Shore Thing

I could have started a general bookkeeping practice. Taken on any small business that came my way — restaurants, retail shops, contractors, whoever needed help. I didn't. And that was completely intentional. I chose travel agents, agency owners, and photographers specifically. Not because they were the easiest clients to serve — honestly, the finances in both industries are more complicated than most. I chose them because I already understood them. And that understanding is w

I want to tell you something that I wish someone had told me years ago. There is no such thing as books that are too far gone. I mean that. I have seen the shoebox receipts. I have seen the bank accounts that haven't been reconciled in eighteen months. I have seen the spreadsheet that someone built in 2022 with the best of intentions and then quietly abandoned sometime around March. I have seen the business owner who has been "categorizing" transactions in QuickBooks for two

Let me tell you something that happened to me more than once when I was running Mouse Tales Travel. I'd be trying to explain my expenses to someone — an accountant, a financial advisor, whoever — and I'd mention a FAM trip. Familiarization trip. The kind where a resort or cruise line hosts you at their property — usually comping your stay or offering it at a steep discount — so you can experience it firsthand and sell it better to your clients. You're getting yourself there,