In early May the Beyond Team had our second annual team retreat! Since we all work remotely, it is nice to be able to get together. For the retreat, everyone had a topic assigned to present to the rest of the team. Our topics ranged from marketing, workflow, working with apps and even a team workshop to discuss what questions our clients are asking us.
For my session at the retreat, I wanted to include some type of group activity I stumbled across some cool candles at Target that inspired me to use them for a writing exercise for the team. The candles smelled great (that’s important!) and had cute sayings on them. I thought what if I gave each team member a candle and they each had 20 minutes to write something on either how the “advice” could help them personally or help one of our existing or potential clients.
So here is what we came up with…
Always take the scenic route
By: Amanda Esquivel
The quickest way may not always be the best way. If you “take the scenic route”, you get to see more and walk away with a more well-rounded experience. For our clients, this could mean that they can slow down and take a harder look at their business and get a broader picture of where they are. Regarding workflows, this could mean that while one solution is the quickest, in the end, it may cut out important steps and leave out details that are essential to the bigger picture. We should “take the scenic route” from time to time so that at the end of the day we have the whole scope of information and hopefully have enjoyed the experience along the way.
Leave your worries behind
By: Rebekah Denney
Worries are like a heavyweight. You drag them around unconsciously until you get rid of them and then you feel so much lighter. I personally try to apply this advice by not worrying about things that I can not control. It’s easy to worry but hard to let go. If you train yourself to let go you will be happier and lighter.
I would try to help my client apply this by telling them that the whole point of having a bookkeeper is to not have to worry about everything! You can sit back and pay attention to the part of your business that you want to pay attention to, the reason you got into business to begin with. This is not to say you don’t have to ever think about the financial side of things, but to let us carry the burden and tell you what you should be concerned about. Enjoy your business and let us do our job, which is to alert you to the concerns we see lurking in your books. But until then remember why you started your business and leave the rest of your worries behind. Simba from Lion King summed it up good “Hakuna Matata! What a wonderful phrase… It means no worries for the rest of your days, it’s our problem free philosophy, Hakuna Matata!”
Let your mind wander
By: Cindy Hovig
Having blocks of time without a specific agenda or tasks to do is important. Some might call it daydreaming but others might consider it constructive thinking. Letting your mind wander at times can lead you to the best ideas!
Recently I embarked on a goal to spend two hours each week working on my business. Sometimes I have a specific topic in mind that I want to work on but other times I let my mind wander to think about many things related to the business. At first scheduling, this time with no specific agenda seemed awkward. But after a few weeks, I began to look forward to these sessions. And it has helped me to really take time to think about my business and embark on looking at things differently.
So I recommend that you be sure and take time to let your mind wander. You may find that this will allow your best ideas ever to take form!
See the beauty in everything
By: Jessica Berkley
People are like icebergs. You see what’s on the surface, but what’s underneath? We live in a world that sensationalizes scandals and flaws. I believe it’s important to see the value in each person rather than just their negative qualities. Only then can you have deep personal relationships founded on trust.
Seeing the beauty in a client involves understanding the passion behind their business. Small business owners have this tenacity about them that you don’t find elsewhere. Often they have families, experiences, and talents that are singularly unique. Their business is their baby, their life’s work. When they engage us for help, they are essentially sharing a piece of them with us, which involves humility & courage. I think when a company is founded on such beautiful qualities, it leads to beautiful businesses.
Our conclusion
First off, everyone loved the candles (I told you they smelled nice!). I shared the Google Doc with the team so we all wrote our section at the same time. It was fun to see the document grow as we all wrote. Then we shared what we wrote with each other. There was lots of laughing going on. We hope that you can find some of this advice from our team retreat helpful in your life in some manner.