Radio Ignite Live - Talk, tips, tech, and more for accounting and bookkeeping pros - Weekdays at 9am Pacific

NOW BROADCASTING LIVE AT 74systems.com/radio! Be sure to register so you will be alerted to future broadcasts! Welcome Igniters to Radio Ignite Live! That's right, our audience now has its own identity! From now on those that listen to Radio Ignite Live will be referred to as Igniters. Why? Because you take the time to build, grow and manage your firm or practice and you do it with passion, desire and the willingness to do whatever it takes! Your never give up attitude is one of the things that inspires the rest of us to do the same. So passion, it’s important right? We’ll be discussing this and more on today’s Radio Ignite Live! We run live on Weekdays. Check our social media or your inbox for the daily broadcast time! All shows are available free to the public after a one time 30 second registration process, which will grant you access to this live episode, and all subsequent live episodes. When you get the invite, just click the link and listen in! More at 74systems.com/radio.

Excited about my new skill on Amazon Echo! Stay tuned!!!

If you don’t try something, how do you even know if you’re afraid? What are afraid of? Starting? Or the something? Perhaps it’s failure or being judged. Just get on with it and try! Whether it’s a podcast, a talk in front of an audience, dancing, or anything else that scares you, remember how short life is and make sure you don’t leave anything behind. No unfinished business or desires that you were afraid to tackle. Avoid regret and get over your fears. You might suck, and that’s just fine. Recently my son lost in hockey 50-4 in 4 games up in Toronto. He was mad, but mostly scared of the bigger, more skilled players he was up against. My advice to him…”Score once! That’s a win son!” He scored 3 of the 4 after that. He just stopped being afraid. Today we’ll discuss this and more on Radio Ignite Live! We start live every weekday at 9am Pacific. Spots fill fast, so get there early. Register or learn more at 74systems.com. All shows are available free to the public but require a one time 30 second registration process, which will grant you access to this live episode, and all subsequent live episodes. We use Zoom, audio only, and it works on any device. Tune in at 74systems.com/radio.

We are entrepreneurs and we must think on our feet. Challenges come in at us in all directions, constantly, and without warning. But we navigate the waters better than most, because we are true entrepreneurs. If this sentence is unsettling, it is likely you are not an entrepreneur. Or, you are an entrepreneur in training. But fear, is not something we generally have. We just do it. Because at the end of the day, we want to write our own ticket, achieve the best success, fix something, build something, achieve great fortune in life and in our bank accounts. At least, that’s how I see it. We start live every weekday at 9am Pacific. Spots fill fast, so get there early. Register or learn more at 74systems.com. All shows are available free to the public but require a one time 30 second registration process, which will grant you access to this live episode, and all subsequent live episodes. We use Zoom, audio only, and it works on any device. Tune in at 74systems.com/radio.

So you buy a plane ticket for $100. What a deal. But wait, then you have to pay for your seat, another $69. Then it’s $49 for a checked bag or $55 for a carry on. You can spend another $50 to board early and you can upgrade to a seat that is actually sized for an average human for another $50. Food cost $12. Drinks are free. Cocktails are still pretty cheap too. Did I mention you need to get to most airports 2 hours early these days just to get through security? What a mess. We’ll discuss today on Radio Ignite Live. We start live every weekday at 9am Pacific. Spots fill fast, so get there early. Register or learn more at 74systems.com. All shows are available free to the public but require a one time 30 second registration process, which will grant you access to this live episode, and all subsequent live episodes. We use Zoom, audio only, and it works on any device. Tune in at 74systems.com/radio.

Sometimes, we have to just be who we are. I’m a bit of a techie, and I’m not afraid to admit it. I’ll geek out today on Radio Ignite Live and talk about my favorite gadgets and tech. I mean seriously, a self heating mug? You wouldn’t believe how much I love this thing. So does the wife. And Sonos…oh my. Music everywhere, voice controlled (sort of), and Alexa, you know the name. But there will be a few other surprises too! Be sure to tune in or catch the recording on just about any platform out there! We start live every weekday at 9am Pacific. Spots fill fast, so get there early. Register or learn more at 74systems.com. All shows are available free to the public but require a one time 30 second registration process, which will grant you access to this live episode, and all subsequent live episodes. We use Zoom, audio only, and it works on any device. Tune in at 74systems.com/radio.

Tax season is over; time to work ON your business. Let’s start with customer service and support. How many times have you contacted support or customer service and the response is “Oh, well, that is not available here…” or “No, it must be something on your end…” or “That sounds great, but it’s not something we can help you with.” It’s infuriating. Zapier is one great example of a company that DOES NOT do this. They always reply with, “Hey Eric, let me make sure I understand your question. So what you are asking or trying to do is…” and after I reply I usually get something with this tone, “Hmmm, I’m not sure if we can but I’m definitely sure we can try. Let’s work together on this and see what we can come up with.” Refreshing right? But why is this not the norm? Why do we often feel as if the company we pay for service is doubting us and immediately determining what we are asking is not in fact valid or possible? Why do companies behave this way? Simple…management and owners allow it. In fact, they create it. The attitude of the owner is always found in the response of its support team. This needs to change, but more importantly, we, as service providers, must never allow it to happen in our organizations. We’ll discuss this in detail on today’s Radio Ignite Live. We start live every weekday at 9am Pacific. Spots fill fast, so get there early. Register or learn more at 74systems.com. All shows are available free to the public but require a one time 30 second registration process, which will grant you access to this live episode, and all subsequent live episodes. We use Zoom, audio only, and it works on any device. Tune in at 74systems.com/radio.

You hear them when you call the airlines, or Apple, or just about any large company today. They’re getting better and we hate them less. Websites use them; I use them on all my sites. What the heck is this madness? What is a bot? What does it do? How can it help me? Are bots a good thing? I’ll answer all these questions and more in today’s Radio Ignite Live. Or maybe 74D2 my bot will, who knows. P.S. It’s not what you think it is. Bots aren’t taking over the world. They’re just extensions and automations of…well…us. We start live every weekday at 9am Pacific. Spots fill fast, so get there early. Register or learn more at 74systems.com. All shows are available free to the public but require a one time 30 second registration process, which will grant you access to this live episode, and all subsequent live episodes. We use Zoom, audio only, and it works on any device. Tune in at 74systems.com/radio.

Website hosting may seem like it’s just a commodity but a great web host can make the difference between lost data, downtime, lost sales due to performance issues, and the ability to drive traffic to your site depends on all of these things. Maintenance, backup, and support are truly important and the difference in cost between a decent web host and a great web host is nominal. We’ll talk all about it on today’s Radio Ignite Live.

When you go to bed, do you feel like you have a clear picture of where you are with your tasks for the day, what remains to be done, and what you accomplished? Would your clients agree? Do you sleep well knowing you have a system in place that works and you literally have “helicopter vision” of your entire practice, business, or life? Can you see it all from above, clearly and confidently so when you wake up tomorrow you will hit the ground running with a plan for the day? Today on Radio Ignite Live we’ll discuss organization and what you need to do to get things done, keep track of what has been accomplished, what needs to be, and for which clients or family member. We’ll discuss how each day you spend a certain defined amount of time doing nothing but organizing tasks, lists, your office, your kitchen, your mind, and your life. Organization brings it all together, and it brings happier clients, better sleep, and a happier, richer life. We start live every weekday at 9am Pacific. Spots fill fast, so get there early. Register or learn more at 74systems.com. All shows are available free to the public but require a one time 30 second registration process, which will grant you access to this live episode, and all subsequent live episodes. We use Zoom, audio only, and it works on any device. Tune in at 74systems.com/radio.

One of my regular tasks as an automating workflow marketer with a technology background is to sync data across different apps. The cloud has opened this opportunity up, but also made it a challenge. We use tools like Zapier (one way) and piesync (bi-directional or one way) to get the job done. We’ll discuss how these tools are used for helping you reduce overhead and market your business, automatically. The importance of syncing data reliably is part of the discussion, but if you have 1000 QuickBooks customers and you’ve not emailed them lately about your new services, DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW! We start live every weekday at 9am Pacific. Spots fill fast, so get there early. Register or learn more at 74systems.com. All shows are available free to the public but require a one time 30 second registration process, which will grant you access to this live episode, and all subsequent live episodes. We use Zoom, audio only, and it works on any device. Tune in at 74systems.com/radio. P.S. If you miss the live show, find and subscribe to past episodes at iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, Google Play Music, Stitcher, TuneIn or wherever podcasts exist. The list and links are at radioignite.com.

I’m doing exactly that right now. Yesterday I had a meeting with someone interested in hiring us because he read my book. He will be joining the Ignite System soon. Today someone contacted me because of yesterday’s Radio Ignite Live episode. Last week someone attended a live event and joined 74 Learning. Yes, it works fabulously. You just have to create content, share content, and stay the course. I added over 4,000 pieces of content to my social networks today, spread out over the next several months. It took me a couple hours to set it all up and now I don’t have to worry about it until the Fall. Leads will continue to flow. My business will continue to grow. We’ll discuss this in detail today on Radio Ignite Live.

So we bit the bullet and we are switching from the only option in town Blue Shield to an alternative health care provider. Most likely we will do Liberty HealthShare out of Canton Ohio, where I went to high school ironically. I’ll tell you all about it on today’s Radio Ignite Live.

I have been marketing for my various companies and my clients for many, many years. I’ve created radio shows on major networks, worked with the best talent, built studios and programs, and flown all over the country to promote and syndicate. It was a ton of work. Today, I have a Blue Yeti microphone, a boom arm, Zoom and Adobe Audition. I also have a son who made a great intro/outro guitar riff for me. But beyond that, I just get up, think up a topic (like this one) and spend 15 minutes live on my show talking. Then I produce it with Adobe Audition, publish it to Soundcloud. Next, my automation kicks in and shares it with my audience via email and social networks. It’s then syndicated to iTunes, Spotify, Tunein, Stitcher, Google Play Music, Pandora and more. It takes less than a half hour each day and my website hits double on show days. I make sales or schedule new consultations directly after shows. It’s fun, it’s easy and you should be doing. Today, I’ll talk about how to get started and what you need to deliver a great podcast.

The world just keeps changing and communication has changed drastically. Our kids don’t use email and I’m guessing neither should we. But what do we use? Snapchat? Facebook Messenger? FaceTime? Tik Tok? Twitter? Slack? Drift? Yes. Today on Radio Ignite Live, we will discuss the many different ways to communicate with your leads, clients, family and friends and which ones you should be using or at least considering today. Ironically, just as this show was created, a millennial from Drift using Slack sent me his phone number and said “give me a call.” I forgot about phones. Tucker from Drift (reach him @CorpoTuck on Twitter) proved my point seconds after I wrote this show’s notes. We’ll discuss that too today.

Two things I know to be true: 1. There is nothing healthy about the cost of health insurance in the U.S. 2. There is nothing “family” about family court. The systems put in place to govern our country were done so to stop the tyranny and corruption that we once experienced in the land of our founders. Is it time to do that again?

Today on Radio Ignite Live we’re going to discuss: AppleCard, News+, TV+, Arcade.

The world of lending has forever changed; but I guess money has changed too. We now send it and receive it in an instant and access to capital has never been faster or easier. Today on Radio Ignite Live we’ll discuss the world of Alternative Lending with companies like Bluevine, Kabbage, LoanMe, Can Capital, Paypal Working Capital, Paypal Business Loans (formerly Swift), and the discussion wouldn’t be complete without touching on Klarna and Affirm, instant checkout lenders.

Companies that I do business with often say, “We apologize for the inconvenience but it is unlikely that the problem is related to us.” To which I almost always reply, “I pay you, I’m your customer, it’s not working, help me solve the problem please.” And I’m almost always right. It was them. They then apologize. Unless of course it was ME. There are companies out there that own it, and just take it on and fix it, or at least try. They avoid blaming others or never act as if the problem is in fact YOU. Sometimes it is, but they treat you as a customer, with respect, always. Today on Radio Ignite Live we will discuss how customer service can change how customers behave towards you, how you can avoid being taken advantage of, but still remain focused on delivering equal and amazing service to all customer requests. Lost orders, missing transactions, errors, glitches, hiccups and more can be easily dealt with by engaging conversation. We’ll also discuss “that one client” who no matter how hard you try, they are just grumpy, perhaps downright evil, and what to do about it.

Alexa, Hey Google, Siri, Cortana…these are names you know. Remember when William Shatner would say “Computer” in Star Trek? Was it really any different? Remember, later Jean Luc Picard used an iPad most of the time (or something resembling one.) I don’t remember him talking to that device but he often asked for "Tea, Earl Grey, hot” at the replicator. He never said her name though. Today, we ask Siri and Alexa to do many things. Are they helpers or hindrances? We’ll discuss a few key ways these devices are helping and few things that might not be considered helpful at all. Jeff Bezos and Tim Cook are counting on these gadgets to take us to another level of control, automation and the need to buy more products or get our products faster, easier and at less cost. So many things to think about here, so we’ll do what we can in our short time on air.

What is conversational marketing and why do we need it? Let me just tell you that it works. By creating conversations, rather than using forms and sending emails or notes into the abyss, adding someone to a CRM and then letting them stale and be forgotten, companies can now engage and qualify a prospect in minutes or even seconds. While the use of bots are common practice here, when used properly, bots can be quite useful. Live chat is typically not conversational marketing. Also, when the chat stops the conversation ends. This cannot happen if you truly wish to cash in on the investment made to build these systems into your marketing. We’ll discuss this and more on today’s Radio Ignite Live.

Tech problems that led to interesting discussion. Learn about the new Homekit enabled TVs. Hey Siri, turn on my LG TV! We also discussed finding the payment processors that give more than just good service!

Today we will discuss the many ways retailers and service providers fail when it comes to making the payment process easy. Ironically, it happened to one of my customers this morning. But I handled it, fast, and made the sale. There are many ways to make getting paid easier, and we’ll talk about the solutions today too.

Set an alarm for 5am and you’ll hit snooze once, maybe twice. But truly love what you do and 5am can’t come too soon. I have a threshold for what makes me feel as if “I’m getting up early to tackle the day” vs “Is it still nighttime?” It’s 5am, and when it hits, my internal clock pushes me out of bed and launches me into action. Today on Radio Ignite Live, we will discuss how some people are more successful and why. Is it what time they awake? Or is it their organizational skills? Or is it something else? Tune in today live at 9am Pacific.

Today we’re going to cut deep and discuss one of the biggest issues our tax clients face during the season or anytime for that matter. Phones calls, emails and walk-ins can be extremely disrupting and yet, that’s your business right? Well, sort of. You can control, manage and make better process decisions to help you, your staff and even your client. We’ll discuss auto attendants, email management and how to protect your staff from being distracted by walk-ins and other ways customers contact us.

When someone cancels on you, you know, flakes on a call or meeting, or has a legit reason to reschedule we feel frustration right? Not me! I call it a Snow Day, where I can focus on other things or maybe just take a breath. Plus, we worry, about everything, and it’s easy to say "I can control it.” But can you? Sometimes the worry consumes us. Why do we worry so much and is there anything we can do about it? We’ll discuss this today on Radio Ignite Live!

Free? Oh come on. Is anything really free? When something is offered for free, is it free? Is free nothing more than “free now” or “free until it’s not?” Or does free mean we have to give up something else like our rights, or our likes and dislikes, or even worse, our opinion? Free is rarely free and when it comes to lunch, I’d much rather pay than eat for free. I like to know I can choose and if I’m dissatisfied, I can ask for a remedy. Neither are typically available when things are free. So if you’re free at 9am Pacific, join us for Radio Ignite Live.

Sometimes, we just can’t help but love the way things used to be. I’m running late today because my analog clock is telling me it’s 8:30am when in fact it’s 8:45am and Radio Ignite Live is about to start. Do we rely on devices too much? Can you tell what time it is when you awake, or must you look at your iPhone? If you had an analog clock and it read an incorrect time, would you know it? Digital has changed our lives but sometimes, we just need to not ask Alexa to turn off the lights and just get up and hit the switch. Or do we?

Why are there missing socks? What happens to them? Do they go down the drain or out the vent? Socks are like files on a computer and emails in the inbox. They hide from us and are often in the least expected places. Oh and if you want to spam me with your information and newsletters, go for it! eric@74systems.com I’ll gladly critique your newsletter if you wish. I mean seriously folks…SPAM in a can is kinda gross to me but spam email is really not that big of a deal is it?

We start live at 9am Pacific, Monday - Friday Visit 74systems.com/calendar to tune in Today we will discuss passwords and how to manage them without pulling out your hair and remaining secure. Two factor authentication is what? And why do I need crazy hard to guess passwords? Why can’t I use them over and over again? Come on, is it really that big of a deal? Yep. But it’s easy to deal with. We’ll discuss this and the perfect pillow today on Radio Ignite Live!

We start live at 9am Pacific, Monday - Friday Visit 74systems.com/calendar to tune in We discussed thinking on your feet and how to build and document processes that you can use each time you need to reference. I told you to get a pen and write something down. What was it? Oh and life truly is like a hockey game. The puck gets passed from player to player, a team wins, a team loses, we go in and out of the penalty box and we grow, improve and never, ever give up. Remember when you fall on the ice to get up and skate on.

We start live at 9am Pacific, Monday - Friday Visit 74systems.com/calendar to tune in We spend money on the craziest things. Sometimes it's for convenience and other times it's because things are expensive and we have little choice. But should we spend $25 for Starbucks breakfast for 2 kids and adult and settle with the partly cold sandwich that reminds us of airplane food? Even an Egg McMuffin is made to order, from a fresh cracked egg. But we can't eat breakfast at McDonalds now can we? We'll discuss this and what $25 actually gets us in life.

We start live at 9am Pacific, Monday - Friday Visit 74systems.com/calendar to tune in Today we will discuss personal instant payment systems and the differences between Venmo and Paypal and others like Zelle and even Western Union (do people still use this service??). Next, we’ll discuss subscriptions overload. How many do you have? Do you keep track? Do you care? Finally, we’ll touch on payment systems for your business and which ones you should choose or use. We start live at 9am Pacific, Monday - Friday Visit 74systems.com/calendar to tune in

We start live at 9am Pacific, Monday - Friday Visit 74systems.com/calendar to tune in Social media has changed the world, brought people together and also torn things apart. Information now moves so fast and we can either get on, hold on or get run over. But when used properly, it can change your career and income level. Let’s discuss that on Valentines Day and maybe even talk about a few dating apps. We will also talk about coffee and pancakes. You’ll understand on the air. Be sure to tune in!

We start live at 9am Pacific, Monday - Friday Visit 74systems.com/calendar to tune in Today we discussed tips to help tax preparers get through the season faster and more profitably. Hint: these tips work the same for ALL business owners!

We start live at 9am Pacific, Monday - Friday Visit 74systems.com/calendar to tune in Today we discussed getting mobile ready by purchasing the right equipment, configuring it and making it do what you need it to do. We discussed a how to find the best hot spots anywhere and why you should take the time to ready yourself for mobility.

Today we discussed juggling kids, divorce, marriage, more kids, other people's kids with lists, calendars and helping your clients learn how to communicate with you.

Today we discussed how to copy your social media from one network to another or to repurpose it later as most content is forgotten moments after it’s read. We discussed security and what to do when automation fails.

Today we discussed my social media experiment with Facebook and politics. Remember never to mix these things if you expect everyone to like your point of view and if you use Facebook for business or if you are faint of heart. We also talked about automating workflows and how they can be used by your clients as a crowdsourced mechanism but also for your own internal usage. We discussed the solid workflow at companies like Chik Fil A and In-N-Out Burger. And finally we discussed making sure you have a backup workflow method.

Great Clients ONLY - Fire The Crappy Ones - Radio Ignite Podcast schoolofbookkeeping.com by Eric Greenspan

Work ON Your Business - Radio Ignite Podcast schoolofbookkeeping.com by Eric Greenspan

Do Now, Apologize Never - Radio Ignite Podcast schoolofbookkeeping.com by Eric Greenspan

Today we discussed processes and how important they are to a company’s success. Processes need not only be created, but also properly documented. Mostly, when invoking a process, it is imperative to use the proper tools to manage and oversee.

We discussed cloud drives and how Google Drive and Google Drive File Stream differ from Dropbox and when to use either or both. We also discuss displays and how much you should care about the display you use. Finally, we discuss Vlookups, Concatenation and other cool data mining features of Excel.

Today we discussed Mailchimp list management and the difference between Tags, Groups and how and when to use each. We also discussed ETOPS.

Today we discussed Sushi and why you should never buy anything but the best fish. We also discussed parsing JSON with javascript and the perfect t-shirt.

We talked about results and workflow, plus taking a break and NEVER use sticky notes today on Radio Ignite Live Workflow Wednesday.

Radio Ignite Live - Marketing Mondays - Email Marketing - Focus Socially - Tom Brady by Eric Greenspan

Radio Ignite Thinktank Thursday - Politics in Club Sports - Be Great at One Thing Today on Radio Ignite Live we discussed "Politics in Club Sports" from the parents to the coaches to of course, the kids. But it's really a metaphor for life. Are you a difficult parent? Remember, coaches choose both a kid and a parent and your clients will choose your staff and you. We also discussed how to "Be Great at One Thing" and use that to weave it into other things and everything you do.

Today on Radio Ignite Live we discussed easy to use, automated engagement letters. The process of sending an engagement letter should be easy and quick. It is actually, and we'll talk about what you can do to get this technology going in your practice. Also, we discuss a few items that slow workflow and how to avoid them. We also briefly discussed a few automation apps to improve workflow.

Radio Ignite Free-for-all Friday - Food Delivery Services - Electronic Engagement Letters are Working - Things You Can Do to Find New Clients Today on Radio Ignite Live... - Food Delivery Services and why you should be using them - Doordash vs. the rest - Uber style - Local and legit - Quality? Decent restaurants would avoid this if they could, overhead, cost, time, too busy…
 - Electronic engagement letters are working! - Our first tests 10 sent, 3 opened, 1 completed - Reminders - Alternatives
 - Things you can do today to find new clients - Write a post about your holiday, put it on your website, and share - Join a group on FB or LI NOT for your profession and openly discuss the challenges you are facing - Send an email to all your clients and wish them a HNY and offer something…and ask for a referral - Reach out to those you work with that are not deemed competitors and have coffee and exchange leads and ideas - Get out of the office and meet people…