Kendra Vyse is an entrepreneur, accountant, and business strategist with a passion for educating Canadian entrepreneurs and business owners on accounting and business planning.
Q. What or who has been your greatest influence in business?
My family really has been my greatest influence, both in my career before my business, and when I announced I was opening the doors of my business. My dad had his own accounting practice for over 30 years, my mom was a fantastic and entrepreneurial school principal and had a Christmas craft store for years, my Gramps was a self-employed carpenter, and my Granny did my Gramps’ bookkeeping and was one of the first two women streetcar drivers in Winnipeg, Manitoba. As you can see entrepreneurship is in my blood! And my fiancé is very supportive of my business, always encouraging me and sharing my business with everyone.
Q. When you first started your career, how did you know you were ready and what made you start?
I had been thinking about it for years and when I realized that my current job was not what I wanted to be doing for the rest of my life, nor any of my past jobs, I did some digging and found a program that would help me start my business. So I made the leap and never looked back. Best thing I ever did, except buying my Wrangler! (Long story, but it’s why my fiancé and I are together)
Q. What is your favourite thing about what you do in your career and why?
I love helping others and fitting the puzzle pieces together.
Educating people and seeing the light come on when they understand how the pieces of their business work together, I love it! I help them have the best business possible, and it means I’m helping someone live their dream.
I also love taking the numbers and fitting everything together so that a business owner can see and understand how their business is doing, and where they can improve. It’s fitting all those puzzle pieces together in such a way that makes sense and gives information that helps drive business decisions. Each client is different, and yet each is the same. Everyone needs accurate and timely information to drive their business forward, and I love that I’m the one helping to provide that to my clients.
Q. What keeps you motivated on a daily basis?
My family and my clients. Being able to do what I love, in a way that I love, that helps Canadian entrepreneurs and business owners have the best business possible, that keeps me motivated. And being able to take the time to spend with my fiancé when his schedule is not a standard Monday to Friday, 9 to 5, is also really important to me. I have a wonderful group of clients that all understand and agree that business is business, but family life is important too.
Q. What do you have going on that you’d like to share?
There’s a few new things happening this year.
I am launching a new course for Canadians who are looking to start their business, or have just recently started their business, and want to make sure they get off on the right foot and have all of their i’s dotted and t’s crossed. It’s an overview of all of the steps needed to start a business in Canada as well as a community to help each other out.
I am also launching two new memberships. One has a focus on bookkeeping and accounting for Canadian business owners. I want everyone to understand how their bookkeeping is done and understand their financial statements. I believe every business owner needs to understand their numbers, even if they outsource the work.
The second is to help entrepreneurs and business in owners in developing their business plan, because a plan is needed for financing, but I also believe it’s needed for every business. It’s your step by step process for getting from where you are now to where you want to be.
