Joleene Salas

I really think my number one success has been networking - getting as many different ways of meeting people as I possibly can. In person, different websites, I just keep meeting people and getting my brand out there. That has been the most important step that I've taken. I don't rely on just one website or on one activity. I think that we need to be as active and involved as we can, and always learning. Someone tells me, hey, have you tried this? Nope, but I will today. I think a lot of it has just been networking, getting out there, meeting people, getting outside of my comfort zone.

I think my favorite piece of advice would have come from my mentor group that I joined, and they said just jump in, just do it. You know, because you'll never know until you try. I think that was the best piece of advice because I get inside my own head and I second-guess myself sometimes, because I'm human. But once I started, the more I meet people, the more I get into their books, I love this. I didn't have a clue that I would love bookkeeping. I saw it as just adding and subtracting, but it's not what it is at all. It's so challenging, I feel like a detective. So I think that the best piece of advice is just do it. If you want to, take the risk and do it. You don't learn anything if you don't risk.

I would say connect with other bookkeepers and accountants. Get your group of people together. First of all, there's obviously referrals, but more importantly than that, I'm part of a group of bookkeepers, and getting your tribe together is really important, especially for us as women, to know that I have people that I can reach out to and say, hey, this popped up, have you ever seen this before? We like to talk, so to have your group of people who are also building their own business, and it's a bookkeeping or an accounting business, and they understand your unique struggles. They don't all have to be women, but I think as a woman, that's been huge for me. I have somebody to talk to, I have somebody to reach out to. It's almost like a support system, even if they can't answer my questions, at least I'm not alone in this. And that's, I think, as a woman, we need our tribe.

I think the biggest opportunity for me has been getting out to physical networking groups, networking meetings, meeting other business owners. That's been my biggest opportunity. That's where I've met most of my clients, through word of mouth and networking and getting out. I think my biggest challenge is the opposite side of the same coin - finding clients, finding people, finding the right people, connecting with people so that I can find these businesses that need my help. That's been the biggest challenge. So it's kind of opposite sides of the same coin.

My number one value is integrity. My number one value is honesty. It is the core of who I am, and at the core of what my business is. I want to be, I strive to be somebody that everybody can trust. And I have that with my business - I'm dealing with people's financials, I'm dealing with very sensitive information. They need to know they can trust me. I also think another value that's important to me is being reachable, being approachable. I want to know that their time is valuable to me, and so if they need me, I'm going to be able to be reached. I want to feel more like we're working together, rather than I'm just over here typing in numbers. I want them to know that if they have a question, they can reach me, that I'm a person too, and I value their time, and I value their business.