Well, I guess I’m technically not blowing my own horn…but I am very happy to share a new testimonial:

“We threw a big project in Kelly’s lap and she got it done on time and under budget.  Her patience and humor make her a pleasure to work with, and she clearly has sound financial judgement, providing us with insight and constructive suggestions for improving our operations.  We highly recommend her services, and are excited to continue working with Kelly as a “business partner” – so that we can spend more time doing what we like to do!”

Thanks, Carey!  I really enjoy working with you too!

I finally updated my QuickBooks ProAdvisor Certification. I’m now officially a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor for 2008 and 2009 versions. I even learned a couple of new tricks through the process.

I also recently became an MYOB Bookkeeping Partner. Unfortunately, MYOB is far behind Intuit in building out their training and tools for accountants and bookkeepers. At any rate, I’m happy to be a partner with MYOB and have free access to their technical support team.

I’ve always hated being called a “nag”.  I think my husband is actually the only person to ever say “STOP nagging me!”  It seems I’m often put in the position of being the “nag” and I’ve always thought it was an awful character flaw.

Recently, I realized, I’m the work “nag” for a couple of my clients.  I need to find a better word for it (please help me out with that).  I tend to be drawn to clients who are unorganized, have a lot going on in their business lives, and are creative, big picture thinkers.  Because of those characteristics, they rarely get to their list of “things to do for Kelly” in a timely manner.

Twice in the past week, I’ve followed up with these clients to nag them for the information I need to get them the information they need (and the appropriate government agencies too, of course).  I follow up regularly with them because my strengths are the opposite of theirs.  I’m great at organizing, details, and follow up.

I have always felt bad about nagging them (even though I do it in a kind, professional way).  I hate the thought of someone feeling like I’m “nagging” and I’m always positive they are saying to themselves “I wish she would stop nagging me!”  Funny, it never occurred to me that they have never requested it to stop and I’ve never lost a client relationship over it.

I was speaking with one of my clients the other day and I apologized for nagging so much.  Her response surprised me and gave me a little more insight into my ideal client.  She said: “Well, that’s why I hired you.  I NEED someone to nag me, or I’ll never do it.  Weeks go by and I have no idea it has been that long.”

The truth is, if I didn’t continuously follow up to get what I need, I wouldn’t be providing very good service. With that, I’m going to cut myself some slack and find a better description for the “nagging” aspect of my services.

~ Kelly