Influential Woman · BookkeepingAccounting
Catherine Regenthal
Independent Bookkeeper, CMR Bookkeeping, LLC
Newton, NJ
Her Story
About Catherine
I've been in the bookkeeping and accounting industry for almost 20 years. I started out working as an accountant in an office doing admin work in the mailroom and worked my way all the way up to being the bookkeeper. When I worked for the accounting firm, clients would call in and the accountants would always hate it when the clients would call and ask questions, and it was almost as if they were bothering the accountants. I absolutely loved talking to our clients, many of which I'm lifelong friends with. When I left and started my own firm in 2023, a lot of them ended up finding me on Facebook. I wasn't about to poach any clients because that's just not who I am. When I started CMR Bookkeeping, LLC, I said it didn't matter whether you were a small mom and pop, a single-member LLC, or a huge corporation, I was going to treat you the same way as I would treat anybody, how I would want to be treated. That's how I've built my company, with love and respect. Their business matters, it's their baby, and they're trusting me to make sure that their baby stays alive. Everybody's treated the same way with respect and kindness, and there's no judgment whatsoever because we're all trying to travel this journey together. I work on my clients' bookkeeping, their AR and AP, and I field questions from them. I don't have anybody in the office that takes calls away because I know my clients inside and out. They call me and I don't even need my computer to answer their questions. I also started advisory services, which was a huge step for me, advising clients on whether they should add a payroll person, get a vehicle, and helping them understand what their books are telling them.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Catherine
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute all of my success to my husband. He's my biggest fan. That man is a saint. I come home with some crazy ideas, and he's just, let's do it. He'll give me the pros and the cons, but at the end of the day, he's never said no. He's always just said, if that's what you want to do, try it, see what happens. He's my voice of reason.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I have ever received was from my business coach, Susan, and she said to stop worrying about what other people think, say, and do. You keep doing you, because your clients love you, your clients come to you for the reason that you're you. So, everything else is static. You can post a video on Facebook or Instagram, and some people might like it, and some people might not, but you can't worry about those people. You just have to go with it.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
It's a blast. Do it. Don't wait. It's hard, it's challenging, and it's so rewarding in the end. Just do it. Don't question it, don't worry about it, everything will fall into place. Just start.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I'm not a certified bookkeeper, so for me, I feel like that is holding me back from marketing myself in certain places. But I think for me, I just have to get over that hurdle, that hump, that I do know what I'm doing. I do work very closely with my clients' CPAs, and they tell me that I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing, and I'm doing it the right way. So for me, that's my hurdle, I just have to get over that. But do I think it can make a bigger difference in my firm and my company? Probably.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me are integrity, honesty, and compassion. I believe in treating everyone with respect and kindness, whether they're a small business or a large corporation. I built my company with love and respect, and I make sure that every client's business matters because it's their baby and they're trusting me to keep it alive. We're all trying to travel this journey together.
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