The Successful Bookkeeper Podcast

"Slow down. I think we move so fast and we're trying to go in straight to the solution and there could be multiple things that the customer needs and we miss opportunities when we move too fast."
-Syvonia Brown

 In this Spotlight episode, Syvonia Brown, Director of Sales at Sage 50 US, talks about emotional intelligence and why it matters more than most bookkeepers realize. She shares practical ways to handle tough client conversations, slow down reactive thinking, and build trust without taking on unnecessary stress.

In this interview, you'll learn:
How active listening changes difficult client conversations
Why silence can be a powerful communication tool
How to show empathy without absorbing client emotion
To learn more about Syvonia, click here.
Explore Sage at this link.

Time Stamp

01:20 – What emotional intelligence really means in client work
02:10 – Checking in with yourself before client conversations
02:55 – Why jumping to solutions causes problems
04:25 – Using silence to help clients feel heard
05:17 – Simple techniques to avoid filling the silence
06:46 – Phone, video, or email how & tone changes everything
10:42 – Empathy without taking issues personally
12:21 – Why apologizing can make things worse
14:06 – De-escalating upset clients without matching their tone
16:14 – Taking accountability when mistakes happen
18:30 – Handling issues when you don't know the full story
20:01 – Embedding emotional intelligence into firm culture
21:22 – Training teams to lead with empathy
23:21 – How emotional intelligence drives loyalty & referrals
25:29 – Practical habits bookkeepers can apply immediately

Your expertise has more value than you think, so Own Your Authority at The Successful Bookkeeper Summit 2026!

It's a high-energy two-day virtual experience for bookkeepers ready to lead with confidence and elevate their impact.

Join inspiring leaders on November 4th–5th to gain actionable strategies, powerful tools, and the clarity to shape the work you want, not just keep up with it.

Don't miss this incredible opportunity!

REGISTER TODAY!

" Selling is not necessarily the answer. Exit can mean continuing to be part of it, but in a different way."
–Salim Omar

In this episode, Salim Omar, CPA and author of The CPA Firm Exit Playbook, shares what it takes to build a firm that works without constant owner involvement. Drawing from 30 years as a firm owner, Salim explains how systems, marketing, and leadership shape firm value and future options.

In this interview, you'll learn:
Why owner dependency limits growth & firm value
How systems & teams prepare your firm for the next chapter
What buyers actually look for in an accounting firm
To learn more about Salim, click here.

Get a copy of his book, The CPA Firm Exit Playbook.

Connect with him on LinkedIn.

Time Stamp

01:49 – Salim's journey from CFO to firm owner
04:22 – Discovering The E-Myth & changing how he ran his firm
06:03 – Shifting from technician to business owner
08:49 – Leading with curiosity & leaving ego behind
12:37 – Why Salim wrote The CPA Firm Exit Playbook
14:14 – The biggest exit planning mistakes firm owners make
16:15 – Removing owner dependency years before selling
18:21 – Why growth & marketing matter to buyers
22:49 – Education-based marketing & attracting better clients
29:01 – Redefining exit without fully stepping away
30:59 – Straight Talk Transitions & available resources
Your expertise has more value than you think, so Own Your Authority at The Successful Bookkeeper Summit 2026!
It's a high-energy two-day virtual experience for bookkeepers ready to lead with confidence and elevate their impact.
Join inspiring leaders on November 4th–5th to gain actionable strategies, powerful tools, and the clarity to shape the work you want, not just keep up with it.
Don't miss this incredible opportunity!
REGISTER TODAY!

" We need to do things that the other people aren't doing because that's how you make ways, that's how you revolutionize, that's how you pave a new path for the other people that think like you, but maybe don't have the strength at this point yet to pave the way."
-Sharrin Fuller
In this episode, Sharrin Fuller, strategic advisor and founder of Glass Wallet Ventures, shares why she believes the future of bookkeeping is client-facing, relationship-driven, and systemized. She breaks down how she scaled smarter, reduced her team, embraced technology, and rebuilt her firm to run smoothly with less effort. Sharrin also shares the thinking behind her book, Unfollow The Rules: The Messy Truth About Burnout, Bad Decisions And Building Until It Worked and why challenging traditional models matters more than ever for firm owners.

In this interview, you'll learn:
Why scaling smarter beats hiring more staff
How technology replaces tasks but not relationships
What bookkeepers must do to stay relevant as AI advances
To learn more about Sharrin, click here.

Connect with her on LinkedIn.
Buy her book, Unfollow The Rules, at this link.

Time Stamp

00:00 – Why only client-facing roles matter in the future
01:03 – Sharrin's career journey & building multiple firms
03:47 – What inspired her book Unfollow The Rules
11:23 – Scaling smarter without adding people
12:23 – Reducing a team from 12 to 2 without losing clients
14:45 – Challenging traditional business models
19:53 – How to decide what to outsource or automate
24:08 – The downside of fast-changing technology
27:56 – What Sharrin is building next & where to find her 
Your expertise has more value than you think, so Own Your Authority at The Successful Bookkeeper Summit 2026!
It's a high-energy two-day virtual experience for bookkeepers ready to lead with confidence and elevate their impact.
Join inspiring leaders on November 4th–5th to gain actionable strategies, powerful tools, and the clarity to shape the work you want, not just keep up with it.
Don't miss this incredible opportunity!
REGISTER TODAY!

"Your data is good to go. Customer comes into Hub Analytics and starts chatting with the chat bot to ask questions about the data, get visualized charts and graphs, and really have kind of this virtual CFO experience, which is cool."
-Tommy Vincent

Tommy Vincent, Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer at Hub Analytics, returns to explain how AI is reshaping analytics, advisory, and the bookkeeper's role. He shares how data diagnostics improve pricing confidence, why early forecasting matters, and how AI tools give clients clearer financial insight without added complexity.

In this interview, you'll learn:
How AI checks bookkeeping work in seconds & catches errors early
Why forward-looking analytics matter more than past reports
How to deliver CFO-level insight without becoming a CFO
To learn more about Hub Analytics, click here.
Connect with Tommy on LinkedIn.
Time Stamp
00:00 - How AI scans bookkeeping data & flags issues
02:13 - Why AI fits naturally into accounting & finance
05:01 - Using AI to validate work & reduce review time
06:22 - Moving from historical reports to forward-looking insight
08:37 - Why many bookkeepers don't want to deliver CFO services
09:13 - How the Hub Analytics partner program works
11:45 - Using data diagnostics to check & price new clients
14:22 - Catching errors & unknowns before onboarding
16:10 - Why small businesses need forecasting earlier
19:36 - Cash flow forecasting & scenario planning
20:34 - Using AI chat tools as a virtual CFO
22:32 - Turning insights into real business decisions
25:02 - How bookkeepers stay connected to advisory work
29:57 - Making CFO-level insight affordable for small businesses
32:14 - How to get started with Hub Analytics

" I'm not gonna say people can't change. What I will say is that it is hard work to change attitude. Changing skills, super simple. Attitude, it's a losing battle for the vast majority of business leaders."
-Mark Murphy

Welcome to 2026 and the 10th anniversary year of our podcast!

In this episode, Mark Murphy, founder of Leadership IQ, shares how to hire better and build teams that actually work. He explains why most hiring problems come down to attitude and outlines the five roles every strong team needs.

In this interview, you'll learn:
 •The five roles every winning team needs
 • How to ask interview questions that reveal real behaviour 
 • Why attitude—not skills—is behind most failed hires

To learn more about Mark and Leadership IQ, click here.

Connect with him on LinkedIn.

Time Stamp

00:00 Mark shares why attitude makes or breaks new hires
04:10 The real reasons nearly half of new hires fail
08:30 How to ask interview questions that reveal the truth
14:30 Why managers ignore red flags & how to stop
20:20 The five roles every winning team needs
29:30 How business owners can stop trying to be "everything"
33:40 Adaptive hierarchy & better decision-making
37:50 Leading remote teams with clearer roles
44:10 Where to learn more about Mark Murphy & Leadership IQ