Why Start a Bookkeeping Business?

1.  It’s For Everyone

A lot of listeners (and readers!) often assume that just because I speak about starting a bookkeeping business in the context of being a stay-at-home mom, that’s the demographic that bookkeeping businesses work best for.

I received an email just this week from an older man in his sixties basically pouring his heart out. In this email he said, “I know I’m not your typical demographic. I’m not a stay-at-home mom,” and my response was, “While you're not my typical demographic, there's nothing here that doesn't translate to you. You have the same life goals we’re all doing this for; bookkeeping is just the vehicle we’re all using to get there.”

I often speak through the lens of what I'm experiencing, which is still early motherhood. But you don’t need to be a stay-at-home mom to desire more for yourself. You can desire something with more freedom, more flexibility, and more financial impact no matter who you are.

All you truly need to be a good bookkeeper is a head for numbers, a strong sense of integrity, the drive to build your business, and the ability to learn the skill. My programs can teach you the skills, but the rest comes down to you.

2.  It’s Flexible

What I love most about bookkeeping is how timeless it is. No matter what season of life you’re in, it's something that can grow and flow with you.

Bookkeeping can fit into early motherhood with babies, parenting kids in school, supplementing your retirement fund, and so much more. There are so many different ways that you can structure it to suit your needs at the time.

When you’re taking on clients, you can get light help. You can work solo. You can work regular daytime hours. You can work only around the times that your kids are sleeping. Whatever you need at the time, bookkeeping can flex to fit in that space.

For example, I once worked mostly when my babies were sleeping or when I had a sitter, because that was the only time I had. Once they started going to school, I had to work around them constantly being sick and catching bugs. Now that they’re older and (knock on wood) have gotten through that stage, I’m not dealing with that kind of unpredictability as much. I’ve been able to shift my work schedule with each transition.

My work shifts for my life, not the other way around. And if you’re a mom, you know exactly how valuable that kind of flexibility can be.

It’s not just the hours, either. You can also adjust based on how big you want your bookkeeping business to be.

You can take on only as many clients as you need to reach a certain income. You can stop taking clients once you’re at capacity and do the work on your own. You can also hire a team and expand if that’s where you’re wanting to go.

I’ve had a team for some time. I also worked alone for a while. Now that I'm past the stage of having little kids, I'm able to have what feels more like a real company, not just a side hustle or an LLC that I do business under. But prior to that, my business has changed shape many times.

We have fifty clients right now, and I'm looking to bring that to maybe seventy this year. But it’s taken time to build that much, and only because I wanted to. I could have kept it smaller and still been profitable.

The point is, bookkeeping can meet you where you are. You can have anything from no help to a little help to a lot of help. You can help anywhere from five clients to hundreds of clients. You can be part-time or full-time. You can have part-time or full-time employees. You can flex it however you want, and it can grow and shrink and retract back with you.

3.  It’s Dependable

Most of all, bookkeeping is dependable. The recurring revenue of my bookkeeping business calms my nervous system like nothing else can. Especially as a stay-at-home parent, even if you are supported, even if you have enough, there is an autonomy and safety that comes with earning.

Picture your client roster as a toy car stacker. You get one client, then one by one, you keep adding until you hit your first five. Those first five can be difficult to get. But after that, you can grow pretty fast from five to ten, and you can even grow from ten to twenty pretty quickly…if you’re doing good work.

When you do a very good job for your clients, your roster will grow on its own. So even if you only have ten clients, if one of them leaves, all you have to do is get one more client, which is only 10% of what you've already done. It won’t be that hard to fill that gap.

 Dependability doesn’t mean clients will never leave. Clients do come and go. But that doesn’t mean you have to panic when you lose one.

I retained several of my first clients for a long time. When you focus on vetting your clients and you do a good job, they're going to stay quite a while. But I won’t promise they’ll stay forever, because stuff happens outside of anyone’s control.

It doesn’t mean anything negative about you or them. All it means is that as you grow, all you have to do is replace that one “car.”

When one car gets taken off the stack, every other car drops down, which leaves you with open capacity. And when you have open capacity, things come in and fill it.

So even with clients coming and going, you will have this perpetual, dependable, monthly recurring revenue so long as you do a good job, deliver something tangible, and work with your clients with honesty and integrity.

But Wait! There’s More…

Oh, you thought I only had three reasons why a bookkeeping business is the best thing for you? Absolutely not!

I’ve got plenty more reasons where these came from. And if you’re not convinced yet that a bookkeeping business can give you what you need, listen to Episode 2 of Profits & Prosecco (SEASON 2!) and prepare to have your mind changed.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Season 2 of Profits & Prosecco is HERE! Kick off your newest podcast addiction (or celebrate its return!) and listen to Episode 1 now: https://open.spotify.com/show/4dB0ZE8JaxqrkImm3Ifxrb 

Sick of imposter syndrome keeping you stuck? Join the new + improved BECOME A BOOKKEEPER now: https://www.katieferro.com/become 

Want a peek behind the curtain into LIBBY, my program all about what it really takes to have a simple and scalable (and successful) bookkeeping business? Get access to my free, on-demand four-part series, 6 Secrets to a Simple, Scalable Bookkeeping Business: 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).  

CONNECT WITH KATIE:

Website: https://www.katieferro.com/

For first dibs (and the best prices!) on new offers from me, follow me on Instagram, then subscribe to my email list: 

IG: www.instagram.com/orderlyaccountingbykatie

Email Opt In: www.katieferro.com/email