Rachel Fisch really enjoys singing. And she happens to be really good at it as well. So much so that she was the director of a choir and sang a duet for her church's Christmas service. If you're lucky, she might also break out the chorus of a song mid-conversation if you happen to say a word that triggers it.

In this episode, we talk about her transition from bookkeeping business to owner to Senior Manager at Deloitte Canada. There happens to be a Partner in the office who also enjoys singing, so she's been able to make a connection right away with her new coworkers. Once she started delivering CPE, she realized how similar it was to being a Choir Director -- there's a wide variety of people at different levels that all need to understand the same information.

Rachel Fisch is currently working at Deloitte Canada as a Senior Manager in Accounting. Prior to that, she was the owner of FischBooks, a bookkeeping services firm.

She attended Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and later Assiniboine Community College. She is also a Quickbooks Online Certified ProAdvisor.

Brad Moore served in the Canadian Special Forces and has used this experience every day in his corporate career, especially as a CEO. His military training taught him to move toward activity and face challenges head on, letting specialists do what they do best to accomplish the mission.

In this episode, we talk about how he teaches parts of his military training, breaking things down into a series of tasks and instilling the idea of being accountable to each other. Taking a little time to show them the fundamentals gives the team confidence to overcome any obstacle together. In his words, "anyone can be developed if the right mechanisms are in place."

Dawn Brolin is all about having fun, especially in the office. Whether it’s nerf guns or shooting hoops outside, she is right there in the center of it all, which is pretty unique considering she’s the CEO. In her words, “If money is what drives you then you’ve got it all wrong.”

In this episode, we talk about how having fun at work has led to increased productivity, better morale and stronger connections at work. In fact, her clients are even drawn to the fact that Team Brolin can serve their needs despite not being focused on work all the time.

Bailey Smith’s is best summed up by her twitter byline which reads, “Accounting is her trade, music is her passion.” Going to a Vertical Horizon concert in 2000 reignited her passion for live music, causing her to set a goal to attend more live concerts and to learn to play the bass guitar. Years later, she is now friends with the band, regularly attends live concerts (tracked in an Excel spreadsheet) and is taking lessons on her bass guitar. She’s even the Treasurer for Friends of Levitt Pavilion in Denver which is helping build a new music venue downtown.

In this episode, we talk about how she’s a naturally shy person, so it took her some time to open up to coworkers and clients. She soon learned the importance of sharing and, just as importantly, asking others to share as well. While most of us are very busy and just focused on getting the work done so we can go home, it’s important to take a few minutes to develop those connections.

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.