Author’s Note: As we continue the search for the 2021 Top 100 ProAdvisors and ProAdvisor of the Year, we want to take this opportunity to highlight our 2020 award winners. Learn more about Insightful Accountant’s Top 100 ProAdvisors Award Program here.
Alicia Katz Pollock is no stranger to the ProAdvisor community. As CEO and President of her company RoyalWise Solutions, Inc., the bookkeeper, and the QBO and business apps trainer, it’s no wonder that she’s another one of our 2020 Top 100 ProAdvisor award winners!
“I have been doing computer training for adults for over 35 years!” Pollock told us. “I started as a Microsoft Office certified specialist, became an Apple certified consultant, and found myself training on QuickBooks as an offshoot of my business consulting. I never planned on being a QuickBooks trainer and troubleshooter, but I consider it a perfect storm for my skillset.”
Originally from Philadelphia, this now Portlander keeps busy. From helping business owners and bookkeepers train or troubleshoot QBO to producing training content for her peers, Pollock somehow manages to do it all.
Doing it all doesn’t come without challenges, though. When asked how the COVID-19 pandemic had impacted her practice, Pollock had this to say:
“We’ve been busting at the seams! I had already been Zooming with my clients since Portland’s 2017 snowstorm, so we were already up and running virtually. My husband, Jamie, did free Zoom trainings in March 2020 – in one of them, he had 86 seniors between 70-90 years old, all zooming together for their first time. It was sooooooo hectic and funny. Royalwise.com has been fortunate in that we do distance computer training for a living, so we’re in a good place to ride out the pandemic. In fact, we just hired a new employee to focus on marketing, and we are buying an office building! I’m grateful that this crisis has left me in a position to help others.”
Technology has helped us all manage in this remote environment; and staying on top of new applications and other technology available to practitioners and trainers is a priority for most in this industry, especially this past year. Even in a pandemic, Pollock has managed to maximize her output with new technology.
“AirTable has become our new favorite,” she said. “I discovered that I was rewriting new articles about topics I had written about years ago! I created an AirTable with all our courses, all the articles I’ve written about those topics, and all the webinars and live presentations I gave. Now I can pick a topic, like “Banking Feeds,” and see my entire library of articles and PowerPoints so I can reuse content, update it, and adapt it. A complete game-changer!”
Staying on top of the latest technology and trends is more important now than ever to be able to make sure your firm is able to take on the challenges of remote working. Not to mention the education required to continue to have the best tools to be successful. How does one do it?
“Honestly, the Insightful Accountant newsletter is frequently my new feature alert. I also love Intuit’s 'In the Know' webinars. Being a member of the Intuit Trainer/Writer Network and on their training team keeps me current.” Pollock shared.
When it comes to work/life balance, we all struggle to draw the line sometimes. “Up until a couple years ago, I had no work/life balance,” Pollock said. “I spent my evenings catching up on email and knocking out projects on weekends. Now I’ll stop working around 9pm and paint Dungeons and Dragons fantasy minifigures for my son – it turns out I’m a good 3-D artist! On weekends I… never mind. I still work.”
Pollock’s title is “QBO Rock Star,” not just because she’s great with QBO, but because she plays bass! She even wrote a PPP song and is working on one about Assets. She also teamed up with Jaime Campbell and Lisa Peterson to play the Intuit support hold music! Check it out at qborockstar.com.
I think it’s easy to see why Alicia Katz Pollock is a true “QBO Rockstar!” We’re very proud to have you in our 2020 Top 100 ProAdvisors, Alicia!