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Marketing, News or Announcements

Social Media Power comes from Relationships not Numbers

Michelle Long
07/26/2012

When it comes to social media, many people focus on the numbers and how to increase them:  the number of followers, likes, friends, connections and more.  The power of social media is not just about the numbers.  Rather, the power of social media comes from the connections and relationships you build with your followers.  This has really become evident over the past 10 days of voting in the 2012 Small Business Influencer Awards.  I wanted to share my observations that illustrate the power of social media relationships. Read more

News or Announcements, QuickBooks Consulting

Poll Results on Accounting Data in Cloud

Michelle Long
07/21/2012

Nearly 1,000 people answered the quick poll question:  Do you now (or would you in the future) have your accounting data ‘in the cloud’?  Choose one of the following to answer:

  • Yes — Using QuickBooks Online
  • Yes — Using QuickBooks Pro, Premier or Enterprise Hosted
  • Yes — Using another SaaS option (Intacct, Xero, etc.)
  • No — I don’t trust my accounting data ‘in the cloud’
  • Maybe  — Now it is too expensive or I don’t know enough about the cloud to decide
  • No — I’m happy with it on my own computer

The results were interesting — about 50% responded with a yes option and about 50% with no or maybe.  See the percentages for each response in this chart:

The poll was not scientific and some people indicated they wanted to select more than one answer depending on different clients or situations.

In my Linkedin Group, Successful QuickBooks Consultants there was a great discussion with over 90 comments.

 

News or Announcements

Michelle Long CPA Nominated for 2012 Small Business Influencer Awards – Vote Until Aug 5

Michelle Long
07/19/2012

I’m thrilled to be nominated as a Small Business Influencer but I need your help.  There are some big names in the nominations including:

  • Scott Cook (Intuit co-founder)
  • Brad Smith (Intuit CEO),
  • Michael Dell (Dell Computers)
  • Jeff Bezos (Amazon)
  • Richard Branson (founder of Virgin businesses)
  • and lots more

You can vote every 24 hours (via cell phone too) until August 5 and it just takes a click to vote.  Help me by bookmarking the page,  voting for me every 24 hours.  Please help me be one of the winners this year.  After all, I could win bragging rights and a shiny new badge for my website!

Thank you for your support and continued voting until August 5.  Click the Vote badge on this blog post or on the right side of my website to Vote.  Here’s the press release with more details: Read more

Events, News or Announcements, QuickBooks Consulting

Join Michelle Long for Anything Goes Q&A on Linkedin – One Person will Win QuickBooks Accountant 2012

Michelle Long
07/07/2012

Join me in the Successful QuickBooks Consultants Linkedin Group (http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Successful-QuickBooks-Consultants-Consulting-Accounting-157449/about ) on Monday, July 9 from 1:00 – 2:00 CT and I’ll be answering the questions you post during the hour!  The group is a great resource with nearly 15,000 members!no preview

Plus, one lucky participant during the live Q&A will win QuickBooks Accountant 2012 (MSRP $499) and Intuit will have special pricing too!

Note:  There isn’t a call in number or link to join — just start a new discussion in the Linkedin Group with your question and I’ll answer it as quickly as possible.

“See” you there!

Marketing, QuickBooks Consulting, Start or Grow Your Business, Tools & Resources

Last Chance for Accountant’s Accelerator 2012 Program – Take Your Business to the Next Level

Michelle Long
07/03/2012

Many of us in the accounting profession work way too hard when we don’t really have to (I did, serving QuickBooks and bookkeeping clients, for years and years).  And one of the biggest reasons is that our marketing skills are weaker than most other professionals.  This causes us to:

  • Deliver employee-level service while grossly undercharging for it.
  • Fail to fire clients we hate working with because we need their revenue.
  • Fall short of our revenue goals because we don’t know how to market for new clients.
  • And much more Read more