The CPA MOMS Podcast

Rachel Schmidt has been with ADP for over 3 years and during that time has earned the designations of President's Club Performer as well as Accountant Specialist. As a hard-earned ADP Accountant specialist, Rachel strictly partners with accountants and the CPA community, making sure they, and their clients, get the highest level of support at ADP. From hiring to retiring, and everything in between, ADP provides a host of services that even seasoned CPA's might be surprised to discover. Rachel has been the National ADP representative for CPA MOMS and has supported our community members, as well as the CPA MOMS franchisees. To receive the CPA MOMS 30% discount with ADP and find out more about working with Rachel, you can go to https://cpamoms.wufoo.com/forms/qe7y70o0k3vquv/

This line is too long, traffic is out of hand, my daughter spends too much money, my mother-in-law needs to get out of our personal business, and the IRS keeps making it more difficult for accountants to do their job. Does any of this sound familiar? I'm sure you could come up with a whole lot more to complain about, especially as an accountant and a mom. As far as daily professional and personal challenges go, you're dealing with more than the average person. While we all complain about various circumstances in our lives from time to time, or get frustrated with the constant complainers in our lives, you should also know that complaining is actually affecting your intelligence, which can affect your accounting career. The reason complaining affects your intelligence is because it affects your brain. Research from Stanford University has shown that complaining shrinks the hippocampus, which is an area of the brain that's critical to problem-solving and intelligent thought. For accountants, this can become a big problem since our intelligence and problem-solving skills are what makes it possible for us to do what we do. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I discuss why we complain, why it's such a problem and how to stop You can book a free 20 minute call to discuss The Better Time Management Program at http://go.scheduleyou.in/X7xcdpc

As a woman and a mother in a profession like accounting, it can be challenging to own your feelings and not make them a problem. With a limited number of women in leadership roles and the messaging that women often get about not being "too emotional", it can seem like the formula for success is to sweep your feelings under the rug. The unfortunate thing about the assumption that feelings have no place in business, or that having feelings or emotions make you "weak", is that it's incredibly short sighted and actually creates an unnecessary struggle for a lot of working women. In a data-focused, analytical profession like accounting, allowing yourself to own how you feel can often be frowned upon. Of course the job of an accountant focuses on numbers and analytics, but if you want to achieve more success and have more balance as both an accountant and a mom, your feelings are hugely important. While your male colleagues might dismiss feelings as having no place in a business setting, I want to help accountant moms to see how to make your feelings a powerful fuel to help you achieve whatever you want in your career and in your life. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I discuss why your feelings matter and how to use the information you get from your feelings in order to get what you want. For a helpful list of feelings that I discussed in this episode, you can go to https://www.hoffmaninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/Practices-FeelingsSensations.pdf

This week I had the pleasure of interviewing business and strategist coach for CPA's, Geraldine Carter. Geraldine is the founder of She Thinks Big Coaching, where she helps CPAs get out of the accounting rut. Her clients routinely double their margins in 6 months or less while working fewer hours. Geraldine holds a BS in Engineering from Cornell University, is the co-founder and CFO of a company where her cashflow forecasting models resulted in millions of dollars for climate change efforts. In addition to her coaching practice, She Thinks Big Coaching, she is also the podcast host of "Smart Strategy For CPA's". In her free time, she can be found mountain biking forested trails or running after her two small children in her hometown of Ketchum, ID. In this episode Geraldine shares some of the biggest issues that CPA's face when starting and growing a business, as well as the solutions she recommends to her clients.

If you are like so many of the accountant moms I talk to, you might be at the point of exhaustion, wishing there was a better way to have the career you desire, to support your family financially, to be there for your children, but also to not be so frustrated, stressed and overwhelmed so much of the time. Unfortunately, as accountants we often get the message to just "suck it up" and keep pressing on. I also know that so many of you are at a crossroads, where you are so overwhelmed and stressed that you either want to quit, run away or a combination of both. You know first hand that the struggle is real and probably have the common belief that there's nothing that can be done to have a more balanced life and reduce your burnout. There is no shame in the fact that you are experiencing burnout, but I also want you to know that it doesn't have to be as normal as you may have been led to believe. There is a way to reduce burnout so you can live the happy, balanced life that you desire and deserve, without having to give up on the career you've worked so hard for. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I explain where burnout comes from, especially for accountant moms, and what you can do to reduce your accountant mom burnout. You can find out more about The Balanced Accountant Program at https://cpamoms-academy.com/p/the-balanced-accountant

When you hear the word "minimalism", what comes to mind? Do you see a bare, sterile environment that seems boring? Do you envision Tibetan monks with just a cot to sleep on and one pair of sandals to wear on their feet? Do you think of people who don't make a lot of money and who need to be frugal by necessity? For accountants the idea of minimalism is especially challenging because we tend to place importance and value on everything we touch. As a profession, we're told to keep things like the financial and tax return backup for minimum periods of time, making it challenging to let go of things not only professionally, but personally as well. Since we're educated and trained to fear making a mistake, we often have a false sense of comfort in holding on to things even when we're not instructed to. Even those accountants that have adopted a mostly paperless office still feel the need to hold on to things "just in case", just adding more space to their cloud based storage when their "just in case" items are reaching the current max. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I explain what new minimalism for accountant moms is and how to achieve a more simplistic, peaceful life when it comes to the practical side of being an accountant and the sentimental side of being a mom.

When it comes to delegating, especially for working moms, it can seem like a great idea, but can often be challenging when faced with actually doing it. While it would be amazing to be Supermom and be able to do it all, you're actually not doing yourself any favors, both personally or professionally, by not addressing the idea of delegating more. Whether you could use more time, experience less stress, or improve your work/life balance, it's probably time to readdress the topic of delegating if you haven't done it in a while. Fortunately, you can still keep your Supermom cape even if you let others take over tasks that you believe are solely your responsibility. The truth is that there is a better way to start giving up control, a little bit at a time, so that you can free yourself up to do the things that matter most. There is no shame in acknowledging that you could use some help and, if you think about it, it just might be the thing you need in order to pursue a goal, to grow your business, or to manage your family. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I discuss delegating tools for work and home as well as examples of things to delegate and automate. You can find out more about the franchise opportunity with CPA MOMS at https://cpa-moms.com/franchise/

Every female CPA has a story and every entrepreneur has one as well. This week I had the pleasure of interviewing Twyla Verhelst, CPA. Twyla is the head of Freshbooks Account Channel and the leader of the Accounting Professionals program with Freshbooks. She was recognized as one of the Top 50 Women in Accounting. Twyla is known for leading the charge when it comes to advocacy, change and community. She is an experienced CPA and a tech entrepreneur with a passion for helping women build their confidence. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast Twyla and I discuss her accountant and entrepreneur journey as well as what it means to be a progressive accountant.

Do you fall into the Dominant, Inspiring, Supportive or Cautious category per the DISC personality assessment? Do you know if you're an ISTJ or an INFJ in the Myers-Briggs assessment? Or are you considered a Blue in the Color Personality Test? When it comes to personality assessments, a lot of people seem to look for ways to understand themselves and others better, by taking a personality or strengths finder-type test, hoping to understand the motivations, thoughts, feelings and actions that lead us to do what we do. It can be comforting to come across a grid or diagram that promises to explain where you fall in the scheme of things compared to other humans, and how to best utilize your innate gifts and talents. While tests like DISC and Myers-Briggs are interesting in order to see what you tend to do or what you're strong in, they're also just a snapshot in time, not an identity. Unfortunately, while they are intended to give you information, they can also keep you stuck, believing that you are what the test or assessment says you are and there's not much you can do about it. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I explain how your personality is shaped and how you can choose to be the architect of it.

As a working mom, you've also probably got a lot of other things in your personal life that are requiring extra attention like the health, safety and well-being of you and your family as well as your children's educational needs and much more. What was once a struggle to achieve some semblance of balance, might feel like a complete impossibility with everything you have on your plate. The interesting thing is that somewhere along the evolution of women in the workplace there was this underlying assumption that if you wanted to work outside the home, that's fine, but that doesn't mean that your responsibilities at home are going to be less. You might have the desire for a career or the economic need for a job, but be prepared to keep doing almost everything you would do if you were a stay at home mom and much more. With so many things that you are responsible for as a working mom, it's no wonder that, despite your best efforts, there are times when you feel like you just can't keep up. If you feel frustrated, overwhelmed or on the verge of burnout, then this episode is for you. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I discuss the reality of "doing it all" and what to do when you just can't seem to keep up. You can check out more about The Balanced Accountant Program at https://cpamoms-academy.com/p/the-balanced-accountant

As we are all living in uncertain times, it can be challenging, especially as a mom, to deal with all the things that are known and unknown right now. When someone asks you, "How are you doing? Is everything okay?", it can often feel like you're a dam about to burst with things that are weighing on you and challenges you're having to deal with. As a smart, capable woman it can be difficult to deal with the roller coaster of ups and downs that come with being an accountant and a mom. You're not just responsible for doing your job and servicing your clients or the company you work for, but you're also in charge of the health and welfare of your children while helping to support your family financially as well. When you have all that on your shoulders and then add something like a job loss or a loved one's diagnosis, it can often feel like you're at your breaking point. It's as if one more thing will literally break you into a million pieces. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I discuss why it's okay to not be okay and the steps for handling how you feel when life isn't going the way you want. You can check out the CPA MOMS Podcast Roadmap at https://cpa-moms.com/the-cpa-moms-podcast-roadmap/

Every CPA has a story - we all have a journey we've taken to get us to where we are. Every entrepreneur also has a story and journey as well. This week I had the pleasure of interviewing Nicole Kehl, CPA. Nicole is a mom of two from Kentucky and became CPA MOMS fourth founding franchisee, having previously struggled with building her own practice and having the support and training she needed. Listen in as Nicole shares how she started out in the United States Marine Corp, worked in private accounting after college, but after having her second child, she knew she needed to make a change. Although Nicole had started her own firm with the help of CPA MOMS previous Fast Start Program, she realized that she needed more support in order to create the vision she had for herself and her family.

If there's one topic that accountant moms want to discuss more than any other, it's how to have a more balanced life. They intellectually understand that there are just 24 hours in a day in order to get work done and take care of their family, but emotionally they're overwhelmed with the weight they feel on their shoulders to balance it all. The interesting thing is that it's actually more challenging for accountants to have a balanced life because of one important, very common trait that most accountants possess - seriousness. Due to the innate heaviness and gravity that accompanies accounting work, this can make it more challenging for accountants to lighten up and help the momentum needed to have a more balanced life. While this underlying seriousness of the accounting profession might make it easier to gain the public's trust when dealing with their finances, it also unfortunately makes it more difficult for accountants to achieve the balance they desire. Thankfully, the one piece that is missing from having a balanced life is simpler than you might think. That one piece that is missing is actually natural for human beings, but can often be covered over with layers of expectations, education, and indoctrination. The one piece missing from having a balanced life is fun. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I explain the secret to what actually makes things fun and share some things you can try in order to make anything you're doing more fun for you.

As we flip our calendars over each month after the start of the new year, a lot of accountant moms might be experiencing a wave of stress and anxiety, especially those in public accounting. Once January is over, we all know that tax season is just waiting to pounce on us like a lion waiting in the brush. On the one hand, as a modern working woman living in the time of technology, you fortunately have the incredible ability to use that technology to help you in so many ways, especially in the work you do as an accountant. But on the other hand, with all the benefits you have with technology, you are also living in a time of information overload and information disorganization. Just know that time actually is on your side when you learn how to work better with it. Learning the skill of how to take back control of your time is a gift you give to yourself professionally, but it's also a gift you give to yourself and your family personally because it allows you to be less stressed and enjoy your time. From one working mom to another, learning how to take back control of your time is a career and life changer. It allows you to be incredibly efficient and to create the balanced life that you really want and deserve. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I discuss the power of being proactive and how to use that power to get more done in less time. For information about The Balanced Accountant Program, you can check it out at https://cpamoms-academy.com/p/the-balanced-accountant

While being an accountant comes with its own set of unique challenges, being an accountant AND a mom can be a very difficult balancing act, both physically, mentally and emotionally. There are so many expectations placed on you professionally, often making your energy and patience dwindle considerably when you are home with your family. When you've been spending so much mental energy at work, it can be tough to come home and deal with the demands of raising children while also creating a home environment that offers you a "soft place to fall" at the end of the day. I've yet to meet a mother that didn't yell at her children at various times, for various reasons. But let me be clear - you are NOT a bad mom if you yell at your children; you just might want to consider the effects it's having on you and on them. If you are looking to understand why yelling has become a habit for you and how to break that habit, then this episode is going to be helpful This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I discuss the reasons why yelling can become such a powerful habit and how to begin to break the habit of yelling at your children.

This week I had the pleasure of interviewing Alexandra Ferman and Allison Adams-Jones. For both of my guests, being a woman of color in accounting has been a challenge, both culturally and professionally. Alexandra lives in California (born and raised), she is working on passing the CPA exam to obtain her license and is hoping to be licensed by the end of this year. Alexandra worked in public accounting for about 6 years and recently transitioned to private a few months ago. She has three children, two girls and a boy, who are 17, 7 and 5. Allison lives in Cincinnati, OH, is a practicing CPA, works in public accounting and has been with her firm for 12 years, 6 ½ of which she has worked remotely, Allison just got out of the Navy Reserve, which she served in for 11 ½ years. She is a single parent to a 20-month old girl. During this interview, we not only talk about the normal struggles that accountant moms face, but the particular struggles that women of color in accounting face as well.

Whether you are an accounting employee or an accounting entrepreneur, it's nice to be considered the person that other people can count on. When others know that you can be relied on to do great work in a timely fashion, that definitely helps you get noticed, whether you are looking to move up in your company or you are looking for client referrals. Unfortunately, saying yes to every request might make you the "go to" person, but it can also make you incredibly stressed, overwhelmed and burned out. For a hardworking mom like yourself, it can be tricky to push back when requests from bosses, coworkers or clients start messing with your schedule and making you feel like you're being pulled in too many directions. Learning how to push back in a way that doesn't jeopardize your career, your business, or your relationships, offers you the opportunity for a discussion as opposed to a disagreement, and gives you the ability to set boundaries around your time. If you want to have more autonomy over your schedule, and decrease your overwhelm, while still maintaining healthy relationships, you need to learn a better way to push back. If you've ever found yourself in a meeting getting defensive about requests being made of you, hanging up from a client call with a feeling of dread, or battling with your children because of their demands, then this episode is going to be really helpful. There is a better way to be an amazing working mom, but not lose yourself in the process. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I discuss a method for how to push back and give you examples of when and how to put this method to use. If you'd like to discuss anything you've heard on the podcast, you can book a 20 minute free coaching session at http://go.scheduleyou.in/X7xcdpc

Have you ever set a goal and then gotten a burst of energy or been so excited about taking on some new challenge that you set another goal, and another? Before you know it, you're feeling overwhelmed, your free time is non-existent and you realize that you haven't actually gotten much headway on anything; or that you're still paying for a subscription for that meditation app that you haven't used in 2 months and that you haven't actually sat on the stationary bike in weeks. This is what usually happens to a lot of women after the excitement of New Year's resolutions where off and you realize your goals like losing weight, learning how to crochet, reading every night to your kids, and joining that virtual book club are nice ideas, but unrealistic. It doesn't even have to be a New Year's thing; it can happen at any time during the year where you get the urge to set a bunch of goals. Loving the sense of accomplishment when you set and achieve a goal is great, but the problem is when just setting one goal at a time isn't enough; when you feel a sense of urgency and impatience with yourself, your career, or anything else in your life. Not only do you wind up spreading yourself too thin, but you also decrease your ability to succeed at your goals. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I discuss the importance of constraint and how to use it to achieve whatever goals you have both personally and professionally. You can book a 20 minute free coaching session at http://go.scheduleyou.in/X7xcdpc

You already know that being an accountant is tough, and being an accountant and a mom is tougher, but being an accountant and single mom should seriously come with its own awards ceremony! As a single working mom, you probably feel like you're running a marathon every single day, while only being trained to walk a 5k at best. If you're like most single working moms, you've probably experienced loneliness, fear about supporting your family, and not being sure whether you can do all this on your own. With the current pandemic, these issues and more are even more stressful and overwhelming. With less people you're able to be around, more restrictions to adhere to, and the added complications of either co-parenting or having no other parent around, more and more single working moms are finding it challenging to balance it all. What was already difficult before the pandemic, has now become even more demanding and exhausting. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I discuss the importance of getting support, being honest about what you need, tweaking your priorities and dropping the guilt.

It doesn't matter whether you are in public or private accounting, we all have busy seasons throughout the course of the year. In private accounting you probably struggle with quarterly deadlines and in public accounting you're most likely faced with busy times like tax season; times where there is more work to get done than at other times during the year. Now obviously stress is not unique to the accounting profession, but when you add the demands of an accounting career to the demands of being a mom, it can pretty much guarantee that you'll experience stress trying to balance it all. Before you know it, you're overwhelmed, frustrated and confused about how to handle everything you have to do. Unfortunately, as a profession, accountants have normalized stress in our lives because everyone around us seems to be stressed as well. We find it hard to believe that things can be different since it seems like it's just a normal part of the work culture; as if stress is a given, or possibly even a badge of honor. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I discuss where stress comes from and my 3 secrets for having a stress-free busy season. To find out more about The Balanced Accountant Program HERE

A few months ago in episode #79 of The CPA MOMS Podcast, I had the pleasure of interviewing Heather Satterley, CPA, a second generation CPA mompreneur. In addition to not giving up on her dream to become a CPA, Heather was named one of the Top 50 Women in Accounting 2019 by Practice Ignition. She has a 100% virtual consulting company as well as a YouTube channel called the "Appy Hour". She and her co-host have free webinars, discussing various technology apps and programs available for accountants, helping them to feel competent and confident with the ever-growing technologies available. After asking our CPA MOMS Facebook Community what they'd like to learn more about in regards to technologies for accountants, I interviewed Heather about best practices for document storage, filing structure and retention as well as the best cloud based accounting programs and more. Heather is a wealth of information that you won't want to miss!

This fun episode of The CPA MOMS Podcast shares the highlights from the most popular and thought provoking episodes over the past two plus years. The whole premise for this podcast is to show you that you can have the thriving accounting career as well as the happy family you desire, by learning some of the tools that I, the podcast host, Dawn Goldberg, CPA, have learned along the way in my 30+ year career in public accounting. I just knew that what I was learning in my own personal studies wasn't taught in any accounting classroom or any continuing education seminar. I wanted to make everything that made my life so balanced and manageable, available to you so it can help you as much as it's helped me. To be able to have a career in public accounting, as well as be there for my children, without the stress and overwhelm that most accountants experience, was something that I knew other accountant moms would want to know and should be able to know how to do. This episode discusses some of the highlights from the past two plus years, and how this podcast can help you be the balanced accountant and mom that you deserve to be. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I break down the most popular podcasts into three categories - how to manage stress like a pro, how to confidently own your worth, and how to boost your time management and productivity. For The CPA MOMS Podcast Roadmap you can get a copy HERE

At some point in everyone's life and career, you're going to make a mistake. Whether it's choosing the wrong size when buying pants for your son, entering the wrong date on a check in Quickbooks which completely throws off the opening Trial Balance, or putting cinnamon instead of cumin into that taco dish (been there, done that), as accountants and moms we are no stranger to making mistakes. It happens to everyone, even the most conscientious and organized working moms. Just by virtue of the fact that you have a very busy life, balancing an accounting career with a family, all while trying to do your best in all areas of your life, can often lead to mistakes as you try to keep all the balls you're juggling up in the air. In order to be both the accountant and mother you want to be, you need to get out from under the weight of a mistake so you can bounce back and keep doing what you are here to do. The world doesn't need you to be perfect, it needs you to know how to handle mistakes when they happen and not let them derail your progress forward. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I discuss why we make mistakes and how to bounce back after making one.

Whether you are an accounting employee or entrepreneur, there's no avoiding the fact that interviews are a necessary part of the hiring, advancement, and growth of your career and business. While most accountants would rather discuss numbers than themselves, when it comes to interviews, it can be challenging to know what to say, what to do, and how to maneuver during these often awkward social interactions. Whether you are the interviewer or interviewee, you are still being sized up by someone else and deciding whether there's a good fit. As the interviewee, you should be as concerned about whether you want to work for a potential employer, as they are concerned about whether they want you to work for them. But one of the most important things that I think is missing from you nailing that job interview is less about the resume and more about you, your self-confidence and your self-awareness. Without a better understanding of how you think and feel, and how to manage your mind as well as the mind of the interviewer, you're probably not as prepared as you can be. In order to nail that job interview, you need to spend as much time understanding yourself as you do trying to figure out which font looks more professional for your resume. While there are definitely things you can do to get your resume to the top of the pile, the interview is where you are no longer your credentials on a piece of paper, but instead a working mom with hopes, dreams, fears and hangups. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I explain what you need to do in preparation for a job interview and then how to nail it when the time comes.

From the tragedy of losing both of her parents in a car crash a few years ago, Sallome Hralima she has devoted her time to give back to society some of the very valuable life lessons she learned in order to prevent unnecessary hardship for families who don't have their estate plans complete. She isn't an accountant or an attorney, but has taken her experience and used it to help others. Sallome facilitates and encourages dialogue among family members about the subject of estate and end of life planning. She is an advisor at After, the organization she helped create in order to turn her personal tragedy into a gift for others. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast we discuss the importance of end of life planning and how to have those difficult conversations as well as how to design your life and your legacy. You can find out more about After at https://www.after.community/

As the year comes to a close and year end planning is on the minds of all accountants, it's more important than ever to get a handle on procrastination so that deadlines aren't missed, and so that you'll also be able to enjoy the holiday season with your family. There's nothing worse than having to work frantically the last few weeks in December because you've procrastinated for so long that everything has piled up into an insurmountable mountain of overwhelm. The problem though when it comes to procrastination, is that you fool yourself into believing that that's just what you do; that you are the type of person who needs to wait until the pressure is high or the deadline is looming. You may have even labeled yourself as a procrastinator, believing that that's just part of your identity and there's nothing you can really do about it. You may even think that it's how accountants get things done, letting looming deadlines hang over your head like a guillotine, excited by narrowly escaping beheading each time and priding yourself on finally getting it all done in the nick of time. But have you ever asked yourself, what are the costs of procrastination to you, your family, your health, or your productivity and efficiency? This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I discuss 5 causes of procrastination and the best way I have found to overcome procrastination.

It doesn't matter whether you are in public or private accounting, or how long you've been an accountant, having a professional development plan is key if you want to have a successful accounting career with a deeper level of satisfaction. Let's face it, even though being an accounting professional has taken a lot of hard work on your part up until this point, now is not the time to drop the ball. While it may be cliche, it's also very true - your future is really what you make of it. Taking charge of and developing a professional development plan enables you to start, or continue, on a chosen path, set reasonable goals, and take the steps necessary to achieve those goals. Honestly, no one will ever be as invested in your career as you are, which is why it's so important to understand what might be getting in the way of taking charge of your professional development and what you can do about it. In this episode I want to help you overcome the typical hurdles that a lot of accountant moms face so that you can have the accounting career that you really want. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I explain the reasons why it can be challenging for accountant moms to take charge of their professional development and an exercise you can do to help you take charge. You can schedule a free 20 minute coaching discovery call HERE

The holidays are quickly approaching, and although 2020 may not be quite as "normal" as it's been in the past, there are always going to be family gatherings, company or client parties, or other holiday and social events to varying degrees. Unfortunately, whether it's getting together in person or virtually, so many women experience social anxiety no matter what time of year, or how many people are in attendance. Unfortunately, so many of us will spend time in social settings, both personally and professionally in our accounting careers, painfully aware of ourselves and worried about how we're being perceived by others. As women we are even more susceptible to social anxiety because of the undue pressure put on us to look a certain way and act a certain way, in order to be approved of, accepted, and appreciated. If this resonates with you, it's important to understand what actually causes social anxiety so you can lessen its effects on you. You don't have to plan on living alone in a cabin in the woods or saying no to every social request, when you learn how to deal with social anxiety in a way that empowers you, rather than robs you of your ability to handle any social situation. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I discuss the cause of social anxiety and a better way of dealing with it.

Connie Benjamin is the #1 International Best Selling Author of the book "Women With Fire", international speaker, and podcast host of My Fire Within Radio. After nearly losing her marriage and almost giving up the entrepreneurial journey, she and her husband Andy began a quest to live their mission without losing their family. They developed the My Fire Within System that helped them to fall in love again, replace their day job income, and love being stay at home parents with their three daughters. Using their proprietary My Fire Within System, they are now on a mission to empower other entrepreneurs who have lost passion for their purpose within their relationships and business to re-light their fire within themselves, their marriage, and their business connections. Their mission is to empower entrepreneurs to fulfill their Divine purpose so they can uplift their family and humanity through socially responsible business. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I had the pleasure of interviewing Connie and learning more about what led her to write her book and her mission to help more women follow their calling without losing what they love in the process.

All working moms have experienced the "Sunday blues" to varying degrees, where you dread having to go to work on Monday and wish you had more vacation time. Or maybe it's Wednesdays that are challenging for you because they promise the weekend, and it never seems to come soon enough. While we've all had times where we have a love/hate relationship with our job, unfortunately it's becoming more mainstream for people to be complaining about working in toxic work environments. 50 years ago a toxic work environment meant working in a space where there were literally toxic chemicals or harmful substances, however today, a toxic work environment could mean an unlimited number of issues. Unfortunately, the issue with working in a toxic work environment is that it breeds unrest, constant stressors, and often low morale. It's as if a dense fog creeps in and covers everyone affected, with a dark cloud of overwhelm, frustration, and distraction. Before you know it, you're bringing your toxic work environment issues home with you. When this happens, it begins to take over your conversations with loved ones, robs you of much needed rest, and causes more burnout, stress and overwhelm. Fortunately, for those non-extreme situations, where you don't have an HR department to handle your issues, or maybe you do and they're ineffective, or where you aren't quitting anytime soon, there is a way to handle working in a toxic work environment. You don't need to feel hopeless and suffer with the daily blues any longer. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I discuss why you might be dreading your job and what to do when you work in a toxic work environment.

If you've ever taken a train, there is often a reminder written on the platform, or a recorded message, telling you to "mind the gap", ensuring your safety as you take a step off the platform and into the train. This safety measure was first introduced in 1968, long before the overly distracted times that we currently live in, offering us a measure of awareness when we might have other things we're focused on. Thankfully minding and bridging the gap between where you are and where you want to be doesn't have to be impossible or dream-stealing. Crossing that bridge just takes some awareness of what makes change so difficult and how to transition your goals from an impossibility to a possibility. If like a lot of working moms, you aren't living your best life and want to do something about it, you first need to understand the concept of cognitive dissonance and how it's making it so challenging for you to bridge any gap you find yourself facing. Just know that If you have a desire, you also have the ability to make that desire a reality when you understand what's getting in your way and how to use this awareness to have what you want. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I discuss what cognitive dissonance is, why it's a problem and how you can successfully bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be.

As a podcast for busy accountant moms, you might think the topic of boredom would be irrelevant since you are probably living a hectic life and trying to balance your career with being a mom, but I promise you that this will be of interest to you. No matter how frantic your life may seem, boredom is something that you need to understand better in order to have the balanced life you desire. To be honest, I had other topics lined up to discuss, but decided that this is the perfect time of the year to discuss boredom with accountants. Since tax season is finally over and there's a small respite before you kick back into full gear again, this is often when boredom can sneak in, especially if you had a very stressful year both personally and professionally. Whether you realize it or not, your relationship with boredom is something you should take a look at, especially as a mother. Knowing how to deal with boredom will not only benefit you, but will also benefit your children as their developing brains are incredibly susceptible to issues with boredom and the instant gratification world they live in. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I discuss what boredom actually is, whether it is a problem or not, and how you can handle it.

Wouldn't it be amazing if you could stretch the number of hours in a day to fit your needs as both an accountant and a mom? Where the horrible days that your children are out of control or your spouse is super demanding could end in just a few hours, and the times where more work needs to get done, like tax season or quarterly deadlines, could extend past 24 hours? Like most working moms you've probably said a few of the following: I don't have enough time There aren't enough hours in the day I wish I had more time There's too many things on my to-do list Time just seems to get away from me The truth is that in order to create more time, you also have to understand how you are wasting it. By learning the reasons why it seems like there's never enough time, you can then take back control and create more of it. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I discuss the two main causes of wasted time and how to create more time. If you are interested in finding out how to work with me, you can find me at https://cpamoms-academy.com/p/coach-dawn-goldberg

Every CPA has a story - we all have a journey we've taken to get us to where we are. Every entrepreneur also has a story and journey as well. This week I had the pleasure of interviewing Shauna Breeden, CPA. Shauna is a mom of two from Kentucky and became CPA MOMS second founding franchisee, having previously struggled with building her own practice and having the support and training she needed. During the interview, Shauna discusses: She worked in the healthcare industry for 15 years Like most accountant moms, she felt that if she needed to do things outside of work for her children, it was a burden to the company She didn't feel that she had the support from other women in her company, often feeling the competitiveness that happens in corporate environments She experienced the typical "walk of shame" issues where she had to leave to pick up her children at 6 pm and was looked at as not as committed to her job as others It was a hard balance between being a mom and being a good employee She had been connected with CPA MOMS for a few years and once she heard about the franchise opportunity, she knew it was what she was looking for After watching the franchise webinar, she resonated with issues like not charging enough, not having systems in place, not having support, not having work-life balance, etc. Check out this week's episode to learn more about how Shauna transitioned from employee to entrepreneur.

I think it would be fair to say that we live in a very divisive time right now. Not only do so many people have opposing opinions about a lot of topics, from anything like childrearing to face masks to politics, but due to our technology based world, those opinions are easily shared in ways that have never been possible before. Of course it's important to be able to express yourself and to have your preferences, but unfortunately instead of bringing us together or just being interesting, the barrage of opinions are tearing a lot of people apart instead. Children are suffering with bullying, teenagers are being ostracized, and adults are lashing out or ending relationships, all in response to other people's opinions. Thankfully, just because you are more aware of other people's opinions, doesn't mean they have to be so challenging. There is a much better way to navigate the tricky waters we're all in, where other people's points of view are much more visible, and in our own line of sight. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I discuss how to handle other people's opinions of you, as well as how to handle other people's opinions of everything else.

It's understandable that with the current pandemic and the increasing pressure that everyone is under, that more and more accountant moms are dealing with avoidance on an even bigger scale than ever. With so much else going on around you, something like decluttering the attic, making that checkup appointment, or starting that new exercise routine can seem like a reasonable thing to put off for now. The issue though is that if your relationship with avoidance isn't addressed, you are actually adding layers of unwanted stress into your life without being aware of it. The pressure you probably feel trying to balance your career with your family will only be exacerbated when you don't deal with the issue of avoidance and learn how to overcome it. By having a better understanding of avoidance, why it's an issue for you, and how to handle it, you will be able to reduce an incredible amount of stress and overwhelm in your life. Thankfully the ability to overcome avoidance for working moms can not only benefit you, but your family as well. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I discuss what make you avoid things and how to overcome avoidance. To schedule a free Discovery Coaching Call, you can book one at https://cpamoms-academy.com/p/manage-your-mind-program.

As a working mom, it can be challenging to hear advice like "Just know your worth" or hollow statements like "Of course you are valuable". When society's suggestions and sentiments don't translate to helping you feel empowered and able to own who you are and what you do, it's probably time to take a deeper look at what's going on for you. Whether you are an employee, an entrepreneur, or a working mom just getting back into the workforce after staying home with your children, you most likely have some cleanup to do around your work and its value. It doesn't matter whether you are requesting a promotion from your boss, pitching to a potential client, or even discussing your role at home with your partner, your thinking around your work and its value will definitely affect how you negotiate for yourself. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I discuss the importance of understanding your inherent value as a woman as well as how to own your financial value and worth. If there's a topic you'd like discussed on the podcast, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]

Every CPA has a story - we all have a journey we've taken to get us to where we are. Every entrepreneur also has a story and journey as well. This week I had the pleasure of interviewing Lori Hinesley, CPA. Lori is a mother of 3 under the age of 6, who transitioned from employee to entrepreneur and became CPA MOMS first founding franchisee. Listen to Lori share that: Just like most of you, Lori struggled with balancing her career with her family After having her third child and experiencing mom guilt, as well as work guilt, she knew she needed to make a change Lori not only made the transition from private to public accounting, but also from employee to entrepreneur She had looked into other bookkeeping franchise opportunities but realized they didn't provide what she needed She chose to franchise with CPA MOMS, not only for the support, the sales training, the systems, the mentoring and the "done for you" platform, but also for the guidance on how to create a long-term vision for her business and her life Listen to this week's episode of The CPA MOMS Podcast where Lori shares her best advice for accountant moms who are struggling to have a career and a family.

When it comes to the day to day life of a working accountant and mom, you're probably doing your best to support your family, raise your children, and have a successful accounting career. You also most likely have dreams as well, like having better health, improving your relationships, making more money, and overall having a better, happier, more balanced life. The interesting thing is that since so many of us are home now more than ever due to the pandemic, our self-sabotaging patterns are becoming more evident. Maybe you're now noticing unhelpful behaviors like not scheduling focused work time, not sticking to your healthy diet, spending more time watching Netflix, or staying up later than you should, to name just a few. So the question is - is self-sabotage happening more or are we just having the space to notice it now? This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I discuss where self-sabotage comes from and how you can end the struggle with it.

From the time you were young, you probably were given different aptitude tests to help your teachers and your parents figure out what your strengths were and how to guide you toward reaching your full potential. Depending on where you grew up, the school system you attended, and the family you grew up in, you may have gotten a lot of opinions about what you should become in the future. As a woman and a mother, you most likely also have a lot of limiting beliefs about your potential. In addition, depending on your race, your culture and where you grew up, you probably have added layer upon layer of restrictions and limitations on the prospects for your future when it comes to things like how much money you can make, how far you can advance in your career, and what you're capable of achieving. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I discuss what potential really is and what might be blocking you from reaching your full potential.

Every CPA has a story - we all have a journey we've taken to get us to where we are. Every successful entrepreneur also has a story and a journey as well. This week I had the pleasure of interviewing CPA MOMS Founder and CEO, Mayumi Young, CPA. Mayumi's CPA and entrepreneur journey is fascinating and inspiring for any accountant and mom who wants to create a better future for herself and her family. Listen in as Mayumi shares a pivotal moment in her career and her life, where an innocent question asked by a mother of a young girl in an airport changed the trajectory of Mayumi's life, and started her on her entrepreneur path. For anyone wanting to understand how to create a vision for their future, this episode is for you!

As a professional woman, you probably know all about the statistics for the wage gap between working men, women and minorities, as well as issues for the advancement of women, especially in the accounting profession. Although there has been an effort to focus on closing the various gaps, you might still be experiencing issues around your earning potential and career advancement. Although some of what working moms in the accounting profession face, in regard to these issues, are not necessarily within your control, there actually is something that is within your control, whether you realize it or not. What you do have more influence over, is the issue around underearning. This week on the CPA MOMS Podcast, I discuss what causes underearning so you can recognize it and what to do to stop it.

When it comes to the complicated world of being an accountant in 2020, it would seem like there's enough to have to deal with, with PPP loans, the ever changing Tax Code and economic uncertainty. It doesn't seem fair to also have to deal with difficult clients on top of everything else, but in a service based industry like accounting, there's really no way to avoid it. Unfortunately, no matter how well you screen potential clients or how long you've had a pleasant relationship with them, clients can be difficult at times. It doesn't matter how big or small your practice is, or what types of businesses you provide your services to, there is no guarantee that you're not going to have to deal with difficult clients along the way. This week on the CPA MOMS Podcast, I discuss the major categories of difficult clients, the main causes of stress around difficult clients and a tool to help you deal with them.

As a profession, accountants have historically been pretty general in their knowledge, providing general accounting, consulting and tax services to as many clients as possible. As an accountant, you might also value a wide range of knowledge and expertise, taking varied CPE courses and webinars to further your general knowledge and value as a professional. But in this time of technological advancement and Covid-related economic struggles, choosing an accounting niche might be exactly what you need, whether you are starting out or have years of professional experience. In an ever changing world, choosing a specialty or a particular industry to service can help alleviate the overwhelm and confusion that often comes with trying to be everything, for everyone. This week on the CPA MOMS Podcast, I discuss the advantages of choosing an accounting niche and suggestions on how to choose one.

As a smart, hard-working accountant and mom, you're probably no stranger to getting things done. You most likely have more on your to-do list than most of your male colleagues, and have done your best to balance your professional ambitions with your personal goals as well. Maybe you have some big dreams about going out on your own, working with your own clients, hiring other accountant moms. and supporting your family financially. Or perhaps you would like to train to run a 5k, learn to crochet a baby blanket or get over a fear of heights. Stop for a second and answer this question - what would be an amazing outcome for you in a year? You've probably had certain dreams for a number of years but haven't been able to achieve them because you haven't known how or are afraid of failing. This week on the CPA MOMS Podcast, I discuss the difference between passive and massive action, and how you can use massive action to change your relationship with failure as well as eliminate doubt and fear so you can have what you want.

What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the word "Quit"? It's probably something big like quitting a job or quitting a bad habit like smoking. Like most people you probably see quitting as drawing a line in the sand and deciding it's over, this is the end. But as many people have experienced, quitting isn't as easy as it sounds. Unfortunately, whether you want to stop doing something like smoking or overdrinking, or you want to start doing something like exercising more or going out on your own and starting a solo accounting practice, your brain is actually a saboteur. It can easily, and sneakily, rip the rug right out from underneath you without you even realizing it. The reason this happens is because your female brain is hard-wired to see change as threatening to your survival, whether it's stopping something bad, or starting something good. Anytime you try to do something out of your norm, the "Quit Voice" will offer you thoughts that create the feeling of resistance, fear, doubt and uncertainty, to name just a few. The interesting thing is that it isn't the LOUD Quit Voice that is the biggest problem. It's the small, soft Quit Voice that is often the most insidious and damaging to achieving that goal or having the career, the business and the life you really want. This week on the CPA MOMS Podcast, I discuss what the soft Quit Voice is, why it's a problem and how to neutralize it.

Have you noticed yourself getting angrier, less focused, feeling more anxious or giving in to junk food for the kids and yourself more often? Maybe you've been clicking those Facebook ads promising the longest eyelashes ever or you've been on the verge of tears at the grocery store and not known why. As working moms, we are no stranger to making a lot of decisions, but this current pandemic has brought a tsunami of decisions we weren't prepared for: Do I wear a mask to walk the dog? Should I bring the kids to the grocery store? Which sanitizer is best? Am I supposed to get in the elevator or wait? Should the kids be allowed to play with a friend? It's no longer about what to wear or what to have for dinner. We are being tasked with making more decisions that have bigger implications for ourselves and our families, than ever before. If any of this sounds like you, you are probably experiencing decision fatigue. With being faced with so many choices, options and decisions, it's no wonder you want to stay home and binge Netflix alone or dread Monday mornings more than usual. This week on the CPA MOMS Podcast, I discuss what causes decision fatigue and ways to help you manage it.

This week I had the pleasure of interviewing Rick Grossman. Rick has been involved in the franchise industry since 1994. He franchised his first company and grew to 49 franchised locations in 19 states during the mid to late 90's. He served as the CEO and primary trainer focusing on franchisee relations and creating tools and technologies to increase franchisee success. During the interview we discuss the 4 biggest challenges that accounting entrepreneurs face: Not enough time - one of the biggest struggles that entrepreneurs face is the feelings of stress and overwhelm; whether you are just starting out or have been doing this for awhile. We all have 24 hours but how you manage those hours is the key to your entrepreneur success. Not enough support - feeling isolated is a big challenge that many entrepreneurs face today. Having a supportive community, offering you the right tools, systems, coaching, mentorship and support is what sets entrepreneurs up for success. Not enough quality clients - the key with building any accounting practice is clients, specifically quality clients. This is a challenge for a lot of accountants who were never taught the skills of marketing and sales. You want to do high quality work and service clients who need your expertise, but it's not easy to find those quality clients to fill your book. Not enough confidence - Uncertainty, confusion and doubt are par for the course when being an entrepreneur. A lack of confidence can be the thing that stops you from even taking the leap to have your own practice or from growing your current practice. When you don't have confidence, you don't have a strong foundation on which to build. Listen in as Rick and I discuss these 4 challenges and how to solve for them.

Among the countless number of things that the pandemic of 2020 has changed, one of the biggest shifts is where people now get their work done. If you can get your work done remotely, a lot of companies are not only happy about it, but are requiring it. Due to everything happening in the world, working from home may become the new normal for more people than ever before, whether you like it or not. To add to the push for more remote work, more employers are being given the opportunity to see that productivity isn't suffering and that the overhead costs for large offices might be unnecessary now and in the future. There really is no way to know how long this pandemic will be around, whether we will be quarantined again or whether remote work will be the new norm. But what we do have control over is how we show up to do our jobs and how we can lead the people we employ. This week on the CPA MOMS Podcast, I discuss remote work tips if you are an accounting employee and how to manage remote workers if you are an accounting employer.

No matter where you live, the subject of shame is being addressed in a more global way than ever before. Social movements like #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter, have had us all facing situations from our past that we may have wanted to keep hidden and the unconscious beliefs that we may now need to address. Since shame is having such a global moment, it's also time to take a look at it on a personal level, as a woman and a mother. It's important to understand shame better and to learn how to manage it so that it doesn't derail the hopes and dreams you may have for you and your family. This week I discuss where shame comes from, my own issues around shame and how to take back control of shame.