2017 has been a phenomenal year for Enkel and I am proud of the growth that we have seen over the past 12 months. This time last year, we were a six person team with high expectations and huge potential. With an ambitious growth strategy already in place for 2018, we thought this would be a good time to sit down and reflect on the milestones that our team has achieved this past year.
A Growing Team
This time last year we had six full-time employees in our Vancouver office. As our client base grew, we maintained our hiring of bookkeepers and accountants, and now have 15 employees. We are still on the search for new hires! We also opened a satellite office in Noida India, where we now have five team members who work closely with the Vancouver team. Last month, I had the opportunity to meet the Noida team and work through some of our processes. It was an amazing experience and I expect many more trips in 2018. We are very proud of our Noida team and will be adding two new team members in January 2018.
Visit our careers page for more information on our current job openings in Vancouver!
Going Digital
When I first started Enkel, I focused heavily on referral marketing and utilizing the contacts that I have met over the years, as well as our current client base, to generate new business. I have always found great inspiration in the following quote from Walt Disney:
“Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends. “
- Walt Disney
In September 2017, I decided to add another marketing initiative into the mix by re-creating www.enkel.ca and focusing heavily on a new online marketing strategy. We are already seeing the benefits of this strategy and plan to carry on with this strategy in 2018.
Since we “went digital”, we also decided to begin using the Enkel twitter account which gave us the opportunity to make many new e-friends. From Xero and Quickbooks Online (“QBO”) app partners to other CPA’s and bookkeepers, we have been able to grow our base of followers considerably. We had the chance to meet many of them face-to-face at two industry-leading conferences: Xerocon and QB Connect.
Xero Gold Partner (Vancouver’s First!)
I have been a keen supporter of the Xero accounting platform since launching Enkel in January 2016, and have transitioned many businesses’ accounting files to Xero from their desktop programs. In late November, we were named Xero’s first Gold Partner in Western Canada, which was a huge milestone for our team. We made it our goal at the beginning of 2017 to become Xero Gold partners and this announcement highlighted our commitment to helping businesses streamline their bookkeeping processes by embracing cloud technologies.
Xerocon & QB Connect
Soon after becoming Western Canada’s first Xero Gold partner, I hopped on a plane to Austin, Texas, to attend Xero’s annual Xerocon conference. This was an amazing experience as it reinforced my excitement about building a technology-driven outsourced accounting firm. I was also able to meet a number of amazing people, ranging from like-minded CPA’s to Xero app partners.
While I was in Austin, our new Marketing Manager, Dene Paquin, was in Toronto for this year’s QB Connect conference. With a focus on meeting new QuickBooks app partners, Dene came back to Vancouver with an “app stack” that can allow us to better serve our customers by making their bookkeeping processes more efficient..
Making Friends
As mentioned, we have been able to meet and partner with a variety of app partners and organizations who are dedicated to helping the same audience that we are – small business owners. Over the past few months, we have focused on creating content and working together to share each other’s stories and values. We are happy to have been guest writers and featured by some of our partners with whom we share a common mission. You may have seen our guest articles with Plooto, Small Business BC, and WagePoint. You can find a link below to a few of our guest articles:
WagePoint – How to Make Small Business Bookkeeping Easier
Plooto – Why Automated Accounts Receivable and Payable is a Necessity for Not-For-Profits
Keela – Give Yourself the Gift of Time with Automated Accounts Payable
Small Business BC – 5 New Year’s Resolutions for Better Financial Management
And more!
At this point, we would like to thank all of those who have supported us over the past couple years. For those of you that don’t know how Enkel was first created, you can read the full story of why I quit my dream job to become my own boss in January of 2016. As mentioned, I am ecstatic about the upcoming year(s) and l can’t wait to write our “2018 Year in Review” article!
Join us on our journey!
Want to learn more about the bookkeeping services offered by our team? Get in touch today for a fixed fee price quote and free consultation!
