Barons' Small Business Blog

Loners Dominate Small Biz Scene

brandon@barons-swsupport.com — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 06:00:00 GMT

I read this post in entrepreneur.com ...rather interesting also included this link directly back to their site: http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/entry/172590.html

It's funny how many many different type of statistics are out there...who would have though about a survey question like this? Regardless, it made me ponder my role 'back in the day' and once again, I'm not in the majority - I beleive that I'd fit into the 20% class clown. Where do you fit in?

How would you categorize yourself back in your school days? Were you the social butterfly, floating from group to group? Were you the class clown, doing anything for a laugh? Or were you the loner of your class? Chances are you put yourself in the latter category, which makes you part of the 43 percent of small-business owners in a recent survey who considered themselves loners as kids. Intuit's 2006 QuickBooks survey questioned more than 1,300 small-business owners, and found that 25 percent say they were nerds back in the day, while 20 percent say they were class clowns, 11 percent jocks and a mere one percent bullies.

Advanced QuickBooks Certification

brandon@barons-swsupport.com — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 08:00:00 GMT

I haven't blogged in a while...today we spent all day at Intuit HQ in Plano, TX for the live seminar portion of the Advanced Certification. Here is a link if you'd like to read more about it from the Intuit website...

accountant.intuit.com/member_programs/qb_advisor/certcoursedetails.aspx

Today we covered syncronizing Outlook, Excel, etc. and practice management. Tomorrow is about reporting and job costing. The classes are informative and class sizes small enough to really talk among the class to get "real" feedback on how others are managing their practice as well as the other subjects we've covered.

The Intuit building is super nice...probably one of the nicest training room/facilities that we've been in. The staff is also excellent, they have done a good job...I'd like to see additional training done here.

In addition to the training, the networking is invaluable...the ProAdvisors as a whole work together for the betterment of their individual clients....it's not every man for themselves. This makes our industry excel and I appreciate that.

Thank you to everyone involved...also thank you to anyone reading this...

Advanced QuickBooks Certification

brandon@barons-swsupport.com — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 06:00:00 GMT

The Sleeter Group's 2006 QuickBooks Consultant's Conference

brandon@barons-swsupport.com — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 06:00:00 GMT

Tonight is my last night here in Las Vegas, NV for The Sleeter Group's 2006 QuickBooks Consultant's Conference, and what a week it has been.

The Keynote speaker to start things off was noneother than Michael Gerber, Founder and Chairman of E-Myth Worldwide.

Featured speakers this year were:
Steve Blundell, CPA - Senior Manager Vendor and Partner Relations for Intuit, Inc.

Randy Johnston, Executive Vice President and Partner of K2 Enterprises and Network Management Group

Gregory LaFollette, CPA, CITP - Exceutive Editor, CPA Technology Advisor

This is in my opinion, THE BIGGEST EVENT for QuickBooks consultants every year! The classes were excellent and the networking opportunities with "The best in the business" is invaluable.

I'd like to say thank you to The Sleeter Group! If you are reading this and do not know The Sleeter Group, I invite you to take a look at them on the web at www.sleeter.com.

Taking Care of Business - Taking care of Family

brandon@barons-swsupport.com — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 07:00:00 GMT

Part of running your own business is taking care of family. About 2 years after we started this business I quit my "full-time" job/career in EMS and left behind all the "benefits" that my family and I had.

Now it was time to start looking at insurance - I was a little slow, but I did find a health insurance plan that was affordable. Now I'm going to make a plug for my insurance agent, he happens to be our Senior Pastor at Deerwood Assembly of God Church in Morrilton, AR. His name is Jimmy Stewart with Grand American Insurance and can be reached at jstewartministries@yahoo.com or their office number is 479-968-6500. The company website is www.gai-ins.com.

They offer personal, commercial, health, and life insurance. If you're in Arkansas and looking for insurance, I can make this recomendation...if you contact him, please let him know Brandon Morris sent you there....I do not get a commision for referal or anything else, I just know that I can recommend him and his services and want him to know that I am doing this.

Change, Learn, Grow

brandon@barons-swsupport.com — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 06:00:00 GMT

It's funny how we have various stints of business. Primarily, my business is remote support - training via the phone and internet on QuickBooks and Merchant Services. Starting this week, I have gained a couple of local one-on-one clients that are filling my schedule.

This is GREAT...I fully beleive that you have to keep your skills up in all areas of business. While I am providing training either way, it's a whole new environment and set of challenges between the two.

One of these clients is a mutual International Barter and Trade Exchange (IBTX) member. This is a new industry for me...I like the marketing opportunities that it appears that it'll afford me.

As with anything - business included, you should learn, read, and grow...my latest book - actually, I'm in the middle of it right now is The Purple Cow by Seth Godin. This is a great book for business or anything you may be doing...it came to be actually several times as a recommeded read from business and church settings.

Just another day

brandon@barons-swsupport.com — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 07:00:00 GMT

First, I'd like to say thank you to Al Williams of Sunset Hill Solutions for the time that he's put into this website - I guess moreso for putting up with me and my questions more than anything :) being that we paid him for the website. Seriously, he was great to work with and we appreciate it. This site was done with Dot Net Nuke. Al can be reached at http://www.sunsethill.ca/

As we continue in business, I find there are so many new things to learn as well as stay atop all the existing things we have going, such as new software - QuickBooks 2007 has been released and The Sleeter Group has also put out a new certification test - yea...

So many projects - So little time

brandon@barons-swsupport.com — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 07:00:00 GMT

Quick background - my mother, Sharon McCauley and I started this company almost 5 years ago. She has a background as a CPA and I had a technical & medical background...we decided to join forces and make a go of it. Three years later I quit my "full-time" job as a paramedic and started full-time with Barons', Inc. All the while, mom kept rollin' with Barons', Inc.

Marketing, networking, schmoozing, people-skills, & communication - all, peices of the puzzle. If you haven't read it, The E-Myth Revisited and you are just getting started with your own business or plan on it - this is a must read.