5. Can you tell us a little bit about how you started Wright Solution and why you wanted to work with small businesses?
I have always looked at business as a kind of game, a puzzle and I love puzzles. There is a place and reason for everything and the business person just needs to find out how to put all the pieces together to tell their story.
The problem I saw early on was that most startups or small businesses were focused on the operation of their business. This is what they should do but they tend to leave out the basics that will show them if what they are doing is effective and profitable.
When I work with small businesses I enjoy watching the light bulb go on when they see the accurate picture of how their business is operating financially.
6. You are a member of Intuit's accountant speaker bureau. Can you tell us why you decided to work with Intuit?
When several of my clients asked me to look into QuickBooks for them, I spent some time learning all I could about the program. Over the years I have found that many people that use the program don’t really have a grasp of what they are doing or the power of the program, so much of my time is spent correcting work or training my clients on the program.
The Intuit Speakers Bureau is made up of professionals like myself that enjoy helping people to make the most of the products that Intuit produces. I hate to see people struggle when all they may need is a little guidance to set them on the right path.
QuickBooks products are an affordable solution for the small business owner and I realized that if I wanted to stay in business myself I needed to become proficient in the products that my clients used.
7. You were recently featured as a business expert at BlogHer's San Francisco conference, the premiere blogging conference for women. What were some of the most commonly asked questions from the women bloggers?
Most of the women I talked to were very early into their businesses so were looking for information on how they should structure their business: as a sole proprietor, an LLC or a corporation.
There were also questions about whether they really needed to file a tax return if they weren’t making much money.
Then of course, there were the standard questions about how much they could write off for the different expenses they incur.
8. I've heard from many small business clients that QuickBooks have a lot of features that they don't use because they don't have the time to explore and learn. Where can they go find competent help? Both for free and for more extensive consulting.
The QuickBooks ProAdvisor database is a great place to find help. It’s also accessible within any QuickBooks program. This is not a free service and not backed by Intuit, the people listed on the database are small business owners themselves and charge a wide range of fees depending on their proficiency in various areas. Just like finding an accountant, if you need help from a ProAdvisor, I would suggest that you call several to find the right fit for you.
For free help, you can join the QuickBooks Online Community. Here you can ask QuickBook Experts and other QuickBook users how to use specific features.