I have been inspired by something I am watching and a post I read on LinkedIn this morning. There is no denying that Appy Central can be a hectic place. We are a growing practice and throw our heart and soul into everything we do to help our baby clients. At the end of each day, I am feeling pretty exhausted. My days of party animal behaviour on a school night are long gone and have been replaced with either trivia at the pub, one hundred metres from my house, or a quick dinner and couch-vegging while streaming something that I do not have to think too much about. Hence, my first inspiration this week.
I have started watching something on Disney called “Extraordinary.” It is a British superhero comedy series about Jen, a young woman who is the only person she knows who has not yet developed her superpower and the pressure she feels because of that inconvenient truth. And we are not talking about run-of-the-mill superpowers here. There are a number of definite doozies.
This silliness has struck a chord with me. Firstly, because it gives me the chance to ponder what weird superpower I might like to develop. (Definitely teleporting, because then I could travel without getting on a plane). And secondly, getting a bit philosophical, it feels like an analogy for life. At various times in our lives, we all measure ourselves against the successes of other people and worry about our purpose. Our kids possibly suffer these bouts of self-reflection even more so than my generation, with all the pressures social media brings. But we all have our own skill set or superpowers that we develop over time. And the timing of our journey to this place of peak performance is different for everyone. Comparing ourselves to others only brings angst and unhappiness. We have to limit this navel gazing and rejoice in where we are and what we can offer right now rather than trying to emulate someone else. Yes, take inspiration from others, but please, be YOU, because that is amazing. Bottom line, stop worrying about not knowing your superpower. It will develop when you least expect it!
Following on from this, I saw a post on LinkedIn today talking about an amazing accountant in our industry who has harnessed their superpower to find and fix errors in their client data and has saved them hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes. Now, that superpower may not be as sexy as Thor’s hammer, but it is a special skill none the less. It has been fine-tuned over years of experience and is wielded with the finesse of Wonder Woman’s lasso. There is no denying that her service is amazing, but that is not necessarily the only thing clients should look for when finding an advisor.
There are so many superpowers a trusted advisor can share with their client. Every accountant and bookkeeper have a different skill set and we all deal with our clients in diverse ways. We could be your sounding board, your strength, your financial mentor or just provide you with peace of mind to sleep at night. The trick is not to compare what your friend’s accountant/bookkeeper does for them with what yours does for you. The trick is to honestly survey your business and think about what you really need, then find an advisor that ticks those boxes. Find the right fit, just like you would with the perfect pair of shoes. If you do that, you will have a long and successful collaboration.
Stay ‘Appy!
