Accounting with Confidence Podcast

42: Scaling New Heights 2025 Recap

• Beth Whitworth • Season 2 • Episode 42

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In this episode, I provide an in-depth recap of my experience at the Scaling New Heights conference in Orlando. From attending inspirational sessions and networking with other professionals to sharing personal anecdotes and obtaining awards, this four-day event was transformative for both my business and personal growth. Listen in to hear how the conference helped shape our firm's strategic planning and why it's important to find your tribe in the accounting industry.

Geni Whitehouse, CPA.CITP: https://geniwhitehouse.com/
Chaunte' Lowe O.L.Y. : https://www.chauntelowespeaks.com/
David Allen: https://gettingthingsdone.com/
Brittany Brown,CEO, Founder, and Chief Accountant: https://ledgergurus.com/about/
Michelle Mitchell, Owner, Financial Strategist & Business Advisor: https://mitchellconsultingservice.com/

 I am Beth Whitworth race car driving quilt making CPA firm owning wife, mom, and boss. I'm here to help you build a business you love by sharing all of the good, the bad, the ugly, and the excellent sides of working in this industry. It's not always easy, but after many years I can finally say it's worth it.

Let me guide you on your journey to accounting with confidence.

So scaling New heights was last week, and as I have done in the last couple of years. I have done a recap of what happened at this conference. This conference is put on by Woodard Joe Woodard, who has really developed an environment for bookkeepers and accountants, and the tech that goes with all of that in just a fabulous way.

I found this conference about nine years ago when I needed it most and have been attending. Religiously ever since. So I hope you enjoy hearing how I did at this four day conference, and really, if you have the opportunity to find your tribe, do it makes such a difference and makes you feel so much more.

Seen when you have people who you are working with that you see who recognize the same struggles, the same accomplishments, the same. They know when you've done good things and they know when things are hard and they can help you. So listen in, hear how this conference went for me this year, and I hope you enjoy.

Okay, so here we go. Uh, I'm at Scaling New Heights. I have been here for, let's see, we came in on Saturday, which was two days ago when the conference started yesterday, and I was planning on doing a nightly recap. Uh, last night I was exhausted, so I didn't get one done. It is now about. 10 30 on Monday night.

So I'm gonna do this recap. It's gonna be quick 'cause I still have to, um, shower and get to bed and be up at a breakfast at by 7:00 AM So, uh, here's what's been going on. We're at scaling New Heights in Orlando. This is my eighth time in nine years coming to this event and I brought Sarah with me and we're gonna.

Day, an extra day to do our planning for the firm after. So yeah, I've been going to sessions. So yesterday morning, you know, was when the conference opened and we started with, you know, a big breakfast. They have the largest attendance they've ever had. So it's been, it's, there's been a lot of people. Um, we got checked in, got all the.

Swag that I get for being a member of, uh, in the Woodard membership, and went to some sessions yesterday and Wow. And now what else did we do? Oh, so we had a reception with, for the. Member Woodard membership. That was done in one of the restaurants, in the hotel after Shante Lowe spoke on the main stage and there was a book signing there.

And if you don't know who Shante Lowe is, she is an Olympian, uh, in, in the high bar in track and field. I've heard her. Speak before, and she's also a breast cancer thriver. She refers herself as a thriver, not a survivor. And so listening to her speak is very powerful for me. And it happened yesterday to be the anniversary of my three year anniversary three years ago.

Yesterday I was having. Surgery for breast cancer. So it was kind of an emotional day. Um, but I was able to really connect with some, some people I got a signed book from Shante. Uh, I went to, uh, we a couple of sessions and this is why I need to do this every night because I can't even remember what I did yesterday, but I know it was a long.

It was a long day, but the conference opened. Now the exhibitor hall did not open until today, so it's always a big deal. On Monday after the first main stage, they opened the exhibit hall. I. So what was going on for me today is, uh, they have a section of the exhibit hall is for Woodard, which is the place I'm the, I'm in their membership.

I'm also part of their writer. Uh, instructor Coalition and there was an opportunity earlier this year to apply to have a Woodard theater presentation be put together. And it's a 20 minute presentation in their booth and they have it set up with a couple of theaters that hold, you know, about 20 people or so.

And, um, so I applied and had my topic selected. And so today at noon I was. Presenting. So it was, the exhibit hall has all these vendors. It is also where the lunch is being held, so everybody has a shift where they're going to lunch. And so once we got, um, we got up and did a, a session this morning before the main stage.

But then once we did the main stage, we then went into the exhibit hall and I just used that time before noon to kind of prepare. I mean, I, uh, I wasn't. Necessarily nervous, but I definitely kind of needed to get the lay of the land. I have never spoken, I'm, believe it or not, I don't think I've ever used a lapel mic.

So there was just some things that I was kind of a little anxious about, but not too bad. So I watched a couple of other people do their presentations and like I said, they're only 20 minutes. And then I hopped in and people kept. You know, there were some PE, early arrivers, there were some that were, um, it filled in.

Um, they were doing it with like headphones. So I was talking into a lapel mic and the audience had headphones on because you're in this big space with these high ceilings and it's always hard to hear. And so the speakers, before they were doing the headphones system, um, we're having to. Speak really loud into the microphone.

So I was able to just talk normal. I had a PowerPoint slide slides and, um, just loved it. I mean, I loved doing it. I got some good feedback. Um, we had this couple of things. You know, the, I I, a bug flew into my face, the, um, remote for the slides stopped moving the slides forward. And I'm thinking this is only 20 minutes, only 20 minutes.

Um, but I got it done and felt really good about it. Got lots of feedback. Had uh, lots of people from the audience that contacted me. They either went and sat and had lunch with us or they caught me in the exhibit hall and said, Hey, you know, can I ask you some questions on the topic? And, um, saw somebody else that listens to this podcast.

Too said, you know, she went, she went to the session and she had the headphones, so she said it was like listening to your podcast. So that was so, it was just thrilling for me. After that, we went to a session. It was on kind of business planning, but it was really on planning for your own business. So, uh, and it was a speaker that I had met when I had gone to a conference last, I guess it was last fall.

And, um, he's, he's a great presenter. I love listening to him and just his ability to just kind of be no nonsense. He's very much like me. Just, you know, you don't want your business to run you, you. You need to run your business and you need to set up a business that supports your life, not your life, supporting your business.

And that is absolutely my philosophy. And that was a little bit of kind of the theme for the things. We listened to this today and it happened that Sarah and I had all. We pick the same sessions, we don't pick our sessions together. We pick them and then we compare. What are you going to, what are you going to for today?

All three of our sessions we had together. So after that we went, um, talked to some exhibitors, and then we had a session on, um. Getting out of your own way. And it was a mindset on, uh, eliminating negative self-talk. And let me tell you, very timely, um, it's done by Lamont, who I've had a lot of sessions with and, and we, you know, we chat all the time and it was, um, it was really timely.

It was giving you some skills to stop the negative. Self-talk and turn it around, flip it, you know, to where you're not constantly saying, oh, I'm not good enough. I'm not smart enough. I'm not, and, and I do fall into that pattern. So I'm gonna work really hard on that because, so I have these ribbons here and I'm sure they're all backwards for you.

But the first one is, I'm just a member of water, but I also, I got a top 50 CAS practice this year. It's the first time I've applied for it and it is given out. Um. To only 50 accounting firms that are in attendance at this conference, and there are about a thousand rep, a thousand people here, and so I'm really proud of that.

The other one I have is this one that says Top 100 ProAdvisor and that. From a huge pool of people who, uh, work with QuickBooks. And I've applied for that. This is my third year in a row. And I really, um, I have to sometimes look down at these things and say, I'm doing okay. I'm, I'm, I am good enough. And so even after the emotional day of last, like last night with, with Shante Lowe and how powerful of a speaker she is, it was, um, it, like I said, it was.

It was one of those things that it just hit on that day and it made me think about how far I wanna be, and now I'm like. I've come pretty far. So, um, after the sessions today, um, we went to a top 100 reception that was at, um, a restaurant outside of the resort. So we bused over there and then I had to bus back because I had a reception for the Instructor Writer's Coalition and I got to talk to so many people there and be able to really thank.

Either some people that I heard speaking and give them some really good feedback about how they touched me. And then there was, uh, also thanking the people who have really encouraged me to speak, to get out there. I had, I had a blast today. I loved that, um, my story and when I'm sharing things, I can, you know, bring some humor to it.

Uh, it's, I can make fun of myself like no other. Um, not in an evil way, but I know my, my weaknesses. And so I, when I share those with people, they see themselves in me. I guarantee you. Um, I'm a big procrastinator. Everybody can relate. So overall, it was a good day and like I said, it's getting pretty late.

Um, I still have. Some, uh, couple things I need to get done before tomorrow, but tomorrow is just sessions, so it should be a little calmer now, a year ago. Uh, today was when we had the big news about one of our, our clients decided that they didn't wanna work with us anymore, and it was, it was pretty devastating.

And so it was very emotional and I think it's, it's ironic that last night. I was a little emotional about just remembering all of the things relating to missing the scaly new heights. The one time I've missed it was because I was having surgery and, but I've come so far since then, so it makes me realize that, okay, last year I was devastated over losing this client and oh my gosh, what are we gonna do?

And this year we're better than ever. I mean, we are, we are better without them. Um, and I think for all intents and purposes, I think we are going to be, we will always be stronger without them. Uh, still say this conference is something that is worth it. The connections, the people, the support, uh, and then also having Sarah here to also feel that energy.

And be able to, you know, just give me feedback, Hey, I think we should focus on this. I love that because as a. Solo owner. I'm not a solopreneur. I have employees, but I'm a sole owner and it is sometimes really hard to get perspective. And so to have her here and be able to say, here's where I think we should focus next, and then also keep me away from the shiny objects.

Um, so she's like, yep, yep, nope, I don't think we're ready for that. And so she can, she can really pull me back. So it's very appreciated. So I, this video's gonna be on my phone. It's gonna be with my AirPods quality. I'm hoping my, uh, my editor can do fabulous things with it because he is phenomenal and I will talk to you guys tomorrow night.

Okay. Welcome to, well, the morning after day. Three of the conference. So this, we are on day three. I'm at Scaling New Heights yesterday. Started very early with a 7:00 AM breakfast with one of my groups that I coach with and went until after midnight. So I had a couple of receptions after the. The, um, conference stuff.

So what we did yesterday, uh, got up and, um, went to the main stage and that was where they were. Um, pre had some presenters there and they, um, it's, it's kind of a big, uh, supposed to be very, um. Kinda inspirational and kind of getting you pumped up. So it's this huge, huge dark room, you know, all the staging.

It's, it's very much a production, which is really pretty cool. And we did some exhibit floor stuff and I actually, I talked to some my vendors. Um, I talked to Canopy, I talked to Ignition. I. Spoke with, uh, a couple of vendors relating to some bill pay options. Talked to somebody about a construction software, and it was just, it was really good conversations.

We had enough time to really chat and you're fine here with, you know, there's, it's a huge vendor floor, so if you aren't prepared with who you wanna talk to or you walk in there and you're, you're just overwhelmed. So you have to really narrow it down. Uh, we always. Keep it to three or four. Even though from the main stage, many of those vendors are up there saying, oh, come see me in booth number, whatever, and they're, they've just done a great presentation and we can do this for you or that for you.

And thank goodness Sarah is here to say, we're not doing that this year. So we don't even go talk to them because I, it's very easy for me to get swayed into saying, oh, let's do that next. So I went to a session on detecting fraud, um, and how accountants and bookkeepers, you know, can, where to look for those things.

And that's always super interesting and I love listening to that and can't remember what else I did. Um, in the afternoon mainstream. Stage, uh, David Allen from, he wrote the book and the has the whole model for getting things done, productivity book, um, that he spoke. He was great. Um, we also heard sometime during the day from, um, Brittany Brown, who is one of my peers.

She has a firm in Utah and she had a, just a very moving presentation on what has been going on in her firm and. Big hard decisions she had to make. And those are the types of stories that I like hearing because it really makes me understand that even the people that I've seen in the past and have idolized, like I wanna be her, we all struggle with things and that was so very brave of her to share her story.

And I love that. I love that. That's the kind of stuff I like. Um, but the conference day itself was followed up by a reception, um, held up in one of the penthouse suites. For the top 50 CAS practices, that is this big application process. I finally, I wanted, I had it as a goal, I set it, um, and that I am going to get this application done and do it as soon as it comes out because the deadline is sometime during tax season.

So they started this award three years ago. I didn't apply the first two because as I, I started the application, I'm like, Ooh, this, this is gonna take more time than. It indicated because to do it right. And so for this year, I'm like, as soon as I get that email, I am going to do this application. And so it really takes, um, the firm, it is a firm award, uh, that it is a, for really striving to do the right things, have the right client base, have an ideal team, uh, have a vision, mission, and purpose.

And I think we are. We're there now. We we're not perfect, but we definitely, I, I don't know if in the first two years, even if I'd taken the time, if we were there yet. So I was very proud of getting this award. Did the little, uh, get a picture with Joe Woodard with my trophy, which is here, I'm trying to figure out how I'm gonna get it home, uh, and then.

Uh, after that was a reception for the premium members, and it's a little bit of a recruiting event, which is fine because we have really gotten some great people who have come and heard from other premium members, um, about what their experience is. And so I, I feel like I repeat myself, but it is still, um, true.

And I, uh, that would saved my practice and. I've, I thank them for that. And so I always share that story because uh, there's other people who are maybe here for the first time and going, Ooh, yeah, I hate what I'm doing. 'cause I know what brought me to the conference that so many years ago. Uh, so that was great.

And then, uh, signed book from David Allen. Personalized. And he also came up to the suite for the premium members and he, he talked after we all kind of gave a little bit of our stories, he talked and said, you know, kind of said, Joe, I'll do whatever you want. And then after that I had a full on conversation with David Allen, uh, about his model, about how I use it.

It was amazing. It was, it was so cool. So late night. But well worth it. I am off to a session right now, uh, that, uh, someone in one of my coaching groups is giving, and I need to run down there so I can support her in her, uh, presentation. So talk to everybody later.

Okay, here we are. We have a. Finished day four. So the conference ended at about five o'clock tonight and boy, I'm glad it's done back up in my room, but I'm heading out to go have some burgers and fries with Sarah and my friend Rebecca, who I met at a Scaling New Heights in 2021 and we hit it off in Fort Worth and have been connecting ever since.

So it'll be nice to have dinner with her tonight. Today we had a main stage session with uh, Jeannie Whitehouse, who is amazing. She's a great speaker. She comes from the accounting industry, but left it and she's over in Napa Valley now. She's just a great storyteller. She's a great speaker. And that was.

An amazing, she was worth the main stage this morning, so that was good. And then I also went to a session this morning on what was my session this morning. Uh, it's amazing how quickly the days go by and you cannot remember what you did, but that is what happens here at scaling. So I know I went to, uh, something on IRS enforcement that was this afternoon.

It was really short and they really didn't get to a whole lot of interesting stuff. So that wasn't, it's kind of a little bit of a bust. Um, and then I went to, um, Michelle Mitchell's session on courageous. Delegation. So that is something I'm always working to improve on. Um, we identified that, yes, it's me, I'm the problem.

Um, so accountants and me, uh, we tend to have some control issues, so, uh, yeah, it happens. But, uh, yeah, so that was a, a great session. And then I ended the day, uh, doing some, uh, learning about, uh, automating some of your marketing processes and connected back with my. Friends from Thrive Business that they're outta San Diego, Randy, and, and Gail.

And, um, we've just kind of hit it off and, and really like to share ideas with each other and hang out. So it was, overall, it's been a really good experience and I will be coming back next year, but next year the plan is to come back as a speaker, so I will be. Putting in my papers is what they call it, submitting papers to be a speaker at Scaling New Heights next year for a full session.

And I'm excited. I, you know what, Sarah and I came up with a list of about 11 topics that I could, or she could actually present on, but, so I'll be narrowing it down and looking forward to next year's theme, which is a strange new world. And that is gonna round out the trilogy of Star Trek themes. We had boldly go two years ago.

We had make it so this year, and then next year it'll be a strange new world. I. So I will have to figure out what I'm going to talk about, get my papers submitted. They start asking for papers in July and I'm, I did learn some, some things that just gave me some ideas. It's always, there's always something and that's why I keep coming.

There's always something I can take home. So. I apologize for the shaky video. I don't have a good place right now to just set this camera. Uh, so here I am, but I've gotta go meet the girls for dinner and I will be flying home on Friday. Uh, Sarah and I are staying to do a whole day of strategic planning and kind of.

Looking at what the focus for our next three to six months is going to be on our plans and things that we might have learned this week that we can incorporate into just making our firm and our team and our clients and our relationships better. So looking forward to that, and thanks for, you know, kind of dropping in on this.

Scaling new heights adventure that I take every year. Uh, and I hope it's, I hope somebody finds it interesting. If you've never gone to an accounting conference, it is like drinking from a fire hose. But it is, I have met people the first year that I still connect with today, and I've been coming, I've come been eight times in nine years.

So, uh, there are people, sometimes I only see them here, and so like. Yeah, it's, it's a worth it. So I would say look into different conferences. If you definitely, if you're into tech, this is where you need to be. So, all right everybody. Thanks for listening to my day four recap and have I'll talk to you next time.

So there it is, the four days of scaling new heights 2025. I have put my trophy here. It's very hard to see 'cause it's clear for the top 50 Cs practice that I was very proud to have been nominated and then received that award. And after those four days, Sarah and I stayed over on Thursday and spent 12 hours working on some planning for the firm.

And so much of it was driven by what we learned during the week. I. And just, we were very motivated and very just inspired to get these plans together. So we worked another 12 hours and it was just us. We were at the still at the resort and that was something that really worked out well. And compared to last year, uh, we went in and did the planning ahead of the conference thinking we'd be too tired afterwards, and then everything had to pivot.

This year, the biggest difference I think in this conference is that in 2024, we came in with client work that still had to happen and was de reliant and dependent on us to get it done while we were at this conference. And we also, we had that big change with the client. You know, it was very emotional and stressful.

This year, neither one of us carried our laptops down to any of the sessions. We took notes on our phone or Remarkable where wherever we're taking notes. But we did not carry that laptop around and we didn't work during lunch sessions and we didn't skip out on sessions to go get some work done. And. It was very different.

We were able to be a little bit more engaged. Now, I still had some emotional moments. I will say that, you know, I, I mentioned the hearing. Shante Lowe speak live. You know, she's the Olympian who later ended up having. Breast cancer and then still trained to be an Olympian. And that was just something that obviously is very impactful to me.

And it just happened to coincide with, uh, the anniversary of my surgery. And so there was a lot going on there, but I was able to process those more personal emotions and not having emotions around the state of my business. So I would say overall, 2025 was, was way up here compared to. What 2024 was, and doing the planning after was the smart thing to do.

So we were able to take some things that we heard about teams and delegation and marketing and. Put those into place. You know, we really got to in-depth plan around those things that, and we didn't have to pivot from something that we had already planned a few days ahead, ahead of that. So all overall very good.

I will be going back and Sarah is going back as well to scaling new, new heights 2026 again in Orlando. We're very familiar with this venue now and. I enjoy having it at the same place so that it's easy. Uh, it's easy, you know where all the things are, you know how to navigate everything. And really, I, again, I will encourage you if you haven't found a conference that really can impact your business, start looking, start looking to attend something next year.

Whether it's bridging the Gap or Happy Camp or scaling new Heights, there are. Things out there for you. Okay, everyone, thanks for listening. I hope you enjoyed this recap of our conference season and I'll talk to you again later. Thanks.

Thanks for listening to another episode of Accounting with Confidence. My hope is that my experiences can help you navigate the realities of owning and operating your business. Please subscribe or follow the podcast on your favorite podcast listening platform so that you never miss an episode. Feel free to leave me a text by using the, send us a text message link in the show description and let me know how I'm doing.