Where Have I Been?

I've gotten some e-mails from people wanting to know what's going on, and where I've been the last few weeks or so, as I haven't sent out a newsletter, or updated the blog etc.  The truth is, I've been VERY busy with Leasing to Buy.  The last 3 months of the year are historically slower for the lease option business, and real estate in general.  I usually take advantage of this, and really pound the marketing to homeowners the last few months of the year, so that by January, we have a pretty good inventory of houses.  Jan. starts the mad rush for houses, as people are past the holidays, and they are looking to get their tax returns.  I anticipate this Jan will be even busier, given the tax credit has been extended.  

So we've been very busy sending out a few thousand mailings per month, to build up our inventory, BUT, we haven't really seen the year end slow down yet, so we have just been as busy as any other time.  

If you've been through my training or a one on one class, you know this is the time to hit the mailings.  Get that inventory ready for the Jan/Feb rush!

Why I Don't Sell My Lease Option Manual

From time to time I'll receive an e-mail asking me if, rather than attending the 4 day training I offer, if someone can just buy my manual. I explain that I'm not selling a book, I'm training people on how to develop their own company that duplicates our program.
For those of you that have attended my training and received my operations manual, you can testify that my operations manual is far different than the garbage you might expect from one of those "buy my books and dvd course" gurus.
My operations manual is full of real life experiences. Real life and actual situations. My manual explains how to set up your business, mistakes I've made along the way and how to avoid those mistakes.
My operations manual does NOT make up unrealistic figures. I don't try to get people excited and pumped up about the millions of dollars you'll make, or create bogus hype about how lease options are so easy that you don't even have to work.
My manual was not written to be used on it's own. My operations manual was written to guide the licensees of Leasing to Buy, but with the understanding that they were going through intense hands on training with me.
If you tried to create and develop a lease options business using JUST the manual, you'd certainly have a huge head start, but you'd be missing at least 50% of the training. At least that much.
Keep in mind my manual offers more information than any other "book and dvd course", yet I still wouldn't want someone to try to just read my manual and try to go out on their own.
Given that, how effective and worthy do you think those book and dvds are that so many people try to sell by the hundreds?
I don't sell my manual, because my goal isn't to sell my operations manual.
My goal is to help people that are SERIOUS about starting their own lease options business, and give them the structure and outline it takes to duplicate our program.
That's why I always say that I don't teach the "theory" of lease options.
I give you a lease options business.
If you are just "curious" about lease options, feel free to e-mail me and I'll guide you on how to get some basic, yet factual, information on lease options.
John@leasingtobuy.com

Working Smart-outsourcing

If you are trying to run your own small business, and you aren't familiar with outsourcing, then you are very likely spending a bunch of time doing things that you could have other people doing for you.

Outsourcing is becoming more and more popular, given the number of tasks that can be done off site, and especially given the costs savings of outsourcing vs. hiring someone full time.

There are a number of outsourcing websites out there that allow you to post a job you need done, and within a few days you'll have a number of people bidding on it! I've used outsourcers (Commonly referred to as virtual assistants, or "VA's") to do a number of tasks for my company, such as creating mailing lists, gathering advertising quotes, booking hotels, planning travel arrangements, and even making calls for me.

Often you will see VA's from other countries such as India. You can expect to pay less for someone from another country, but there is often a language barrier, and misinterpretations from the directions you were giving.

If you are operating a small business, think about the time you spend every day, or every week doing tasks that could be done from another location. Such as loading inventory on a website, creating newsletters, mailings, updating customer information etc. ANYTHING you can think of, that you could do from another location, can be outsourced.

I used to spend 3 hours a week on our newsletter, which means often times it wouldn't get done. But now I outsource it to a lady that needs no direction and knows how to structure it. She updates our contacts, creates the letter, and it's done!

In my lease option training, I actually introduce the students to the VA that I use for a number of projects, and allow the students to utilize her for the same tasks for them. Thereby greatly reducing the time required for start up. It's all part of the business in a box.

You can find VA websites such as Elance, Brickworx, etc, but simply searching virtual assistant, or outsourcing.

When you first find a VA, give him or her a test job, and see how they perform. I would actually recommend hiring 3 or 4 people for the same task, then see who does the best job. That's how I found my VA's. I tried a number out for the same tasks, and the ones that didn't cut the mustard weren't invited to play again.

Can ANYONE Make Money in Real Estate?

If you watch enough of the late night infomercials, you’ll start getting convinced that anyone can make money in real estate.  That it’s so easy even if you’ve had a frontal lobotomy you can make a fortune in real estate.  They make it sound like real estate investing is like using an Easy Bake oven.  

            Now for the horrid truth.  Not everyone can make money in real estate, and real estate isn’t for everybody.  Investing, whether in the stock market or real estate can be very stressful, and you have to able to remove yourself emotionally from the investments.  Not everyone can do that.  In fact, I would be willing to say that most people CAN’T do that! 

I can assure you that if you buy a house to rehab, and you’ve allotted $5k for repairs, but by the second day of work you realize you’re going to need at least $10k to rehab it, but you don’t have the $10k, there will be some very powerful emotions involved!  Or what if  you have a house that you’ve put all your money into, and are trying to rent it out, but after 4 months of it sitting empty, and another payment coming due on it?  Can you remove yourself emotionally from it? 

Real estate investing is not for everyone.  Getting into real estate because you think it’s a quick, easy way to make money is like becoming a pastor because you think you’ll only have to work one day a week.  There is a lot more to it than that.  Not everyone can be a teacher, not everyone can be a pilot or a surgeon or an investor.  I know investors that have been investing for several years, and they still get their head handed to them on a plate sometimes.  It’s going to happen.  But how will you handle it if you lose greatly on a deal? 

Fortunately with the lease option program that we’ve developed, there is almost no risk, but there have still been times where at the end of the day I ended up making nothing or possibly even losing some money on a deal.  Or maybe something happened that of course was completely out of my control, but the fingers were still pointed at me.  Those are frustrating times when you are trying to do the right thing, and you end up wasting your time and money to help someone. 

I’ve developed my program to be as cookie cutter as possible, but it still comes down to the individual.  I trained a couple about 5 years ago and they just could NOT get the program working.  It wasn’t the program, but them.  They just weren’t cut out for it, simply because they lacked confidence.  I worked with them and worked with them, but at the end of the day, they couldn’t sell a glass of water to someone in the desert, because they just lacked confidence.   There was another couple that when we tried to discuss even the easiest, simplest task of our lease option program, they both looked like deer in headlights, and would ask the same questions, over and over and over.  I don’t care what method of investing someone is looking at, it comes down to the individual.

Bottom line, if you think that you should get into real estate because you will make a ton of money with almost no effort, then you may want to stick to the lottery. 

My Beef with Gurus Part 5 of 5

Can you imagine charging someone to teach them how to build a house...if you're not even a builder?

Or how about paying someone to teach you to fly a plane, who doesn't actually fly planes?

Sounds weird huh?

Well, that's exactly what some of the guru's do when they offer their weekend bootcamp courses. 

They claim they're going to teach you how to make big money buying foreclosed homes, or buying notes, or 10 other ways to make money in real estate.  Except...they don't actually DO what they are supposed to be teaching YOU!

How would you like to pay out thousands of dollars to learn how to supposedly do something, from someone that doesn't actually do what they are getting paid to teach you?

I know, sounds confusing!

There is a book that I highly recommend called "The Richest Man in Babylon" that you've probably heard of before.  In it, there is a passage about a man giving his money to a brickmaker to invest in rich jewels, hoping for a big return on his investment.  Well, the brickmaker ends up buying pieces of glass, and the man loses all of his investment.  Obviously the man is going to lose his money, because why would you give your money to a brickmaker to invest in jewels?  The guy is a brickmaker, not a jewel expert.  

This same story relates to trying to learn real estate investing from someone that doesn't actually do it.....or that isn't successful at it!

My course is ONLY on lease options, and even more specifically, my lease option PROGRAM.  

That's it.  That's ALL I teach because that's what I actually DO.  Everyday!

If you want to learn wholesale note buying..I'm not your guy! 

There is no way I'm going to pretend to be an expert in something that I don't actively participate in, just so I can sell some books. 

And if you are looking for education and training on real estate, then you need to do your homework, and make sure the person you are about to pay to train you actively practices what they preach, AND that they are successful at it.  Don't be fooled by they pretty DVD cases, and all the glitz put on by the presenter.  You want to learn from someone that actually practices what they preach.  Make them prove to you that they are active and successful in the trade they are going to teach you. 

My Beef with Gurus Part 4 of 5

"Hi! I'm Mr. Rock Star Real Estate guru, and I'm inviting you to my workshop this weekend to show you how to make millions!" Translated: I hire uneducated minions to travel from hotel to hotel to suck you out of your life savings to buy my courses, while I sit on my throne reaping the rewards.
The truth is, when you see a big name guru touting his weekend seminar, you better not get your hopes up to see your little guru idol, as your idol hires minions to give the seminar. The guru doesn't actually teach the class many of the times. Now, of course ther are some gurus that will actually teach the class, but I think you can name a few of the rock star real estate gurus that never teach a class. Besides you should not be paying for a seminar just because of the person, rather, you should be going for the content and subject. Hey, let's face it, I'm outrageously good looking, but I tell people not to sign up for my lease option classes just to get the opportunity to see such a pretty face and legend like myself! Sign up for the class, because you want to learn what I'm teaching. I always let people take pictures with me afterwards anyway. HA! Wheeeee!!! Daddy's on a roll!
Let me tell you a little story that proves what I'm saying.
Years ago my company, Leasing to Buy, had a booth at one of these wealth/real estate seminars. This was one of the big momma seminars with the biggest of the names there, selling all thier stuff. We had a booth to promote Leasing to Buy to other investors.
So we are there for the 3 day event, and we got to see most of the other booths that were set up selling anything from courses, to hard money, to condos. Now, one booth in particular was a huge area that took up a very large area of the floor and probably cost the company a ton of money for that large space. This company was selling condos or timeshares in the Dominican Republic. The guys/girls working this big booth were all dressed very professional and were really pulling the crowds in making thier pitch on why having a condo in D.R. was such a great investment.
If you're not familiar with the Domincan Republic, it's right next door to Haiti, which is often known for it's civil unrest. But, these salesman were selling the idea of owning real estate in a "tropical paradise".
At the end of the 3rd day we all tore down our booths, and as I was leaving the convention center, I saw all of these "DR" salespeople outside the convention center. They had their coats off, shirst undone, sleeves rolled up, tatooes on every area possible that was now exposed, smoking like they had just broken a nicotene fast.
Try to picture this for a moment. For 3 days these people put on a facade of professionalism, wealth, and success, and if you listened to them, and bought a condo in DR, YOU could be JUST LIKE THEM!!

Now I'm seeing the truth though. They are 19-22 year old kids that would rather be at a Beastie Boys concert (nothing against Beasty Boys, but you get the point) and not only do THEY not own any freakin condos in the DR, they have never been there, and only know where it is because of the big map on the back of their booth! Yet the crowds of people were entrusting them with their savings to invest in a condo in a place they had never seen.
Are you getting the point here?
It reminded me of a scene from one of the greatest movies. Jim Carey (Andy Kaufman)in Man on the Moon. The scene where he is in some third world country to get treated for his cancer, and the whole village comes to the witchdoctor to get well, and Jim (Andy) sees the doctor putting fake blood and a squid or something in his hands where the crowd can't see, but the witchdoctor type person then pretends to pull the deseased intestine out of Andy and the crowd is amazed. Jim Carey starts laughing because he realizes he and the village have been had, and it's all a show.
That's what I saw at that wealth convention.......
Don't be fooled by the witchdoctors.

My Beef with Gurus Part 3 of 5

"Join us this weekend and learn 15 ways to make money in real estate NOW!"

uuuhhggg...give me a break! 

Have you ever heard those commercials?  Guru's offering weekend classes where you can learn 15 ways to make money in real estate?

The reason they advertise that you can learn 15 ways to make money, is they know that in your mind, if you are being instructed on 15 different ways to make money, that SURELY you could money on at LEAST one of those ways.  

But the truth is that during the weekend training, you are only given a very small amount of information on any one method.  There is no possible way to provide sufficient information on 15 investment techniques in a weekend course.  

I only instruct on ONE technique, and my course is FOUR DAYS LONG!

So after your weekend course, you are all pumped up with almost no real information on any of the 15 techniques....but WAIT....if you act now..you can sign up for the next level of courses to learn more!  

The investors that are actually successful at real estate really only focus on one method.  They find the method that fits them, their interests, and risk ability, and they focus on that one method. 

Don't try to learn 15 different techniques.  If you do, you will succeed at none and fail at all. 

Find the technique that fits your comfort level and interests and focus on that one technique. 

My Beef with Gurus Part 2 of 5

This post I want to talk about the "levels" of courses that the gurus offer.  I was looking at the site of one very well known gurus, and he offered a basic course for about $4k.  This is the course you get when you first sign up.  BUT, if you want to learn MORE..then you can sign up for the next "level", which was about $3k more.  The total cost for the whole enchilada was over $13,000!!! Holy Cow!  

What do you think you get for $13k?  A bunch of fluff and nothing is what you get!  In my opinion, which I'm sure is highly regarded by many around the world....if you see any sort of training that offers "levels" of courses, you have to realize that it's likely a rip off and waste of money.  

By someone offering "levels" of courses, that means that they are knowingly holding back information from you in order to suck more money from your pocket.  How does that make you feel?  It should make you feel like you need to walk away.   

I wonder if the $13k includes an autographed picture of the "guru" or even a Christmas card.  I can assure you, that if anyone sends me $13k, I will immediately mail you an autographed picture of myself, AND I will add you to my Christmas card list!

My Beef with Gurus Part 1 of 5

If you've watched late night TV, you've seen the real estate gurus touting their real estate courses that you order for only $499 or the weekend "bootcamps" where they pack the seminar rooms then direct you to the back of the room to buy their courses.  Over the next number of postings, I'm going to discuss the issues I have with these people.  

The first things I want to address, is the idea of starting a business by reading a little booklet or watching a DVD.  Realize that the investors that are actually successful did NOT learn how to do what they are doing by watching a DVD.  They learned it from experience, mistakes, and making adjustments along the way.  They are successful because their investing is a business.  If you want to have a successful business, do you honestly think you can learn it from watching a DVD?  OF course not!  The information you get from those courses is nothing more than the THEORY of a particular style of investing.  Let's say you wanted to be a custom home builder.  But you know nothing about building, or running a business.  You're watching TV late at night and someone says, "Buy my course on how to be a home builder for only $499!" So you buy it and the DVD tells you that you will need wood, some nails, and a crew of construction workers, and that the house should have rooms, and a ceiling, and you should top it off with some shingles.  That's it.  Do you really think you're ready to start your own custom home building company now?  NO!  Yet that is exactly what the courses offered by the gurus give you.  Very basic information on the theory of real estate.  Certainly not enough to start a company with!  

Why I Limit The Number of Students

I was contacted by a person last week that had been hoping to get into my class last month, but the class filled up before he could get in. Due to his schedule, he couldn't make it to the next class in September. So he asked why I only allow a VERY small number of students per class.
I think this is a valid question, and I think a very important point to address. The reason I only offer between 6 to 12 seats per class, is that what I have to offer is a complete business plan, so I teach a very in depth course, and if I offered 75 or 100 seats in a class, I just don't think the students could absorb all of the information, and I wouldn't feel like I would be able to provide the attention to each student that I feel is necessary.
Keep in mind this is not just a course on the theory of lease options, it's about starting a business.
To see the company I teach you to duplicate, take a look at my website
www.leasingtobuy.com

Lease Option Marketing Mistakes

While trying to grow my lease option business, I had to try various ways to try to market it.  The “gurus” all said “once you get the houses, getting tenant buyers is so easy, you hardly have to do anything!”  Obviously, they had never actually done a lease option.  They suggested bandit signs on street corners, newspaper ads etc.  These “guru’s” are boneheads.  Here’s the truth.  If you put a bandit sign out, you will get bandit sign type of calls.  In other words, you will get calls from people that are not worthy of your time, and have $500 to their name…if that!  Don’t put bandit signs out on street corners or telephone poles.  It diminishes your business and what you are trying to achieve.  Same goes for those “nickel papers” that the bonehead guru’s tell you to advertise in.  You will get calls from “nickel buyers”!  A waste of your time.  As far as newspaper ads, the cost to advertise in the papers has remained expensive, while the response rate has gone dramatically.  Sure you can try a few ads to test the water, but most people don’t look in the paper anymore for lease options.  They go to the internet.  I teach people how to use the internet, REAL signs, and electronic newsletters to generate the GOOD phone calls.  It may take a couple of months to really start gaining ground, but at least you won’t be wasting your time utilizing silly “guru” tactics such as posting notices at apartments!

 

How to Form an LLC

An LLC, or Limited Liability Company, is probably the most popular company entity that small businesses form to start their businesses.  There are a number of companies that advertise their services to help you incorporate, or form an LLC.  A number of these companies do quite a bit of advertising on the radio and TV.  But the truth is, that you can form an LLC fairly easily and on your own, and avoid paying those third party fees.  Those companies (such as Legal Zoom etc.) that advertise their services may say they only charge you $200 or so to form the LLC, but that is just THEIR fee, not the states fee, which must also be paid!  So the easiest way, and most affordable, is to do it yourself, directly through your Secretary of State.

 In order to create your LLC, you’ll want to contact your states Secretary of State (SOS), which you can easily do online.  BEWARE!  If you do a search for Secretary of State, you will see many websites that try to be CLOSE to the SOS’s website.  Make sure it is the state’s actual SOS website.  You can complete the forms online for your LLC.  The info needed is very simple.  Company name, manager, address, etc.  You will need to use either your home address or office address, as you do not want to use a PO box.

 Assuming it will be a single member LLC ( no partners…partners stink anyway!) you will be the Managing Member of the LLC.  If you decide to have partners (I STRONGLY suggest not to!) they will be Members of the LLC.

 You will need a registered agent.  One of the mistakes people make is to call themselves the registered agent.  The registered agent is the person that would receive documents from the comptroller, or even a lawsuit.  You want to find a 3rd party registered agent.  A simple search can find a registered agent service.  In Texas, I recommend Lawyer’s Aid Service.

There you go!  You will then get confirmation in the mail, and you will likely start getting all kinds of junk mail and solicitation in the mail as well addressed to your company.  Some companies stalk the SOS for new corporations and LLC’s to send them stuff for mailing labels, credit card solicitations etc.

 The next step is to go to the IRS website and get your EIN number.  You can actually do this over the phone as well. VERY easy.  The EIN number is the Employer Identification Number, which is used on the tax stuff, open bank accounts etc.

 

START A PERSONAL BUDGET BEFORE STARTING A BUSINESS

Our last blog had input from Niedra Johnson, a CPA and CFP about mistakes small business owners make.

One item we discussed was how important it is for a soon to be small business owner to do a PERSONAL budget BEFORE starting the new business.  I know, I know, budgets are boring.  But this is easily done, and is important so you know better what to expect financially.  If you put a personal budget together prior to starting your business, then you will know what you are currently spending each month on your current expenses.  Then you’ll know how much you need to pay yourself from your new business.  Now, since most businesses don’t actually turn a profit for a while, you probably won’t be able to pay yourself much if at all starting off.  But it’s important to know what you need to survive.

            As you get your business rolling, you’re going to have business expenses, and if you haven’t figured your PERSONAL budget, then the BUSINESS expenses/budget could take you under financially. 

            Know what  your personall, current outgo is now, and you can better manage what you need to bring in from the new business to quit your current job and take on the business full time.

 

 

Small Business Tips From A CPA

I invited Niedra Johnson, a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Financial Planner to give us a quick run down of the most common mistakes she sees small businesses make from a CPA’s point of view.

Here is what she sent me:
I find that often small business owners will come to me after they are already in trouble. The best thing they can do is come to me before they start their business, or at least in the very early stages. When they come to me in distress, sometimes I feel like a doctor trying to revive a patient that has never even had a check-up! So I’d say the top mistake is waiting too long to obtain a CPA who can be such a vital part of your business plan.

The other common mistake I see is that business owners too often mix personal expenditures with business expenditures. You shouldn’t be using the company accounts to pay for personal items that are not business related. Such as home furnishings, or clothes for the kids etc. You must keep your accounts separate, and only use your business accounts for business. If you find yourself needing to use the business account, then it might be that you need to pay yourself more!

Thanks for that input Niedra! I know you had mentioned several other items to keep in mind, so hopefully we’ll get more tips and input from you in the future!

IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD A CPA, YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO START A BUSINESS.

There are so many angles that must be considered when starting a business, but certainly the most important, yet...most BORING..is the financials of that business. Sure the dreams of making lots of money are exciting, but it cost money to make money. So the question is...how much is it going to cost? Now, this subject alone could take up an entire book, but I want to just hit the highlights here and keep it basic, so as not to bore you.

Of all the mistakes I've made in my lease option business, I'd have to say the financial end of it are in the top two. My company was moving so quickly I could barely read the road signs going by. I was working 60 plus hours a week, AND I was trying to do the books on my own. Writing the checks, paying the bills. I got QuickBooks and I tried to learn it. I even had someone show me how to use it. UUUHHGG!!! Give me a freaking BREAK!

Here's the deal people.

I had a CPA (Certified Public Accountant), but I only saw that CPA twice a YEAR! Once to drop off, once to pick up. I didn't know what was coming or going. I was a financial TRAINWRECK!

I LOATHED Quickbooks! A plus was a minus, a minus was a credit...WHAT?!?!

I'll discuss some of the financial details and errors in future blogs, but for right now I want to focus on one thing here.

If you want to start a business.....get a CPA! But there's more to it than that. Get a CPA that is easy to reach, easy to get a hold of, can answer your questions, and give you continual guidance as you need it. You will also want a bookkeeper. Some CPA's are bookkeepers, but not all bookkeepers are CPA's.

You want a CPA that is either a bookkeeper or that has a bookkeeper by their side that work hand in hand with the CPA. Think of the bookkeeper as the person doing the checkbook. The bookkeeper will be the one entering the data into the QuickBooks or other software, keeping all the accounts and records of those accounts straight and up to date. This includes not only the checkbook, but credit cards, lines of credit etc.

The CPA will be the one that not only does the actual taxes for you, but will ideally give you guidance, whether on a quarterly basis or whatever is deemed necessary, as to how to tighten up and strengthen your company's financial position.

Let me make this clear.

YOUR job is to grow and operate the business. NOT...I repeat...NOT to try to unravel the mysteries of the inner workings of bookkeeping software!

"But how much will getting a CPA cost me?"

To give you hard figures, I'll use my actual expenditures to give you some idea.

I was spending about $125 a month just for bookkeeping. I was also spending about $500 for the companies taxes to be done and about $350 for our personal taxes to be done. But what I found is that I needed much more guidance and help.

Visiting the CPA twice a year wasn't getting me the actual hands on help I needed. I needed someone to take the company financials by the reign, and get a serious plan in place for us to pay off any debt we had, and build our company into what it really could be. So I switched CPA's, and went with someone that would be MUCH easier to communicate with on a daily, weekly or monthly basis if needed, and that would meet with me to discuss where we were, where we wanted to be, and what the plan was for getting there.

I now pay $300 a month which includes EVERYTHING, including the yearly taxes, financial planning and guidance, and bookkeeping.

I want to go back to my previous statement. YOUR job is to focus on the company. Don't think that because you are paying someone to do the books makes you look like a financial dummy. Balancing your personal checkbook, and doing the company financials are as far apart as building a bird house and building a real house! Trying to do the books on your own takes away from your very valuable time, that could be spent on creativity, business planing, and growing your company. $300 a month for me allows me to go out and make 10 to 20 times that versus the time I would have to spend to try to do the books myself....EASILY!

In one of my upcoming posts I'll actually have a guest CPA come on board to discuss some of the problems and mistakes that she has seen small business owners encounter.

SO, YOU WANT TO START A BUSINESS!

Over the next several weeks, I want to discuss a number of things to do BEFORE you even go into business for yourself. Too often, people will have an idea for a business, or a business they want to go into, and all they can do is think about how happy they will be "if only", and all the money they will make "if only". But they have no prior business experience, and no business background.

So they go to the local bookstore, and buy some books on small business. The problem that they will face with these books, is that you have either the "Goofball's Guide to Biz", which has fairly useless information such as "Your customer is your business!" or you have "How I Ran the Largest Company in the World!" which tells you NOTHING about how to start a small business. My goal, with this and a large number of my posts, will be to help those that want to start a business, even if it's not real estate related. What I've learned in my years of business is worth a fortune. At least, that's what it cost me! But I hope that you can learn from my mistakes, as well as my good fortunes, so that perhaps your business education will come with a scholarship, so that it can save you a tremendous amount of time and money!

The first topic which we'll cover in the next post will be about something you can't afford to do without. A bookkeeper and CPA!