About Sun Dog
What We Believe
We at Sun Dog Consulting believe that the biggest challenge faced by small business is the creation of effective management and accounting systems. The small business entrepreneur works to understand the whole, see the big picture, and knows the importance of having accurate, timely and relevant numbers when making strategic business decisions.
How We Work
We take the time to get to know our clients and give them our undivided attention. Working hand-in-hand to develop a shared understanding, we determine the current situation and then act to untangle, create, select, set up and implement a management and accounting system tailored to your business needs. We don't stop until the system is dialed out and operating efficiently. Then we train you and your staff to use it effectively. When we are done, you will have a system that is a valuable tool for the management of your businesses.
Who We Are
Sun Dog Consulting is a premier consulting firm committed to whole system development and implementation; solutions for small business entrepreneurs.
In the world of small business management and accounting systems, Sun Dog is a world-class organization. Our knowledge is our greatest resource. Having studied, lived and trained in the business world, we all continue to be a part of the small business community. We are an interdisciplinary group, combining business management, accounting and bookkeeping with technology, software and innovation.
Carrie J. Goodman, MBA, Principal
Carrie brings to Sun Dog more than 20 years of experience in the business and financial world. The daughter of entrepreneurs, Carrie grew up learning the ins and outs and ups and downs of her family's floral business. She majored in accounting in undergraduate school at the University of Arizona, and received her MBA from the U of A in 1991. She has a California CPA certification, and has worked as a certified public accountant and a business administrator in the western United States since the mid-1980s. Carrie lives in Farmington, New Mexico where she divides her time between consulting and teaching. Currently an instructor in the Business Department at New Mexico Highlands University, Carrie has also taught at the University of New Mexico and San Juan College. Put together Carrie's formal training in accounting and business administration, her experience as a consultant and instructor, and her knowledge of the day-to-day operations of a small business, and you have a person uniquely qualified in the development and implementation of management and accounting systems. Carrie has developed a simple, logical approach to accounting and management systems and she is able to easily and effectively communicate with entrepreneurs as she helps them learn to "manage by the numbers."
Caralee L. Valdez, CB, Principal
Caralee fell in love with bookkeeping in 1974 and has been involved in the bookkeeping field ever since. Graduating Aztec High School in 1975, she enrolled at San Juan College, pursuing a career in Accounting. She relocated to Deming, New Mexico in 1978 with her husband, where they started their family. Returning to Aztec in 1986, Caralee continued her education while working as a bookkeeper, business owner, and temp. During this time she changed her bookkeeping focus to computers. Seeing that traditional accounting firms and bookkeeping services typically do not educate the small business owner, help them with today’s electronic accounting packages, or assist them to get a handle on their business, Caralee started First Byte, Inc. in 1998. Caralee is a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor and is currently certified in all working versions of QuickBooks. She is also a Certified Point of Sale Advisor, member of the Microsoft Professional Accounting Network, Certified NxLevel Instructor, and Marketing for Smarties Coach. She is a Certified Bookkeeper with the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers and is currently working toward a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with focus in IT at Colorado Technical University. It is through this journey that Caralee discovered the challenges faced by small businesses in developing management and accounting systems. Caralee loves the changes and innovation that technology has brought to accounting software and has learned to channel this creativity into systems development. As a trainer she excels at taking the new and chaotic and making it familiar and comfortable.
Stephen Carter
Stephen adds the technical disciplines to Sun Dog, bringing his wealth of experience in small business networks and computers. Stephen is able to understand the nuances and problems unique to small businesses and provide solutions to fit their individual needs. Depending on the project, Stephen's skills come into play during the evaluation, set up, and implementation phases.
Kristin Langenfeld
Kristin rounds out the group and provides the words, texts and documents that help Sun Dog educate and train small business owners in the effective use of their systems. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, she has more than 20 years experience as an editor, technical writer and small business owner. Kristin is an adept team player and enjoys working with a variety of specialists.
