Articles by InFocusMedia - The Archimedes Principle

Or what happened when Jennifer Katrulya, a CPA trained in Quickbooks, teamed up with attorney Jeffrey Martin to create a new wrinkle in small business consulting…

“Give me but one firm spot upon which to stand, and I will move the world,” said Archimedes, taking a break from observing the effect of his body in the bath water. But where he was speaking of levers and fulcrums and his (theoretical) ability to move the earth – given a big enough stick – CPA Jennifer Katrulya and attorney Jeff Martin are using the ever-expanding platform of Quickbooks, and the rest of the Intuit family of business-based software to provide small business owners with the ability to blast their businesses into orbit. Business Management Resource Group, LLC (BMRG) was formed recently to help small business owners integrate many of the back office, marketing and general office functions that used to be viewed as independent operational activities.

“Many small business owners have the same general issue,” Katrulya said. “They can get so bogged down in operational necessities, like accounting or contact management functions, for example, that they don’t get the time they really need to actually do what they do best – work on their businesses. That’s what we free them to do.”

The concept for BMRG took shape in 2000, when Katrulya was working at a general service accounting firm in Greenwich, Connecticut. The firm, she explains, had many small business owners as clients and she noticed that, each year, a growing number of them were turning to Quickbooks or Quicken to handle their bookkeeping and accounting functions. Intuit had done its marketing well, she noted, and had convinced many business owners to give the user-friendly software a chance.

“But,” she explained, “at the same time, there was a real lack of CPAs and bookkeepers who knew very much about what Quickbooks could actually do. It just wasn’t what they used on a daily basis.”

Katrulya began to research what this business software was all about. What she discovered was not only a relatively straightforward means for keeping a business’ books in order – but a software platform with a bevy of other operational features that had the ability to greatly streamline the way a small business operated. But while business owners found it relatively easy to adapt their bookkeeping practices to Quickbooks, too often they left it at that.

“Instead of really using the platform to do everything that it really could do,” she explained, “they would only use it to keep their checkbook and maybe send out invoices. They would enter the same client information over and over again for each operation they needed – nothing was being integrated.”

Sensing an opportunity, Katrulya became certified through the Quickbooks Certified ProAdvisor program and began to draft a business plan for a consulting business that could bring a small business’ office operations together in one, cohesive framework – very cost effectively - using the Quickbooks platform.

“It isn’t just about accounting,” she explains, “there are organizational issues, contact management issues, marketing issues, shipping and receiving functions…all the things that you need to do to continue being able to do business. We can help you integrate everything – and then provide you with the back office, technical support to keep it all together.”

Enter Rhinebeck attorney Jeff Martin. He and Katrulya had previously worked together on various projects requiring both of their areas of expertise from time to time. Now, what had been an occasional collaborative effort began to blossom into a complementary working environment which, when combined, gave BMRG its unique, multi-layered focus.

That attention to the “whole business client” is what gives BMRG its edge over the usual Quickbooks consulting firm. BMRG has been able to “bridge the gaps” between the various accounting, legal, organizational, marketing, and office management areas that each business routinely grapples with, and has found a way to effectively link these functions together in a manner that does not financially cripple their client base.

“Large corporations do it by hiring the staff they need and then carrying them as full time employees. Small to mid-sized businesses still need those functions, but hiring them can be extremely expensive – and not terribly cost effective,” said Martin.

So, instead of needing to put a lot of people on the payroll – and all that entails - a small business owner can now choose from the wide range of services BMRG offers and just utilize those services on an “as needed” basis.

By using all of the features that are actually in the Intuit products, BMRG can:

· Synchronize Outlook, ACT! and other contact management software so that client information is only entered once

· Maintain shipping and receiving information through the software’s integration with FedEx

· Coordinate with various payroll processing companies to integrate with Quickbooks

· Intuit products also give clients the option to integrate with over 300 other specialized applications

According to Martin, these services will be coordinated for clients through a “One Stop Shop,” with Kelli McGuire (Martin’s legal assistant) becoming the point person for the company’s client base; bringing in whatever expertise they require through a developing network of experts under BMRG’s umbrella.

“The businesses we work with aren’t content to just ‘stay afloat;’ they want to be the leaders in their given industries,” Katrulya explains. “And they are willing to make the changes necessary to get them there. We help them do that by giving them the time to not just work in their business – but to work on it, as well.”

Planning The Perfect Business Event

By Debbie Kwiatoski

Planning the perfect business event is as much about substance as it is about timing, image, or who to hire to cater the affair.

“If I could give one key bit of advice,” event planner Ann Fody explained. “It would be to think seriously about why you are holding - or participating - in a given event. Second, I would get you to articulate your purpose and objectives and, finally, I would want to work with you to ensure that you have planned a budget that is sufficient to support the event.”

According to Fody, every business meeting - be it a small scale get-together on the local golf course, or a grand affair in a luxurious ballroom - should have very carefully defined goals. Otherwise, she notes, “you’re just throwing your money away.”

The objectives need to be up front in the planning and budgeting process so that they can be properly taken into account in the initial planning stages. Form, after all, tends to follow function for a reason. If one of your main objectives is to create a casual networking opportunity, for example, you wouldn’t necessarily want to plan an evening at the ballet where there would be little time for chit chat. On the other hand, if the goal is to impress a potential international strategic partner, the evening might be the perfect prelude to extremely fruitful discussions in the following days. Know your objectives, know your audience.

The next step, according to Fody, is to thoughtfully plan a budget that is realistic - but within your means.

“I’ve planned affairs that cost thousands of dollars and ones that cost hundreds,” said Fody. “Either can be successful, depending upon what you need to achieve. Often, I actually find that the stricter budgets just force me to be more creative.”

According to Fody, follow-up after the event is as important as the work done planning the event itself.

“There’s a tendency to put all this effort into planning a wonderful PR event or a successful trade show or whatever...and then, once the event is over, sit back and relax,” said Fody. “It’s fine to relax - but first make sure you do all the follow-up that should be done!”

Drive your “leads” home following every trade show, sales meeting or conference or networking opportunity you encounter. Taking a day or two to make those phone calls, write those appreciation notes or follow-up on conversations makes a great deal of difference, said Fody, in the final assessment of whether or not you’ve reached your initial objectives for the event.

Finally, following every event, take some time to reflect and “debrief” with your staff. What went well? What could have gone better? What ideas, concepts, processes or strategies should be kept the next time around? What ones should be either modified or scrapped entirely? Did you succeed in achieivng the event’s goals and objectives?

Get everyone’s thoughts on the event down in writing. Don’t just think it - ink it! You can use those notes the next time around to improve upon what has already been accomplished. Then...take that day off!

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