Where did the year go?

Woah, it is mid-December already. Being a bookkeeper, I am a planner. Surprised? To be honest, I drive my hubby slightly mad with all my lists. But it does take the stress out of this time of year. The presents are already wrapped, and the celebrations have been planned to a tee. All that is left to do is reflect on all that has happened this year. There is much to be proud of.

The most recent was the wonderful surprise of being crowned Bookkeeper of the year for 2022 at the Australian Accounting Industry Awards. The feeling of pride when my name was announced was amazing. It has lifted me to try harder and do even better in 2023. I am taking the responsibility of having a louder voice very seriously and am hatching big plans which I will be announcing early in the new year.

Working as a volunteer mentor for the Queensland Government Mentoring 4 Growth program has been amazing this year. Hearing from clever start-ups and the details of their innovative ideas just fills my cup. The enthusiasm and excitement of new business owners is infectious. I take that joy into my work every day.

Getting back to IRL industry events has also been a great memory of the year. Just seeing the way advisors were connecting and networking at Xerocon in September and at the Roadshows in May was wonderful. It was like we had three years of chatter to catch up on. Everyone wanted to learn, and everyone was smiling.

For me, 2022 has also been the year of sharing my knowledge. This was not only in the mentoring program. I have also appeared as a panellist on a handful of industry educational webinars, had a live recorded interview with Xero and appeared on a podcast about offering advisory services. Turns out I am quite keen for a chat and happy to share my opinions. I will be honest, there were a few times when I saw the line-up of other panellists, was totally intimidated, and thought “Am I here to be the comic relief?” But that is just my imposter syndrome talking. Appearing on panels is not stopping for me in 2023. Firstly, it is fun. But secondly, because of the award, other opportunities are knocking on my door. I have been invited to be a guest on the Australian Bookkeeper Network’s world-famous Bookkeeper Radio in the new year. Ok, maybe it is only famous within the industry, but I never miss an episode.

Our other achievements this year are we

• Grew our customer base by another 15%
• Helped our small business clients apply for Queensland Government flood grants which kept them going during March
• Offered free help to non-client flooded businesses in West End
• Completed more than one hundred hours of professional development in legislative changes and new software apps to provide even better services to our clients
• Attended more than fifty networking meetings to both promote Appy Books and learn from new clients and peers
• Wrote a business blog for the website every week of the year. This was no mean feat. Do you know how hard it is to make all of them interesting and readable? For some reason, I find bookkeeping way more exciting than the people around me
• Grew the weekly blog readership from three men and a dog to something a little bigger. To be honest, there still are not many readers. WE could still meet in a phone booth. But if anyone ever tells me they read my blog, I have a total conniption. If you ever want to hear me squeal, just say “I read your blog.” You can hear that noise in space!
• We have had multitudes of laughs with our wild and wacky clients while keeping them on the straight and narrow.

And all this while smiling and still having a life. I sometimes think I am the luckiest girl in the world that I get to spend my days doing what I love and helping great people. Give yourself permission to take a moment to rejoice in your wins of 2022. We have all done great this year and it is good for the soul to recognise that.

We are closing tomorrow (16/12/21) for 2 1/12 weeks so this will be my last blog of the year. I wish all readers a happy and healthy festive season. Watch out 2023. We are coming soon to take every opportunity you offer.

Stay ‘Appy!