But this hasn’t always been the case. Until recently the bookkeeping industry has been poorly regulated and the barriers to entry have been low, meaning anyone that completed a quick course in computerised accounting would call themselves a bookkeeper. This type of bookkeeper contributed to the profession struggling to establish a foothold as a valued professional in the community.

The contemporary bookkeeper is a professional in their own right. They are recognised in law and regulated by the Tax Practitioners Board. They are subject to penalties that strike at their ability to conduct a business and earn a livelihood. Any qualified professional that is willing to risk their livelihood is a fool.

The introduction of the Tax Agent Service Act 2009 aims to rationalise the industry and only those professionals that meet stringent professional criteria will remain.  And that is the point, the bookkeeping profession is in a state of change that will position it as a valued and respected part of the accounting community.

The bookkeeping industry has never looked better and it continues to improve. There are many qualified, experienced and professional bookkeepers working in the industry. Many are members of professional bookkeeping associations that aim to promote the professionalism of the industry.

But still, and I expect to get a little flack from this, some bookkeepers still have old thinking stuck in their head. Back office number crunchers, data entry processors, under appreciated by their clients and accountants. But really, WHY? If you are good at what you do, you should celebrate it. You should tell people about it. You should increase your fees. You should prospect for a better type of client and offload the ones that simply aren’t worth the trouble. Be proud of the contribution you make to your client’s businesses.

And, if you are the type of client that thinks they can save a few dollars by recruiting the cheapest bookkeeper, well “Don’t look now, but your house is about to fall down”.

Accountants are meant to be all about the money .. sales .. margins .. expenses. And here I am saying that the warm, fuzzy feeling engendered by passion is more important! Pure madness!

Well, I had better explain myself.

There is no doubt that profit is crucial to the prosperity of a business. Your long term strategic planning should be based around the idea of making a profit, without profit the business will surely fail.

So, you may ask, what has changed?

Many economic experts are predicting a tough Christmas for small business. Whilst these people are not always right, I think it is better to err on the side of caution than valor and accept that the weight of opinion indicates they may be right.

Since the GFC in 2008, large sections of the retail, property, manufacturing, tourism and construction industries have struggled. Just when you think there is a light at the end of the tunnel, BOOM, the headlines read, predictions of a second global recession. Business owners are worn out from the last three years creating a feeling that has been referred to as Gloom Fatigue.

Despite this grinding down, exhaustion and the Christmas period just around the corner it is time to buckle down a little longer, take a deep breath and give one more effort!

This is where passion kicks in. You will need to dig deep, find every ounce of commitment to soldier on and do it again. Profit can take a back seat for the moment, but don’t forget about it, you still need to review your budgets and trading results and implement marketing and sales strategies to put money in the bank.

Remember a business can survive a while without profit, a little longer without cash flow, but when the inspiration is gone the end is nigh.

And one last note, you are not alone many business people are feeling the pinch at the moment. Talk to your colleagues, ask them if they are okay, share your thoughts and ask them for theirs and let’s support each other as we all put in one more effort.

Passion is the difference that makes me go the extra mile. Call it commitment, call it what you want, I call it passion. Passion drives me to continually look for better outcomes, either in life or in business, it is the difference when times get tough and I need to dig a little deeper. Passion is a focus that continually drives me not only to do those things that I like to do but also the things that I need to do. The difference between success and failure is often an accumulation of those 1% moments, those little moments that make the difference between a good job and a great job.  Passion often makes the difference when it comes to those 1% moments.

In essence my response to my client, was, “I’ll tell you why passion is important to me. I love what I do and I am committed to my clients and passionate about my business.   To get the most out of life you need passion, without passion there is no persistence, without persistence there is no performance. Without performance we are all just spectators on the stage of life. I choose not to be a spectator”.

That is why passion is important to me. Why is it important to you?

Before I start my babble perhaps I should provide a little background information for those of you who don’t know who Andre Rieu is.  Andre Rieu is a classical musician who produces enormous stage shows that have to be seen to be believed. Andre Rieu is the all time highest selling musical act in Australia and has been unfairly labelled by the “stuffy musical elite” as presenting “Classical Music for Dummies”. But he certainly knows his market and what to sell to them!

Watching an Andre Rieu concert is an incredible experience. Even my kids love it when the orchestra start playing Bananas in Pyjamas.  But I also watched the concert and saw a unique business perspective, and not in terms of the fact that he has sold millions of DVD’s and CD’s. Andre Rieu currently has 4 DVD’s in the Australian top 20 charts. Pink only has three!

When you listen to orchestral music you are confronted with a wall of sound, 50 or more instruments all playing at the same time. It takes great talent to put all this together into a great piece of music. But what I noticed was each instrument played a unique part in the performance and if you listen to each instrument individually many would bare little resemblance musical piece being played. The combination of playing the right note at the right time, at the right tempo produces a result that is truly magnificent.

Is your team playing the right note at the right time?

Great teamwork is crucial to an orchestra just as it is in business. Great teamwork relies on having the right person in the right seat. Don’t ask a percussionist to play the piccolo. Too often we make the costly mistake of squeezing the wrong person into the wrong role and then wasting time training them. Dedicate time to recruiting the right person and developing the skills they have, not on developing the skills they don’t have! In terms of working on an individuals skills, prolific author Marcus Buckinham says, “work on what was left in, not what was left out”.

The other observation that I made was how much fun Andre’s orchestra was having. If you have watched an Andre Rieu concert, you will notice that everyone is having a great time laughing and joking around. Not the usual high-brow classical concert! How can these people, who play the same pieces of music, night after night, continue to produce outstanding performances and remain enthusiastic. The answer is PASSION.

When Andre Rieu introduced his orchestra, he made special mention to the one thing that drives his orchestra to produce these amazing performances, ”they play from the heart”. His team love what they do, they are passionate and they give so much night after night and enjoy themselves.

Have a look at your team, do they genuinely love what they do? Are they passionate? Successful people often have an enthusiasm that drives them to go above and beyond the call. They are passionate about what they do. Contrast this with the clock watchers and the ones that couldn’t care less. To produce great results you must have passionate people.

Small business can learn from watching Andre Rieu and not just about his music. Small business people can learn to: