EP467: Debra Kilsheimer - Building A Bookkeeping Business On Your Own Terms

Guest: And, you know, we're tired. It's 3 o'clock. Nobody's getting anything done. And he said, I pay you to sit there. Wow. And I thought to myself, it's, it's 3 o'clock. I'm waiting for Friday at 5. I am 25 years old. I'm going to be doing this for the next 40 years. I cannot do it. I don't like all the stuff about the firm. I just did not like the whole profession. I like the work. But I didn't like how accounting firms were run. So I came in Monday morning and I quit. 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 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's show is going to be a fun one. Our guest is the owner of Behind the Scenes Financial Services, Debra Kilsheimer. Welcome to the show. Well, thanks. I'm excited to be here. Beautiful. It's great to have you. Now, I'd love to get our, our listener up to speed on you. So tell us a little bit about you. How did you end up doing what you're doing today?

Well, I think I grew up in an accounting family. My dad was a business manager of a school district in Pennsylvania, and he was not into sports, but he was into accounting. And instead of playing ball with me, he would bring me into the basement. Now, in Pennsylvania, we have basements or cellars. And he would bring me into the basement and he would show me how to do a tax return. "Come on, Debbie, I'm gonna show you how to do a tax return." And I remember just standing there as a little kid, you know, "Okay, Dad, is this adjusted gross income?" You know, so I mean, I've done it like forever. And then never thought I'd be an accountant 'cause my mom, told me that girls are not good at math. So, and you believe your mother, don't you? Yes, most of the time.

She must be right. So I went to school, and I was at a college, and I had a roommate who was majoring in accounting. And I needed a class. So I said, well, how hard is this accounting stuff? I mean, because I always kept my checkbook. I mean, you know, I always did that. And she goes, oh, it's fun. "Fun, I'll help you." So I took my first accounting class and I thought, "I really like this." I mean, you know, debits equal