How’s your level of anxiety right now? If you are like most people, this COVID-19 pandemic is not making it easy to keep calm, feel safe, take care of your family or get your accounting work done. Everywhere we turn, we are being updated with statistics of people getting sick and dying, of businesses closing and of stricter precautions to take in order to keep our families safe. The planet is being affected by a virus that those in healthcare are struggling to manage, understandably creating a l...
Apr 12, 2020•24 min
Why does it seem like some people can take life’s challenges in stride, while others are brought to their knees? Life can seem like a series of blindsides, but what makes it possible for one person to cope calmly and rationally, and another person freak out over the same situation? The key is resiliency and it’s never too late to learn the skill. No matter what challenges you're facing, resiliency has the answer for coming out the other side with your mental, emotional and physical health intact...
Apr 05, 2020•19 min
What’s it like to be a 2nd generation CPA mompreneur? What does it take to never give up on getting the designation of CPA, even if it means achieving it 15 years after you passed the CPA exam? Every female CPA has a story and Heather’s is fascinating. This week I had the pleasure of interviewing Heather Satterley, CPA. Heather is a second generation CPA mompreneur and shares her unique journey to becoming a CPA as well as how she supports CPAs in understanding the technology that is available t...
Mar 29, 2020•48 min
Whether you feel stuck in your current job, your marriage or in indecision about a host of other things, feeling stuck is a very common problem, especially for working moms. The struggle to make the right decision for yourself and your family can create an overwhelming sense of pressure, confusion and frustration. Saying things like “I don’t know what to do” or “I’m not sure about this” is so common, that it can seem like the only possible way to respond to life’s situations. It can often feel l...
Mar 22, 2020•20 min
Have you ever woken up and just felt off? Or you’ve woken up in a fine mood and then all of a sudden you’re feeling blah, and you can’t put your finger on it other than to describe it as being in a funk? As working moms, we all go through funks now and again. Sometimes you start off the day feeling tired, checking your phone and seeing 20 emails waiting for you and the kids aren’t being cooperative; other times your clients are badgering you, traffic was insane and your husband didn’t empty the ...
Mar 15, 2020•20 min
As accountants we know all about managing other people’s money, as well as how to help them make more and keep more of it. But what about you? Would you like to make more money? That’s not a trick question - do you honestly want to make more money? The reason I’m asking is because I can show you how to make more money, but you first have to be clear about why you have the money you currently have, and how you really feel about making more money. What do you believe about what it will take to mak...
Mar 08, 2020•20 min
Have you ever noticed that your female brain likes to talk A LOT! The constant conversations going on in your brain are mostly unconscious, but are as busy and noisy as Grand Central Station in Manhattan at rush hour. On the one hand, there’s nothing wrong with having an inner dialogue because it’s just your brain’s way of interpreting and processing your daily experiences. It’s the way your brain makes sense of your unique life, making it possible for you to function in your world. On the other...
Mar 01, 2020•19 min
Every female CPA has a story - we all have a journey we’ve taken to get us to where we are now. Not only is Jen’s CPA journey fascinating, but she has a lot to share about how CPA MOMS® works and how it can help talented CPA’s as well as the businesses that want to work with them. Jen didn't have a "typical" road as a CPA. She didn't start out thinking she wanted to be an accountant and didn't initially go to school for it. But somewhere along the way, all that changed. Her unique CPA story took...
Feb 23, 2020•36 min
On the surface it would appear that self-confidence shouldn’t be an issue for accountants; the inherent combination of intelligence, respect and professionalism, should make self-confidence a non-issue. As an accountant and a mom, you should have even more to be confident and proud of, and should be strutting around like a proud peacock. So, since on the surface it would appear that self-confidence wouldn’t be an issue for you as a hard-working accountant and mom, then what’s the problem? Learni...
Feb 16, 2020•22 min
Is it just me or does it seem like wherever we turn, there’s another story of tragedy or loss? Whether it’s news of accidents, children being mistreated or animals being abused, my mind seems to be having a battle between finding gratitude and allowing gut-wrenching sadness. Unfortunately, no matter how positive you may try to be, pain is just part of the human experience. There are going to be breakups, endings and losses no matter how hard you try to bubble-wrap yourself and your family. By un...
Feb 09, 2020•20 min•Ep. 72
For accountants, busyness seems like a necessary part of the job; like having a computer and a calculator. An accountant who isn’t describing themselves as busy is looked upon as either lazy or in trouble. A typical busy day as an accountant and a mom often starts with waking up and already dreading the busy day ahead, walking into the office and getting hit with other people battling busyness and then working through it all in order to get home to keep being busy. It’s no wonder working moms ex...
Feb 02, 2020•19 min
If you’ve ever been told that you think too much, but not in a good way, there’s a reason for that. Your female brain is significantly more active than a male brain, especially in the areas involved in impulse control, focus, mood and anxiety. So it’s not just your roles as an accountant and a mom that causes you to overthink; your female brain is wired for it. This can make it difficult to recognize when you are spiraling, because your brain may convince you that worrying and ruminating is help...
Jan 26, 2020•17 min
As an accountant you deal with risk and uncertainty every day as part of doing your job. You are called on by bosses and clients to make predictions about how various trends will affect their financial success, based on constantly changing information, in an ever-changing world. As a mom taking care of your family’s needs 24/7, you also have to deal with countless things that you are unsure of. With every new stage in your children’s development, comes even more uncertainty about how to handle y...
Jan 19, 2020•16 min
Last week I discussed the increase in women-owned businesses and some challenges for CPA Mom entrepreneurs. Many smart, driven CPA Moms are choosing to go out on their own for various reasons and creating businesses that are a reflection of who they are and how they want to be of value to their clients. But even with the growth of CPA mompreneurs, the vast majority of CPA Moms are employees, myself included, working for public accounting firms or private companies. If you are one, and feel like ...
Jan 12, 2020•19 min
Have you seen the latest statistics for women-owned businesses? The US has 12.3 million women-owned businesses. US women-owned businesses generate $1.8 trillion a year. 40% of US businesses are women-owned. There are 114% more women entrepreneurs than there were 20 years ago. Over the years the growing trend of hard-working female entrepreneurs, who also happen to be moms, has warranted the phrase “mompreneur”. Entrepreneur Magazine’s website even has a dedicated section just for mompreneurs. Si...
Jan 05, 2020•15 min
Whether you are in public or private accounting the accountant’s mantra is ”Get more done in a shorter amount of time”, whether it’s busy season or not. When you add your accounting career to your job as a mom, having a 26-hour day would be super helpful in order to get everything on your to-do list done. When I practice what I’m about to share with you, this is my typical day - wake up early, sit with a cup of coffee, research my next blog, reach out to at least 20 CPA moms on Linkedin and Face...
Dec 29, 2019•19 min
As a CPA and a mom, you have a lot on your plate both at work and at home. Unfortunately we aren’t taught how to create a system that makes it easier to get it all done and are often tossed into the deep end of the pool with other working moms, struggling to stay above water. Without an easy to use system, you can become stressed, overwhelmed and easily experience burnout. If your current system consists of post-it notes, scraps of paper or a running mental list, there’s a much better way. Manag...
Dec 22, 2019•22 min
If you work in the corporate world, you are probably no stranger to receiving and possibly giving year-end reviews. If you are a mom, you are also no stranger to molding and shaping your children with expectations, feedback and critiques. Whether you are on the giving end or the receiving end, feedback and criticism are unavoidable whether it’s personally or professionally. Hearing potentially negative things about yourself or telling someone else how they need to improve can be awkward at anyti...
Dec 15, 2019•20 min
So before you ask your family for their holiday wish list and start trying to squeeze trips to the mall into your hectic schedule, I first want to help you out with the best gift you can give them this year. This gift is what they want and need more than anything else but probably don’t realize it. What your family wants and needs is a mom: who knows how to be happy who loves herself and her body who loves her life even if it’s not perfect who knows how to be present who allows herself and other...
Dec 08, 2019•18 min
Did you know you that you can be a perfectionist and not have a perfect life? It's true! If you know the difference between a debit and a credit, you just might be a perfectionist. This week you'll learn that: The accounting profession is a breeding ground for perfectionism. Perfectionism isn’t about arrogance or a lack of humility, it’s about the fear of not doing enough or being enough. Whether it shows up in your tendency to procrastinate, your lack of self-confidence or the feeling of burnou...
Dec 01, 2019•21 min
Did you know that you can actually misuse gratitude? I didn't either. Because of the self-help movement as well as the science to backup the power of gratitude, more and more people are becoming aware of the impact that gratitude can have on them professionally and personally. However, with all the wonderful ways that gratitude can be used to create a happier life, it can also be misused. Gratitude can unknowingly be used in a way that is actually more harmful than it is helpful. This week I’m g...
Nov 24, 2019•20 min
Author Richard Bach famously said “Argue for your limitations, and sure enough they’re yours”. Repeatedly saying “I can’t” can create such a strong habit of thought, even when faced with the possibility of “Maybe I can”. The more you practice believing that things ARE what you believe them to be, the more evidence you will find to back up that belief. Before you know it, you are in a cycle of arguing for your limitations and believing you are just a victim to the circumstances in your life, or w...
Nov 17, 2019•19 min
While the conversation about mental health is becoming less and less taboo, it’s still an issue for many people, especially in the accounting profession. The subject of workplace well-being is being addressed more because it’s becoming an even bigger issue in the accounting and finance professions. In one study, 30.4% of accountants admitted to suffering from mental health issues and 51% admitted that depression and anxiety leaves them dreading going to work. When you add the anxiety accountants...
Nov 10, 2019•20 min
Women have made incredible strides professionally and personally in the past century. We are all benefiting from the positive changes women before us fought for, whether it’s the right to vote, to be educated or to work outside the home, among many other things. As a female accountant in the 21st century you are among the most educated and skilled women on the planet yet… You may still be settling for: Unfulfilling relationships Less pay or advancement General feeling of stress and overwhelm Les...
Nov 03, 2019•19 min
Someone dying too young, senseless crimes and innocent victim’s stories are in the headlines on a daily basis. It appears to be getting more and more difficult to stay positive in a world that seems so out of control. When bad things happen to good people it can make you question why things seem to be so unfair. Even seeing someone get an advantage over someone else can trigger a reaction that “life’s just not fair”. Although something might seem unfair and you may have many people who would agr...
Oct 27, 2019•18 min
As a woman balancing your work life with your family life, you probably have your hands full with many different relationships to nurture and manage. But whether it’s with a romantic partner, your mother, your child, or someone you work with, relationships can be challenging. Between movie scenes where you get the message that someone is supposed to “complete” you, the pressures of the modern-day parent/child relationship and issues with working in “toxic” work environments, it’s no wonder you m...
Oct 20, 2019•18 min
One of my favorite authors, Eckhart Tolle, is quoted saying “Worry pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose”. The first time I read that statement I was confused and excited at the same time thinking things like: As a mother, isn’t part of my job to worry? Isn’t it naïve to assume everything will be fine and that there’s no need to worry? If it’s true that worry isn’t necessary then why am I doing it all the time? How will problems be solved if I don’t worry first? How can I learn t...
Oct 13, 2019•21 min
If I put a bubble on top of your head so everyone could read the thoughts you have about yourself, what would we see? If you are like most women, your inner critic probably says things like: You really have everyone fooled, don’t you Here you go again, not following through with what you said you were going to do Honestly, when are you ever going to figure this out No wonder he/she behaves that way towards you Like most women you probably compare yourself to others and beat yourself up with self...
Oct 06, 2019•20 min
It’s almost unavoidable - there are going to be times when you need to have difficult conversations. Even though it’s unavoidable you still may be tempted to dance around something or avoid it altogether because you are uncomfortable with confrontation or conflict. Whether you have to deliver some unpleasant news, discuss a delicate subject or talk about something that’s gone wrong, almost everyone dreads having these types of conversations. It seems better to put it off or ruminate some more be...
Sep 29, 2019•20 min
Since you spend so much of your time at work it seems like a good idea to try to work in the best environment possible. You most likely spend at least 40 hours a week at work so it makes sense that you would want to make it a place that inspires and nurtures you, that makes you feel valued and happy. However, what can you do if you aren’t happy with your current work environment? If you are a boss/leader, you may want to create a better work environment because you noticed employees not getting ...
Sep 22, 2019•18 min
