If you suddenly came into some extra money, what would you do? One of the biggest financial decisions is choosing between investing or paying off debt. The answer often comes down to one question: Which gives you the better return? For example: 💳 If your credit card charges 24% interest and your investments might earn 8–10% over the long run, paying off the credit card is likely the smarter financial move. 📈 On the other hand, if your debt is a 3–4% mortgage or auto loan, investing for the long term may have greater wealth-building potential. Just remember that investments carry risk, while paying off debt provides a guaranteed return equal to the interest you save. There's no one-size-fits-all answer. Your financial goals, risk tolerance, and peace of mind all matter. What would you do? POLL: If you had $5,000 in credit card debt and suddenly received $5,000 in cash, what would you do? Vote and share your thoughts below! DBR

One of the questions I hear a lot is: "Am I considered self-employed?" The simple answer is this: If you're earning money by working for yourself rather than as an employee, you're probably self-employed. That could include: - Running your own business. - Freelancing or consulting. - Driving for Uber or DoorDash. - Selling handmade products online. - Doing photography, lawn care, bookkeeping, or other services on your own. - Receiving income reported on a 1099 instead of a W-2. Here's an easy way to think about it: 👉 If you're responsible for finding your own customers, setting your own prices (or accepting gigs), and paying your own taxes, you're generally self-employed. A Simple Story Imagine Jennifer loves baking cakes. At first, she bakes birthday cakes for friends a few times a year. Then word spreads, and people start asking if they'll pay her to make cakes for their parties. One day, she realizes she's making a few hundred dollars every month. Even though she still has a full-time job, she's now operating a small business on the side. She's self-employed. She doesn't have to quit her day job to be self-employed. Many people are both employees and self-employed at the same time. Why Does It Matter? Once you're self-employed, you take on a few new responsibilities: ✅ Tracking your income and expenses. ✅ Setting aside money for taxes. ✅ Keeping good records. ✅ Understanding the rules that apply to your business. The good news? You don't have to know everything on day one. Every successful entrepreneur started somewhere. If you're thinking about becoming self-employed—or you've just started—welcome to an exciting journey. Ask questions, keep learning, and remember: progress is far more important than perfection. What was the first thing you ever got paid to do on your own? Let's start Doing Business Right!

One of the biggest mindset shifts in business is realizing this: People are leverage—but only if they remove a constraint. Don't hire just because you're overwhelmed. Hire (or outsource) to help your business grow. Ask yourself: ✅ What's the biggest bottleneck in my business right now? ✅ Could outsourcing solve it more efficiently? ✅ Will this increase revenue, capacity, or profitability? For many small businesses, outsourcing services like bookkeeping, payroll, marketing, or IT is often the smartest first step. You gain expertise without the long-term commitment and overhead of hiring an employee. The goal isn't to build the biggest team. The goal is to build the right team at the right time. What's one task you'd love to delegate so you can focus on growing your business? Let's start Doing Business Right! DBR For more information on this topic, check out the DBR Bookkeeping community.

As many of you know, before starting DBR Bookkeeping, I spent many years as a professional musician, conductor, educator, and Army Bandmaster. The more time I spend in entrepreneurship, the more I realize how similar music and business really are. Both have fundamentals. Before you can perform at a high level, you have to master the basics. In music, it's rhythm, tone, and technique. In business, it's understanding your customers, your finances, and your systems. Both require constant practice. Great musicians never stop practicing, and great entrepreneurs never stop learning. There's always room to improve. And both depend on collaboration and trust. An orchestra only succeeds when everyone does their part. The same is true in business. Whether it's your employees, business partners, clients, or referral network, success comes from trusting others and working toward a shared goal. The older I get, the more I appreciate that success isn't about one perfect performance. It's about showing up consistently, improving a little each day, and helping others sound their best too. What similarities do you see between music and business? I'd love to hear your perspective. DBR

One of the ways I continue to serve my clients is by staying up to date with the latest changes in QuickBooks Online. Every year, QuickBooks ProAdvisors complete a recertification exam to maintain their certification and learn about the newest tools and features. I'm excited to share that I've officially completed my 2026 QuickBooks Online Recertification! This year's training covered some exciting updates, including: ✅ New AI-powered features to help automate bookkeeping tasks and improve productivity ✅ Enhanced Sales and Customer tools for managing client relationships ✅ Better Expense and Vendor workflows to simplify day-to-day bookkeeping ✅ Banking and Accounting updates for improved accuracy and efficiency ✅ A preview of the new Intuit Accountant Suite, which will eventually replace QuickBooks Online Accountant with even more practice management tools ✅ Workflow improvements throughout QuickBooks Online to make navigation and daily tasks faster and easier One thing that really stood out to me is how QuickBooks is evolving beyond accounting. It's becoming a platform that helps businesses manage not only their finances, but also customer relationships, projects, and workflows—all in one place. If you're only using QuickBooks to categorize transactions, you're probably missing out on some powerful features. You can view my updated certification here: https://www.credly.com/badges/f115fdc6-a800-48bc-81c8-890003483b64/public_url I'm looking forward to bringing these new insights to my clients and the DBR Bookkeeping community. Let's start Doing Business Right! Dr. Bryan Raya