Bookkeeping Life Review

Kate:  This is my affiliate link to Steve Crisler’s course, Bookkeeping Life. As usual, my disclaimer is that I have not taken this course myself. However, if after reading this article you want to sign up for Steve’s course you can do so through this link. By signing up through these affiliate links you help keep the lights on here at Bookkeeping Side Hustle. Your support enables us to continue delivering the informative and essential content and professional networking that so many side hustlers have come to rely on free of charge.

Kate:  So, Steve, tell us about yourself.

Steve Crisler:  Okay. I’m just a country boy from Illinois originally. I live in southern California now. I did a lot of things before graduating college, but I graduated college in 2000. I took the CPA exam and passed it that same year. So I’ve been doing bookkeeping and taxes for 20 years now.

After graduating I started just as any typical accounting major would and got a staff accountant job. I did that for three years, and realized one day one that wasn’t what I wanted to do with my life.

I actually had a near panic attack on the first day. I was in a building without any windows being shown the ropes. I just remember being very bug-eyed and trying to soak in as much as possible in a cubicle, looking around saying, “This is what my life has become?” 

But I did stick it out for three years. Paid my dues, learned a lot, gained a lot of education and also learned what I didn’t want to do with my life. After three years I decided to quit. I grabbed a buddy of mine who didn’t have a whole lot going on and we moved to San Diego. 

We didn’t know anybody in San Diego. We didn’t have any jobs lined up. We just had a car and a bunch of stuff jammed in it, and we came out to California.

Then I started looking for any type of accounting or bookkeeping work when I got here. It started with just one client and I just kept building on it from there. I’ve been working for myself since 2003. So I’ve been doing bookkeeping and taxes for 20 years, and been doing my own thing for the last 17 now.

It’s been a great experience. But it dawned on me in the early part of last year that I could start sharing my knowledge with people online and helping them get their bookkeeping businesses up and running in a much more efficient way than I did it. The formula to do it is actually really simple. It’s literally just really good branding plus really good advertising, some client information that you need to know about how to talk to clients, the information you need to get from them, and how to troubleshoot their situation to determine what you need. So there’s really only a handful of pieces to that puzzle.

I decided to teach it to people. And if they don’t know QuickBooks they can learn that as well, and get their own bookkeeping business up and running. I got that formula together and figured out how to present it to people. 

It’s been a beautiful thing. I’ve helped a lot of people get their businesses up and running. We have a great team now so it’s not just me anymore. I have a really good professional logo creator. I have a team that does professional websites. I have Cheryl, who moderates the private Facebook group. And that’s another thing we have. It’s a community just like yours. It’s a little different though. All the Bookkeeping Life members have access to a private Facebook group so they can talk about their clients, they can be specific about entries and QuickBooks questions, and if they’re going on a call the next day they know what to ask and stuff like that. So it’s a cool thing.

To summarize we have a set of six programs. Some include QuickBooks training if you don’t have it. They also have the options of adding in a professional logo and website. As well as everything you need to know about branding, advertising, and how to talk to clients. That’s what I preach all the time. Really good branding + really good advertising = clients. You can’t do really good advertising without really branding. So all the pieces have to be done really well, and that’s why I have a professional team to help with those design pieces.

In the end you have a website and a logo you’re very proud of. And if you need to learn QuickBooks you can. It’s a one-stop shop program. 

And the other thing is I don’t give you too much information. I’m not trying to knock any other programs out there, but I do know that, for some people, other programs give so much valuable information that they really just don’t know where to start. And mine is just really straightforward. It’s just do this, do that. 

Because really the goal is to get your first  client. The quicker you can get your first client the quicker you’re actually learning real-world experience. And you learn so much from that first client that you feel ready to get that next client. You can turn the dial back on and get that second client, and then the third client. So that’s basically how my program works.

Kate:  what would you say makes your course unique in the marketplace? 

Steve Crisler:  I think it’s that streamlined approach. Where it gives you everything you need, with the logo, website, and how to advertise. And you get me. I’m always around, online, answering emails. If you send an email to steve@bookkeepinglife.com it’s going to be me answering it. I’m on the Facebook group, and I even jump on calls. I’m happy to talk to people about their particular situation. 

One of the biggest problems people have when they’re starting their own business is client interaction. It’s nerve wracking to them. They’ve never done it before. They feel like an imposter. And I’m there to help them through that process. Because once you get your first client you learn so much from it, you learn that you’re just talking to people, that you can really do it. 

So my program is really streamlined. It’s about going from nothing, no business up and running, to getting your first client real quickly. And then also students get direct support from me, and professional logos and websites from this great team I’ve built.

Not to mention the private Facebook group. That community is rather priceless because it’s software tech support, it’s motivation, it’s everything that a community should be. Anything QuickBooks related, anything client related. Even just if you’re having a bad day and you need some encouragement. You can find it all in that group.

I think all of those things make us unique.

Kate:  Would you say your course teaches accounting?

Steve Crisler:  Accounting is a really general term. I have a degree in accounting from college and I took tons of different subjects to get that degree. When you say accounting do you mean bookkeeping?

Kate:  I guess I mean debits and credits, A = L + OE, and the things that you need to have a basic understanding of to be a successful bookkeeper.

Steve Crisler:  I agree with that. Another person of our team that I forgot to mention is Mark. He’s our QuickBooks instructor. His QuickBooks course is the one that I use for my group. He has a lot of different courses that we offer.

The main one that’s part of the program is QuickBooks Online self-study. It’s a 7-hour QuickBooks Online course that basically gives people everything they need to know to get up and running and start doing that first client and feeling comfortable doing their books.

By knowing QuickBooks you do learn quite a bit of bookkeeping. There are aspects of bookkeeping you won’t normally see by doing QuickBooks like if a client sells an asset or something like that. You have to make a journal entry for the asset, accumulated depreciation, that kind of thing. So those types of things are outliers. But you can be a Level 1 bookkeeper by knowing QuickBooks really well. Those other outlier situations where you have to make a journal entry for a particular situation are more advanced bookkeeping classes.

I think you can learn everything through learning QuickBooks. The basic QuickBooks? No. Advanced QuickBooks and more specific QuickBooks courses? Yes. Because QuickBooks is bookkeeping, and now bookkeeping is basically QuickBooks. Some people don’t agree with me on that though.

Kate:  If someone wants to bring on a client who uses a different software do  you have your students transition them to QuickBooks Online, or can they work in other software?

Steve Crisler:  It’s up to them. I don’t tell them what to do. We focus on QuickBooks just because it’s the most widely used software. But I don’t say they should do that. It’s really what they want to tackle. But in our program we gear everything towards QuickBooks just because it’s the most widely used.

Kate:  Sounds good. What sort of student is most successful in your course?

Steve Crisler:  One that has determination. You have to  have some level of attention to detail, some smarts. But you don’t have to be a college graduate. You don’t have to have certain classes under your belt. You don’t have to have certain certifications or anything like that. You just really need determination to learn it. They’ve made QuickBooks so user friendly anymore that most people with a bit of common sense and a lot of determination can make it.

The ones that I see that really take it on, jump full in with both feet and wear the bookkeeping hat make it. Those that don’t do that don’t make it.

Kate:  Would you say most of your students have some sort of previous background in the industry? At least a few college classes or are they blank slates?

Steve Crisler:  All over the place. I have CPAs that contact me. They’ve been doing the corporate gig a long time and they don’t want to do it anymore. They want to be home with their kids. All the way to people that have zero background at all. 

The QuickBooks Online program we offer with our course is really top notch. It teaches everything they need to get a QuickBooks account, add a client, and do all the things you would normally do for a client. So somebody with zero accounting or bookkeeping experience can definitely take it on with this course.

Kate:  Can you share one of your student success stories?

Steve Crisler:  Yeah. Probably Cheryl. There’s a lot of them, but Cheryl stands out because she’s always pushing it to the next level. You have to work on it every day. Nothing is handed to you. You have to work for stuff. And Cheryl has been a really good example of that. She’s always at it every day. She went to Disney not too long ago, and she was working on stuff every day while she was there. I’m not saying that you have to work on vacation. But she’s a really good example of somebody that hit the ground running, took the information, and took the advice.

Maybe my advice isn’t the best for everybody. But I do know it works for people that actually take recommendations from me and others in the group. You can waste a lot of time, years even, by trying to figure it out all on your own through trial and error.

What she does, and continues to do well, is reaches out to people when she needs help, listens, and doesn’t let her ego or her desire to do it all herself get in the way of getting the answer. She gets help and she moves on. She’s an excellent example.

Kate:  Awesome. Can you tell us how much your courses cost?

Steve Crisler:  There’s six of them. They range from $400 up to $900. It depends on what you’re getting. If you’re getting the one with the QuickBooks Online course, a logo, or website it’s more. So they do range.

If you want the full package of QuickBooks course, my videos, the logo, a professional website, all of that then you’re at the high end of $900. 

If you’re wanting just the bare bones, which is my 25-video course, without a logo or website it’s at the $400 range.

The link that you are going to provide takes them to a page where they can see a breakdown and comparison of packages.

Kate:  Does the Facebook group come with the course?

Steve Crisler:  Yes. Any package includes the group for the first month. There’s no additional fee for that. After that it’s $19 a month. I wanted to price that so low that it’s a no-brainer for people to be in it. But, like I said, it’s all kinds of support. Tech support, QuickBooks support, moral support, client support.

Kate:  Which is a big part.

Steve Crisler:  Yeah. If they’re about to get on a client call for the first time in their life they need somebody to talk to and say, “Hey, you can do it.” And if they can give us a rundown of that client’s situation we can give them some good questions to ask and that kind of thing. So for $19 a month I think it’s a really great deal. Especially because you get the first month free.

Kate:  How can people find out more information about you or your course? I have my affiliate link. But I think you have some other online presences. Do you want to tell us about those?

Steve Crisler:  Oh yeah, you can learn a lot about me on my YouTube channel. I put out videos every week there. Just go to YouTube and type in, Bookkeeping Life. That will give you a ton of me. If you have any questions about who I am, check out the channel because I’m on there every week. I post on some topic like how to deal with clients, this and that. And last week I even played a song on my guitar. So it’s a variety of things.

Kate:  I think that’s important. This is just my personal advice, not trying to promote any single course. There are lots of different personalities in this education space. Not everyone is a great fit for everybody. The material is the material. QuickBooks is QuickBooks. You’re going to learn it with any of these courses you choose. But you’re going to have to keep learning long term. So I think you really need to find somebody that really jives with your personality. That’s just my advice. Go watch some YouTube videos and do some window shopping before you buy. Because otherwise you’re going to be looking at someone’s face all the time, and maybe you don’t want to look at their face constantly. So pick someone else.

Steve Crisler:  Maybe a little prettier. I’m sick right now.

Kate:  Oh, you look plenty pretty. But, I just think because there’s this free content it would be completely foolish to pay for the course that I took, Bookkeeper Business Launch,  without watching those three videos you can get for free. Maybe the guy is completely annoying to you or you don’t  understand his teaching style.

Steve Crisler:  Yeah. I agree with that. And the YouTube channel will definitely give you a lot of me so you can get an idea. Like I said, I’m always happy to jump on an email or a phone call if you have any questions about the program. Just be sure to shoot an email over letting me know to expect a call. I get so many spam calls, like everybody does, so I usually don’t answer the phone unless I know to expect a call.

Kate:  Me neither. Don’t call me unless you tell me. 

Steve Crisler:  Yeah. Just give me a head’s up and I’m happy to talk.

Kate:  Is there anything else you’d like to leave us with? I think you’ve given some of the highlights. I think it will help people make a decision. Anything else? This is your chance to sell to the community.

Steve Crisler:  Well, I do appreciate your time. I think you’re a wonderful person and what you’re doing for your group is great. I think helping to liberate people from their cars is great. Right now down the street there’s a line of cars filled with people wearing clothes they don’t want to wear, looking better than they want to look, waiting to go to a job they  don’t want to be going to. I’m wearing what I want to wear and sitting in my house. I got out of that rat race. So I love helping people escape the rat race also.

I have a son who’s 8. I know how important it is to have quality time with your children. To help people that hate their job get more freedom in their life, more time with their family, and to be happier as a person is a wonderful act for society that we’re all doing.

If anybody is on the fence about trying something, the good thing about these types of programs is  you don’t have to cut one thing off and start another. The risk is very, very small. Start this stuff. Try it. And if it works for you then you can start to weed out the job you hate and build up this thing that you like. It’s not an all-or-nothing situation. Try it out. Get in, get that first client, that second client, start building up your business. Then some day you can get rid of that part of your life that makes you miserable.

That’s what I’d leave you with. Whether it be bookkeeping or anything else in life. If you’re living a 9 to 5 job away from your kids doing something that you don’t like, find a passion and something that gives you more freedom. 

Kate:  That’s awesome. Great advice. Steve, thanks so much. I hope people are able to take action. That’s the goal of my group. I want the same thing you do. Which is making people move one step closer to what they want to do with their life. Thanks so much, man.

Steve Crisler:  Thank you. Good to see you.

Kate:  All-righty. Bye.

Steve Crisler:  Have a great one.