Exploring Life & Business with Carla Thompson of The Holistic Bookkeeper Canada

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carla Thompson.

Can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today. You can include as little or as much detail as you’d like.
Born and raised in a creative and business-minded family, I learned to thread a needle, sew a button, and embroider before I started grade school. And then there was that first lemonade stand with my brother when we were kids. My first taste of entrepreneurship =) Growing up, I was always looking for ways to earn money to fund my stitching hobbies or purchase the latest album or concert tickets from my favourite bands. Babysitting plus a part-time job in food services were my income throughout my teen years. 

Following high school graduation, I earned a diploma in Junior Accounting and Business Procedures from a private business college. A career as an office manager for an international moving company was my introduction to management accounting, payroll and customer service as a liaison for civilian relocations with the Department of National Defense and a local army training base in my area.  

When I married and was raising my son and my daughter, I found creative outlets to be a relaxing break from the daily routines of a busy family. I had a small business sewing baby items that I sold at an annual Christmas market. I also created custom-made hunting clothes and accessories for an archery organization I was associated with.

Fast forwarding several years, I owned a small home-based shop designing and installing vinyl signage and decals on vehicles and storefronts. At the same time, I was vice president, bookkeeper, and office manager for a corporation where I was a 49% shareholder. And, I was the full-time assistant manager in a leather boutique in a large mall. In 2010, a major crossroads and an opportunity for much-needed change presented itself. The kids were grown, and Mom moved out! With two suitcases and a carry-on bag, I booked a flight and landed 1355 km (842 miles) from the Canadian prairie to a tiny island off the coast of Vancouver Island. After some pondering, I decided to apply for and was awarded a grant through a Labour Market Development program to develop a business plan and launch a gift shop business. 

After vending at a few small craft markets, I was accepted into juried markets and sold my handmade-with-love, one-of-a-kind crochet and textile creations. Over the next few years, I began teaching crochet one-on-one and eventually opened a gift shop in a riverfront shopping district. I had a kiosk shop part-time for a year and full-time for half a year before accepting an invitation in 2015 to move the shop to an art studio and gallery. 

When the pandemic hit in 2020, the industrial building that was home to 46 other artists and creators ended up slated for demolition and redevelopment earlier than expected. The venue had hosted art shows, open mic nights, paint & sip nights, private events, and other community events. At the time, I was one of the resident fibre artists, the events manager, the bookkeeper, and the owner’s executive assistant.

I love being in the background and I’m passionate about supporting heart-centred solopreneurs with their operations. As The Holistic Bookkeeper Canada, I now provide mentorship and bookkeeping support to others so they can build solid foundations for their business, save money with their accountant at year end and have more free time to do what they want and need to do. I also stitch crochet commissions, specializing in amigurumi, blankets and threadwork crochet. When there’s no hook or embroidery needle in my hand, I’m wandering with my Mr. Gentleman, cameras in hand, along the ocean shoreline or over an unexplored pathway where Nature surrounds us ~ our #1 way to refresh and recharge.

Has it been a smooth road? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road has definitely had its ups and downs, twists and turns, stops and restarts. When I opened my first home-based business over 40 years ago, all my marketing was by word of mouth and handing out business cards. It was decades before the internet and social media came along to assist with that. 

Adapting to technology was a learning curve. Integrating and working with online applications has sometimes been fun because I love learning new things. Other times, it can be a welcome challenge for the technical side of my brain. For accounting and bookkeeping, the software eliminated the stacks of ledgers required. Spreadsheets now do calculations with input formulas. We have the cloud to store paperwork needed in case the tax people want to confirm your numbers. The time involved in gathering numbers for reports is minimal—more time to do other things, like create or read a book.   

Creatively, I was a beta tester for a few handmade selling sites before anything really existed, so I learned to set up an online store in the code end before templates and drag-and-drop came into play. Editing product shots and writing descriptions took many hours. Etsy was brand new back then. Nowadays, the patterns, projects and processes are shared in seconds, with anyone anywhere in the world. 

Then, of course, everyone has been affected by the pandemic. Nobody saw that one coming! Personally, and professionally, it was a chance to reevaluate, regroup and tweak what was already in place. I upgraded my payroll training, now an entirely separate function in business and accounting procedures from when I first trained. After nine years, I semi-retired from creating stock for my physical and online gift shops and now crochet commission orders. Relocating and settling into a routine in a new city was another detour and adjustment that occurred in that time frame.  

With the bookkeeping, I enrolled in a community college and refreshed my credentials. Being back in a structured classroom after 40 years, and being the oldest student in the room, was a bit stressful on the first day! By the end of the semester, I was answering business and tax-related questions for the other students AND for the instructor who had been teaching for several years and out of the loop as a CPA. Achieving one of four A marks awarded in the class at final grading was a great ego boost for this grandma! Living proof, you’re never too old to go back to school or to learn something new.

What is the name of your business or organization?
CarlaThompson.Co (a.k.a. The Holistic Bookkeeper Canada)

Please tell us more about your business or organization. What should we know? What do you do, what do you specialize in / what are you known for? What sets you apart from others? What are you most proud brand-wise? What do you want our readers to know about your brand, offerings, services, etc?
I’m often asked what a ‘holistic bookkeeper’ is or does. Most people know holistic pertaining to health practitioners or lifestyle or coaching style. Holistic bookkeeping, for me, embraces those philosophies and practices. Money is the driving part of business life. A strong bookkeeping foundation must be the first piece in place to have a successful business. You need to know when and where the money is coming and going so that you know when and where to make adjustments.  

First and foremost, I’m all about building relationships with my clients. Authentic connection is one of my core values. Clients have a name. They are seen. They are heard. They are more than numbers on a spreadsheet or profits in my company. I care about what’s going on in their lives because that affects their business. I hold a safe, supportive space for my clients for where they are on their business roadmap and in their life journey. And if they’re interested in metaphysics, we work that into conversations, too. 

My ideal clients are involved in the creative arts, life or business coaches, or practice alternative healing methods. I also work with budding entrepreneurs looking to level up from their first lemonade stand. My unique specialty is helping to level up from a course that teaches “the basics of how to do the bookkeeping” to “now this is how to do the books for your business, keep the tax people happy, AND it works for you in a way you understand”. Goodbye to the overwhelm and head-scratching about what to do next. Through one-on-one business mentorship and teaching in small virtual workshop groups, my clients build their business foundation and have a support system through the next stages of business growth. If I’m not the one who can advise on a business issue or answer a question, I refer them to someone in my network of business associates who might be able to assist them.  

Do you have any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general? What has worked well for you?
Find a mentor in your industry. I highly recommend it. Solopreneurship gets lonely. Find someone willing to take you under their wing as your guide. Someone in your industry you admire and are striving to have those same qualities you admire them for. Someone to brainstorm ideas with and answer your curious questions. One of the best ways to find a mentor is to ask other business owners you trust if they know anyone interested in taking on that role. Have a virtual coffee with a few people and get a feel for how they work with their clients. Ask lots of questions. It’s an investment of your time, money and energy so consider different offers before making a decision to commit to one. Then be willing to do the work and be patient with getting results when you start working with your mentor.    

Networking can be fun, even for us introverts! Online networking groups are great because you control your environment for the most part. Break out rooms, speed connects, contact info shared and saved in the chats, you can always find a parking spot, you can keep your slippers and pajama pants on… Connecting with other businesses that serve your ideal client is another great way to network. Making connections with those who serve your client in a different way can lead to collaborations and more clients. You never know what will come out of it.  

Recently, I became a member of a global women’s networking group, Polka Dot Powerhouse, because of a friendship that formed years ago when we attended the same business mastermind group. Since joining the Dots in late 2022, I regularly connect with amazing, heart-centred and purpose-driven women who happily support each other to succeed in life and with business. Through building those relationships, I’ve accepted an invitation to speak about business bookkeeping foundations for an artist’s group, presented as an expert panelist on tax tips & year-end prep and I facilitate hands-on virtual workshops to set everything in place. My mentorship clients currently include an eBay reseller, an artist and a life insurance agent specializing in aging-in-place financial planning.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://carlathompsonco.wixsite.com/home
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theholisticbookkeepercanada/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-holistic-bookkeeper-canada/

Image Credits
PixAppeal.ca – personal photo Carla Thompson – Images 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 New West Record – Image 3