A Powerful Track Record in Public Speaking

My Work as a Keynote Speaker & Trainer

I have been honored to have been selected to give Keynote Speeches and Training Sessions at countless events around the country.  Teaching businesses owners to empower their passion is one of my greatest joys, and making these contributions accessible, fun, and informative is one of my personal missions.  If you're interested in booking me for a public speaking engagement, please don't hesitate to contact me today.

I've Been Honored as a Distinguished Speaker At:

Popular Speaking Topics

For Accounting Professionals

Becoming the Industry Expert for Your Ideal Client

Once you have started to narrow down your niche specialty to an industry focus, how do you establish yourself as the expert? Perhaps there isn’t an instruction manual because no one has written it. You become a though leader in your chosen industry by being the first to write the playbook! We’re going to go deep into some specific strategies on how to begin this process so that you can become the go-to expert in your chosen area of specialty.

A Consultative Approach to Your Clients' Chronic Poverty Mindset

It’s easy to overlook our accounting clientele’s human issues, yet emotions like worry and fear can permeate their businesses, keeping them from focusing on the big picture and long term success. Lack-mentality? Penny-rich, pound-poor? Many of our clients struggle with a “chronic poverty” mindset, in which cash flow problems are a part of day-to-day life. Reactive, immediate relief from these pressures, such as borrowing money or throwing a clearance sale to pull together cash for payroll and rent, do not solve the long-term problem; they can actually worsen things by encouraging short-term solutions that perpetuate the downward spiral. These are the same issues that have the clients then holding their accounting professionals at arm’s length in an effort to cut costs, when all they are really cutting is their own legs off at the knees. What can you do in a consultative capacity to help? In this session, you’ll learn how to recognize clients’ chronic poverty mindset issues and address them at their source. Discover how to help banish toxic thinking and formulate business development plans that will empower your clients to succeed.

Redefining Bookkeeper for Today and Tomorrow

The bookkeeping profession has dramatically altered over the last decade. Now that almost everything can be done in the cloud and there are a diverse array of apps to automate most data entry, the role of bookkeeper has gone from that of recorder and “bean counter” to a role of expert and trusted advisor. Bookkeeping is now a highly specialized profession that requires amazing combination of tech-savvy, business acumen, and people skills. One of the biggest challenges facing our profession is that our clients and many colleagues don’t realize that the industry has changed.

Secrets of Master Networkers for Accounting Professionals

As much as most of us are well-adjusted adults that learned to make friends back in grade school, even the most extroverted class-clowns still feel awkward in new social situations, particularly where there is pressure to be professional, make a good impression, and produce the results we are hoping for. Believe it or not, networking is a learned skill, not some innate, magical gift reserved for the people you see schmoozing it up in the exhibition hall. Whatever your level of networking experience and comfort level, you will find this presentation to be a fun way to take your business relationships to the next level.

Rise of the Human (AKA "Star Trek vs Star Wars: When Data Encounters The Force")

As technology advances, many accounting professionals fear being replaced by machines and programs that can perform accounting tasks better and faster than humans. How can we compete? The answer: Don't compete. Why try to be better than a computer at computing? A computer will never be able to match your skills at being human. This session will delve deep into the core qualities and service offerings needed to ensure that the machines will never make you obsolete. We keep hearing that the way to survive the machines is to offer more advisory services. What if you're not comfortable offering advisory services? They don't teach this stuff in school! These "soft skills" are the next evolution of the accounting profession, and a machine will never be able to replace these interactions. Machines may be developing better brains, but they do not have the heart, gut, and imagination that you bring to your client interactions. Join us to learn how to go deeper in your client conversations.

For Tours & Activities Professionals

Accounting for 7-Figure Growth

The travel industry is being disrupted by technology, particularly in the areas of reservation management and accounting. We are being bombarded with new software that is supposed to make our lives easier, but how do we keep up with it all? The amount of time it takes to find the answers to some of our questions can pull us away from the bigger questions that will help us grow and scale. Join us to learn about some effective accounting workflows for tour companies, from booking to big picture reports on your business health. We will be going over some fundamental principles that are essential for your business, and then we will be diving deeper into a couple examples of software integrations that can help your company thrive.

No More Feast & Famine: Budgeting for Seasonality

It can be challenging to manage cash flow in a seasonal business, and the result is that many businesses end up running out of cash, going into debt, having owners carry the business, or borrowing from client deposits on upcoming trips to cover the off-season. Getting a firm handle on the finances of your tours, before and after, doesn’t have to be hard. In this session you will learn some proven strategies that will help you plan ahead for your off season, as well as unexpected business disruptions. This workshop provides easy-to-use tools that can help you optimize your cash flow and make more money.

Ensuring Your Legacy: Continuation & Succession Planning for Your Business

Whether you have a mature business or a startup, it is important to have a clear idea for your next steps. What is your business without you? It can be challenging to think about stepping back from the business that encompasses so many of your dreams, especially if retirement feels like a distant future. Would you rather have your business fade as you transition to the next phase of your life, or do you want it to continue to be a thriving enterprise that can provide value to your family and customers beyond you? Understanding your options and planning for your future as early as possible can make a big difference in your life and for your loved ones, and it doesn’t have to be hard. In this session you will learn the hows and whys for intentional succession and continuation planning in your business. You will gain some tools and strategies that will help you understand the different choices available to you so that you can determine the best path to take and start putting your plan into action today.

Future-Proofing Your Business: Surviving Technology and Disruption in the Tours Industry

The world is changing, and the tours and activities industry is no exception. People are travelling, communicating, and doing business differently than they did even just a few years ago, and new changes are emerging faster than ever before. It can be challenging for businesses to evolve fast enough to remain relevant, much less appeal to the younger customer base that will carry your business in the years to come. This session will explore the changes that have already been happening, what is likely to emerge over the next several years, and what your business can do to stay ahead of the curve while maintaining the important core fundamentals of what makes your experiences unique and valuable to your favorite customers.

Ingrid Edstrom Qualifications