Trust Centered Bookkeeping

Trust is the foundation of good bookkeeping, but it’s rarely talked about as a business mindset.

In this year end episode, our favorite Bookkeeping Mensch, Paul Rosenblum, is joined by me, producer Stephanie Fuccio, for a reflective conversation about how values shape the way we work. What begins as a look behind the scenes of the podcast quickly becomes something deeper.

This episode isn’t really about podcasting. It’s about trust centered bookkeeping and the role relationships, clarity, and care play in long term client work. Using the podcast as a real world example, Paul shares how trust guides his decisions, from how he communicates to how he shows up for clients.

When trust comes first, processes follow. And that mindset changes everything.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Be a part of the podcast by asking a question. Leave your voice message here: https://www.speakpipe.com/PaulRosenblumPodcast

Transcript

Stephanie:

Hey, Paul.

Paul:

Hey, Steph. Nice to see you. Nice to see you. Nice to hear you. See you.

Stephanie:

Yes, exactly. We thought that ending the season and ending the year with a review of how you make the podcast might be a nice little holiday treat for folks. What's your. What's your process for creating the episode from scratch? Because how you've shaped the podcast episodes has changed significantly. And even. Even now, the past, like, six or seven episodes are different than the previous six or seven or eight or whatnot. So there's. There's different things that you're constantly adding and tweaking. And so I'm curious, like, how do you shape the episodes? Like, do you. Like, for me, when I write something, I'll write the body first, and then I'll go and write the intro because I don't know what I'm saying until I've said it. So that's just my. My own process. So I'm curious with your process. Do you know kind of like a general idea of the whole episode and then you start from the beginning and end at the end? Or do you do different bits at different times? Like what. How does it take shape?

Paul:

I think most of the shaping of the episode is really after it's written. It's the whole editing process. And I think I learned that from my father, because my father was a film editor for many, many years, and there are articles written about him and about film editing where you can change a couple of things and you can tell a completely different story. And so I think a part of that is built into me. So once I get everything on paper, that's a kind of a. Well, I'm not going to call it a loose writing. It's tighter than that. But as I go over it, as I say it out loud, more and more and more editing. And sometimes I do find myself moving paragraphs around. So a paragraph that's already written, maybe I want it before the next paragraph because it makes more sense. So I do a lot of. Of. Of cut and pastings as well.

Stephanie:

Yeah, that makes. That makes a lot of sense. I mean, having a rigid structure is counterproductive for a medium like this because it's the fluidity and the story structure and the intimacy and the connection and the, you know, it resonating with the listeners is what makes these podcast episodes work. So being able to, to change it like that as you're creating it, I think is part of why the podcast has gotten to the place it's at.

Paul:

Yeah, and I've listened to a lot of other podcasts, especially bookkeeping, but some others as well. And most of the other bookkeeping and accounting podcasts are people having a conversation like this. And it, it's, it's obviously it's not scripted, but it's very raw. And I, I listen to them just to, you know, just to get an idea of what other people are doing. I listened the other day to a 45 minute accounting episode talking about QuickBooks and the things that they QuickBooks online and some of the things that they don't like about it. And you know, they were joking around and they were saying what they didn't like about it. And after 20 minutes, I was ready to go. I mean, they made the point, why is it 40, 45? And when I was doing research, when even before you and I started together, I was listening to a lot of other podcasts and a lot of business podcasts, they fell into two or three different categories. In bookkeeping, there was a category where one person would talk about a particular subject for five minutes and then they would say, well, this is my phone number, this is my email. If you want to learn more about this, get, get in touch with me and I'll give you my price list. I mean, basically. And I didn't want to do that. Sure. Then there was the conversation. Two or three people, you know, co or co hosts, talking about almost anything that kind of popped into their mind. It obviously wasn't scripted and I didn't really want to do that either. And that's where the scripts came from because nobody was really doing a kind of a. Almost like a lecture within a podcast. And I thought that was kind of unique. So that's where the scripting started, and then it kind of grew from there.

Stephanie:

And it's funny because I used to think of your podcast as a business podcast, but you kept saying, oh, I don't want more business. That's not why I'm doing this. And I was like, but, but, but, but it's a business podcast. But it took me a while to, to understand what you were doing because it was brilliant. But it took me because I just kind of compartmentalized. And then I realized, oh my gosh, this is a, like a legacy podcast. You're passing on your knowledge to the next round of bookkeepers. Or small and small business owners. You're like giving back. And yeah, there might be some business that comes of it or there might be a business opportunity because of the podcast or so on and so forth. But that's not the main driver of the podcast. The main driver of the podcast is you passing on so much that you know. And that's, that's very different than the kind of podcast that you were describing that you were listening to.

Paul:

I, I think the first time that we met I mentioned that to you that, you know, which is why I'm not really, I'm not really looking for sponsors. Although yes, I am starting to now. But I haven't been, I haven't been putting a lot of effort into that because I do. I, from the very beginning I looked at it as giving back. Now it's kind of changed a little bit because of all the, this AI bookkeeping. The bookkeeping that I know is going to be gone in 20 years. I think, I think it's all going to eventually be AI. I mean I remember going to a QuickBooks Pro Advisor meeting probably, I don't know, 10, 12 years ago and there was a guest speaker there and one of the things he, well, probably was more probably closer to 15 years ago. And one of the things he said is within 20 or 25 years bookkeeping is going to be almost non existent because he was talking about AI all the way back, back then and we talked about, and I remember relationship based bookkeepers and he was the first person who said it out loud. I've been doing it since I started, since I started bookkeeping in the 1990s. It was natural for me to have that relationship.

Stephanie:

I.

Paul:

But that was the first time that I heard anyone say it out loud. And that's another reason why I talk about relationships in the podcast because of what he said. It was a wonderful, he was a wonderful guest and a lot of what he said has really come true. Yesterday a client said they the company switched to another cpa, someone who, you know, this is the first year and they and the executive director mentioned to me that, that tomorrow meeting today they're going to have a meeting with the, with the new cpa. And I, and I said, well, I'm going to work on your books. If you get me the statement right now, I'll work on your books today. And you know, I'll hopefully finish it today, if not, it'll be tomorrow. I did everything except the credit card. And the credit card is about a half an hour's worth of Work. So I did the credit card this morning, but I emailed her at like 10 after 9 this morning, and I said, I know you have a meeting today with the new cpa. I want your books totally done. And she emailed me back and. And she said, this is why we love you so much, because you care about what. What we care about. And no other bookkeepers like that. Please say that in your podcast.

Stephanie:

Okay. Okay, here. So here it is. The not boring, boring bookkeeping and accounting podcast.

Paul:

Your Relationship Matters.

Stephanie:

The Relationship Matters podcast, yeah. Well, I'm curious. Where do you put the ideas when you get them? Like, where does a bookkeeper organize his thoughts? Like, is it a notebook or a digital program? Like, where did you keep all of your ideas?

Paul:

Well, it kind of depends on where I am. Doesn't really happen too much anymore. But in that first year, one of the Saturdays that I was with my wife, we go grocery shopping, usually on Saturday mornings, and I was pushing the cart and I got an idea, and I used to carry a little yellow pad. No, not. Not a big legal one, but just a little yellow one. And that would fit in my pocket. And I took it out and I wrote down whatever that idea was. So that's how I did it at the beginning. Then I kind of switched because I don't really think about during the week. I don't think about episodes very much at all. Yes, some things are going through my head. You know, I have some ideas, but nothing that I can really write down. No, no real specifics. And so at that point, when I did get an idea, I was usually in front of a computer. And so then I have a notepad. I use that old Windows notepad. And that's where I put my ideas. I don't even use word. I just use that cheap little notepad thing.

Stephanie:

And we've left out one part of the process that I've been wondering about for a while now, which is the owl selection for the episode artwork. How do you pick just the right owl? Because I swear you match them so well, energetically to the theme of the episode.

Paul:

Well, first of all, I don't think I've. I've ever said this in any specific episode, but I have an owl figurine collection at home that I started collecting when I was about five or six, when my parents gave me a wax owl, which I still have, by the way, still on the shelf, unused. And I started just buying owls at every art show and every little store that I, you know, when I started getting an allowance and that was where my money went. So I have 250 different owls. Wow. Some are very large, some are really small, and so they're kind of all over the apartment. I try to match up a particular owl to the kind of episode it is. So the Christmas ones and you know, the holiday ones are kind of easier. But some of the other ones, I'm just looking for mood. I'm looking for colors I think I had for Halloween, I think we did a black and orange one. These are things that I think about and it just comes from my own collection. It's interesting. After we started doing that, there's another person who teaches QuickBooks and accounting with classes and she actually has an owl as a logo. Owls are wise.

Stephanie:

And my bookkeeper in Denmark had an owl in her business logo as well.

Paul:

Right. Yeah, I thought I was the only one, but no, there are others.

Stephanie:

But I think you win as far as how many owls you have.

Paul:

Yeah, yeah. They're really all over the. The apartment too.

Stephanie:

Because they're all over the apartment. Are you walking around the apartment look or looking for one that fits the episode that you recorded?

Paul:

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It kind of depends on if I'm in a rush or not. But I generally do that either Sunday night or Monday morning really early. Luckily I can do that Monday morning because my wife gets up very, very early and she's out of the house before 6. So, you know, at 5:30 or 6 I can start looking around for owls. And there are basically, you know, the living room has a whole bunch and in the hallway is a big part of the collection. So, you know, I don't have to walk too, you know, all over the place. But yeah, sometimes I have particular owls in mind that I'm looking for and others if I'm really in a rush, I grab one that we used a year ago and you know, I know you know it, you recognize that. But you know, sometimes I just can't either can't find one that we. That we haven't used or can't find one that I would like to use that I have in mind. And I can't find it because some of them are so small that it's behind something else.

Stephanie:

I think that is the best place to end this conversation about your process and really the core of what this podcast has been about. But it is the end of the year, so is there any wrap up or holiday stuff you want to say before we go?

Paul:

Have a very happy holiday season. Don't think about bookkeeping. Don't think about accounting the last week of the year. I will. I'll be in the office every day. But as a business owner, Bookkeepers, yes, but as a business owner, whoever's listening to me, who are, who's not a bookkeeper and who owns their own business, don't think about the bookkeeping and enjoy the holiday season. And when you go back at the beginning of January, then you have to go right into it because it is tax season and your accountant's going to start bothering you for information.

Stephanie:

Love it. Love it. And a Happy holidays from me as well.