The Authentic Accountant Podcast

Goto to join Chris’ group Chris says that nobody knows who he is. I disagree. I met Chris originally on Twitter. Chris says that when he sees people on twitter trying to push the now 280 character limit, instead of “get a room” he thinks, “get a blog!” As a kid, Chris learned to ride a bike, and when he crashed it into his own house, and while crying hysterically, his mom came out and his reaction was to ask her to “move the house.” Chris had a very loving upbringing, almost to a fault. His parents gave him so much confidence, that he was in for a rude awakening at school. He thought he was so good looking that he asked out the hottest girl in the class. He didn’t get the girl :( He could have been like Hugh Hefner minus the girls, and anyone naked!

Brooke was a “devil” child for a while, so she’s glad social media wasn’t around back then. By the time social media was around, Brooke had reverted back to an angel. She really wanted to be a veterinarian because she loves animals, but when she realized she had to help them when they were sick or injured, she could no longer be a vet. She was too sensitive and loved the animals too much to bear seeing them sick or hurt. Brooke wanted to get into media as a weather woman, but she didn’t like that so much. So she moved around from one thing to another, until she found her calling. She did a “pub crawl. Using Facebook she was able to get 7,500 people and raise $60,000. That’s when she knew what she needed to do with her life. Meanwhile... Brooke went to the Dan Rather School of Communication to become a weather woman. That didn’t work out, but she eventually went back to study communication in a way that prepared her for what she is doing today.

Shanna was a good student. Not a science or math person. It took her awhile to find her “art.” She was creative, but what about practical skills? She played a lot. She loved creating imaginary worlds and stories. Her family didn’t have a lot of money growing up. Her mom would give them some sheets and say, “go play in the woods and come home before dark.” Shanna got into acting, and got into the production side of it pretty quickly. Bottom line she’s better at the production part. She is a really good organizer, and this played into her functioning better behind the camera than in front of it. She saw the magic of what had to come together to make it all happen. What about the idea of being alone in these imaginary worlds? Shanna didn’t actually do it alone. She would recruit people and assign roles.

Sales is an ugly term to a lot of people. And Jill was a nerd growing up. By the time she had her first idea for a new business she was asked, who's going to sell it? Neither she nor her partners had any interest in selling. So she went to work for Xerox to learn how to sell. Jill never did go back to that original idea. As she learned all about sales she found a whole new way of looking at it. She wasn't selling. She was helping people get solutions to their problems. The challenge is always getting in the door to explain that properly. Jill has written several books which you'll find links to in our show notes over at

Ed Kless is a self proclaimed possibilitarian. What may be unique about Ed's particular struggles is that they happened as a RESULT of his success instead of on his way to it. His is a story of rediscovering himself after accomplishing what he'd set out to do, and in doing so, lacking the vision for where to go next. There seems to be a theme of actors turned business people on our show. Ed hilariously describes how before adulthood wherein he is a well known Voice America talk show host, he practiced being a radio show host covering natural disasters of his legos. He also covered many sporting events in his own backyard. Listen to this episode and learn all about Ed's Journey and eventually what Value really means!

What Barbara learned most from childhood was to be a chameleon. She was in a military family and they moved a lot. Barbara’s mom had a good job (especially for then) before marrying her father. Once she was married she left that job. Since her father had to move around a lot, if they wanted to marry, her mother had to quit her job. Don’t let the “downs” pull you down into the mud. Barbara learned to pull herself up from the bootstraps. Looking back it seemed more fearful than it felt at the time. Her parents divorced when she was 14. When she hears of others’ struggles it helps her gather strength for her own journey. Life is a journey so don’t be too hard on yourself because you eventually get where you want to go anyway. Barbara learned a term called, “Sisu.” Barbara said, “don’t ask me to spell it” but I googled it and found it. Get the complete show notes at

There is no such thing as someone who is Self Made. We've all had help along the way. When we find the right people to become dependent upon for guidance, we actually gain tremendous independence. Listen to learn how this works

Kacee was a “typical girlie girl.” By college she was headed to medical school (pre-med). Her boyfriend at the time’s mother was in a bad car accident, and having seen her in pretty bad shape, Kacee realized she was not going to be cut out for medicine. She did not do well with the site of blood etc.. Instead Kacee went to business school and got her MBA. After completing her MBA, she was engaged. The day she picked up her wedding dress, she found out he was cheating. She drove around for a week trying to figure out what she was going to do next. She did not want to stay there. Listen to learn more...

Misty wanted to be a waitress! Bottom line, early on Misty always knew she wanted to help people in some way, shape, or form. She was a painfully shy child. Then she started dancing. This was perfect, because she could express herself without having to speak to anyone. Then she got into theater and found her voice. This helped her learn how to connect with an audience at a deeper level. The world is your stage. It's all improv every day. You just never know what someone is going to throw at you. Next Misty found herself working at a computer company. Listen to learn more!

Dawn was mainly interested in athletics, but she knew she wanted to be an accountant by the time she was just 16. Still after graduating from college in 1992 she went and started a family. She wouldn't enter the workforce until 1999, at which time she needed to take a construction job (roofing) alongside her husband to raise the money to buy her first computer so she could start her first bookkeeping gig. Today she is the principal at Powerful Accounting. She speaks, appears on financial broadcasts, and now with her Certified Fraud Examiner designation she is asking us to join her in the Fight Against Fraud. Learn more about Dawn in this week's The Authentic Accountant Podcast.

Not everyone makes it through what Chalisa has made it through, not to mention then becoming CEO of a healthcare tech startup. Oh! And all by the time she was 26! When you hear what Chalisa has overcome and then accomplished you will have no choice but to be inspired. Anyone from anywhere can make it. You just have to be willing to do the work!

In Step 1 we discussed how to get an understanding of what you are powerless over vs where you have power. In Step 2 we look at that powerlessness and explore where to go to get the needed power. Hint: We all have power. We just don’t often have enough power on our own, to accomplish what we want to. Listen to this episode to learn exactly how and where to go about finding the needed power!

David Cieslak aka Inspector Gadget shares his story. He grew up in a family of 6 kids where each of them had to pay their own way through college.. Now David enjoys the designation of being on the list of the top 100 most influential people in accounting according to Accounting Today. He speaks on technology regularly at events both in and out of the accounting industry. David says, It’s not just about solving the technical problems. It really is about the relationships. What is Inspector Gadget all about? Every year David looks at emerging technology to see what he thinks will take and what he thinks would fail. What are some of David’s favorite technologies? He just got a Tesla Model 3. What does David see for the future? Find out on this week's The Authentic Accountant Podcast #TAAP

Stephen Eugene Kuhn knew that he wanted to be in the military by the time he was 8. 10 days after high school he was on his way. Seeing battle wasn't the worst part of his experience. The worst part came later, when the PTSD struck. In this Podcast, Steven gives us the whole story. He went from being a (self proclaimed) Doofus in high school to a military guy who saw battle. How he overcame and continues to overcome PTSD. Meanwhile he's built several successful businesses from owning night clubs and health clubs to what he does now, which is to work with major influencers in both the political arena and the business world. Find out how he did it all in this week's episode of The Authentic Accountant Podcast

Gene Marks did not want to be a CPA. His first love was Journalism, but his father told him that if he got his CPA license it would open him up to opportunities to do anything in business. Now Gene Marks is both CPA and accomplished journalist. Want to know how Gene was able to land opportunities writing for publications like the Washington Post, and now The Guardian? Listen right here on TAAP - The Authentic Accountant Podcast.

Jay was interested in journalism early on, but along the way he worked in politics as well as in the Department of Juvenile Corrections in Arizona. Jay sold the domain Budweiser.com to Anheuser Busch for 50 cases of beer! Jay has written 6 books: The Now Revolution Youtiliy Youtility for Accountants Youtility for Real Estate Hug Your Haters Talk Triggers

When social media was emerging beyond learning what your high school sweetheart was up to, and what your friends had for lunch that day, Jon Ferrara saw something others didn't. Jon saw how social media was going to change how we work, play, buy, and sell. Jon's vision proved to be right, and now he has built the worlds first, and only Social CRM that does the work for you. Email contact and calendar were once again disconnected. Jon saw the need to being them together. His vision brought him out of retirement from having sold Goldmine (the worlds's first CRM) and now Jon is changing the way we work, play, buy, and sell with Nimble. There is a simple formula to this, he shares. Join a conversation, listen and learn, and then provide helpful information. Then you too will be seen as an influencer and an expert. And THAT's how you get a product or service to market! Listen to learn MUCH more!

Doug’s early interests were in music and math, which do go together. When he landed his first job at Apple, he became really interested in computers and ultimately majored in computer science. Doug went on to work for Adobe (before the reader) and eventually he and his wife Sherrill started The Sleeter Group. Learn how Doug and his wife worked together successfully in the same business. Find out what lead to the sale of the Sleeter Group when he never had any intention to sell! Finally you will learn what Doug is up to today, and why it’s important!

Seemingly Clayton Oates could not escape a career in accounting no matter how hard he tried. Clayton Oates did not get the best grades in school, yet he landed a job at a major CPA firm. He moved 1,000 miles away to be with his (then future) wife, and hoping to get a job outside of accounting, but accounting was the only job available in his new home in a small town in Australia. He went on to build a business that is so successful he has not had to take any profits out in over 15 years. Were there challenges? You bet there were, but Clayton figured out what his greatest strength was, and used that to his advantage. Listen to the show and learn more!

If you followed Mike's path according to his resume you would never wind up where he is. Former State Trooper and almost failed business owner who then went on to buy a restaurant, then a building with a restaurant, and then nine more buildings. From there Mike has gone on to be one of the number 2 people at Finagraph - the makers of CashFlowTool.com. He's the Vice President of Customer Success and the master of the Speed of Cash.