Several years ago, Jen Gardner saw a flyer for learning roller derby basic skills. She thought she might enjoy it because she grew up figure skating and tried her hand at hockey in college but couldn't quite master the puck handling. After a few roller derby lessons, it was clear she was a natural and now she's a regular player on Mob Squad in the Providence Roller Derby League.

In this episode, we talk about how letting professionalism win turns you into a stock photo. Like many of us, Jen was reluctant to share her roller derby passion with coworkers and clients because of the firm culture and how she felt others would judge her. A combination of moving to a different company and being more experienced with her work, she found that as she started talking about her hobbies more, people started to open up as well and stronger relationships were formed. So much so that the owner of her current firm has attended some of her roller derby bouts!

Jen Gardner is the Corporate Controller at The Copley Consulting Group. Prior to that, she worked in public accounting and then in a company’s Internal Audit Department.

She is a graduate of The University of Rhode Island with her M.S. in Accounting.

Ingrid Edstrom is definitely not your stereotypical bookkeeper. She breathes fire, plays Irish music in a band and makes videos with her sidekick, Penny, who was created as a prop for a Business Networking International (BNI) meeting. When the attendees commented on Penny, she realized that this was something that made her stand out, so Ingrid brings her along on all her business trips as well as appearances on the AskABookkeeper.com online education series.

In this episode, we talk about how if we act like we’re boring then how can we expect our clients not to think of us the same way? And forget about trying to attract and retain top talent if your firm thinks this way. Ingrid refers to it as “finding your inner unicorn”, your own set of passions that makes you unique. Weave these into your work conversations and you’ll soon realize that your relationships with both clients and coworkers will be on a much deeper level.

After a friend came back from a South African trip with some bottles of wine, Deja Sconiers knew she wanted to learn more. Now she's got her own blog and is educating others about wine.

In this episode, we talk about how studying wines has helped Deja be more patient at work and take time to understand and respect the process. While her office isn't super conducive to sharing, she has managed to develop strong relationships with a few coworkers -- some of which are actually helping her with her wine blog.

Deja Sconiers is an Accounts Receivable Specialist at Electrolux.

She has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from North Carolina A&T State University. She is also a Future Business Leaders of America alum.

We did it! I can’t believe it’s been a year already since we started this journey of turning the definition of “stereotypical” professional upside down. Thank you so much to everyone for listening. Thank you so much to everyone for sharing this podcast with their friends. And thank you so much to everyone who has done the anonymous research survey that’s helping support the theory in my book.

In this episode, “Recovering CPA” John Garrett covers the last year of The Green Apple Podcast guests — from creatives, to athletes, to performers, to foodies, to world travelers, to a motorcycle racer, all of these individuals are examples of how your hobbies and passions enhance your career.

Every Wednesday, John interviews accountants, consultants, lawyers and engineers who are known in their respective office for having a hobby or passion. These are all examples of people who are shattering the stereotype and he’d love to have you (or someone you know) on as a guest as well. Just message him at the contact link above.

Seth David started hiking to the top of Griffith Park as a way to exercise because it was much more interesting than going to a gym. Then he realized that talking with clients and other small business owners while hiking was much more fun than just meeting in a restaurant, so every Saturday morning he would invite others to join him using the #AccountingHike hashtag.

In this episode, we talk about how his sharing his hiking and other hobbies with others gives him an added dimension that humanizes him, especially in the world of social media. It has also helped him continue to build a community and allow others to network as well. By being an open book, it makes it easy for others to see that he is approaching his work with the mindset of service to others. All of this has directly impacted his business in a very positive way.