5 Things I Did Right And Would Do Again If I Were Starting My Bookkeeping Biz Over
Aug 21, 2023
Last week, I talked about five things I would do differently if I was starting my bookkeeping business over. Today, I want to go over five things that I did right.
Here are five things I would do again if I was starting my bookkeeping business over!
Create an LLC Immediately
I say this to all my students who are thinking of starting a bookkeeping business: start an LLC immediately. Build a strong foundation from the get-go; don’t wait until you’re already in the trenches.
When you're starting this thing out, it is not a test. You're not seeing if this is going to work; you're deciding that it's going to, and you're going to commit to doing whatever that takes.
(Of course, do a little bit of soul-searching and make sure it’s something that you can do and want to do. Just don't allow doubt to be something that changes your decision.)
Most of the time, when people don’t create an LLC right away, they don’t do it for two reasons: firstly, they didn’t know any better, and as bookkeepers, we should know better. And secondly, they're not sure if their bookkeeping business is going to take off, so they want to bide their time before they pay the fee to the state to be registered as an LLC.
I firmly believe you should come up with whatever it takes to get that money and do this thing the right way. You're starting a bookkeeping business, so you should be creating an LLC right away, believing in your success, and making decisions that back up the fact that this is going to work, not decisions that are based in doubt.
If you build a bookkeeping business on decisions based on what might not work, chances are it's not going to work, because you made decisions that didn't support the belief that it would work.
I’ll be linking an episode of my podcast where I talk about why you need an LLC below if this is all new to you!
Get A Professional Email Right Away
The second thing that I have on this list is to get a professional email right away—after your LLC, that is. That way, you’ll already have the name of the bookkeeping business, and you’ll be able to create the domain for your email.
So get the LLC then get an email domain that registers along with the LLC so that you've got those things in place.
Your clients are actually going to care about this one, whether they say it or not. An elevated type of client is going to look, and if you are “[email protected],” you look new. You look like somebody that doesn't understand tech, because this is simple and cheap to do. I would question your ability to be able to do books, even, because having a professional email is technological and related to the computer, and you don't seem to understand that this is cheap and easy to get in place.
As a client, that would steer me away from getting to know you or even having a conversation with you.
Chances are, if you don't have a professional email, you also don't have a website. I could be wrong, but I'm going to think you don't have a website, and I'm probably just being handed your email. At that point, I don't have any way to vet you. So this is something you need to do right away, and it’s so easy and cheap, it should be a no-brainer.
Do Not Worry About Other People’s Opinions
The third thing I did right was that I spent close to zero time thinking about other people's opinions of me.
I decided early on that I was not going to do that. I was not going to sit there and stall on things because I was worrying about other people's potential perceived opinions of me.
I don't care. And I recommend that you don't care, either. Get over yourself…said with love. I promise you that people aren't thinking about you even half as much as you think they are.
Meet Yourself Where You Are
Instead of worrying about other people and letting that slow me down, I moved. I showed up. I created content. I did the thing. I had the conversations.
It was not perfect…and it was fine. Which leads perfectly into the fourth thing that I did right and would do again: I would meet myself where I am, and I would allow it to be messy.
Chances are you're busy, and you don't know what to do to make this perfect. So instead of belaboring how to make it perfect, allow it not to be, and you'll learn how to perfect it so much faster.
In fact, you'll realize that perfection is no longer even the goal, because it doesn't matter.
Typos don't matter. Slurring your words doesn't matter. Messing up anything doesn’t matter, because it won't last.
Even the things that you want to last don't last, so why would this?
So we’re not waiting for perfection. We're not stalling. We're not dragging stuff out. We're not worrying about anything. We are doing our best. We are working with what we've got today. We are dropping perfectionism. We are allowing messiness. We are learning from our mistakes.
We're falling down and we're getting back up. That's how you actually move. You don't move by sitting on the sidelines and trying to figure it out.
And again, meet yourself where you are. If you're a stay-at-home mom covered in spit-up, that's okay. Either post it with the spit-up or post in stories or have conversations where you can. Just adapt to where you are, meet yourself where you are, and allow it to be enough.
Hire Early
The last thing that I did right that I would do again is hiring early. I hired early on, and I allowed my team members to grow within their roles. I allowed the roles to be small to begin with; I adapted to what they had capacity for, or I let them operate with what was working, and then I learned what I needed at various stages and continued to build from there.
So these are the five things I did right and would do again. Next, we’re going to talk about some of the beliefs that didn’t serve me as I was starting my bookkeeping business…
EPISODE RESOURCES:
If you're looking for more tips for bookkeeping, insight on how to become a bookkeeper, and how to say hello to a more confident business model, enroll in Become A Bookkeeper (BABs).
To learn about the programs and get a peek behind the curtain, head to www.katieferro.com/6-secrets.
Learn how to take your bookkeeping skills and turn them into a business that allows you to replace (or surpass) your corporate salary, be present for your life, and profoundly impact your clients without selling your life in the process by joining Life by the Books (LIBBY).
If you have enjoyed this post, head on over to Instagram, share your IG stories, and tag me: @orderlyaccountingbykatie
Learn about S Corps: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4lZXy8J1MMfDhWoAblXTLK
Learn about LLCs: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3PH8tr35ZprBR61MzWOW8y
Learn why you need to drop perfectionism: https://open.spotify.com/episode/562IGN7rzhlCQdVIOvqBXL
Learn why you should hire early: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3nVjnMLkKVbUwmSyr3mjT9
CONNECT WITH KATIE:
Website: https://www.katieferro.com/
