The Power of Twitter & Meeting Your Accounting Idols

From left to right - Chris Hooper, Andrew Argue, and Me

It's not often I get the opportunity to meet up with two of my accounting idols. Well, I did just that recently with Chris Hooper, Accounting Futurist at Accodex Partners and Andrew Argue of The Bean Counter in San Francisco, California.

One of my goals for 2015 was to "connect with other bloggers/accountants/readers". I'm glad that I was able to make that happen not only online, but in-person. 

Andrew coming from his location independent lifestyle in Costa Rica and Chris from halfway across the world in Adelaide, South Australia. What can I say, it was only a two hour Megabus ride for me into SF from Sacramento, CA. 

So how did 3 accountants from all corners of the world end up in the same spot?

Twitter. 

It started with a tweet and than that sparked some conversations among some like-minded accountants: 

@LifestyleAcct Hey dude found your site c/o @andrewargue. My mate @RichKohlhagen "retired" in Thailand in his 20s. Totally doable!

— Chris Hooper (@ChrisHooper87) March 27, 2015

I had been a huge fan of Andrew's because he was really the first accountant that I had come across that had built a mini-empire with his website, podcast, and  courses on The Bean Counter. If you are an accountant trying to improve your accounting career then he is an extremely valuable resource. 

And Chris. This guy is insanely passionate about the future of accounting. He is going to make huge waves in accounting and is an up and coming global accounting leader. And he's a badass too. I've never met someone that eats, breaths, and sleeps (barely) accounting at his level. What some accountants have spent a lifetime to build, Chris has already outpaced them at the age of 28. And he's not stopping there. You'll want to keep an eye on what Chris has planned because it's going to have a hugely positive impact on young accountants and the accounting profession. 

On this trip, we walked the city, hung out at the Xero San Francisco headquarters, met with some of Chris's start-up friends, and did a lot of talking about the future of the accounting profession. 

View of Xero San Francisco, CA Headquarters

And after chatting for a few days with Chris about the future of the accounting profession, the future is bright for young accountants who want a really awesome lifestyle. 

If you are currently hating your accounting job, or the boring lifestyle that comes with it, then stay tuned because I'm going to be writing a lot more about it. It's for accountants who know they want more out of life than to dredge to a cubicle or a tiny conference room surrounded by people that don't share the same vision, and doing uninspiring, unfulfilling work.

It was only this year that I started this blog, quit my job, travelled internationally, and now have made some great connections. It all began with just starting something I felt like I had to do and it has led to some amazing opportunities so far.

The Bottom Line

Getting to hang out with my accounting idols was a blast and especially in my home state. I received a lot of valuable advice and insight about both life and business from Chris and Andrew. When I started this blog, I had no idea the doors it would open and the connections I could make. I was about to give up on the accounting profession, but meeting two inspiring accountants gives me hope and gets me excited about what's to come. Even though our paths and experiences were all different, we've all experienced the same frustrations in within the accounting profession. Being able to connect like that and have your mind exploded multiple times by some of the eye-opening ideas left me with a sense of hope. Hope for the future of young accountants who are unhappy with their jobs. I look forward to sharing more in the coming months about what I have in the mix.

There is one thing I'm going to recommend you do starting today. 

And that is: just start.

You don't have to start a blog, a podcast, or a media empire. You can start small, but you need to start today. Stop putting it off until tomorrow, because that day may never come.

First thing, get on Twitter and send me a tweet saying hi, or whatever, just start following people you want to connect with like Chris or Andrew. Shoot me an email just saying what's up and or let me know if there's anything I can help with. Take action now and start making connections.