Stacy Stuff Headline
Things tend to get away from us sometimes, don’t they?
Work things, personal things. It just sort of happens.
Or, maybe they don’t get away from us so much as they just run their course.
This is a little story of how I realized both of these things, in a very unexpected manner.
First: my hair. As many of you may know, for the last few years, it’s been some variation of pinkish. For the last 6 months, it’s been Very Pink. My entire head has been a shock of hot pink locks. Anyway, a few weeks ago I was getting ready in the morning and noticed that my roots were not so pink. I made a mental note to make an appointment to get my hair died, and to figure out what I was going to do with it this time. Later that day, I actually ran into a girl with a cool purple/pink color combination and took a picture to send to my hairdresser.
As I was about to send it to her, I asked myself: Did I really want to do that? I LOVE having the pink hair. It’s ridiculously fun, but man oh man, it’s A LOT of work to maintain, not to mention the cost of the hair appointments and special linens I need to have so that my good ones don’t get trashed. I might also mention that my bathroom tile and grout is all white, except for my shower. That grout is now a lovely pale pink.
My hairdresser was sort of shocked when I called to make the appointment and told her that I would be going back to my natural color - what I call “hair colored hair” because it’s not quite brown, but not quite blonde - with blonde highlights. (And, but because I’m not quite ready to let it go completely, just a small streak of pink behind my ear). I had to admit it to myself: there really wasn’t any place else to take the hot pink. I’ve had my fun. I’ve proven my point. It doesn’t matter what you look like: you can be a little provocative, still be a professional and still be taken seriously. My hairdresser used a color correction solution (twice) to remove the pink and adjust the color - much as I had adjusted my attitude. Like many things in life, my shocking head of pink hair had run it’s course, and it was time to take my hair back to my roots.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t get it back to normal, but we have a plan. I know that this is going to be a process; it’s taken almost 3 years to get it to this… level of pink… It’s going to take a few months to get to exactly the color I want. So for now, I’m Very Blonde, (with just a hint of lavender). It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, but it makes me feel physically lighter and more energized, and I love it just as much as the pink.
Second: my business. As I had HOURS in the chair at the salon getting my hair did, I had quite a bit of time to think about all sorts of stuff. As I generally do, I ended up using the uninterrupted time to review my business. Current projects, upcoming projects, and specifically a conversation I had with my account manager, Shannon, about future planning. We had recently been discussing how busy we are currently (beginning of 2014 Q3) and what our plans would be for 2015 busy season.
As I watched my hairdresser apply a second application of color correction and discuss the natural color showing in my roots, it hit me. Kildal Services needed to focus on its roots. Yes, we specialize on QuickBooks services, and mostly QuickBooks Online – we have our processes down. Shannon’s specialty is our QuickReview™ and data clean up, then offering bookkeeping services with our BasePlus billing, while I do workflow/technology consulting. We got that. What we need is to go back to our accounting roots.
This is where the whole “things get away from you” comes into play.
I spent much of 2013 teaching people during live events and webinars to specialize, and for the most part, that’s what I’ve been doing – specializing in specific software: QuickBooks Online. Sitting there with all that goo on my head, I had to admit something to myself, and that admission was pretty painful.
Here’s what hurt: I could call myself a specialist in 2005, and even 2010, but in 2015? I would be nothing but a generalist. With the introduction of QuickBooks Online certification, and the proliferation of training available, I’d let things get away from me to a certain extent. The upcoming year would be the time to move ahead with much more focus than we’ve had this past couple years, which was still mostly QuickBooks Online and really only peripherally included add ons & business functions.
We’ll need to focus on the types of clients that helped us learn how to do what we do so well these days. We’ll need a laser like focus on specific workflow and technology clients for me, more focus on specific industries and client functions for Shannon, and more focus on clients in specific geographical areas with which both of us are most familiar.
As with my hair, this also will be a process. Just as it’s taken some time to let things get away from me, it’s going to take some time to get back on track. We’ll be updating our website to highlight my knowledge of QuickBooks Online in relation to workflow and add ons, our trademarked QuickReview™ process, our specialties in subjects such as the building trades and inventory, and our extensive experience with payroll and sales tax in Michigan, California and New York.
We’ll need to turn away those clients that don’t meet these criteria, and just like with my hair color, we’ll need to strip away any current clients that don’t meet them. Not everything will turn out as we expect, but in the end, I know as a company, we’ll end up lighter, more agile and rejuvenated.
It’s all about the roots, man.