The Ambitious Bookkeeper with Serena Shoup, CPA

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The Ambitious Bookkeeper with Serena Shoup, CPA

We help bookkeepers grow their businesses.
🎙️The Ambitious Bookkeeper Podcast

I help experienced and aspiring accountants start and grow their own virtual bookkeeping businesses so they can create their ideal life. Over the past few years of running my own virtual accounting firm, I've noticed there is an abundance of small businesses that need help from qualified bookkeepers and accountants so I started mentoring others who had the desire to help these businesses.

06/05/2026

If you've automated your bookkeeping workflow so much that it barely takes you any time, charging the same rate you did before you had any systems? That math might not be mathing for your clients.

Here's the thing though, and this is where most people mess it up:
You should NEVER lower your entry point until your upsell system is already built and tested.

Get your advisory offer dialed in. Build the sales skills to actually close it. THEN revisit your base pricing.

Because "I'll build the upsell later" is how you end up with 40 cheap clients and no path to higher revenue.

Start with the last domino. Work backwards. Drop the first one only when the rest are lined up.

TAKE THE SURVEY at https://www.ambitiousbookkeeper.com/survey

June 1-15 only!

Take it, share it with a bookkeeper friend, and help us get data that actually helps our whole industry.

Plus, for every response we get (up to 1,000), we're donating a dollar to Make-A-Wish Foundation. So your 10 minutes could do a lot of good.

Hear more in Ep 241 🎙️
Connect with Alyssa
https://www.instagram.com/workflowqueen
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06/04/2026

Last year I was frustrated that most industry reports and surveys seem to focus on larger firms, not small boutique firms like mine.

So, like my approach for everything else, when I don’t see something that fits me, I CREATE IT!

And this year, I looped in my biz bestie, to help me spread the word and help me dissect all the info we’re going to gain from this.

And of course, we’re hoping this will only help us create things to support our industry even better.

Plus, we’re donating $1 to Make a Wish for every response. Let’s go out strong!

Last year we got 645 responses. This year we’re shooting for 2500! Can we do it?!

🔗 Head to https://www.ambitiousbookkeeper.com/survey

06/02/2026

What’s in your tech stack right now?
💻 Xero? Hubdoc? ClickUp?

We’re collecting data on what virtual bookkeepers are actually using to streamline their businesses and for every survey completed, $1 goes to Make A Wish.

🔗 Head to https://www.ambitiousbookkeeper.com/survey

06/01/2026

What kind of services are you offering? Cleanups? CFO services? 📊 We want to know. The **State of Virtual Bookkeeping Survey** is live and it’s designed JUST for small firm owners and solo bookkeepers.

Tell us how you run your business. It’s anonymous, quick, and we’ll donate $1 to Make a Wish for every completed survey.

🔗 Head to https://www.ambitiousbookkeeper.com/survey

05/29/2026

Raise your hand if you’ve thought this. 🙋‍♀️

How do you know clients won’t see you as a trust advisor?

That belief is just keeping you from trying.

It is keeping you safe, behind the QuickBooks screen, behind emails that say “your bookkeeping is done”

So if you really want to grow into a trusted advisor, start showing up as one. It’s all about your energy.

Instead of emailing a client “your books are done” try a subject line like “May 2026 - $50k profit! 🥂”

And then inside the email, record a quick 5 minute look video going over the QuickBooks or Xero dashboard showing them high level revenue, expenses, and profit.

Then highlight their cash & another insight you noticed.

You’re right.

If you act just like a run of the mill bookkeeper, you will be seen as “just a bookkeeper” but if you act like someone who cares about their business, your clients will start paying attention.

If you’re ready to start stepping into the advisor role and stop being seen as “just a bookkeeper” comment KPI for the 4 key insights to start providing clients with this month.

And make sure you follow for more content helping you step into the advisor role!

05/28/2026

You’re great at what you do. No doubt about that.

So why does client onboarding feel like a hot mess every time?

→ You’re manually sending proposals

→ Forgetting to follow up

→ Wasting energy chasing signatures + payments

→ And feeling *behind* before the project even starts

I’ve been there. I built my bookkeeping business by the seat of my pants… but I knew that wouldn’t get me too far. Then I discovered Dubsado—and everything changed.

✨ That’s why I’m hosting a private podcast with Dubsado expert to show you how to fix the bottlenecks that are costing you time, energy, and (yes) clients.

**The podcast is free, private, and it’s your behind-the-scenes look at how we built a system that runs itself.**

Comment DUBSADO for the link!

05/26/2026

(Cont.) I changed the name of my business/firm.
I reframed how I talked about what I offered.
I stopped calling myself a bookkeeper and started positioning myself in line with the actual services I was delivering.

And everything else changed with it.

The words we use to describe what we do matter more than you think.

If you're offering advisory-level work but still calling it bookkeeping, you're fighting an uphill battle before the conversation even starts.

Your clients are making assumptions based on language.
And if the language doesn't match the value, they'll never see it.

You're not "just a bookkeeper."
Stop introducing yourself like you are.

05/25/2026

This month, try this to get more comfortable offering advisory & see how your clients like it. Let me know how it goes!

1. Start with the high-level picture first

2. Connect the numbers to what’s actually happening in their operations

3. Ask a guiding question instead of just telling them what to do

4. Explain what it means AND why it matters

5. End every review with a clear takeaway

Drop the word KPI in the comments if you want a simple template I use to structure these reviews with my clients.” (PS, most of our clients opt for a loom video, not a meeting, so it works for both)

Address

Prescott, AZ

Website

http://www.ambitiousbookkeeper.com/links

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