In November 2007, our Young CPA team was in New Orleans providing free consultations to small business owners throughout the city. Additionally, they conducted group seminars on financial literacy, starting a small business, and QuickBooks. Each day, we posted team members’ comments and pictures from the week. For additional insights, check out Tom Pender’s personal blog.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5
What do you get when you mix a team of young CPAs, a week-long financial literacy project, and the French Quarter? The first ever Gulf Coast Service Camp.

 We all met each other for the first time at Louis Armstrong New Orleans international airport. Just outside baggage claim #10. After a quick ride and check-in, we headed out to dinner for a little planning and a lot of get-to-know-ya.

The team has come together quite nicely in a very short amount of time.
Tomorrow, the real challenges begin--75 registered for the kick-off lunch and then onto our first round of small business coaching in the afternoon. Read more

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6 - Day 1
After a capacity kick-off lunch crowd of 75 (thanks, Capital One!), we opened up shop and starting doing what we came to do. The first day's crowd consisted of folks looking for help with: general business planning, QuickBooks, non-profit guidance, and intellectual property (i.e., patents) consultation. We loaded up the team with small business coaching sessions for the afternoon and didn't stop until 7:00 pm.
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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7 - Day 2
Full day. Small business coaching sessions in the morning. A slew of economic stats at lunchtime. Tour of the city in the afternoon and then back to coaching again. Community presentations in the evening. Home by 10pm. Too tired to visit the French Quarter tonight. It's fair to say the team has "bonded." (This actually took place within the first two hours.) It's also fair to say our "clients" down here are getting value. Many have very sophisticated questions about their business and non-profit situations.

We've created something that has the potential to be much larger over the long-term. But that's something to figure on Day 3. Read more

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8 - Day 3
How do you put your life back together when you don't have any life left?

While many of us dream from time to time of starting over with a clean slate, these folks would give anything to have their old slates back.

These steps to nowhere represent just a fraction of what we've encountered this week. During a week of questions about 501(c)(3)s, selecting the right entity, and recording checks in QuickBooks, it's still impossible to separate the practical from the personal down here.

As CPAs, we're taught that everything must "balance." These folks haven't seen balance since August 2005. Read more