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OH, but I do love this creative accounting lady, Heather Zeitzwolfe of the “Get the Balance Right” podcast. Another Pod Pal I met from Adam Schaeuble’s bi-monthly Zoom Parties, Heather and I share a love of podcasting and crazy, creative hair colors. I really enjoyed talking to her and I know you will love this interview.
In her own words, “I'm a creative, empathic nerd who enjoys numbers. I help my clients understand their finances so that they can make empowered decisions in their business. My approach is the non-judgmental and shame-free approach. Through my coaching, I offer my clients accountability, support, and honest feedback.
I'm not your Dad's accountant (Unless your dad's accountant has funky colored hair, transforms tofu into delicious desserts, and geeks out on writing sketch comedy)! I'm here to get down and dirty in your numbers. I want you to understand your finances so that you can take your business to the next level. I work with creative small business owners helping them get a handle on their cash flow, increase their profitability, and forecast the future. But it's not all about profit, I help clients with a holistic approach to business that focuses on people, the planet, and purpose. I believe as business owners it is our duty to make choices on how it will impact our planet and society. Want to join me in this (peaceful) revolution?
I'm a total geek who loves creating spreadsheets, watching cult movies, and in my past life, I must have been a drag queen. l am passionate about learning, growing, and challenging myself and helping my clients do the same. I get really excited about data, organizing processes, and exploring new technology. But...I also like to get super crazy on the dance floor and bust a move. My passions include cooking amazing plant-based foods, standing up for animal rights (this includes humans), and hosting my podcast.”
Here’s the show transcription for you to enjoy!
K: Okay, side hustler fans. Welcome back to God's side hustle. I'm your host, Chris McPeak. And today we are talking to my new favorite pink-haired accountant - Heather Zeitzwolfe, Host of “Get the Balance Right.” And Heather, thank you so much for carving time for me today.
H: I am so excited to be here. And if there are other pink hair to accountants out there, I want to meet you.
K: So, yes, if you're a pink-haired accountant as well, please hit Heather up at the end of the episode. Let's go, let's go back to the beginning, Heather. I want to know who you are, where you're from, what you do, why you do it and, and why we're here today.
H: Thank you. Well, I am a woman in my fifties and when I turned 50, I was like, I want to start a business. And if I don't start a business now, when am I going to start a business? And I've always been one of those people that has loved business, I have two business degrees. II am very well kind of nervous about trying something that might not work I'm afraid. Yeah, I have this thing about like, I'm going to put myself out there, but what if it doesn't work out? Will I be destitute? Will I be homeless? All these different things come into my mind. So it was one of those things where I just didn't trust myself enough.
So, I’m in my fifties now and I've gained more confidence. I've gotten more skilled over the years. So I've worked on various things. My first degree was in fashion and I worked in the fashion industry. Then I went back to school and studied marketing and advertising, and I worked in market research for years.
I was a project manager, account manager. All that experience with those types of things, productivity that we had been talking about before, and time management, all those sorts of things. So I love that. Then the big recession came, I was laid off and I was at a crossroads thinking, do I want to stick with market research or do I want to do something different with my life?
This is my opportunity. So I looked into law school and I was studying for the LSAT. And as I was studying that, you know, it's a, it's a big test to study for. And, you know, it's just to get into law school. It's not even the bar exam. I was reading online with all these people saying, like, I just graduated from law school. I can't get a job. I'm working at Starbucks and I'm thinking I'm going to be 150 K in the hole after all this. And if I can't get a job, this kind of sucks. So I rethought about it and I was going into it so that I could. Activist. So it wouldn't be something that I would really be getting paid a whole lot for.
So I had to rethink that and I'm practical. So I was like, Hmm, I want something where there are actual jobs. And I remembered, I loved my classes in accounting when I was in business school. So I went. To PSU Portland state university, where I studied business before. And they were like, yeah, you don't really need to take that many classes.
You just need to take some higher-level accounting classes and a couple of other things, and you can get another degree. I'm like, bingo, I'll do that. And to sit for the CPA exam, you have to have a certain amount of college credits. This is in the state of Oregon. Each state is different, but because I had that other degree I had. So I got a job in the field and the rest is history and, you know, but when I got into my fifties, I was like, I want to do my own.
K: So you left whatever day job you had at that time and started, did you start a firm? Did you just start an online accounting business? How did you open that?
H: Yeah, so it was one of those things where I wasn't really exactly sure what I was going to do, but because I've been one of this kind of control freak about like, it's gotta be this way. I got to plan it out. I gave myself some breathing room to kind of figure it out. So I was really nice to myself.
I had a cushion in the bank, so I had time to kind of explore these things. I was like, do I want to do money management? Do I want to do coaching? Do I want to do taxes? Do I want to do more bookkeeping? And I kind of explore different things. Of course, when you start a job, you kind of just take in whatever jobs come to you.
So I was taking all kinds of jobs and I was like, finding these were not areas where I'm passionate. And I did a lot of networking, went to conferences, and over time after having a coach, I discovered I really need to niche down. And so I decided to work more with creatives because I love that niche working with people. Web designers, web developers, graphic designers, videographers, that sort of thing. And so that was my sweet spot. So I decided to do that. And then I started my podcast, which was geared more towards those creatives. And then I started my second season and decided I'm going to niche down even further and I want to really target female entrepreneurs.
K: And so when you started your podcast. What was the goal? To land clients, teach, get your name out there in a different way?
H: Yeah. So the first, so for the first season, when I first started it, the idea was I would interview people who would be either my ideal client or ideal clients in the future, like what I could aspire to, and maybe those people could help give some insight that would help the people that I am currently working with. So, because I work with people that are really small businesses, I'm not working with large firms. I brought on people that I knew, so I have a large network of people. I've done comedy, I’ve done Toastmasters, I'm a vegan, I'm a vegan activist. I just kind of drew on that at first.
And then people started contacting me to be on my podcast and I'm like, well, this is pretty cool. And I have a large network on LinkedIn. And so then I started once, once you have a few podcasts under your belt, then you feel more comfortable about reaching out to other people, and suddenly. People come on my show that I didn't even know were asking me to be on my show, or I discovered them through LinkedIn. The trick to that is you just really just be very interested in the person and get to know them and not be like, Hey, want to be on my podcast.
K: So yeah, no, you're absolutely right. It's so much easier to interview and talk to people that you sort of already have some kind of established comradery with and that's, and that's why I like, you know, connecting with people through Adam's group. For those of you who may not have, right. Of course, you've heard, if you listen to the show, you know, I'm a huge fan of Adam Schaeuble. I am part of his download growth club. I met Heather through Pod Pals, right? I love that method of networking, I'm connecting with people that are like me, they have a podcast. And people that sort of have some of the same struggles and challenges and, and questions that I have.
H: So I know some people don't like to have somebody on their show that doesn't maybe listen to it, but I find that most people that come onto your show will listen to some episodes beforehand. And there have been times where, it just didn't work out. The interview just didn't work out and then it just didn't air.
But just to answer your other question about season two, I kind of changed things around, not only was it about female entrepreneurs, but I also decided that I was going to focus more on the financial side of things because I was concentrating so much on the creative. In the first season it was like creative business, but I think the audience was kind of getting confused as far as what my offer was.
So I changed it up. I also felt like I needed to step into that and be, you know, bring forth what I have to say more, more so than maybe what the guests always had to say. When you're starting a side hustle/ small business, there are financial things to take into consideration, and be prepared for.
K: So let's talk a little bit about the financial aspect of running a business. What are some things people should be thinking about from the very beginning? And how would they connect with the resources that they need to run a successful business from the financial end?
H: Okay. So there's a lot to that. So we know it's a loaded question So remember if you're doing a side hustle. You could work for somebody else and you get a W2 right. More. You could be maybe a contractor and you'll get a 1 99, or maybe you're just starting your own business.
So if you're getting a 1099, or you're actually just going out there and finding your old clients, either way, you have a business now. So if you, even if you're going to get a 10 99, you have a business, you gotta treat it like a business. So what I would start with. One decides how you want to be taxed as that business.
So you want to be a sole proprietor. Do you, are you going in with a friend? Are you going to be a partnership? That sort of thing. So chances are, you're just going to be a solopreneur. So you have to decide, do I want to just do everything under my social security number? Or do I want to maybe have an LLC?
And so those are decisions that you need to make that look into what your state rules are and all of that. Now, if you're a single member, LLC, you'll still be filing that on your 10 40 so on your but so whether your social security number or your LLC, the LLC what I would advise is to go onto the IRS website and get what's called an EIN. So you need this and you can also do this under your social security number too, but this EIN is important because that's what you're going to take to the bank to open up a checking account. And what I would advise first and foremost is do not commingle your personal funds with your business funds. So have separate checking accounts, have separate credit card accounts, and you'll need to have this EIN to go to the bank and open this up. So that's first and foremost. So treating it as a business would also be if you're going to be using things like miles driving track of these things.
So you can deduct these things, you know, when it comes to tax time if you're going to be like, oh yeah, I did use my card. And then whoever's preparing your tax return is going to be like, okay, great. Well, what were your miles? Do you have this schedule? I mean, you're supposed to keep this for the IRS, have a log of all these things.
So treat it like a business. If you're going to do a mileage log, everything, you need to know how many miles you drove. Regular and how many businesses, so all those types of things. And then the second part of your question, so there's more to this. I can go on and on about this. But the second part of your question is where can they find resources?
If you do have an accountant, talk to them, the internet is your friend. You can discover all kinds of things from the internet, watch YouTube and get a coach. I would say that that's one because a coach is probably going to know things about running a business that you may not even know.
A lot of times, you don't know what you don't know, and you can run into a lot of trouble if you're not realizing that there are certain things that you need in place. For instance, where I live locally, there are local taxes, and a lot of times, you know, someone starts a side hustle, they come to me to do their taxes, and then I'm like well, you know, you have to pay taxes, these local taxes.
And they're like, I do, yeah. Now you're going to be taxed even more than. Thought you were going to be right? Yeah. And that's another thing is, you know, when you're treating it like a business, you've got to set money aside for taxes. Like you can't be like, woo. This side hustle is rocking. I like making all this extra money.
No, the government is going to take a chunk of that. And depending on where you're at, it could be the IRS. It could be the state, it could be local. So keep all that in mind. And you know, if there's sales tax involved, that's a whole other level of complexity. So besides having a coach, there's also a small business association that may be in your city, where you can connect with the network, find a mentor.
There are all these different things. When you're a solopreneur, you're like just out there floating on your own. And you need to have a network of people. So it could be connecting with other like-minded people on Facebook groups, networking groups, but just find other people to talk to about your business and because they'll clue you in.
Don't just take their word for like, oh yeah, you can deduct that. Or, yeah, you don't have to worry about that. Like I hear so many times people come to me with some sort of cocktail party tax advice and I'm like, oh no, no, no, no. So make sure that. That if you do get that kind of advice, you know take it seriously and look it up and make sure that what people have told you is correct.
So, but have a lawyer in your court you know, find, find a friend that's a lawyer, or it's nice if you don't have to pay a lawyer. Right. But yeah. Connect with a lawyer and accountant. Those are two really important people to have in, in place, I think. Yeah. So let's go back to the LLC versus the sole proprietor thing and the benefits and downsides of each. An LLC gives you a level of protection. So if you are sued you know, you have that level of protection. One other thing about having an LLC versus just using your social security number is when you do jobs, you don't have to give out your social security number. You can give out the EIN from your LLC. When you go to a bank, you can start a bank account under the LLC. And so it's a level of protection. One other nice thing about having it as the LLC is. If you start making quite a bit of money in this side hustle, you may want to start being taxed as a corporation.
And having that LLC allows you to be taxed as an S-corp. So there are tax advantages to that. But I would not go into that lightly either. I'm not giving out any tax advice. I just want to be honest. You need to contact a CPA or accountant to make sure that that is the right time to be a tax as an escort because there are a whole bunch of rules that are around that. So just be aware of that since you have to file separate forms sometimes.
K: On finding an accountant, is it, does it help to find somebody that's in your area so that you can meet up face to face? What do you recommend there in terms of seeking someone?
H: I help people with bookkeeping, money, coaching, profit, advising taxes, tax planning, that sort of thing. And with bookkeeping and money, coaching profitability coaching, I can help anybody anywhere. Then they could be anywhere in the world.
But when it comes to doing someone's taxes and tax planning, I would only feel comfortable with the states that I feel comfortable with their tax laws. So make sure that you find somebody comfortable with the laws in the state that you operate. And if you have another business in another state and maybe you have a rental property in another state or something, make sure that they're aware of what the rules are in those states, because every state is different.
Every state has different tax laws, they have different types of. Taxation that could be around, like, if you have an employee in another state, you may have to have what's called nexus in that state, which means that you have to file your business in that state. So there are all kinds of rules.
You have to know what the rules are in whatever state. So having an accountant that is aware of those types of things, rules I would say was advisable as far as face-to-face. You know, things are changing. A lot of accountants are old school, they like to have paper copies. They want you to bring in their documents and they'll scan them and do all that.
I operate completely virtually now. So you could find someone, I think, just find someone that you feel comfortable with. Like for me, all of my clients, they all, they have to scan everything and send it to me. So they have to be. Technologically savvy. Where if, if you're not that way, you maybe find someone more in your neighborhood that you can just drop off.
K: I have another quick question, cause this always messes me up as well from time to time. What is the true difference between accounting and bookkeeping?
H: It's more of a technical term. There are rules about using the word accounting in the title of a business. I think there are rules around that depending on your state. If you offer bookkeeping, you say bookkeeping I think because I'm a CPA, I can say accounting
K I see. Then a bookkeeper's just going to go and, and make sure that your transactions are posted to the right categories and that you're reconciling your bank statements every month, but an is going to give you more specific advice and guidance
H: Right. It's more of the technical rules in an account. I would say that it varies because I've worked with bookkeepers that know a whole lot of stuff and they can probably help you with all of that type of stuff. They can be advising their clients, but because there's, but bookkeeping is one of those things.
It's not like a CPA. We have a license, anybody can call themselves a bookkeeper, when you have a bookkeeper, just kind of making sure that they have experienced and you know, it's good to find somebody that understands your industry that you're in. So that way they can see some of the similarities that happen with other clients.
Wth me working with creatives, I often see very similar things in their books. And so it just, it's just helpful. Like, I don't work with restaurants just for that simple reason that like, they have their own, they're their bevy of problematic things that come up. And I just, I don't even want to deal with that.
K: Yeah, I don't blame you. That makes me scared. Just thinking about it.
Heather, I feel like I could pick your brain for another hour or so, but maybe we'll have you back on the show to talk about some more advanced sort of side hustle, accounting things. Where can people find you if they want to work with you, listen to your show, follow you on social media, all of the things.
H: Sure. So my podcast is called get the balance, right? And if you go to LinkTree.com, you can just look up, get the balance, right. And you'll get links to all of my stuff. So I have free downloads. I have some upcoming free webinars. I'm going to hold a Money Mayhem Makeover on the 4th Monday of the Month. And if you're a female, you're welcome to come. It'll be free. It's going to be a networking event and we're going to have makeup tips as well. So it'll be like a mastermind. You'll learn some financial stuff and then network and it'll be low stress. Some people find networking very stressful. I don't, but a lot of people do. So this has been like no stress at all. Come and have fun. And I'd love to have you there.