When Jamee Dion, owner of Balanced Bookkeeping, attended Scaling New Heights through the support of the Accounting Cornerstone Foundation (ACF) scholarship, her business was already gaining traction.

Based in Charlottesville, Virginia, Jamee had grown her bookkeeping practice from nothing into a real client base in just a year and a half. But despite the rapid growth, she still found herself questioning whether she truly belonged in the profession.

“At that point, I was largely feeling imposter syndrome,” Jamee shared.

She had built her business the only way she knew how, by figuring things out as she went.

Working from Google Sheets, listening to podcasts, and teaching herself along the way, she was doing everything she could to grow. But she knew there had to be more efficient, professional ways to strengthen her firm.

What she needed most was exposure to the tools, strategies, and people who were already doing it successfully.

The Starting Line: Building Something From Scratch

Like many early-stage entrepreneurs, Jamee’s business was built through determination and resourcefulness.

“I was truly bootstrapping everything,” she said.

While she had already proven she could attract clients and deliver quality work, she still had questions about how to scale her firm in a sustainable way.

At the time, attending a professional conference felt almost out of reach financially.

“I was too scrappy and too startup to even imagine earmarking $1–2k on a conference,” Jamee explained.

But she knew how valuable the experience could be.

When she discovered the ACF scholarship, she applied, hoping for the chance to learn directly from experts and connect with others building similar businesses.

The Turning Point: The Power of Community

At Scaling New Heights, Jamee quickly realized the true value of being surrounded by other professionals who understood the journey she was on.

The biggest takeaway wasn’t just a session or a strategy.

It was the network.

“Build your network,” she said. “That was the biggest lesson.”

In fact, one of the relationships she built at the conference continues to shape her business today.

Jamee connected with another scholarship recipient, and the two formed a biweekly mastermind group that is now entering its second year.

“Our continuous work together has largely upleveled my entire firm,” she said.

Beyond those long-term connections, the conference also introduced Jamee to conversations around value-based pricing, a topic that challenged the way she thought about structuring her services.

“Pricing was a hot topic at my conference,” she said. “I’m still tweaking things two years later, what a tricky task!”

But perhaps the most impactful learning moments happened outside the scheduled sessions.

“It’s absolutely the hallway conversations and breaktime conversations that make the experience,” Jamee explained. “Being able to debrief what we learned with others was transformative.”

After the Conference: Investing in the Right Systems

When Jamee returned home, she made one of the most important investments in her firm.

She implemented Keeper, a customer relationship management platform designed for accounting firms.

“A whole CRM,” she said. “That was the first major investment I made in my firm.”

Seeing the software demonstrated in the conference technology hall showed her exactly how it could improve her workflow and streamline client communication.

The impact was immediate.

“I actually saw how it could expedite my workflow, and it has made all the difference over the last few years.”

She also updated her engagement letter, tightening protections and expectations after attending a legal-focused session during the conference.

These changes helped transform her business from something improvised into something structured and scalable.

A Business That Continued to Grow

Since attending Scaling New Heights, Jamee’s business has evolved dramatically.

Her firm has grown to serve around 40 clients, a milestone she believes would not have been possible without the exposure to technology and best practices she gained at the conference.

Along the way, she has:

• scaled her client base
  • hired staff
  • refined her niche
  • experimented with new operational structures

“I absolutely went from side hustler to true firm owner as a result of that conference,” she said.

Even now, she credits the relationships formed at the conference as one of the most meaningful outcomes.

Her ongoing mastermind partnership has helped her navigate challenges like burnout, pricing changes, and niching decisions.

“It’s so nice to have a peer in the space to go through business ownership with,” she said.

Why In-Person Learning Matters

For Jamee, the value of in-person learning comes down to one simple reality.

“It’s so easy to get desensitized to others when everything is virtual,” she explained.

Being physically present creates space for honest conversations, not just about business strategies, but about the realities of life as an entrepreneur.

Those human connections make the experience far more impactful than learning alone behind a screen.

Receiving the scholarship itself also had a personal impact.

“It made me feel like I was actually legitimate and worthy of education and advancement.”

Paying It Forward

Jamee believes the Accounting Cornerstone Foundation plays a critical role in helping early-stage professionals access opportunities they might otherwise miss.

Her message to donors is straightforward.

“Their contribution pays back in dividends.”

And for anyone unsure whether they should apply for the scholarship, her advice is simple.

“Just do it.”

Sometimes the biggest transformation begins with the chance to step into a room full of people who remind you that your work matters.

If Jamee had to describe her ACF experience in one word, it would be this:

“Humbling.”