About Me - Up Close and Personal!

...I found a job at Shelmerdine's and worked there for the summer/winter. What a lovely place to work, especially during our coldest months. After a while I realized that I really liked Cut Flowers and wanted to be where the action was so I moved to BC to work in a production greenhouse. The experience didn't fulfill my expectations so I returned to Winnipeg and worked as the Horticulturalist for a Landscape Maintenance company. My passion for Cut Flowers led me to rent 1/2 an acre of land in Kleefeld for 2 summers and grow cut flowers to sell at the local farmers market. Although I enjoyed every minute of it, the weather in Manitoba is very unreliable and it's tough to make it as a Flower Farmer! 7 years of trying to pursue Horticulture in Canada led me to realize that it's not something I want to pursue as a full-time career any longer. I'm still passionate about having cut flowers in the Garden and my Mom still has my perennial beauties in her garden waiting for me to make my own flower garden. I do love those lilies!

Realizing that it was time to find a year-round job in Winnipeg, I sought office work. At one office I met a bookkeeper named Gail who came in only once a week to look after the books. I became really interested in her profession and asked her a lot of questions. Her flexible lifestyle and the ability to work with many different clients at different locations really appealed to me. I signed up for night school at Red River College and started taking Accounting Courses.

I graduated in Spring of 2006 (age 29) with my Accounting Certificate with Honors. It was my goal to be a self-employed bookkeeper by the time I was 35 years old. When I quit my job at a General Contractor to take a position at the Winnipeg Tax Center, a tradesman asked me to look after his books - my first client!

My hairdresser knew of my desire to be a self-employed bookkeeper and it just so happened that her neighbor was just that. I had an interview with Cindy Pelletier (CP Books) and worked with her for about 3 years while I learned the ropes and grew my own clientele on the side.

I achieved my goal of becoming fully self-employed by September 2008 when I quit my Tax Center job since I could no longer work full-time and service my clients effectively. I continued to take on my own clients and still work with Cindy to learn more. Having Cindy as a mentor has expedited the achievement of my goals, and I can't thank her enough for training, the opportunities to learn, and her friendship. September 2011 marks my 35th birthday and I've been a self-employed Bookkeeper for 4 years now.

I joined IPBC (The Institute of Professional Bookkeepers of Canada) in February 2008 and achieved my Certified Professional Bookkeepers designation (CPB) in November 2008.

In May 2009 I was approached by IPBC (Institute of Professional Bookkeepers of Canada) to be the Regional Developer for IPBC in Winnipeg. With the help of the Head Office I organized monthly IPBC meetings for the local bookkeepers as a volunteer. I made many friendships and the IPBC membership in Winnipeg has grown. At the end of 2010 I decided it was time to look for other volunteer opportunities to grow my network so Rafael Bustillo from FH Black & Company took over the Regional Developer position in January 2011.

I'm in the process of refocusing my business to provide more of a coaching and support role. I feel that it's time for a change, and time to set some new career goals.

Over the years I've realized that my passion lies with working with Small Business owners & Entrepreneurs. I love the entrepreneurial spirit and desire for constant self-improvement. I read many self-development books, listen to audio books, and attend seminars to expand my knowledge.