The Morning Formation Podcast brings you real stories, hard-earned lessons, and perspectives that can help you navigate adversity, stay prepared, and keep moving forward.
Each episode features conversations with people who have faced challenges, pursued meaningful missions, overcome setbacks, or dedicated their lives to making an impact. Guests come from all walks of life, including veterans, first responders, entrepreneurs, athletes, military spouses, leaders, and everyday people with extraordinary stories.
You’ll hear honest conversations about resilience, purpose, service, personal growth, preparedness, and the experiences that shape us. Whether you're facing a challenge of your own or simply looking for a fresh perspective, you'll find stories and insights you can take with you.
Host KP Phillips brings more than two decades of experience as an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran, former law enforcement officer, and tactical instructor.
These conversations give you the opportunity to learn from other’s experiences, gain new perspectives, and take something meaningful into your own life.
Warriors, Fall In…It’s time for our Act Now & Execute Edition.
I enjoy highlight folks in our military community who are out there taking advantage of the educational opportunities and today, I am joined with a military spouse, Danielle, who is a member of Act Now Education and was recently presented and took a job opportunity with Intuit and it was all in part to a certification that was exclusively offered through Act Now Education.
For more military community education opportunities: www.actnoweducation.com
This episode is powered by act now education, go to www dot act now education.com For free comprehensive educational resources and opportunities for active duty veterans, military spouses, and children or yours fall in, it's time for act now and execute addition. I enjoy highlighting folks in our military community who are out there taking advantage of the educational opportunities available to them. And today, I'm joined with a military spouse who is a member of act now education, and was recently presented with a with a job opportunity through into it. And it was all in part to a certification that was exclusively offered through the ACN Education Team. Daniel, I want to thank you for joining us today. Thank you for having me. So Danielle, what is your current status? Your spouse is currently active duty in the Navy, correct? Yes.
Danielle Alvarez:
Okay, and so he's a corpsman in the Navy. Yeah. And he's been in maybe 11 years. 11 years? Wow. So 11 years, you've been dealing with the ins and outs of everything that has to do with being a military spouse? Yes, yes. It's definitely, honestly been a challenge. You know, I think like my dad, he, he would say, oh, you know, going into the military, because it's gonna be really hard.
Unknown:
I was like, Oh, Dad, I'll be fine. But like, I got in, and they were like, so many challenges, especially, you know, with trying to continue education and, you know, getting jobs. Yeah. So, how did you find out about acne education? And now that you've been a part of the organization, what are your thoughts about it? Um, I think that I just kind of was in a spot where I, I didn't know what I was gonna do, you know, we were in the middle of, like, my husband was in California. And I was staying with my parents, because we were like, in between PCs moves. And I was just like, oh, and I had my son at the time, who was he hadn't turned one yet. And I was pregnant, like, I need a job, but I don't know if I could leave my son. Or, you know, at this point, you know, with our economy now, like, I would need to have a job that, like, where I could afford childcare if I was going to work in person, you know, and that's one of the things that was really a struggle for me. And then, I was just kind of like Googling, like, opportunities, whether that be like continuing education. I think the first thing I found was like medical coding, and it was do like, I think it's called sepco. I don't know if that's familiar from saying that wrong. And then basically just do the, like, deep dive in the rabbit hole. I found military act now. Right? Military. And I just was like, blown away at like, all the opportunities and like networking opportunities that they offered. And, and not just for it, because at first I thought it was just for like active duty. But no, you know, there were a lot of opportunities also for military spouse says. And I'm someone who likes to learn and likes to study. So when I found out that they also offered the free account with the the Coursera, Coursera, Coursera, Coursera, Coursera, I was really excited. And I'm not 100% sure how I found out that the bookkeeping course, correlated, you know, with like the job, honestly, it kind of happened by accident. So I was excited. And I think that's how I found it was through Google. And since then, since being a part of this community, like, I feel like I've been trying to get the word out telling, you know, military spouses that I know, you know, my husband even I was like, There's stuff on there for you. I'm always tagging him. And, you know, like, oh, because he likes you know, like it cybersecurity kind of things. And I'm like, there's lots of stuff for that. And my, I just made a new friend on base and she likes tech stuff. And I was like, their stuff. Are you there too. So I just feel excited when I know that like, it gives people hope, I think, to be able like to pursue something. And it's mostly all free. So that's great, too. Yeah, I can definitely tell the excitement in the post that you wrote on the active education Facebook group, how excited you were to just share the information but I think the excitement also comes from kind of like turning on a light switch where everything in the room was dark and all of a sudden you find that switch and boom, now you've got this endless amount of opportunities out there. And you just want to share that light with the entire world more or less, especially with our military community. So I really appreciate you doing that. And that actually shows a lot about your character as well who you are as a person, because some folks will do that, well, they will take advantage of the certification, then they'll just keep going straight. You on the other hand, you're reaching back, helping out your friends helping out your community. So I really appreciate you for doing that Danielle. And the bookkeeping course that we're talking about specifically, was to acne education. Would you mind talking about the certification and explain to the folks out there listening who may not know what bookkeeping is, what it actually involves? Um, so the course is definitely like a beginner course. But I think it does a really great job of teaching you basic accounting principles. And so what bookkeeping, bookkeeping is, is basically helping, you know, small company, or small businesses keep track of their, like money, how it's moving in how it's moving out. And like your assets or liabilities. So you're basically just helping them, you know, keep track of it. And then also, you know, you, you help them like see patterns. So like, there's financial statements that you can also provide and help explain to, you know, see trends, you know, whether that's within the business, or within or like the industry. So, I think it's pretty cool. I mainly, like worked with children before this. So this was definitely like, stepping out of, like, everything I knew. And I felt like into it, the course that they made. It really like walked you through, like and made a good foundation to start bookkeeping. So it's like four courses. And each, each course has a like, case study. And what I really liked about it was that they, the way that they explained, it was kind of like walking you through scenarios, which to me is like perfect, because, you know, you kind of want that like practical knowledge too. So like, you know, whenever you talk to a business, and they're like, well, here's my shoebox full of receipts, what do I do with it? And that's literally, I think, the first scenario that they walked you through and taught you all the concepts. And it was really great. I definitely. It's been a. So I took that like starting in July ended in October, and I was on and off studying for that. And there were a little, it was a little bit tricky as far as like, some numbers wouldn't line up. And so I was like, I think there are a few errors, but they probably fixed it by now. So I definitely use like YouTube to like deepen my knowledge and like accounting coach to really kind of make sure that I understood, you know what I was learning. So it was really great. It was it was a good course. Yeah, it sounds like it's a good course, as far as bringing that nice, soft landing for someone that's not really familiar with bookkeeping, and translating things in a way that you would really understand. And you know, before this interview, Daniel, we talked about why you why you wanted to share this information why you wanted to do this interview as well. He talked about locking arms. So would you mind sharing with everyone out there why you agreed to do this interview and why you're so ecstatic about the opportunities being offered through act now education? Yeah, absolutely. Um, so I'm kind of a person that I overthink things. And I have a lot of like self doubt. And, you know, before, you know, being a part of this community, I felt really hopeless, and I wasn't sure what I was gonna do. And I felt like time was running out. And I honestly just was kind of in a depressive state. And, you know, finding this community really started to bring light and hope like, I could do something and finding this opportunity. And like, knowing at first I didn't believe it. I was kind of like, this seems too good to be true, but like, Hey, I'm just gonna go for it anyways. And, like, it worked, and it happened. And like, I can't tell you when I got the call, like, I felt like I could breathe again. And I just want if I could share that experience in that feeling of relief, and hope with someone else like that, will, you know that that alone will make me feel accomplished. And I just feel like especially this community, there's so many other spouses, like me. And if we can just link arms and help each other, I feel like, that's what we need in this community is is a village and people who are out there, like helping each other. And I, if I can, if I could do that, for at least just one other person, you know, that would make me feel great. No, you definitely embody everything that I stand for with this podcast, because that's what it's all about the one thing that I missed when I was in the military, I miss standing in front of the formation and having a positive effect on the soldiers that I would lead. And, you know, every day, I felt like I was out trying to get them to take advantage of the education opportunities, look at the bigger picture. And so you actually are invited the character of and the spirit of the exact person that I love to interview and, you know, this job that you were offered through into it? Can you tell us about the position? And what are your expectations or goals moving forward from here? Sure. Um, so I was offered the QuickBooks live, Senior Associate, bookkeeper. So, um, let's see, I wanted to start off kind of slow and start off with like, a 20 hour work week, but, you know, I was offered, you know, so you can kind of pick so in the beginning, it seems flexible, but it's kind of set once you get started, you know, they have a 20 hour work week 2529, and a 40 hour work week. And since I picked 20, I had the option of like, a five day work week or a four day work week, the five day being like four hours, you know, shifts. Yeah, and then the four day work week being six hour shifts. And there's a video i There's a video called day in the life of a QuickBooks live bookkeeper. And that one was really insightful to like, the person on there interviewed someone who's in this position. And she, you know, has been working for like a year, and that one was really, really insightful. And it's the channels called bookkeeping side hustle. And my recruiter was like, you know, because I was telling him like, oh, yeah, I was watching this video. And she said, a lot of the things that you were saying. And he was like, Yeah, we actually work with that person, like to spread the news about the job position or something like that. So basically, that's kind of where I learned a little bit more in detail about like the position itself and that. So my role is more like beginner. So front office is kind of the position that I'll be, which is a client facing, but on vert force, the person who was the front office, which I think is what I would be position said that it's not, you're not on call, you know, on the video the whole time. It's like, you make appointments, and I think they're, like 15 to 20 minutes, and like, you're a small little window on their screen. And you kind of help your clients with any questions that they have, about, you know, QuickBooks or their bookkeeping needs. And then I think you do like daily tasks, and you're part of a team. So you know, you have your like managers, and then I think you have like your front office, people, and then your back office people. I can't remember what the back office people do. But maybe if I learned more, I can share that. I'm sure in due time, I am sure in due time, you'll figure it out. And you'll get to get to know the entire virtual workforce. It's it sounds really exciting. It sounds really exciting. And I'm really, really happy that you agreed to do this interview with me. And if anyone out there is injured, and by the way, for the video that you're talking about, I will go ahead and post all those in the show notes. Okay, awesome. I can link it to you too. Yeah, if you would, please. I'll put it down in the show notes. And then, Danielle, if anyone else out there interested in contacting you for anything that you mentioned today, and just want to follow up with you on anything, how can they contact you? Yes, I I forgot I was gonna look up my LinkedIn. Oh, that's okay. You know what I was? I will, I will put it down. And yeah, I'll put it in the show notes. And, and is there any anywhere else where they can contact you? Yeah. So you can come talk to me on LinkedIn, or if you're part of the group and you can search my name Daniel Alvarez and just pm me on Facebook. I've been trying to keep up with answering questions and just trying to help whoever I can. Yeah, you know, a great way is to go to the Facebook, the acne Education Group, add yourself to the group. And then Danielle is actually on there as well and I know that your posts has received A lot of comments. Well, you've been answering those. So that's a great place to reach out to Danielle as well. So just to summarize everything, Danielle, is there anything that you want folks out there to know before I finish up this interview? Um, honestly, if I can do it, you could do it. Like, I know, people say that all the time. But I have zero experience in bookkeeping, and accounting. And, you know, I, you know, I was telling him about, like, oh, like, my parents had a small business. And I tried. No, like, I kind of mentioned it, but no experience. So I know, I know, if I can do it, you can do it. I absolutely love the enthusiasm. You got me excited for you actually, during this interview, you really did. I love I love the enthusiasm and the motivation that you're bringing to the table, Danielle, and I, I know Intuit is feeling the same way as well as far as bringing you on to the team. And so for anyone out there, please check out act education, go to www dot acna education.com. Or you can go to the Facebook group act now education, there's a couple questions to answer very simple questions to verify that you are a part of the military community. And then once you add yourself, you're gonna see all the different posts on there from the act now team members. And that's how Danielle basically found this opportunity. And now she's being offered a job. And she's as you could tell through this entire interview. She's extremely happy and it's great to hear. So thank you, Daniel, for giving us your time today. I really appreciate it. Awesome. Thank you so much for having me. And for everyone else out there. I want you to stay tuned stay focused and stay motivated. Warriors Fallout
