Tag Archives: Networking

Austin Powers

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As if the past year didn’t have enough excitement, my 2023 has started off with quite a bang! I havn’t even hit my one-year mark here at Avalara, and I was just starting to feel settled in on my amazing A-Team. So of course, I’ve been given an opportunity that I just can’t turn down.

Amid a recent restructure, a mission presented itself to lead Avalara’s Accounting Strategic Alliance Managers team. Overnight I’ve inherited seven rockstar teammates. With less than a week in this new role, I headed to Seattle where I was privileged to watch MY team absolutely clean house at our recent Sales & Marketing Kickoff. Together, with our cross-functional colleagues that make up the Avalara for Accountants team, we’re on a quest to provide the best partner experience to each of our firms, and uncover new ways to drive success together for Avalara, our partners, and mutual clients.

Honored doesn’t even come close to the feeling I have that Jeff Roth (and the Avalara leadership team) has entrusted me with this group. I don’t know that I’ll ever truly be able to express my appreciation to Jeff Sobers, who is literally guiding me step by step into a role he has previously turned to gold, and is now handing to me on a silver platter. I’m ecstatic to help unite the various players on the Avalara Accountants team, and am indebted to Sona Akmakjian, once again, for believing in me to partner together and build out this branch of her program.

I’m beyond excited to reconnect with all the firms and partners I’ve worked with over the last 15 years, and get to leverage all the relationships I’ve built (if we haven’t been in touch lately, please reach out and let’s re-connect!). More than anything, I’m so proud to be joining this group and help them reach further and climb higher than they’ve ever been before. We have big goals to reach in 2023, and I have full confidence we’re going to exceed them!

I know a picture is worth a thousand words. So here they are – take a good look at my new dream team: Ben, Brigitte, Brett, Jamee, Jeremy, Jesse, and Mike. Thank you all for the warm welcome! I promise we will work hard, play hard, and sleep later! It will be a true privilege to help lead our Accountants team to the best years ahead!

Powers by name…Powers by reputation

Orange is the New Blue

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Have you ever made a decision, then watched as everything around you seemed to fall perfectly into place ─ and step by step you saw, felt, and just knew in your heart it was the right choice? Well, let me tell you a story about the last few weeks…

It’s certainly not the first time I didn’t see the curve ball coming my way. I had just been promoted, and was happily humming along my merry way. One Friday afternoon, at the end of a very long week, my wiser half reminded me that there’s a big (Orange) world out there. In an attempt to prove his point, Mr. @AustinNexus asked me to make a phone call. After the last 12 years together, if I’ve learned anything at all, it’s to always do exactly what Mr. @AustinNexus says to do.

That 15-minute phone call turned into another, and another (thank you, Sona Akmakjian)…and before I knew it, I was falling in love with the thought of taking a leap, of joining a hungry team, of building something that years from now we’ll look back on with incredible pride, and most of all, of wearing Orange and officially becoming an Avalarian!

Today I begin a new chapter, as I accept the role as Director of Global Strategic Accounting Partnerships at Avalara. As the kids would say, I’ve got all the feels. I’m anxious to dig in and get to work building out our strategy. I’m excited to partner with new teammates and have the opportunity to learn and grow. I’m so looking forward to getting back on the road, finally, and being able to make eye contact and sit in the same room again with accounting partners. I’m quite frankly petrified that I’ve forgotten how to walk in stilettos (people, it’s been 25 months since my last business trip!).

Amid all these mixed emotions that I’ve navigated the past several weeks, three reminders have sustained me and become the perfect tag lines for this season:

Everything happens for a reason

I’m fully confident that although change can be uneasy, stressful, and even uncomfortable, God put me right here, right now for a very specific purpose.

Timing is everything

I’ve known Avalara longer than I’ve known Mr. Austin, and even talked about joining the “A Team” several times before (always indebted to Marshal Kushniruk), though it just wasn’t the right moment of harmonic convergence…until now!

The best is yet to come

If we don’t get uncomfortable, we don’t grow. I can’t wait to see all the ways I’ll be stretched for the better in the new role. I’m looking forward to this next season where I get to become the best version of me!

Remember Every New Beginning is Some Beginning’s End

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On October 28, 2013, I tweeted a tweet I never expected to tweet. It was a photo of my new Intuit badge, sent from an amazingly outfitted campus in beautiful San Diego, where I sat for my first day of new hire training. And, eight and a half years later, I’m sharing something I never expected to share, as I turn in that same badge today. Funny enough, the caption remains the same:

Remember every new beginning is some beginning’s end…

For those who haven’t known me that long, the story of my joining Intuit is one that I’ve often compared to “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days”. I really wasn’t that interested, but with each conversation I had with tenured Intuit employees, I became more excited about the company, more enamored with the culture, and more impressed with so many of my future colleagues.

In some ways much is still the same, yet in others, everything has changed. When I got to Intuit I had just turned 30, and was racing to make all the accounting profession “lists” (much in part thanks to my then boyfriend, who I often referred to as my publicist). I had a few years of experience with large firms, and was anxious to continue building my personal brand with the incredible accounting professionals that had so graciously adopted me into their community. Today, as I prepare to say goodnight and sign-off one last time, I do so as Mrs. Austin (marry the guy who always makes you look better than you are). I succeeded in landing on the list of all lists (THREE times!),and before I’ve hit 40, I can talk about the decade of my career that I’ve devoted to serving top firms, and helping them reach their goals. I guess you can say that I grew up at Intuit.

I’ve been fortunate to work with some incredible people over the past eight years – some still here, and others have moved on as well. I found myself posing with Intuit CEO Brad Smith at the top of the rock in New York City, celebrating the top achievers at Sales Club (and would have had more of those adventures if not for Covid). I traveled all over the US – from Hawaii to Florida, and just about everywhere in between – sharing how QuickBooks Online can change firms’ practices, and accountants’ lives. I snapped selfies with Intuit Founder Scott Cook in a packed cafeteria one April 15th while we both participated in the TuboTax LifeLine “all hands on deck” week. I spoke at national conferences, and I was able to give back by investing in the future of the profession while working with firms’ internship programs and guest-speaking to high school and college students. I had an amazing mentor, and I was privileged to be able to mentor a handful of my teammates too. To all of you who have been part of my Intuit story – thank you from the bottom of my heart, and know that I’ll forever have your imprints on me. I truly hope that I’ve made an impact on you as well!

Anyone who had the honor of serving at Intuit under Brad Smith knows the power of “Bradisms”. As I tried to find the right things to say today, it’s no surprise that I went straight to Brad’s words – to a personal note he left me here on this blog, shortly after he stepped down as CEO, which ended with one of his familiar mantras, and some of the best advice I could echo:

“Work Hard – Be Kind – Take Pride!!!“

To be continued…

Surviving #QBConnect

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It’s hard to believe that this will be QuickBooks Connect #5! I’m excited to say that I’ve attended each & every one of them, and they have all been filled with moments of inspiration, entertainment, celebration, and memories that will last for many more years to come! As I pack my bags & head to The Bay (yes, I know the way to San Jose) this year, I thought I’d share just a few of my #ProTips on making the most of your time…

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Caffeinate/ Hydrate!

The week will be grueling! You’ll start early, end late, and be on the go nonstop. I make at least one, usually two trips to Philz Coffee each day, just to survive. You’ll also see me chugging water as fast and often as I can (for those who don’t like buying $5 waters at the hotels, there’s a Safeway within easy walking distance of the convention center).

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Bring your Dancing Shoes (and a lot of them)!

You’ll be on your feet ALL. DAY. LONG. I highly recommend bringing a few pairs of shoes to change into on different days, because if you’re like me, your boots were NOT made for walking!

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Be Yourself

Unless you can be a unicorn…then be a unicorn (and drink plenty of #UnicornLibations). QuickBooks Connect is such a great opportunity to meet with partners, small businesses, developers, and colleagues from around the globe. I’ve heard story after story over the years about new strategic relationships starting at QBC and blossoming into great partnerships. Don’t let this chance slip by. Make the most of it & make as many new connections as you can by being authentically you.

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Don’t get Star Struck

We’ve seen Oprah, Martha Stewart, Michael Phelps, and some amazingly inspirational celebrities & entrepreneurs at QB Connect over the years. I think the best lesson I’ve learned is not to go into the event assuming you know what the message will be – if you keep an open mind, you might find that it will be blown when you least expect it.

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And remember, at the end of the day, we’re all the A-List here at QB Connect – they’ve rolled out the QuickBooks green carpet for us all!

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Make time for Friends

Perhaps my very favorite thing about QB Connect is the guest list. It’s the biggest event I attend each year, and sometimes it’s the only chance to give real-life hugs to some of my favorite customers, partners, and friends. Don’t be so busy rushing from session to session that you forget to take a few minutes to enjoy being together. This community is amazing, and each of us play a part in making it better each day.

Get Your BeautyFunction Sleep

For me, I have to make choices. I can stay out late & pretend that I’m the life of the Avalara & TSheets Party, or I can get to bed, get up early for my cardio session, and actually be semi-functional each day. If you can manage both, more power to you, but for the rest of us, my advice: Take a few photos, then tweet them the next morning & nobody will know what time you snuck off to bed!

Soak it All In

I know I’m biased, but Intuit throws a greatparty! We’re here to work hard, learn hard, but play hard too. Keep that in mind as you go about your business this week. As my great-grandmother used to say, “The happiest people on earth are those who make play out of work”.

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One of my favorite memories of QB Connect was getting to lead a Power Panel session last year with an all-star line up. I had to pinch myself just a bit to make sure I was actually working & not dreaming!

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Learn from Smart People

People ask why QB Connect is always in San Jose. Well, with Intuit HQ just up the way in Mountain View, it allows us to send some amazing resources to the event to listen, learn, and interact with some of our most valued customers & partners. If I can help you get connected to anyone on your list – please let me know! My job this week is to make sure you get the absolute most out of your time with us!

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Be Scrappy

A note to my fellow Intuit Teammates: We’re the hosts here, so take the opportunity to roll up your sleeves & jump into the mix (especially if that means getting out of your comfort zone!). This week will be a success if we deliver awesome to our thousands of guests, and that may mean going the extra mile to do so. Let’s be sure we do whatever it takes to show QBC 2018 that Intuit cares (whether that means retrieving partners’ luggage, or settling for the way back seat in the jam-packed SUV – hey, just be sure you’re in good company back there!).

Don’t expect to be productive on Friday…

I suggest keeping your obligations (outside of nap taking) to a minimum when you get back from San Jose. Mark my words: You. Will. Be. Dead. Tired. Prescription for Post #QBConnect recovery: LOTS of R&R!

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Leave Them Wanting More

Finally, I couldn’t put this together without the reminder that this is Brad’s last QB Connect as Intuit’s beloved CEO. I have been privileged to serve at Intuit under this amazing leader for the past 5 years, and I consider that one of my top professional honors. As our fearless leader welcomes us all to his house this last time for QBC 2018, let’s all follow suit with his sentiment and remember to give it our all, and ensure that each & every person who walks through those convention center doors can’t wait to come back next year for more!

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My Trip to Austin

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If I were to pick up my phone & ask Siri for directions to Austin, I’m fairly certain that an 8-hour round-trip drive in an “Ultimate Edition” through the Mojave Desert to Las Vegas & back is not the preferred route…but speaking from experience, it the most scenic ride (and it comes with a Cappuccino Heath Blizzard)!

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It definitely took a while – so long that people were probably wondering if I’d ever make it after all – but I knew I’d get there exactly when I was supposed to, and that everything would turn out exactly as it should.

If you ask me, my trip to Austin started back on June 6, 2010 as a gracious industry colleague pulled up to my house and loaded a squeaky duffel into the trunk of his rental car & inquired “Do you think there’s a DQ between here & Vegas? I could really go for a Blizzard”…You could probably end the story there & say the rest is history.

It wasn’t until much later that I realized agreeing to drive across the desert with someone I barely knew, and had never spent any time with outside of business meetings, could have turned out VERY different…but after absolutely nailing our partner debut at AICPA Tech+ that week, our victory ride home turned into what we have always referred to as the 45 minute drive home from Vegas.

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Now some might have a different perspective – I know my Mom & Grandma would likely say my trip to Austin took about 32 years, seeing as they’d been praying for my journey since July 7, 1983.

Of course, you could also say that it started on January 23, 2010, at P.F. Chang’s Irvine Spectrum of all places, where a few industry professionals gathered one Saturday evening to network (& the only notable request was “nothing fried, please”).

As with any trip, there were milestones along the way – things that stand out and stay etched in my memory as I look back on how far I’ve come…I’ll never forget October 17, 2010 – when I got chauffeured to the airport in the wee-hours of that Sunday morning, and as an added bonus, a fresh medium iced coffee from Peet’s, my favorite.

There were also some fairly traumatic stretches, like November 12, 2010, when I had to return the favor of an airport drop-off (and a detour to Dallas).

Two days later, on November 14, 2010, I was back on track & heading straight for my destination picking up speed & never looking back. I can honestly say that’s the day that my life changed forever, and I realized I was meant for Austin.

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Fast forward four years – and a LOT of badgering from friends & colleagues – on December 13, 2014, my journey continued on foot. This time up the San Jacinto tramway out in the Coachella Valley, where I officially agreed to relocate (and picked up an amazing souvenir for doing so).

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8 months flew by, and on August 30, 2015, in Palm Springs, California, I finally pulled in at home. It had been an unconventional road to get there, filled with laughs, tears, struggles, and victories, but I wouldn’t trade a single moment for anything.

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I’m not quite sure how 2 years have gone by since I married my best friend, and became Mrs. Austin. It’s hands-down the greatest decision I’ve ever made. Not because life is perfect – goodness knows we’ve had our share of curveballs thrown at us – but because I know life’s highs couldn’t be half as great, and the lows might not be bearable without sharing the ride with Brian.

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As it turns out, a few things in life are actually more about the destination than the journey.

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Happy 2nd Anniversary, Babe – now, let’s get some carrot cake!

#PSILoveYou

Play Your Position

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Growing up playing soccer, I learned many lessons about being a good team player: don’t hog the ball; cover for your teammate when they need it; when you get a break-away…don’t look back! As the resident center forward, I spent most Saturday afternoons gloating about how many goals I scored – of course, very aware that it took an entire team to get me the ball, cover for me, and ensure that while I was sprinting down the field with the ball, nobody was going to sneak up on me at the last minute and make me miss the shot. There’s no way I would have had the successful 10-year run in the sport had it not been for my teammates.

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And every once in a while, when the lineup was laid out, I would see my name somewhere other than front & center, but on defense instead. I admit, I loved being the star & getting the high-fives for making the victories happen, but it was also very necessary to fill in when I was needed in the back field – or to give others a chance to be in the spotlight. So I would take the field and give it 110% every time, and be sure that I helped our team win every way I could.

Little did I know that 20+ years later, I’d be using those childhood soccer lessons in my professional life. For the past 9 years, my various roles have centered mainly around attending accounting conferences and trade shows – I made my name in the accounting world as “ScanSnapKim” by doing so, and have met so many amazing people on the road at shows. While the show circuit can be exhausting at times, there’s such a great community in which you become a part, and I look forward to seeing them at each event.

When I started at Intuit back in 2013 as part of a new Business Development team & program, we saturated the events world as a way to get our message out to our accountant partners. The past 2 years have been absolutely brutal, but amazing at the same time. I’ve often compared it to building a skyscraper – you have to first dig down deep, to ensure that you’ve got a solid foundation that will support the exponential growth yet to come. Of course, very few people see how much effort goes into building everything below ground – it’s always the building that gets the attention.

With that, we’ve had an incredible past year, as QBO has hit and passed the one million company mark here in the U.S. – and our team is a huge part of that growth. I’ve loved being part of this success – scoring victories along with my accounting firms as they transform their businesses into being firms of the future with QBO and cloud technology – and getting recognized internally and in the accounting profession for doing so.

All the success has come with lots of changes too – new leadership, new initiatives, new responsibilities. As we round out our fiscal year, I’ve been asked to play a new position, which will keep me out of the conference circuit for most of the remainder of the year. For the first time in years, I’m missing some of the “can’t miss” events that I look forward to each year. But I won’t be putting my suitcase away. In fact, I’ll be traveling more than ever as I visit accounting firms and work strategically with them to transition their practice…those meetings, which are vital to our success at Intuit, don’t however have event hashtags.

So as I sat in an all-day training session in Dubuque, IA this week, and now rush around the Mid-West from meeting to meeting, I’ll be thinking of everyone at Expensicon. Last week I could only sympathize with my fellow ITA members as they braved the Houston floods at ITA’s Spring Collaborative. And when I see all the photos from my work friends in the Bahamas next month at Scaling New Heights, I’ll likely be driving from firm to firm in Southern California. I’ll be missing all the laughs & photo opps, but I know I’m where I need to be to help Intuit reach our next goal.

My absolute best season of soccer ended unusually for me – I didn’t make the all-star roster, which was tough for me to swallow…but at our end of the year party, my coach presented me with the game ball – the ball with which we won every game of the season but two, the ball that took us to a sudden-death shoot-out in the championship game, the ball that she told everyone I had put the most marks on throughout the course of the season.

My hope is that as I play my position at Intuit this year, I’ll be fortunate enough to put a few marks on our game ball, and when I see everyone next year, I’ll have some great stories to tell about what we’re doing to help or firms reach for the cloud.

Soccer

When Work Stops Being Work

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I wasn’t ever able to meet my Great-Grandmother, Nellie – she passed away several years before I was born. My parents, determined to instill in me her wisdom, even gave me her name (Kimberly Nelle – this is after she insisted that she “wouldn’t even name a dog Nellie”). My three brothers and I grew up hearing stories about Grandma Nellie, who had played such a big role in my mom’s childhood. Of all the stories we heard though, one in particular comes to mind as I travel around doing this thing we call “work”. See, Grandma Nellie always said, “The smartest and happiest of all people are the ones who make play out of their work”.

This was what my parents used to tell us as my brothers and I would be facing the daunting task of cleaning our bedroom…perhaps that’s why I remember it so well (we heard it a LOT). But as I’ve grown up and had a taste of “grown up work”, I realize just how great this advice truly is.

I’m pretty blessed. Sure I work my butt off, and travel all the time, sometimes go without sleep or food (or both) – heck, sometimes I’m just happy if I can tell you what time zone I’m in. But all in all, I absolutely love what I do – and the number one reason I love it so much, is because of the people I’ve met along the way. Last week was a great example of that –where my weekend-off disappeared, yet I still managed to love every moment of where I was and who I was with.

The ITA (Information Technology Alliance) provides two opportunities each year for those of us in the accounting world to connect with industry colleagues, partners, clients, and friends in a special way. By drawing some of our profession’s biggest names & brightest stars, each Fall & Spring ITA event winds up being a sort of “Accounting Who’s Who Schmooze Fest”, to say the least. The intimate setting of just a few hundred people ensures that quality networking time with the right people is also a priority. And the best part: No trade show booths! Those of us that work the trade show circuit know that those events serve a purpose, but something that really sets ITA apart from other industry events is the way we as vendors are able to really integrate ourselves right into the community in a very organic way.

Above all, these gatherings give us an opportunity to build lasting memories with our peers, that otherwise wouldn’t happen. From late-night In-N-Out Burger runs, to field trips to local oyster bars, to perfecting the art of “Steveing” (which is a completely different blog post by itself), to quality heart-to-heart conversations with people who have walked down roads in their career that I will one day cross myself, there’s really something magical about this group. And every once in a while, a memory is made like the one below that won’t soon – or ever – be forgotten. While I may not be the smartest person, Grandma Nellie – thanks to your advice, I’m most definitely one of the happiest…

The Social Network

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After spending the first half of last week in SoCal, then jetting off to NorCal to continue a marathon of meetings, appointments, conferences, and calls, it’s safe to say that the highlight of the crazy few days was the time I had to network with friends and partners. This shouldn’t come as any big surprise, seeing as I tend to be a broken record when it comes to the value of one’s network. So on the heels of a week filled with numerous examples of just how important these relationships are – I figure there’s no better time to post a tribute to a few folks that I have the pleasure of including in my own social network…

To start, my hat goes off to Doug Sleeter, and the entire Sleeter Group team for pulling all the right people together at the 9th annual Sleeter Group Conference (one of the most successful networking shows I’ve been to this year). From Monday evening’s Keynote session featuring executives like Rod Drury of Xero (who came in all the way from New Zealand), Sage’s Himanshu Palsule, and the legendary Greg LaFollette, to Wednesday afternoon’s closing session presented by none other than Rick “The Closer” Richardson (sorry I missed it, Rick – but so happy we got to have lunch!), Doug brought out all the big guns.

For me, the greatest value in a show like that isn’t the things I learn from sessions – and isn’t the prospects that I meet in the trade show expo area. It’s all about the networking time. People always ask me how I manage to keep up with all the traveling I do, and the real answer (even when I’m as tired as I am right now) is that I just don’t want to miss out. There’s nothing better than the ability to spend 5 minutes with René Lacerte – or having the pleasure of catching up over dinner with Jennifer Warawa.

When I departed the conference, I took my networking on the road…my next day started out with one of CPAPA’s 25 most powerful women in accounting, Geni Whitehouse – someone I’ve always seen at shows, and have heard about for years, but we hadn’t had a chance to spend quality time together. As if one legend a day isn’t enough, I ended my evening with one of the only reasons to visit San Jose on a regular basis: Taylor Macdonald just might be in town. Spending time with Taylor is sort of like learning at the master’s feet. I think I turn into a sponge whenever I’m around him, hoping to soak up as much advice as possible…what a privilege I’ve had to be included in his network these past several years.

While all of this was happening, one continuous networker (who I never actually saw in person) that always adds the right color to the mix, Xero’s Community and Coffee Queen – and lover of the best color ever, Catherine Walker was a constant social media presence. People like Catherine are true examples of leveraging social media to shrink miles between a network. While I ran out of time to stop by and share a premium local coffee with her, I somehow still feel connected to Catherine as we exchanged numerous messages on Twitter.

While we can only be in one physical place at a time – we can reach the entire Twittersphere with a simple 140 characters. In my last post I declared that there’s no replacement for face time. While I firmly believe this, leveraging our social network can often create lasting impressions on those relationships we hold so dear.