July Meeting Minutes
   taken by Sandy Stites, Secretary

August 2001 -- You can apply for SB City College fall 2001 classes

For information: Computer Applications Dept. SBCC 965-0581, Ext. 2260 or http://www.sbcc.net/academic/ instruct.htm

Financial and Managerial Accounting classes available online visit http://online.sbcc.net or call 965-0581 X7222 for information.

8/17- Deadline for application  to SBCC

8/20 - Classes begin - SBCC

8/26 - Schedule of Classes- SBCC Continuing Education – published SB News-Press (Available the previous week at the Schott Center).

9/11 - SBCC Continuing Education (Adult Ed) classes begin

 A fabulous little book for the "Accounting Challenged" and a great resource for clients is the "10 Minute Guide To Accounting for Non-Accountants" By Wayne Label, CPA

Letter from the President

My term is nearly done. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being President AND I’m ready to hand over the responsibilities to someone else. I’m happy with the contributions I’ve made to the Association in the last two years AND I wish I had accomplished more. I conversed with a lot more of you than I had before AND I’m sorry I didn’t get to know more of you better (but there’s still time for that!) I guess what I’m trying to say is…I have mixed emotions at this time. AND I’m pleased to announce that we have some outstanding candidates for the new term!

SBBA Officer Nominations for 2001/2002 are:

President: Lisa Corbett

Vice President: Carola Nicholson

Treasurer: Ken Jurgenson

Secretary: Holly Adamscheck

Please come to the September meeting to cast your vote!

I will continue to administer the SBBA website, and will support the new officers in whatever way I can. Thank you Lisa, Carola, Ken, and Holly for agreeing to be nominated as officers! I look forward to your leadership!

Caron Garliepp

In a recent EDD newsletter, it was announced a wage directory is now available. "I took a look at it and it wasn’t too bad." The web address is: www.calmis.ca.gov/file/occup$/DCLAW$.htm
or, you can order a printed copy for $21 @ (916) 262-2162.

Simply Accounting is providing a $60 rebate for ACCPAC if you purchase by 8/31/01. I have coupons, or call (888) 724-9273

Submitted by Pam Allman, CPA

SBBA Board Meeting Notes

Since the SBBA’S beginning, any member who had served as an Officer was entitled to subsequently serve as a Director…indefinitely. We have reached a point where this is no longer feasible. The current Board is comprised of the four officers and five directors. It has been determined that this is a manageable number and we should remain at a Board of nine members. Consequently, beginning with the term starting in October, the Board will consist of the four officers, the immediate Past President, immediate Past Treasurer, the two Directors who have served the shortest period of time, and Pam Allman (who as our founding member and advising CPA, will remain on the Board as long as she wishes to serve.) As the President and/or Treasurer changes, the longest-serving Director(s) will rotate off. Therefore, effective October 1^st, Sandy Stites, Kathy Leer, and our two longest-serving Directors (Maureen McClimon and Vicki St. Martin) will retire from the Board. THANK YOU SO MUCH to these member (and the other past officers) for your generous & judicious contributions that built SBBA to the great organization it is today! We appreciate all you have done and know that you will continue to contribute in whatever way you see fit.

We also discussed the possibility of having (one or two) "members at large" serving on the board. These would be members who have not necessarily previously served as an officer. The Board will take input from the membership on this subject during the next term and reach a decision about this before the beginning of the 2002/2003 term.

The rest of the meeting involved discussions among the current officers and the officer nominees in an effort to make the officer transition occur as smoothly as possible.

The SBBA Officers & Board Of Directors
Submitted by Caron Garliepp

• The policy of this organization prohibits the sale, distribution, or other use of the SBBA mailing list or e-mail server list for other than SBBA business.

• Any information contained within this newsletter not stating "Submitted By" or "Source" was supplied by this month’s editor.

Here I am…this month’s newsletter editor - my first run at it, and I have nearly an entire column to fill! Since I’m rarely at a loss for words, I will use this opportunity to offer a few ideas that may help the "new to freelance", self employed bookkeeper.

You have an opportunity to set yourself and your business up to support your lifestyle as well as your life. What I mean by that, is…1) be clear about how many hours per week or per month you want to work. This really helps when deciding whether you should take on a new client or not. 2) Be clear about what schedule YOU desire, (and supports your lifestyle, whether a parent or happily single) and book all your work AROUND that. If you need Monday or Friday afternoons off – schedule around it. You simply offer to your clients that you already have an appt. for those times, or have a previous commitment. Why work for yourself if you don’t take care of your (your family's) needs first? That is the beauty of self employment. Try it, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to set your own schedule when you know what you want.

Lastly, be clear (and very honest) about your abilities. If you are new to bookkeeping/accounting, go out of your way to educate yourself, whether through classes or self study. Don’t be afraid to ask for help/advice – you are surrounded by a myriad of expertises in our group, and every one of us had our beginnings as well.

Submitted by Monica Dittrich

Editor of this month’s Newsletter was Monica Dittrich. Thank you Caron Garliepp for your availability in proofreading this issue! Next month’s editor will be Julie Raffety.