Spotlight on a Quickbooks Instructor: Teaching Small Businesses to Fish

Now that I more fully understanding some of the growing pains about learning to do the accounting for a small business, I wanted to talk to someone on the other side table; someone who teaches accounting and bookkeeping to folks like me.

Keith Gormenzano fit the bill perfectly.

Seattleite Keith Gormenzano has built his business around teaching small business owners how to use QuickBooks, Quicken, MS Money etc. His business’s objective is to take a personal approach to teaching owners how to manage their own financial records and to get their “accounting software to work for them instead of the other way around.”

Basically, he jump-starts small businesses so that they can be their own book-keepers. Keith is teaching businesses to fish by helping them become experts at easy-to-use software like QuickBooks. I spent about an hour chatting with Keith and during that time, I learned a few of his mantras that I thought other teachers (and perhaps other students as well) would find interesting and helpful.

Do what you love.
Keith’s background is diverse. Previously, he’s been a career temporary, a real estate agent, a VISTA volunteer, and a COO of an architecture firm. A few years ago, Keith wanted a change of pace from the 9-5 work life; he decided to strike out on his own as a small business adviser and bookkeeper. Keith soon learned that while he really loved working with businesses 1:1, he didn’t want to just be a roving accountant or bookkeeper.

When I asked him what helped him make the switch to teaching full time, he said that he tries to live by the motto of “focus on what you’re good at and enjoy.” Thus, becoming a full-time instructor and highlighting his talents with Quickbooks and teaching seemed like a no-brainer.

Know your market.
In addition, Keith seems to really understand his students. There are lots of Quickbooks classes out there (at private organizations or community-based schools), but Keith has made a name for himself in a relatively short period of time by understanding that small business owners are busy folks and potentially nervous about taking the reins of their own accounting.

He takes on clients anywhere within a 50 mile radius of his home office, and is more than willing to travel to work with his new “students”. His clients don’t want to spend all day in a classroom. They want to learn a new software at their own desks and on their own computers. Keith spends personalized time getting to know the teams, the office and the specific accounting background and concerns of each business that he trains. The one-to-one training he provides is, in his own words “intense and no-nonsense”, but he’s gotten feedback that people appreciate his cut-to-the-chase methods that are targeted specifically at their problems. In fact, many of his students have recommended that he call himself “Dr. QuickBooks.”

Specialize. Specialize. Specialize.
Keith’s words of wisdom to other instructors (or to other businesses in general) is “specializing is where it’s at!” After about a year of private instructing, Keith started marketing himself as QuickBooks instructor specializing in small business and start-up accounting and bookkeeping (since that was what his background was strongly rooted in).

In a city like Seattle, the start-up community is thriving, and also hungry for support. Thus, by targeting his skills at a market that needed him most, Keith saw his business really start to take off.

Build Your Credentials.
Around the same time, Keith became an officially certified QuickBooks Pro Advisor and also became an accredited business by the Better Business Bureau. These additional credentials were appealing to his clients, and also allowed him to raise his rates as an instructor.

Advertising can be your friend.
Keith is (obviously) a rather technically savvy guy. As he’s spent time building his business, Keith has dedicated time and resources to advertising and marketing in ways that are measurable sources of new students for him.

Keith uses the standby advertising favorite Craigslist on a regular basis, updating his ads on a weekly basis. If you ever find one of Keith’s ads on Craigslist, you’ll notice they’re a bit lengthy. For Keith… his verbosity is strategic. Keith says that the more information that he can give potential clients, the more likely they’ll find a reason to do business with you. “It’s all about building relationships and trust. That’s why I also include my rates in my ads so that the issue of payment (which is sticky for some people) can be eliminated early.”

Craigslist may be bare bones, but in the past, it’s accounted for about 75% of his new students. His main complaint about Craigslist is that for folks who know a little html, you can create really nice ads. Keith also notes that many of the leads he gets on Craigslist are just folks looking for a deal rather than serious students.
Other websites like Biznik, LinkedIn and Kijiji also have helped Keith build a robust online presence. He’s also optimized his business website for Google Adwords so that he shows up higher in Google’s search results when people search for things like “Learn QuickBooks Seattle” or “Seattle QuickBooks Training.”

I asked Keith about the point raised by some teachers that online advertising or setting up profiles for online sites can mean semi-expensive fees and time spent on non client-facing activities.

To this, Keith replied, “There are lots of places where you can post a free profile to advertise your services, but sometimes, you’ve gotta spend money to make money.”

Keith notes that almost all of his new clients find him from his online presence and his business is growing faster than ever before. For Keith, doling out a few bucks per month (for things like a Biznik membership) to get qualified leads and a high page ranking on Google is more than worth it for his business.

—-

If you’re in Seattle and looking for someone to teach you to fish in the deep swirling waters of the River Quickbooks, give Keith a ring. Here’s his contact info:

Creative Commons Photo: Stephanie Costa

Keith Gormezano aka “Dr. QuickBooks”
“The best QuickBooks instructor, trainer, or tutor in Seattle for personalized one-on-one help”
A Better Temporary, Inc.
6561 Phinney Ave N. Suite #217
Seattle, WA 98103-5255
(206) 789-8328
a_better_temporary@hotmail.com