The Festival Bookkeeping story

 

I grew up in small mining towns, attended high school in Whyalla, South Australia, and got my first job as a legal secretary for a law firm there. This was also my first foray into studying at TAFE, where I was introduced to the mysteries of double entry bookkeeping.  (Little did I know this would make an appearance further down the track and become a big part of my life).

Fast forward 22 years and I’m now married with 2 children and living in Adelaide. I’ve studied and gained an Advanced Diploma in Accounting and gained the experience and extra studies required to become a Registered BAS Agent.  In between I’ve worked in accounting and administration for large corporations, for several small businesses, government organisations and a non-profit.  On the side I’ve sold Body Shop products in people’s homes where I first learned to become comfortable standing up and speaking in front of groups of people.  Without knowing it at the time, this equipped me with the confidence and skills needed to teach accounting to students at TAFE in the following years.

So this has all culminated in where I am today – having a small business based in the North Eastern suburbs of Adelaide that enables me to help other local business owners with their finances and also teaching students at TAFE.  Two things I love doing.

And that is basically the Festival Bookkeeping story. I hope that by reading this you have been able to gain an insight into both my personal and business background and why I love to do what I do.

Oh, and the short version of the story:

Country girl turned City Girl. Accounting Nerd. Small business owner helping other small business owners.

Happy bookkeeping…

You can find me on Facebook here: Festival Bookkeeping

And find me on Instagram here: Festival Bookkeeping

So I attended a training workshop yesterday

In the morning I tell myself to just be cool and relax – enjoy the opportunity to be out and about rather than at work doing my usual thing. Lunch and snacks were included, which is always nice!

Of course I didn’t really relax as I was focusing so hard and trying to retain all the new information and make extra notes. Making sure I didn’t miss an opportunity to ask questions along the way. Never mind…that’s just the nerd in me. Maybe next time I will relax more!

But really the point of my post is to remind everyone of the importance of attending training. Here are some of my top reasons:

Knowledge is power
I enjoy study – whether it be classroom based, online, webinars, reading books or blogs. Even if study wasn’t your thing when you were younger you now have so many opportunities to extend your skills and don’t have to face assessments or assignments if you don’t want to. Day workshops such as the one I attended yesterday are a great opportunity to take your business to the next level or to give yourself that extra bit of confidence to take the next step in your business or career. If your workplace aren’t willing to pay for your course then still be sure to let them know you are taking the initiative to further your skills and knowledge on your own, which will no doubt benefit them as well.

Challenging yourself
It is easy to stay in your comfort zone as you go about your day to day work. But if you want to progress in your work or business life then inevitably you will have to start taking on little challenges. You may do your job really well and the thought of having to be taught something new can make people feel a little uncomfortable and worried that they will say or do something silly. However the fact that you have acknowledged there is plenty more out there to learn and you don’t know everything can be liberating!

Motivation and Inspiration
If you are a freelancer, work from home or are a solo business owner you may spend a lot of your time without the company of others around you. When times get tough and you are wondering whether you would be better off just clocking in and out of a 9-5 “regular” job it can be hard to keep that motivation going. Just the act of getting out and amongst other people with similar interests to you can spur you on and help bring back the spark. Lunch breaks give you a great opportunity to talk to new people…you can make new business contacts, discuss problems you are facing or share things that work well for you. Often the trainers have many years of experience in their field and their enthusiasm for their subject alone can have you walking out the door brimming with new ideas and motivation.

So I hope I have convinced you to book that workshop you have been thinking about, or signing up for that new online course.

Happy bookkeeping…