, you’re probably used to managing deadlines, clients, responsibilities, and an endless list of things that need to get done.  But managing your work and leading yourself under pressure are two different things.  You probably have cal...

If you've been listening to Mastering Your Small Business Finances for a while, you may notice that things are going to look a little different around here, and I want to explain why.  I've spent more than 20 years as a CPA, and I've spent years talking with accountants and business owners about money, business, productivity, and success.  But over time, I realized something.  Knowing how to manag...

Setting a goal you want to achieve that feels impossible is one thing, but taking the steps to achieve it is what will ultimately keep you on track and help you reach it.  So many people have big dreams and set impossible goals, but all too quickly fail and give up on something that could have not only been possible but also a reality.  So what is the key to setting those impossible goals and maki...

Hey there, I’m Chris Panek, Certified Public Accountant and Certified Coach, and I have something that will definitely make a difference in your life within the first 30 days of joining.  I know if you’re listening to this podcast, you’re someone who makes big decisions and solves hard problems, and I have a resource that I’m excited to share with you. If today’s topic about when being smart is no...

Even though you know you shouldn’t be mixing your personal and business funds together, we know it happens, and I totally understand that there are times when this may be happening in your business.  I have seen many times when cash falls short, and the business owner needs to inject additional funds into the business.  Where does this money come from?  Well, to be honest, most often, it is the bu...

I get a lot of questions about relationships from my clients.  These may be relationships between a friend, partner, colleague, or business relationship.  Whatever relationship you have, there are three components, and when you have a full understanding of these components, you’ll ultimately see your relationships improve.  Often, the problems my clients run into are the same types of problems oth...

Hey there, I’m Chris Panek, Certified Public Accountant and Certified Coach, and I have something that will definitely make a difference in your life within the first 30 days of joining.  I know if you’re listening to this podcast, you’re someone who makes big decisions and solves hard problems, and I have a resource that I’m excited to share with you. If today’s topic about what your life could l...

When most business owners are asked what their accountant or bookkeeper helps them with, you’ll most likely hear that they do their financial statements, which include their balance sheet and income statement or profit and loss report, and they probably file their tax returns for them.  Most accountants, bookkeepers, CPAs, and Virtual CFOs provide way more services than this.  Knowing what additio...

Do you know who your true self is?  Do you ever think you’ll become who you really are when you reach a certain point in your life?  Do you ever feel like you are lying to yourself when you ask who you really are?  Do you know how to simply be yourself?  Are you ready to give yourself the gift of being yourself?  Let’s dive in…   Join us in a community built specifically for accountants and high-s...

Hey there, I’m Chris Panek, Certified Public Accountant and Certified Coach, and I have something that will definitely make a difference in your life within the first 30 days of joining.  I know if you’re listening to this podcast, you’re someone who makes big decisions and solves hard problems, and I have a resource that I’m excited to share with you. If today’s topic about why what really matter...

Businesses have dealt with customers not paying their invoices over the years, and this is putting additional stress on business owners like you.  As a business owner, you know that you need to receive payment on your customer’s invoices to continue to have the cash flow you need for your business to survive.  Do you have any customer invoices that you are still waiting to collect payment on, or a...

How much frustration are you currently experiencing in your life?  Do you find most of this frustration stems from your professional life, or do you have just as much frustration or more in your personal life?  This has been coming up quite a bit with my clients lately, and I thought it would be good to dig a little deeper into the reasons why you are feeling so much frustration in your life.  The...

Hey there, I’m Chris Panek, Certified Public Accountant and Certified Coach, and I have something that will definitely make a difference in your life within the first 30 days of joining.  I know if you’re listening to this podcast, you’re someone who makes big decisions and solves hard problems, and I have a resource that I’m excited to share with you. If today’s topic about why so many people are...

The excitement of starting a small business can fuel the flame for your business for quite a while, but when you stop taking care of yourself and let your business pull you in various directions, burnout can start to set in, and you may find the passion you once had for your business start to smolder.  You want to be proactive in this area so that you don’t find yourself with these feelings of bur...

Do you find yourself people-pleasing?  Do you understand what people-pleasing actually means and how doing it impacts your life?  If you find yourself constantly putting yourself last or putting other people’s needs before your own, it’s likely you are people-pleasing in your life.  Understanding people-pleasing and why you might be doing it in your life can bring such an awareness for you to begi...

Hey there, I’m Chris Panek, Certified Public Accountant and Certified Coach, and I have something that will definitely make a difference in your life within the first 30 days of joining.  I know if you’re listening to this podcast, you’re someone who makes big decisions and solves hard problems, and I have a resource that I’m excited to share with you. If today’s topic about perfection slowing you...

Recording credit card transactions in either QuickBooks Desktop or QuickBooks Online is pretty easy to do as long as you have the correct procedures in place to do it accurately.  Over the years, I have seen many different ways businesses have recorded their transactions and how quickly their financial reports can reflect inaccurate data.  Most times when I walk them through the correct way to rec...

People experience anxiety in so many ways.  Most people try to avoid these feelings, but what if instead of avoiding these anxious feelings, you were able to experience your anxiety?  When you are able to intentionally feel your way through your anxiety, you will experience a much different situation.  Think about the last time you were feeling anxious.  Was it when you had to give a presentation,...

Hey there, I’m Chris Panek, Certified Public Accountant and Certified Coach, and I have something that will definitely make a difference in your life within the first 30 days of joining.  I know if you’re listening to this podcast, you’re someone who makes big decisions and solves hard problems, and I have a resource that I’m excited to share with you. If today’s topic about how success means very...

One of the questions I receive from my clients is how to transfer funds in QuickBooks Desktop, and QuickBooks Online.  Both have an extremely simple way to do this, but if you are unsure about how to do it, or you do it incorrectly, you could be causing your balance sheet and your income statement to reflect the wrong information.  Recording all your transactions is important to make sure your ban...

Have you ever based a decision you were making on intuition?  Do you ever let your intuition guide you in life?  The basic definition of intuition is to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning.  When you fully understand your wants and needs in life, intuition can be something you rely on.  But what happens when you may not be in sync with what you really want in...