Why You Should Not Start a Bookkeeping Business (Unless You’re Ready for This)

You Keep Talking Yourself Out of Starting a Bookkeeping Business

If you’re honest with yourself, you’ve already had the thought that you want to try starting a bookkeeping business. But right after that thought, something else shows up. You start listing all the reasons why you shouldn’t do it.

You tell yourself that you don’t have time, that you’re too busy, or that you don’t have the right background. Then it goes deeper. You start thinking you might fail, or that you might embarrass yourself. You worry that you’ll invest money and not get it back. And for a lot of people now, there’s also the thought that AI is going to take over anyway, so what’s the point.

But here’s what I want you to really hear. None of that is actually happening.

These are stories you’re telling yourself. You are creating scenarios in your head about what might go wrong, and you’re replaying them again and again. Because you keep thinking about them, they start to feel real. But they are still just thoughts. They are not based on something that is happening right now.

At the same time, the opposite is also true. The best-case scenarios you could imagine are not real yet either. They are also stories. So, without realizing it, you are choosing which version of the story you focus on.

You Can Only Look at One Side at a Time

I always come back to this idea because it explains so much. You can only look at one side of a coin at a time. You can focus on everything that could go wrong, or you can focus on everything that could go right. However, you cannot fully sit in both at the same time.

And that choice matters more than you think.

Your decisions come from your beliefs, and your beliefs come from the thoughts you repeat. So if your thoughts are rooted in fear, your actions will reflect that. You will hesitate, you will delay, and in many cases, you won’t move at all.

That is exactly how people stay stuck.

You Are Spending More Time in Fear Than You Realize

What I want you to start noticing is how much time you are actually spending in that negative loop. Because it’s not just one quick thought that passes through your mind. It keeps running in the background while you’re driving, doing chores, or even when you’re trying to focus.

You are talking yourself out of it while also telling yourself that you want it.

And because this happens repeatedly, it starts to feel like the truth, even though nothing has actually happened.

So here’s something I want you to try, and I mean actually try it. The next time you catch yourself thinking about everything that could go wrong, match that time with something different. If you spend thirty seconds going down that negative path, give yourself at least thirty seconds thinking about what could go right.

What would it look like if starting a bookkeeping business actually worked for you? What would it feel like to land your first client? What would it feel like to receive a message from someone thanking you because you helped them feel less stressed about their business? And what would your life look like if this gave you more time, more flexibility, or more income?

Have you even allowed yourself to go there?

You Will Always Find Proof for What You Believe

Here’s something else you need to understand, because it explains why this pattern is so strong. Your brain is always looking for proof of what you already believe.

If you believe that starting a bookkeeping business is not worth it, you will find content, opinions, and stories that support that belief. You will notice examples that confirm your fears. On the other hand, if you believe that it can work, you will also find proof of that.

That’s how confirmation bias works.

So the real question is not whether starting a bookkeeping business works. Instead, the real question is which direction you are choosing to look in, because you cannot actively pursue both at the same time.

Are You Really Letting the Next 10 Years Stop You

I hear this come up all the time, especially when people start talking about AI. People ask if AI is going to replace bookkeeping in the next ten years. So I want to ask you something honestly.

Are you really going to sit still today because of something you think might happen ten years from now?

Think about where you were ten years ago. Think about how much your life has changed, the opportunities you didn’t expect, and the direction things took. You didn’t predict that. So it doesn’t make sense to act like you can predict what will happen next.

What I do know is this. If you stay where you are, doing nothing and overthinking everything, nothing changes. However, if you start moving, if you start learning, and if you take action, you put yourself in a position where you can adapt to whatever happens.

That is how you stay relevant. That is how you grow.

The Risk You’re Focused On Is Not the Real Risk

Most people spend a lot of time thinking about the cost of starting a bookkeeping business. They think about the time they will invest, the money they might spend, and the effort it will take. Those things matter, but they are also finite. You can measure them, and you know exactly what you’re putting in.

However, what you’re not measuring is what you could get back.

There is no cap on that. The possibilities are not limited, and the return is not fixed. Still, people spend so much energy protecting what they might lose that they never give themselves the chance to create something that could multiply it.

That is the real risk, and it’s the one most people ignore.

So Yes, There Are Reasons Not to Start

When I say there are reasons why you should not start a bookkeeping business, I mean that clearly. If you are not willing to challenge your thinking, if you are not willing to take action, and if you are going to stay stuck in fear while repeating the same story, then yes, you should not start.

Because nothing will change.

However, if you are willing to recognize that these thoughts are just thoughts, and if you are willing to take even small steps forward, everything starts to shift. You will make mistakes, and you might underprice at first or take on the wrong client. You might feel uncomfortable.

But you will figure it out. That is how starting a bookkeeping business actually works. You learn, you adjust, and you keep moving forward.

You are not stuck in the business. You are only stuck before you start.

The Story You Tell Yourself Is the One You Live

At the end of this, I want you to really sit with this. You are already telling yourself a story. You are already creating scenarios in your head that have not happened. In a way, you are already being delusional.

So if that’s the case, why not choose a better story?

Why not choose one that actually moves you forward instead of keeping you where you are?

Because the truth is, you have more control than you think. And the longer you sit there telling yourself why you can’t do something, the longer you stay exactly where you are.

If something in you keeps coming back to the idea of starting a bookkeeping business, that matters. That is not random.

At some point, you have to decide if you are going to keep thinking about it or if you are finally going to move.

Listen to the Full Podcast Episode

If this hit you, if something here felt real or uncomfortable, that matters more than you think. That usually means there’s something here you need to pay attention to.

So don’t just sit with it and fall back into the same pattern. Go listen to the full podcast episode and hear everything in full context. And more importantly, decide what you are going to do next, because at some point, you either keep thinking about it… or you finally move. And that decision is yours.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

If you want to take the next step, go to katieferro.com/step.

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 can replace or surpass your corporate salary, give you more presence in your life, and let you support your clients without burning out inside Life by the Books (LIBBY): https://www.katieferro.com/life

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