Black Sheep Books Ltd.

Meet our Team

Faye Mortell:

Since taking accounting courses in high school, and simultaneously learning the ropes from her Mum who did the bookkeeping for the family business, Faye has loved the math puzzle that is bookkeeping. Despite this, 18 year old Faye thought an accounting degree would be boring (she was probably right), and instead decided to focus on playing outside, and completed a double major degree in Outdoor Education and Geography at Lakehead University. After working in the outdoor industry - where she met her husband and business partner Ryan - and managing the Haliburton County Farmers' Markets, Faye completed Fleming College's Small Business Accounting program. She started Black Sheep Books in October 2022 when the bookkeeping business she was working for closed it's doors.

Ryan Mortell:

After completing a diploma in Child and Youth work, Ryan spent 15 years working at an outdoor centre where he provided respite programming for children, youth, and families. For the last five of these years, he took on the role of Operations Manager, during which he developed a wide variety of knowledge and skills including budget planning and implementation, bookkeeping, and Human Resources. This experience (along with training and guidance from Faye) allowed for a smooth transition to joining Black Sheep Books. Ryan is particularly passionate about supporting young people with their financial knowledge so they can properly plan for retirement, home ownership, or managing their monthly budgets. He continues to work in the outdoor industry part-time as a Challenge Course Trainer and Facilitator - teaching young adults how to operate climbing walls & high ropes courses.

Why are we called Black Sheep Books? 

When visiting her brother on the north coast of Scotland, Faye - who has a particular affinity towards sheep - noticed that almost every field of white sheep had a single black sheep in it. Always the one to want to know "why", Faye discovered that if the grass quality was insufficient to support the nutritional needs of a sheep, a white sheep would start to decline with no outward signs, whereas a black sheep's coat would change colour, informing the farmer that improvements were needed! Faye loved the symbolism of a black sheep being an indicator as to the health of a field, just as a bookkeeper can support a business owner with data indicating the health of their business. 

About:

After launching the business in 2022, Faye rapidly grew the business, and Ryan joined the team the following year. After many years of working high stress and all-encompassing jobs, we were determined to find an income stream that allowed us more time to do the things we love - playing music, gardening, cuddling our chickens, traveling, cooking (and eating), hiking, foraging, and renovating our home. Managing our own business has been an excellent way to achieve this, and we are passionate about supporting other business owners in doing the same thing. We would love for anyone who is considering spending their evenings and weekends to catch up on their books and finances to reach out so we can support you in finding solutions to maximize the time you have available for things you love to do.    

Black Sheep Books works closely with small businesses and professionals to learn about their business and administrative needs with the goal of lowering the stress of bookkeeping, so that owners can focus on the parts of the business they are passionate about. We have a wide variety of clients including: trades persons & contractors, medical professionals, retail establishments, tourism operators, artists, engineers, pilots, farmers, saddle fitters, consultants, landscapers, landlords, marketing specialists, local not for profit groups, charities, and more. We offer a complimentary meeting to assess your bookkeeping needs: please don't hesitate to reach out should you like to book a meeting!