Iambatman

Life can be tough and there are times we all feel like victims of our circumstances. However, it’s important to remember that taking ownership of your life is key to your success. Instead of seeing yourself as a victim, look for ways to take control of your life and push yourself to reach your goals!

Examples of things people might say that indicate they are seeing themselves as victims of their circumstances include:

- “There’s nothing I can do, this is just how it is”
- “It’s impossible for me to get ahead, no matter how hard I try”
- “Why do you always attack me?”
- “I always get the short end of the stick, there’s nothing I can do about it”
- “I have no control over my future”
- “Why try when I’m destined for failure anyway”

Instead of the above, why not try saying:

- “I have the ability to try everything I can in order to change things for the better”
- “I am capable of learning new things.”
- “Let’s go grab a coffee together so we can better understand how we might make progress.”
- “I do what I can with what I have.”
- “I have the ability to make sound decisions that will impact my future for good.”
- “Let me try even if I fail!”

Taking responsibility and striving for a better future is the best way to create the life you want.

Thoughts? Comment down below. ⬇️

We are coming to you Joburg & Pretoria!

Ready to take your accounting practice to the next level?

Join us for an exclusive event on Digitising Your Accounting Practice hosted by:





This session will COMPLETELY change the way you go about your business.

We have been through the classic mistakes of building an accounting practice and we want to show you how to digitise with scale and ease.

We are going to unpack THE strategy to growing your digital accounting practice with a clear direction! You will learn how to:

➡️Price your services

➡️Brand and market your accounting practice

➡️Franchise as a growth strategy

➡️Use apps for successful practice management

PLUS you will have the opportunity to connect with likeminded accountants looking to level up their accounting practice.

📅 Date: Thursday, 25 July 2024

🕔 Time: 17:30 - 19:30

📍 Venue: Bayport House, 3 Alice Lane, Sandton

You don’t want to miss out on this. SPOTS ARE LIMITED. Register here 👉https://qkt.io/bCA2cI

How do you define wisdom?

According to Tremper Longman, Wisdom is not the same as intelligence.

Intelligence is the art of knowing facts, while wisdom is the skill of living, an understanding or knowledge on how to navigate life. Wisdom involves the ability to know how to avoid problems or how to get out of trouble when it finds you. Wisdom is the ability to say and do the right thing at the right time, and to feel and express the right of emotion at the right level that is appropriate to the particular situation.

How do you define wisdom and more importantly, how does one grow in wisdom?

Being in business is not easy. There are many tough days, weeks, and months.

Sometimes they seem relentless, but tough times are followed by good times.

Just like a trail race, the hills can be tough and unforgiving, but after every hill, there is a downhill that lets you enjoy the view and recover, preparing you for the next hill.

Sometimes you run slowly or even walk. Sometimes you have to grind to a halt and rest.

But other times you can run like the wind. Getting to the end is not a sprint.

It is a journey. It takes time, but it is worth it.

If it were easy, everyone would do it. This is what makes business owners so special.

This was the annual Rota da Broa trail run just outside of Coimbra. It was one of the highlights of my trip to Portugal.

Back in June, I spent 10 days in Portugal visiting my daughter and experiencing her life as a young remote worker in Lisbon. The time I visited coincided with Lisbon’s annual summer festivals, so the streets were lively every night, filled with people enjoying cold beer, street food, and vibrant music until the early hours.

The visit offered a refreshing change from other European cities I’ve been to.

I found Lisbon to be somewhat unique, given it’s climate - especially in summer - it has a bit of a different vibe to the rest of Europe - and perhaps more similar to what I am used to in South Africa. The life in general is very European - small apartments, expensive to live in which leads to people spending more time outside in cafes and outdoors.

Lisbon is vibrant with young people, many of whom are presumably remote workers. The abundance of co-working spaces with fast internet impressed me, as I could visit my daughter, enjoy tourist activities, and STILL manage my South African-based remote-working business seamlessly. It was very easy to move around as there are so many options to choose from, train, bus, scooter, uber, bolt or to walk! I really love this about Europe.

I really enjoyed and appreciated the general sense of health and wellbeing as the city was filled with people running and exercising outside which helped me to maintain my daily 5km run.

The food was generally good, I was surprised by the fact that it wasn’t as spicy as I expected it to be. And that is because I have been mostly influenced by the Mozambican Portuguese culture in South Africa.

My biggest surprise was that Portugal is not as affluent as its European neighbours since I noticed many old, decrepit buildings nestled between modern, upscale ones. It seemed like the rich and poor lived side by side, which is different from my experience growing up in South Africa.

The locals’ friendliness and warmth made me feel at home from day one. It was comforting to see my daughter’s strong support network of friends, which is crucial in a European city where living alone can be isolating.

I hope to be back soon! Have you been to Europe before? Comment down below what most surprised you.

The wonderful privilege of visiting my daughter in Portugal.

This is a bit of a humble brag, but I have to say it.

My daughter not only invited me to visit her but also offered to pay for my trip. She just turned 21, generates her own income, is financially independent and takes care of herself in a foreign country—it's nothing short of amazing.

Before I went, I had lingering worry and anxiety, “Is my daughter safe? Is she going to be okay?” I was used to having her under my roof for close to 20 years. I got used to her being my responsibility, making sure she was properly fed, clothed, and secure, and that all her needs were taken care of.

And now she is out of the house, and I can't do any of those things.

What now?

The only thing I can do is try my best to provide emotional support.

It was incredible to see for myself what her life looks like, how she has set up her routine, and become her own person. I could see her taking responsibility for her life and making good decisions all around.

It was wonderful to see the community she is part of, a group of people with a similar worldview who support, love, and care for her.

It was lovely to spend one-on-one time with her, sharing our hearts, meals, and experiences.

As a South African, the safety concern is always there, so knowing she is in a safe and non-threatening environment was very reassuring.

Understanding what she goes through daily was great because now I can picture the places she goes when she calls me.

It was an affirmation that she has a good head on her shoulders, making thoughtful decisions that benefit her long-term.

It was sad to leave, but also comforting to know she will be okay. I can go home and not lose sleep because I now understand the context in which she operates.

It was just wonderful.

I had an amazing opportunity to attend and co-present with on our take, “Digitising Your Accounting Practice.” It was incredible.

The event was sponsored by Allan Gray, and the purpose was to:

👉 Collaborate with other accountants

👉 Discuss digital accounting as the way forward

Lornelle and I shared our journeys as digital and remote-working accountants. We were joined by Andrew van Rooyen from , who spoke about automating reporting, Elan Lea from , who discussed automating credit control to improve collections, and Piko from Allan Gray, who shared insights on the investment landscape of South Africa in the context of our political and socio-economic situation.

It was an incredible evening of networking. What really stood out to me was seeing the diversity of accountants willing to work together and collaborate to make the industry better. Wow!

I am grateful to for taking leadership in that regard and inviting us to collaborate with her on this event.

P.S. My Joburg friends.

25 July.

Stay tuned for more.

Save the date.

Cheers!

Are you an accountant based Cape Town looking to level up your practice?

THIS is your sign to join myself & from on Thursday at the “Digitising Your Accounting Practice” Session at the Allan Gray building near the Waterfront in Cape Town.

This session will COMPLETELY change the way you go about your business.

We have been through the classic mistakes of building an accounting practice and we want to show you how to digitise with scale and ease.

We are going to unpack THE strategy to growing your digital accounting practice with a clear direction! You will learn how best to maximise the cloud accounting ecosystem to optimise day-to-day processes in your practice.

PLUS you will have the opportunity to connect with likeminded accountants looking to level up their accounting practice.

You don’t want to miss out on this. SPOTS ARE LIMITED. Find the link to register in my stories.

My wife and I are one. I need her and she needs me. We need each other.

My wife recently travelled overseas leaving me with our two youngest kids for two weeks.

I got to wear a number of hats during this time, namely: ⬇️

1 - business owner,

2 - father,

3 - mother,

4 - dishwasher,

5 - laundromat,

6 - storyteller,

7 - uber service,

8 - sports fan,

9 - events coordinator,

10 - cook,

11 - procurement manager,

12 - beautician, and the list goes on.

I did not only find new respect for my wife as the rockstar that she is but also for single parents in general. How do they do it!?

Key lessons learnt:

✅ my wife is the one who grants me the right to do what I do every day;

✅ my wife is my greatest cheerleader;

✅ my wife does not judge me when I make mistakes;

✅ she laughs at almost all of my jokes - funny and not so funny;

✅ my business would not be where it is today if it was not for my wife - she has a central place in its success;

✅ single parents are rockstars and deserve a special place in heaven.

That’s all. Thank you.

This tip will change your life: learn from those who are more experienced and avoid feeling superior to others when you achieve success.

With that being said, here is a list of some of my mentors during my early career:

❇️ Paul Sadler was my first mentor in my career; he taught me the value of being willing to get your hands dirty and do the less desirable work to be elevated to greater responsibility.

❇️ Alison Crooks was my second mentor; she modelled and taught me consulting-type skills and how to relate to other people on a more human-to-human level and empathy.

❇️ Tola Adeyemi was my third mentor; he taught me the meaning of professionalism and how to carry yourself with decorum. He also taught me how to negotiate.

❇️ Seyi Bickersteth was my fourth mentor; he taught me how to think like a businessman, lead a team, and be a fearless business leader.

I haven’t arrived yet. I don’t believe that I will ever arrive. There is nothing new under the sun. So I get to learn from other people until the day I die. I have so many mentors today, including my friends and family, fellow team members, clients, and the social media community. I am grateful to be alive during such a time as this.

Who was the biggest influence in your career? Comment down below ⬇️

This is essential if you want to grow your business. ⬇️

—

Maintain client relationships.

Not just maintain them.

👉 But TRULY care about them.👈

People do business with people.

IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT INDUSTRY.

One of the things that makes a business win is if they are able to show real and deep understanding and empathy for their customers problems that they are trying to solve.

A person will only buy from you if they are confident that you are able to understand and solve their problems.

It’s impossible to understand somebody’s problems unless you have an active relationship with that client.

😅 A relationship is not something you do on a spreadsheet or over social media.

➡️ A relationship is something you do with authentic human to human connection.

This is coming from a guy (ME - yes, an introvert) who prioritises remote work as a solution.

Not withstanding the fact that we are a remote working organisation - we STILL prioritise time with our clients.

🎆 THAT IS where the magic happens. 🎆

We have to make time creatively so that we can prioritise relationships.

This is why we use cloud tools like Xero and SimplePay and many others to free up time so that the mundane tasks that accountants used to boast about and kept them busy can now happen in the background while we do the superhero stuff - which is to meet with our clients and make magic happen!

Can I tell you something crazy? Most business owners have NO IDEA how much profit they are making - let alone have enough cashflow every month.

If you are a Business Owner, Freelancer or CEO, here is your roadmap to consistent cashflow every month:

💸Ensure your product or service solves a real problem for which there is an existing demand.

💸Set prices that not only attract customers but also cover costs and generate a healthy profit margin.

💸Sell enough products or services to not only break even but also scale profitably.

💸Keep business expenses manageable to ensure they are comfortably covered by your profit margins multiple times over.

💸Ensure invoices are paid quickly and manage credit effectively to shorten the gap between sales and receiving cash.

💸Regularly review and adjust your business strategy based on performance metrics and market feedback to sustain growth and profitability.

If you want to go even deeper, we have a free e-book at in which each of these points are fleshed out in more detail. Comment “CASHFLOW” and I’ll send you the link to download it!

Why I never overlook the power of good accounting.

I’m biased, right? I know I know. I’m the accountant here saying, “Don’t overlook accounting.’

BUT.

Hear me out.

Many see accounting as just a necessity, but I see it as a genuine superpower.

Think about this way, when accounting is done right - your numbers are in truth to reality thereby empowering you to:

✅ predict trends
✅ manage resources
✅ plan strategically using cloud based software

We’re not your typical accountants; we’re your transparent partners in accounting.

🚀 We simplify complexities.
🚀 We provide invaluable insights.
🚀 We stand as guardians of compliance, ensuring each decision is informed, strategic, and geared towards growth.

Think accounting is just about numbers? Think again and visit our website to learn more! LINK IN BIO.

I was THAT guy.

👉 The last one to get an email address back in the 90s.

👉 The last one to get a laptop because I thought it was irrelevant.

3 mistakes I made with accounting so you don’t have to.⁠

I’ve stumbled through them and here’s what I learned:

❌ Thinking you ONLY need to use a spreadsheet to successfully understand your numbers, therefore:

❌ Not automating enough and ignoring real-time data which lead to:

❌ Overcomplicating processes.

At DoughGetters, we simplify with Xero. Why struggle when you don’t have to?

Comment 🚀 below if you’re ready to LEVEL UP your financial game!

Bookkeeping - Accounting - Tax Compliance.

These are a few of my favourite things! 🎶

[queue Sound Of Music soundtrack]

To me, making a positive difference is always more important than making money. 💰

1 The only scale I care about is the impact I make on my Clients.

2 My profits are a by-product of that impact.

3 I sell to solve my client’s problems.

4 I story tell to make sure I see them.

5 I do not sell square pegs for round holes.
Meaning I won’t give a solution that makes me money but doesn’t work for my clients.

6 I only work with people I like - I am kind and I play nice.

7 I see business as an infinite game where winning means I get to keep playing.

But … I do play to win! 🏆

Agree or disagree?

List the numbers you agree with in the comments down below!

Beautiful Place!

After a motorbike crash almost 2.5 years ago, looking at a motorbike wasn’t the same for me anymore.

But here’s the thing about hitting rock (literally) bottom: the only way is through. ➡️

Nearly two years of healing and self-reflection later, I’m back on my bike, chasing adventure in spite of the fear that lingers.

This journey reflects the very essence of entrepreneurship.

Every entrepreneur understands that the path to making an impact is filled with challenges and obstacles.

Yet, it’s the bravery to stand up after a fall that truly marks a genuine entrepreneur.

As Sam Walton, the visionary founder of Walmart, wisely put it, “Celebrate your successes. Find some humour in your failures. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Loosen up, and everybody around you will loosen up.”

By adopting this mindset, we cultivate resilience and inspire others to pursue their dreams with relentless determination.

I’m curious - how do you muster strength in moments of failure? Share your story below. ⬇️

Being a father is one of the biggest and most rewarding challenges of my life.

It is scary because you realise that you have a massive responsibility and role in helping to find and form the identity of your kids. Your identity is core to your worldview and your worldview is the lens through which you observe the world, interact with others around you, and make decisions. It can literally make or break you.

One of the best experiences in the world is to see your kids succeed in life, watching them smile and be happy. Likewise, one of the most agonising experiences is seeing them getting hurt. It is one of the highest callings in life and I will always count myself blessed beyond comprehension that I have been entrusted with the souls of three beautiful kids.

I teach EMS to Grade 7s and Grade 8s once a week.

It is a great privilege to be allowed to do so because young people aged 12/13 are at a crucial stage of their life where the search for identity is a big deal.

It is both challenging and rewarding at the same time. It keeps me honest and reminds me that I’ve been there too. It helps me to maintain a strong sense of empathy and respect for young people.

💻Here are three benefits of making :

1️⃣ Save time and money: With cloud tools, you can automate many time-consuming tasks which frees up time for growing your business and serving your clients.

2️⃣ Improve accuracy and efficiency: Manual data entry is prone to errors and can be a major headache. With cloud tools, you can reduce errors and improve the accuracy of your records.

3️⃣ Stay compliant and secure: With increasing regulations and security threats, it's more important than ever to keep your financial records secure and compliant. Digital tools offer advanced security features and automatic backups, so you can rest easy knowing your data is safe and compliant.

Say goodbye to stacks of paperwork and hello to !☁️

✅ Accessibility: Access your financial data from anywhere, on any device.

✅ Cost savings: Reduce your IT costs and pay only for the features you need.

✅ Efficiency: Automate manual processes to save time and focus on growth.

Your clients want to know that you care about their businesses and understand their unique challenges. They want an accountant who is a partner and advocate, not just a numbers-cruncher.🤝

So don't be afraid to step outside your comfort zone and build meaningful relationships with your clients.

When you prioritize understanding and empathy, you'll not only differentiate yourself from the competition but also build lasting connections that will drive your business forward.🚀

Super stoked to bump into an old friend and colleague of mine at London yesterday. The last time we saw each was in 2005 in Lagos, Nigeria. 🇳🇬

Meet Folake Olatunji from MPowder . Ba wo ni! How now, oga mi?

Final prep for our speaking gig later this afternoon with and Ben Marcilhacy.

Always time for a quick trot when you travel for business

The Force may be strong, but so is the power of a well-balanced budget.

Just like a Jedi needs to maintain balance in the Force, a successful business needs to maintain balance in their accounting records. 😁

How can you create a people-centric culture in your team remotely?

👉 prioritize weekly team meetings
👉 leverage technology
👉 de-emphasize titles
👉 focus on relationships

Benefits of 🌍

1️⃣ No more driving to work = Reduced carbon footprint

2️⃣ Energy savings: An office building uses a lot of electricity

3️⃣ Reduced waste: Less likely to use disposable products such as coffee cups and plastic utensils

Happy ! 🌎

Are you new to remote work and struggling to stay focused and productive? Don't worry, you're not alone! 💻🏠

To help you conquer the challenges of working from home, here are three essential tips:

1️⃣ Create a dedicated workspace
2️⃣ Stick to a routine
3️⃣ Stay connected with your team

Enjoy the freedom and flexibility of remote work by following these tips 🚀