Nancy McClelland's Biggest Takeaways of Scaling New Heights 2023

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In the summer of 2017, the weeks leading up to that year’s Scaling New Heights conference – apparently I decided to write a blog post describing my experience the previous year, as encouragement for those who might be considering “taking the plunge” themselves. (For those of you who attended… how funny is my reference? I mean, come on. That’s just inspired.)

I say “apparently’ because this was seven years ago… and let’s be honest: I can’t remember what I posted on my blog last month. But I was going through my photos from the 2023 SNH “SOAR” event, and some wonderful themes emerged – so I decided to share a writeup; and to start, I looked up previous references to Scaling New Heights on my blog at The Dancing Accountant.

What I found was delightful, and validating -- my write-up of the 2016 SNH stands up, and the themes and core reasons for attending and engaging still ring true. But now there are so many added layers! It seems impossible, but from some angles I’m actually getting more out of Scaling than in my early days of participating.

I started working on a blog post recap of my takeaways from SNH, and in going through all my photos I thought, "wow, this would make such a good video," – which it does. So if you’d enjoy seeing, like, 600 pictures of me with some of my favorite people in the industry (one of the newer angles of enjoyment), check out this 20-minute summary. I also used it as a jumping-off point for a “next-level” – yes, that’s a direct quote from Hector Garcia – MSN article on Expert Tips for Attending Scaling New Heights.

Back to my core reasons for attending Scaling New Heights:

  • Help me focus my practice on our strengths and priorities
  • Research apps, partners, and tools of the trade
  • Learn how various technologies are used in real-life accounting scenarios
  • Get tips & tricks from others in our space
  • Network and compare notes with colleagues
  • Meet vendors to discuss possible solutions

And bonus -- now there are so many added layers!

  • People & Partnerships
  • Exposure & Collaboration
  • Speaking & Teaching
  • Leadership & Staffing

First, a few general comments about the different types of conferences out there. Personally, I aim to attend at least one smaller-scale retreat, one accounting technology conference, and one tax update conference per year. Everything else I go to falls into place based on my speaking schedule, people I want to meet, my goals for the year, and so on. I absolutely love attending conferences, conventions, retreats, and advisory meetups, so in theory I could do this year-round. But as I mention in my 2017 post about

SNH, I have a business to run… time away from my team and clients can be rejuvenating and insightful, but it’s also non-billable.

As such, and in my opinion, it's important to be intentional about what you're choosing and why. What are your goals for your firm, team members, your own career development, and your role in the accounting space? Are you marketing for new clients or collaboration with colleagues? Do you need technical guidance most? Firm practice management? Inspiration? These are all valid, and all highly personal.

To get those juices flowing, here’s a list of different types of conferences that I personally consider:

  • Accounting Technology
  • Bookkeeping
  • Tax Compliance
  • Advisory
  • Topic-Specific
  • Team-Building
  • Sector

Once you know what you're looking for, then you have to figure out how to choose which conference you’ll attend in each target area. Spend some time on LinkedIn, check in with your favorite webinar speakers, and of course, consult with your professional organizations -- for me that's Bookkeeping Buds, Realize, NATP, and AICPA -- to see which members are attending what.

As an aside: I hear you introverts out there, "what do you mean, check in with my favorite webinar speakers?"

I mean, ask them whether they're speaking at any in-person conferences this year. Shoot them an email or DM on the socials. Everyone likes having fans, let’s be honest. It makes us feel like our efforts have value and meaning. And though as influencers, we’re often all friends, we're also trying to distinguish ourselves from the crowd -- it's a real compliment, truly, to hear from someone who you've reached with your messaging. Don't be shy about asking.

Then, once you've chosen the conference or retreats, I recommend you build your schedule intentionally.

-Mainstage vs Breakout Sessions

-Genres of Breakout Sessions

  • How To Choose?
  1. topics
  2. instructors
  3. format
  4. vendor-sponsored
  5. read the description & preview the slides

-Exhibit Hall - plan wisely

For a big tech conference like Scaling New Heights -- with someone like Heather Satterly hand-selecting the best speakers in our industry -- it easily takes me 2.5 hours to go through all the session descriptions and speaker lists to pick my favorites. And then it turns out that some are already booked up, and some are held at the same time... if the app allows you to "favorite" more than one, then you'll have a backup if the one you attend turns out not to be the right fit for you. I also like to take a quick look at the PDF of the slides if they're in the app to see if the level of the class is a match for my experience and background. Making a list of vendors you'd like to meet in the Exhibit Hall is another planning recommendation. I'm a huge proponent of planning ahead but not being married to your choices. That way you never waste time in the moment trying to decide what to do, but you also don't blind yourself to going with the flow. Sometimes you'll decide to engage in one-on-one or small group discussion, or catch up on Slack or app chat; that's okay. It’s actually great. Connecting with peers is one of the most important reasons to attend conferences like SNH.

So what were my biggest takeaways from "SOAR", the theme of Scaling New Heights in 2023? I summarized it into these seven areas:

  • Apps & Solutions
  • People
  • Exposure
  • Speaking
  • Staffing
  • Exploring
  • Fun

APPS & SOLUTIONS

One of my main reasons for attending conferences like Scaling New Heights is discovering apps and other solutions that can help me take my business to the next level. Some of this happens in the breakout sessions, some in the Exhibit Hall with vendors, and a lot of it occurs when talking to colleagues and asking questions about what's working for them.

  • Randy Johnston did a "vertizontal" presentation of apps by type (called “Building the Ultimate Ecosystem”, where he covered document management, expense management, bill pay, merchant services, POS, CRM and so on), and Kelly Gonsalves did a session on apps by niche (“The 5 Must-Have Apps for ProAdvisors” where she looked at many of the same solutions, but by industry). Oh my goodness, these were so valuable! I only wish they'd been back-to-back, and both on the first day, so I could have taken my notes to the Exhibit Hall vendors.
  • And speaking of the Exhibit Hall: Relay, Guideline, Bookkeep, Keeper, Tech4Accts, Digits, Synder… the list goes on... my only complaint is that I didn’t feel we had enough time outside of breakout and mainstage sessions to talk to all the solutions providers we’d have liked. I never appreciate that we’re generally expected to skip breakout sessions to attend one-on-one time with vendors. I miss Gail Perry’s SleeterCon sessions where she walked us through the Exhibit Hall and made her curated list of vendors give us a non-salesy, timed presentation.
  • Motion, for time-blocking – I predict this will be a game-changer once I muster the courage to implement it. I don’t maintain a to-do list, personally; I block time on my calendar for everything I do, so I know I have time to do it. Problem is, I spend way too much time reorganizing the “tiles” on my calendar when I can’t get to something (because my brain, though it’s had over 50 years of practice, still thinks I can do about twice what it actually can in any given period of time. Motion does the reorganizing for you – which means it “keeps you honest”. Not sure I’m ready to be honest about how much more I have on my wish-list than I can accomplish in a given week.
  • Synder for affordable, reliable POS syncing (previously I'd only used Shogo and Bookkeep) – our firm is already implementing their solutions for clients who are the perfect fit, and we’ve been delighted so far. I can’t believe, especially given how much we do with POS-syncing, that I’d never come across them before. So glad they sponsored an outing!
  • And of course, always a favorite presenter, Kellie Parks taught us how to use Chrome & Google more effectively - check out her amazing YouTube channel. I had no idea you could set up 2FA for all users through the Admin console. Just one example of all the specific solutions we learned that we can put into place as soon as we return to the office.

EXPOSURE

Something that hasn't been a goal of mine in the past, but is moving forward -- as I shift my focus to education, outreach and consulting – is exposure. Not just networking (which certainly can lead to good exposure) but actually getting photos, film, podcasts and interviews recorded and scheduled; or meeting folks to propose doing a webinar or conference session together. Having opportunities to actually prove yourself and demonstrate your strengths is invaluable. I feel like this is something a lot of people do, but not many talk about, which is why it feels important to include it here. One of the interviews I did was rebroadcast by Insightful Accountants a while back, and the Canopy Practice Management series was released on YouTube earlier this year. At SNH23, I:

  • did two video podcast interviews
  • made plans for a Bridging the Gap panel
  • set up three more webinars/podcasts
  • attended a writer/instructor social
  • accepted award at the Top 100 ProAdvisors reception
  • met and took photos with possibly everyone

And while the goal wasn't just taking pictures with everyone I was excited to see, I'll admit that part was pretty fun.

PEOPLE

Speaking of which... PEOPLE! No really! It's the #1 reason most return attendees give for going to their favorite conferences -- reuniting and reconnecting with their colleagues. I met and got to know a few amazing folks in-person that I've only ever seen in webinars or zoom calls, and cemented relationships with people I'd previously met. I got to hang out with some Bookkeeping Buds -- my favorite professional association -- and met new people who are likely to be future friends and resources. It’s a short paragraph in this article, but probably the biggest “takeaway” that any of us has.

SPEAKING

Because I'm shifting my personal focus to education, I found the resources on public speaking and outreach invaluable.

  • Panel on speaking tips & tricks: this was a world-class set of presenters – Dawn Brolin, Geni Whitehouse, Michelle Long, and Allison Ball – and they pulled back the curtain on so many areas, and let us really grill them with our own questions. My biggest takeaway here was learning how to relax before going up on stage. Geni has a trick where she hangs out with audience before each session, to feel the love and connect with her audience (which I'm totally going to use, so when you see me hanging out at SNH24 in front of my stage, now you know why). They reminded us that attendees are there to support you – they want you to succeed. There were endless morsels of goodies in this breakout session.
  • Kate Johnson, who it turns out is a delightful human being (not surprisingly), was very enthusiastic about getting us all to use video more in our practices. She suggested getting bump music and animation commissioned for our YouTube videos, which I totally did and it's so much fun. This may not have been the #1 most important thing to implement when I got back, but I did it anyway, since I have friends who are composers and artists. Excited to share it with you.
  • Marie Gibson covered the topic of online classes… her biggest gem in my opinion was that you should offer a short free one, and then a paid class or series that builds on it. She stressed numerous times the importance of making sure there's an in-person element (office hours or Q&A). As someone who offers consulting and education for bookkeepers who struggle to work with their clients’ tax preparers, this is truly gold.

Public speaking may not be your personal focus, but that's not the point: because there are probably ten or more alternative angles you could follow when attending Scaling New Heights – just pick your focus, and really lean into it.

STAFFING

Capacity challenges and leadership struggles were a big theme for a lot of people, but especially us CPAs. Because of the bad rep some big firms have given the profession (I’d say I’m not bitter, but you’d call me out on that), and the tough sell of tax season, we already had difficulty recruiting before the pandemic. Since then, it's been even harder. At Scaling I attended an excellent panel put on by Liz Scott on outsourcing. Now, for our firm this isn't my first pick (no judgement – we just service a hyper-local clientele and require a great deal of written communication with clients, so for various reasons it’s not an obvious fit), but it was extremely encouraging to learn that in case of an emergency, I have resources that can be put into place with very little lag time, and now I know how to prepare for that event. We also learned more about cybersecurity measures for building remote teams. Of course, I had the opportunity to meet potential hires and contractors while at the conference – always a bonus -- and to compare notes with other firm owners in similar situations. In this particular example, one of them had actually been on Liz's panel, and I got to meet some of her staff at lunch and talk about outsourcing from their angle. Invaluable.

EXPLORING

Some conferences are in the same city year-after-year, and some move around. Either way, it's a great opportunity to visit a new place or get to know an area better. St. Louis turned out to be a great surprise; it's so close to Chicago and yet I think I'd only been there once. We took the Amtrak there and back with friends who were also attending the conference and made sure to pack in everything we could. Also, often vendors will sponsor outings, like Synder did with their Mississippi Riverboat trip.

FUN!

Let's not forget... we are surrounded by colleagues who are as passionate about what we do for a living as we are. It makes sense that there would be synergy. Plus, many of the vendors sponsor fun social events… and accountants can party!

So I will see YOU soon in Orlando at Scaling New Heights. Please check out my session on “The Tax-Ready Bookkeeper” and come up afterwards to introduce yourself and say how helpful these takeaways and my Expert Tips MSN article were to you!

Nancy McClelland

With her CPA firm The Dancing Accountant, Nancy has been on a lifelong mission to support small businesses and their communities – as well as educate the professionals who serve them. Known for her fun, personal and direct style, it’s no surprise she insists that the future of accounting is built on relationships.

She’s currently working on creating an “ask me anything” community for bookkeepers who want to learn more about preparing tax-ready books, collaborating with CPAs, booking complex accounting transactions, and breaking into advisory services – reach out to her to join the beta group and help shape its future!

Named one of the Top 100 ProAdvisors by Insightful Accountant, as well as one of Ignition’s Top 50 Women in Accounting, she writes an award-winning blog with insights and resources for business-owners and accounting professionals, and is an engaging speaker… and 60’s go-go dancer