I freaking love my job.
It’s tax season, and things are getting busy. And I’m so proud to be busy. So proud, so thankful. I’m busy doing something I love.
The image above (taken by Brooke Dennis) is of me at my “Ask an Accountant” booth at Alt Summit). That’s right, last year at Alt Summit, I came up with the idea to create SweeterCPA. This year at Alt Summit, I met and spoke with people I can help. Pretty incredible.
With the end of the year coming, it seems I have a lot on my plate – a large amount, but not an impossible amount of things to do.
(Although, as any self-employed individual will tell you, there’s always more you could be doing).
Today, I hope to make a decent dent in my to-do list. Radical productivity, baby.
Five years ago, I never would have thought I’d need professional portraits of just li’l ol’ me. Since then, I’ve started blogging (a photo-heavy environment) and started a business to help bloggers. So much of what I do – who I am – is online. And people who meet me online deserve to see my lovely, smiling face.
That, and I’m VERY critical of pictures of myself. I take about three good pictures a year, on average. If you’ll remember, that’s why I had my first set of headshots done – I needed better pictures for my online dating profile (which, of course, were scheduled for AFTER I met Will, but I’ve used them for the blog, SweeterCPA, and many other things since then so they were more than worth it).
After the wedding (i.e., a month ago) I cut off all my hair. This seemed like the perfect time to update the headshots.
I first “met” Anni on Twitter (see! I meet so many people online!). I believe we first started talking about Chicago area weddings as we were both in the process of planning. Anyway, a couple weeks ago, she came over to my ‘hood to take some new headshots.
I cannot say enough good things about Anni. I’m really awkward at times and was worried I’d look tense in photos, but the afternoon was like taking a walk with a friend. Through an alley. Several alleys, actually, but the alleys in this area are cute.
Anni is now my go-to girl for photo needs. (Don’t live in Chicago? She travels!)
Now I’m in the process of swapping out my many photos around the internet. The image to your left will change as will the main photo on SweeterCPA. And they may all be different – there are that many good photos!
In 2006, NBC had a show called Identity where a contestant is shown 12 people and then presented with a list of 12 “identities” (professions, usually) and has to match them up. The gimmick is that people don’t look the way you’d expect them to – the cheery granny is the rapper, etc.
I caught a couple episodes, and in one, there was a very beautiful young woman. On the list of identities: Accountant. I immediately knew that she was the accountant because – zing! – your accountant is not supposed to be a beautiful young woman!
I was right.
Anyway, as y’all know, I’m an accountant. It amuses me to see what people think accountants are like. Below is my list of the most-common questions I get and my response.
1. That I’m super-organized.
Guilty. Cleaning up and putting things back in order brings me great calm. I got a label-maker for Christmas and it’s a joyous occasion whenever I get to use it. While I like to think I’m not completely nuts, my sock drawer is divided into three sub-sets (white athletic socks! black business socks! fun socks!). That’s probably beyond the average person’s level of concern for footwear.
2. That I’m a math whiz.
I always counter that accounting is more reading-comprehension (reading the code, applying it to real life) than math, but I suppose math skills are required.
3. That I read the Wall Street Journal to relax.
Not so much. While I stay on top of current trends and predictions (what is the reaction to the revised Schedule D? ooh!), my free time is devoted to fiction books. Also, Dance Moms.
4. That I have good stock tips.
Never. While accounting and investing both involve money, they are vastly different. When I need to invest, I have a guy I turn to.
5. That I should handle the bill when a large group goes out to dinner.
OK, sure. Pass me your money.
What are some things people assume about you because of your profession? Are you a doctor who gets asked random health questions? A teacher who gets asked to wrangle a crowd of kids?
Back when I worked for someone else, I never dreamed of reading business-related books outside of work. I remember when everyone was reading Showdown at Gucci Gulf and I was like, “NERDZ!”. There’d be no non-required business-reading for me, thankyouverymuch, I was done with school!
Ah, youth.
Since then, my father (also a CPA) recommended The Big Short. While about things kinda-related-to-my-profession, The Big Short is written like a thriller and I’d recommend it to everyone CPA or not. Yes, it’s a thriller about the bond market. Just go pick it up at the library. What do you have to lose?
Now, as a newly-minted business owner, I’m gobbling up business books. Or, rather, specific chapters in a wide array of business books. Right now, my focus is marketing – getting my name out there as someone to turn to with accounting queries. Enter, The Ultimate Sales Machine, my current text. I got it used, so I’m already ahead of the game in the money-savings department.
That yellow post-it flag? It marks the Marketing chapter. I’m going to start this bad boy in the middle.
Today I’m linking up with Young House Love, Bower Power, Centsational Girl, and Ten June for their Pinterest Challenge. They regularly challenge readers to take action and get on some of the projects they pin to Pinterest boards. We all need a little kick in the pants to stop pinning and start doing.
Pinterest is so full of ideas for repurposing old suitcases. My favorite idea, of course, is to use them for cat beds.
Camille Styles featured a round one:
Atomic Attic Etsy shop has several upcycled suitcases. I love this happy kitty stretching out on plaid flannel:
Odie now joins these pampered felines. He has a briefcase bed:
I didn’t actually make this project at all. My sister made it for my birthday in April.
She got a broken briefcase at a goodwill store, sanded the broken hinge side down, and fitted it with a pillow. She also rubbed it with cat nip so when the bed was first presented to Odie he went bananas. He loves this bed so much, he couldn’t help but photobomb me while I tried to get pictures for the blog.
I absolutely love that the bed is an old briefcase. It’s perfect for the office. In fact, I call it Odie’s “Business Bed” as that’s where he spends his time while his mama’s hard at work.
Check out the other projects linked up on the blogs listed above! People are so creative! If you are looking for a kick in the pants to get started on a DIY project, there’s plenty to go around.
Part of my excitement about starting my own company is that I have the ability and freedom to choose my own focus. I’d always envisioned organizing the business planned with a “client” side and a “volunteer” side – to have a basis in both working with small entrepreneurs and those who are less financially fortunate.
Over the past couple years, my interest in financial literacy has grown. I won’t get into all the “my thoughts on the recession and/or housing crisis” bit, but I think we can say – apolitically – that there’s some need for basic economic education.
That said, I’m very curious what people learned in school about personal finances – how to budget, how to balance a checkbook, how to manage loans and resultant repayment schedules (for education or car expenses).
Not what you learned at home (unless you were homeschooled), but what your public or private education taught you.
We had a small Economics unit in fifth grade. We got little checkbooks and faux bank accounts. We researched our choice professions to learn what we’d earn at such endeavors and made weekly paycheck deposits in our accounts. Our teacher brought in clothing catalogs, grocery store circulars, and information about local apartments so could put together quasi-accurate budgets for living expenses.
I’m sure the project was well-intended, but we were given quite a bit of liberty. I chose to be a marine biologist (in the West Texan desert) and whenever I ran out of money I’d kill off a random relative and have them leave me all their cash. At the time, I thought $500 was the amount most people would bequeath, so I had to kill off quite a few people to make ends meet.
We had Home Economics in Junior High. Both years. Mandatory. We did a lot of cooking (home) and not much talking about money (economics). I hear that back in the day students would learn to form simple household budgets in this class. Not so much at my school.
Illinois has a requirement that high school students either take an economics class or pass a consumer proficiency test (or, at least, they had this requirement when I attended in the late 90s). While my high school offered Economics at an AP level, I opted for the consumer proficiency test. I’d heard it was hard to pass, but I managed to do so despite a rush to finish because I had to go to the bathroom like whoa and the proctor wouldn’t let me leave and come back.
Did you have any lessons in financial literacy at your school? Please share!
Now that I’m self-employed, I rarely find myself clothed in Business Casual attire. Jeans have replaced my lightly starched black slacks. My makeup routine is far less involved. Showers, admittedly, don’t happen daily.
I no longer have to be Office-Ready. Now, I have to get Coffee Shop-Ready. I have to look appropriate for someone drafting tax documents while slowly sipping a medium house blend coffee. The required personal aesthetics are far less rigorous.
Frankly, I love going whole days with little to no make-up. Ok, I know make-up is not necessarily a requirement of Corporate America, but there’s something about applying mascara that makes you feel a little more put-together and prepared for the day. For me at least. I still use some make-up when I’m leaving the house, but running to grab items for dinner exposes me to far fewer people than I’d see on my regular El trips into the city.
Things are very relaxed now, in my day and my preparatory regimen.
Now that I’m working from home, we’ve carved out a space in the second bedroom for me to get my Accounting on. I planned a big reveal of the space once it was all picture-perfect, but, frankly, that may be a little ways off and I’ve done a decent amount of work so far to get it to where it is now.
So here it is, Phase I:
Work done: I emptied out all the “junk” in this room and had a massive donation to our local charity. I painted the wall behind the desk grey, hung the lamp and bulletin boards. We also acquired the computer, monitors, and printer, but that’s pretty obvious, no?
Work to be done: Notice how my printer has become a shelf of sorts and there’s a box of tissues on top of the CPU? Perhaps I should look into better storage. I also have some more goodies to hang on the wall.
That mouse pad is pretty awesome cool, yeah? I also have a happy (fake) poppy in a vase to bring some cheer to the area.
The mug is from Will’s circuit bending friend, the basket holds little notebooks, the fan plugs into a USB port (neato!), and the postcard is from my friend Theresa in Melbourne. The heart-shaped post-its were actually from a box of cat food (thanks, Tender Vittles!) and they make to-dos all the more exciting.
What you don’t see: The litter box (my office is a cat bathroom) and the large bookcase where I keep some of my supplies.
To guarantee that the next phase will be even more glorious, the pictures above were taken with my phone. Next time, I will use my for-reals camera. It will blow your mind.
Phase 1 of SweeterCPA - Advertising.
Are y’all familiar with Cargoh? You should be. It’s “a social marketplace for independent art, design + culture.” A place for independent creatives to share their wares and marvel at others. Cargoh won a place in my heart at Alt Summit when they gifted me a wooden kitty necklace (by artist Evie Kemp). You know I love cats.
… and how could you not embrace an organization with this mantra:
So, I love Cargoh and knew I wanted to partner with them and their community. Pop on over to read my interview and tax tips for creative types!