EP524: Gina Cotner – The Simple Accountability System That Gets Work Done

Michael Palmer: So if you start to train yourself as a manager, as a boss, as a business owner, as an entrepreneur in holding people accountable, you will notice who doesn't mind that, who kind of thrives around that. And those kind of people attract more people like that. You're listening to The Successful Bookkeeper with your host, Michael Palmer. Listen each week as inspiring guests share their secrets of success to help you increase your confidence, work smarter, and build a business you love. This episode of The Successful Bookkeeper is brought to you by purebookkeeping.com, the proven system to grow your bookkeeping business. Welcome back to The Successful Bookkeeper Podcast. I'm your host, Michael Palmer, and today This show is going to be a good one. Our returning guest is the founder and CEO of Athena Executive Services, Gina Kottner. Welcome back to the show. Thanks, Michael. Thanks for having me back. It's great to have you. And it's been a while and it feels like it hasn't been a while, and that's how it usually goes. But why don't we start off with telling us a little bit about what you've been up to since your last appearance?

Guest: Yeah. So it's been a few, a few years. So last time I was here, I think the episode dropped June of 2023. And Athena Executive Services at that point was about 7 years old. So this year she's turning 10 very soon, which I kind of can't believe. I would never have thought that. I think when I started the company that we'd still be doing this, you know, 10 years later. But certainly in business, you know, 2023 was a really, really big year for us. 2022, 2023 for us, we were still in the middle of the pandemic and we happened to be a business, fortunately, we were extremely lucky. We were a business where the pandemic just threw gas on the fire of our business. You know, it hurt many people's businesses, but for us it just, people were like, what, virtual work from home? What, what do you have to do? Oh, you guys have been doing this forever? Okay, teach me. What do I— I need an assistant. And, and yes, they should work from home. Go. So we, we grew like mad in 2022, 2023, and then 2024 was tough. 2025 was crazy, just confusing. Kind of felt like the beginning of COVID again as a business owner. And now this year, 2026, seems, I don't know, just a lot smoother and a little more flowing, I guess, is a funny way of saying it. I guess. So we've been good. And then me personally, I moved my primary home. So that's