Our Mission
Over the past few years we’ve noticed that a feeling of genuine connection is getting harder to find. The tech giants have grown and so too have our abilities to find people with similar interests, who need our work, and who give us opportunities to grow. That advancement seems to also rob us of the sense of community and connection with those we interact with most. We, for one, miss that connection; the cornerstone moments around a camp fire, or at a ball game, shopping on main street. We have grown distant from people and we think that’s a shame. We think that connection is important, in life and in business. So important that we wanted to share something that we call our core values. WHY? Because these are the ideals we hold most dear. They color our decisions, shape the way we think, and drive us personally and professionally. Please, bear with us in a moment of vulnerability as we try to rebuild that connection with you, our friends and colleagues and share what we think are three ideals that matter most.
QUALITY just Wins!
There are three things we look for first in ourselves and then in those around us. First is quality. This adage may have been built into my core at a young age. My dad would say, “Heidi, we can do the job right or we can do it twice.” He passed away a few years ago and I miss him. He was a man who did what he said and wasn’t afraid to say what he did. He knew that a person was only as good as their word and that your work speaks for itself. I tend to agree. In an effort to lead by example, I started my life determined to put quality first. I may not be the fastest, but part of offering a high quality product means finishing on time. My services aren’t the cheapest, but a high quality product must be priced so it attracts the people that want quality work. Quality also means knowingly leaving enough on the table to build a strong and lasting relationship in which both sides can grow. That’s the kind of quality for which I strive! It means you can count on it to be dependable and consistent. We think that without the certainty of a high quality product, very little else CAN matter. With that in mind we put it first in our planning, our systems, our security, and we check to make sure those high standards are being met every step of the way. When it gets to you at the end of the line you can be confident in the decisions you make using our information to thrive in the best and the worst of times.
Offer Always Our HONESTY
The world spins faster each year, and society seems to find an increasing abundance of excuses to play fast and loose with the truth. I’ve found that if you look long enough for an excuse to do something, eventually you’ll find one you like. The world has grown comfortable with their truths coming pre-stretched and their jeans pre-ripped. That moral flexibility makes it harder to build things that last. I have jeans in my closet that I’ve owned for two decades or more. The fact that the waist band won’t grow when I do is a personal problem. But every pair of new jeans I get are in tatters after only a few years. I won’t accept a reality where our things, be it jeans, or relationships, are BUILT to fail so quickly. We used to build a bond with the things in our lives. We had a favorite pair of jeans because of the things we did in them and the way they changed over time. They could change with us because they were made with a promise. Materials were chosen and things constructed with honesty and integrity in mind, starting right in the design. There was a promise that you could establish a long relationship. You could fix things up when they got a little frayed at the edges, and those things would stick around for when you needed them most; date night at the honky tonk. We think that everything in your life should be built this way! Of course, when the tax man comes calling there are legal reasons to have an honest bookkeeper. For us, that goes without saying! But, honesty means so much more to us than just avoiding jail time. It’s the bedrock that allows us to build a personal connection with our clients, our friends, and our family. It offers a feeling of safety that goes beyond business and helps to build a sense of community and pride we think the rest of the world could learn a bit about from small towns like ours.
Candor without KINDNESS is Cruel
The internet has certainly introduced you to the downsides of anonymity. Keyboard warriors say things they would never speak to a real life human being. The fact is that all systems we deal with are human systems. We build them, we run them, and we, unfortunately, break them. Everyone has days, both good and bad. My dad used to say that the stuff a man is made of comes out in the way he treats those he has power over. I’ve found that to be mostly true. Right along with that is the fact that a person’s true colors show more on their worst days than their best. It’s easy to offer a smile and a complement when everything is going right. When everything is going wrong, still have enough grace to THANK the person who brought you bad news, that’s moral fiber. True depth of character is only revealed in moments of unexpected kindness.
My father didn’t always live up to his ideals, I’m sure none of us do. Ideals are for striving towards knowing we must fall short. Falling short is inevitable. True achievement is in the consistency of our effort towards what is right. I strive to always be kind, certainly on my good days but most seriously on my bad ones. We know the people we work with. We shop in the same stores. Our kids go to school together. I’d like to think that in our town we don’t have everything we want all the time but we make sure that each of us is getting what we need. Only kindness in the face of adversity makes that possible
The three definitions we think capture what each of those values mean in our business.
Quality
Quality means the best possible product for the short and long term. It means offering the product with a level of polish and professionalism that are due the moment and the need. The product should always do what the customer expects and whenever possible it should offer something more without subtracting from time, attention, or goals.
Honesty
Honesty means caring about what you want your experience with us to be like, and then living up to those expectations. Honesty means sharing hard truths in a kind way and accepting feedback on how to improve. It lets us build a relationship that meets your needs in as stress-free a way as possible. Security and peace of mind can only arise when reports on the financial health of your business reflect the most accurate picture possible given the most precise methods of data entry and analysis. Without honesty, there is no foundation for trust, and without trust, we wouldn’t be worthy of helping.
Kindness
Kindness means striving for every interaction to offer value and build trust. It means celebrating other’s success even in the midst of our own stresses. It means offering grace and understanding when others aren’t at their best, especially when we need them. We expect this of ourselves but also look for this in others. With kindness we can find common ground to overcome hurdles in hard times AND reinforce growth when the future is bright.
What Does Working Together Mean to Us?
Our mission is to help clients succeed by providing quality financial information. We are honest with ourselves and others so that we produce consistent results, building strong relationships that last. We strive to practice kindness at all times but especially in trying ones. We want to help you have faith and understanding in your financial information so that you can feel more secure in your decisions, growing your businesses but also enjoy the freedom, growth, and security we build together. That is the essence of our mission. The values we live by help us build a great place to own a business but also to live. We hope our work demonstrates what we value most at hla Bookkeeping. Ultimately, we care about these ideas because they help us build stronger, friendlier relationships that are a bedrock for future growth and prosperity. If for some reason you find us not striving to live up to these values, please have a conversation with us about how we can do better. We want to serve you to the best of our ability and enhance not just your experience but our community as we grow into the future.