I Love Bookkeeping

We've all had shady clients. The question is what you should do when encounter one? For Ben, he gets rid of them as quickly as possible. [1:15] There isn't an easy solution if a shady client makes up a good portion of your business's revenue, but working with an unscrupulous person can put your business in jeopardy. [1:45] The first signs of a shady client will come up when you're marketing. When you connect with a potential client, you should try and get a sense of how they feel about taxes. [2:10] Everybody should avoid taxes as much as possible, but there's a big difference between avoidance and evasion. If the person insinuates an interest in evading taxes, walk away. [3:10] If your potential client is hiding something, that means they are lying, and if they are lying to the IRS, do you think they are going to have a problem lying to you? [3:30] When you're consulting with these clients, look for things that are off. But if they are already a client and things start to feel wrong, there are some steps you can take. [4:00] If you start to see warning signs, the first thing to do is to document it and bring it to their attention. First, assume they don't know and get them on the phone. It may be an innocent mistake, but if it's not, you're going to want to call out your client immediately. [6:15] Ben's general rule of thumb is one mistake can slide, but if they make a second “mistake”, that's a pattern and that's the end of the relationship. Even if the shady things seem small, if you're seeing them more than once, you should end your relationship with that client. [7:00] It's okay to get rid of shady clients. You don't need to serve them. Most people are fine, but for people that want to pull something over, it's okay to turn them down. Handle them with care when severing the relationship, and consult an attorney if you need to. [8:20] You want to work with quality clients that respect you, that respect the laws, and obey everything that they are supposed to.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Getting online reviews is the lifeblood of a virtual bookkeeping business. Reviews are one of the first things people look at when considering whether to buy a product or service, without them a certain element of trust is missing. [1:35] Where are you already? We want to make sure you're being reviewed where your clients can see them easily. Your Facebook page is one avenue, the Better Business Bureau is another. The BBB is a very commonplace that potential clients go to find reviews. Claiming your Google Business page is another important channel. Trust Pilot is another option that's becoming more popular. [4:15] When you ask for a review is key. Being consistent and asking for reviews every month from your clients is the best practice. The best time to ask someone for a review is when they are already excited to be working with you. The key way to phrase the question is “would you mind sharing your opinion with everyone else about my service?” [6:10] Five stars is great, anything else is not good. Ask them beforehand is there any reason that they wouldn't rate you with a five star. A one-star review will definitely hurt your business. [6:55] Avoid giving the client a script, just focus on the five-star rating and let them phrase the review how they feel. [7:10] Reviews are one of the biggest trust elements that will allow you to serve clients online. Ask for reviews from all your clients and make it part of your monthly service. [8:15] When someone does leave a review, make sure to always reply. This lets other people know that you are involved and care about your clients.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Everybody needs to be marketing, but that doesn't mean you have to take on clients. One of the cardinal sins in this business is to stop marketing. [1:10] Your message needs to be going out into the marketplace all the time. It takes time for the marketing engine to warm up, so you want it running once things start to slow down. [1:45] We don't want one way to get ten clients, we want ten ways to get one client. If you're relying entirely on one channel to get clients, you are vulnerable when something changes. You should add additional channels to whatever is already working. [2:30] Most bookkeepers are transitioning over to a virtual business model since that allows them to get clients anywhere and serve them no matter where they are. [2:50] The first thing you have to do is have a niche and be able to define your market. Marketing has three important elements: your market, your message, and your medium. Your market will dictate where you go to find your clients. [3:50] Define your market's jobs, pains, and gains. You need to have a deep understanding of your market and what they are trying to avoid, what they want, and what they do. Find out where the industry is hanging out. Facebook groups and pages on that subject with a lot of activity is a good sign. Join those groups and start contributing value to them. [6:30] Marketing is how you put out your message into the market. Sales is where you're one-on-one with someone to sell to them directly. Don't confuse the two. [7:00] Figure out who the associations are that deal with your chosen industry. Determine who has a presence online with a large membership. Another thing that very few bookkeepers take advantage of is trade shows. They are a great place to network and build your business. [8:55] Is there a local association of the big industry, one that you can join and get in front of? Being able to present information to these groups is a powerful way to add value and attract people to your business. [10:15] Don't spend a lot of money on advertising initially until you clearly define your market. You have to come up with a true value proposition of how you help them to achieve gains, how you can help them avoid the pains, and how you take away those jobs that they really don't like doing. Then refine your message by speaking with your clients one on one. [11:50] When you have your market clearly defined, and know your message and your value proposition, that's when you can go to the medium and start running ads. Until you've nailed those things down, don't spend money on advertising. [12:45] Your website should be focused on one thing: getting the visitor to contact you. As you are creating your site, think about what actions you want the visitor to take and give them an easy to follow path towards connecting with you.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Niche marketing is one of the keys to success for 21st century bookkeepers because you have to go deeper with your clients. If you're working with a number of different niches, you won't be able to fully understand your client's businesses or offer them your best service. [1:00] Marketing is about three important elements: your market, your message, and your medium. Most people start with the least important which is the medium. The very first thing you have to do in all of your marketing is to clearly define your market, and that's what your niche is. [1:50] If you already have clients, list them from favorite to least favorite. Take the top 3 clients that you love working with and look for commonalities between them. What attracts you to those clients? Picking a niche doesn't necessarily mean an industry, it can also mean choosing the type of person you want to serve. [4:00] Bookkeeping is first and foremost a relationship business, there is a good chance your relationship with those clients is what puts them at the top of the list. [4:25] Once you find the commonalities and the character attributes that you love, list out the industry your clients are in. Which industry do you have the most clients in? Consider the top industry you serve and see if there is any overlap between that and your top three clients. Ask yourself a few questions: Do you like serving that industry? Do you know a lot about it? Are you passionate about the industry? [7:25] You may also find that the industry that most of your clients are in is something you don't enjoy working with. You need to be passionate about serving an industry for you to make it your niche. 80% of bookkeeping and accounting is the same for every single business. But when it comes to the last 20%, it's all about the niche. [8:20] Most people think they have to find a niche but sometimes the niche finds them. We don't usually find something we are passionate about, we typically find something that we are good at and become a talented craftsperson at it. [9:30] Your medium term goal should be to focus on a niche. If you have clients in other industries already, you can continue to serve them as you bring on new clients from your chosen niche and just let them go gradually until you are only serving your niche clients. [10:25] The more you can systematize your business, the easier your life is going to be. Imagine having one chart of accounts for your clients or being able to get a profitability study that gives you insights into your industry. You'll be able to take the best practices from your niche industry and apply them to your client's businesses. [11:40] If you pick the wrong niche, you can always change it. Hopefully you put in the effort now to figure out the right one, so you can avoid doing that. Revisit this exercise frequently until you find the niche that fits your business best.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Heather has always had a desire to help people and that's reflected in the jobs she's had in her life. Once her daughter was born, Heather decided she wanted to stay home with her. After a few years, she wanted to explore working again. She looked into becoming a financial advisor before finding Bookkeeper Business Launch but once she found Ben she didn't look back. [3:05] Heather currently has four of her own clients plus several others that she subcontracts for. The freedom of being able to choose her own schedule is very important to her as well as genuinely being able to help her clients in their businesses. [3:55] Heather's daughter will be going off to Kindergarten soon which will increase the amount of time she can dedicate to working on her business instead of just in her business. [4:30] The biggest challenge, in the beginning, is just getting clients, and that's what Heather experienced and pushed through but that often leads to getting multiple types of clients and stretching your ability to become an authority. Heather wants to be able to drill down into the specific niche of real estate investors and narrow down the kinds of clients she works for. [6:45] Heather has had other real estate clients that's she's enjoyed working with, plus she also has a desire to learn more about real estate investing with the goal of doing it herself in the future. [8:45] Heather's main challenge is learning where real estate investors congregate, what language they use to describe their work, and how to price her services correctly for their industry. Before getting into a niche it's important to find out more about it, one of the best resources to use is the Bookkeeper Business Launch community and connect with people who already know. [11:30] There is no substitute for experience and getting face to face with people that you want to serve. Networking events are a great place to start, especially in the real estate space. Be clear with your intentions and be honest with them, but don't think you're going to get clients at the event. The focus should be on research and relationships first. [14:25] Industry associations are another good resource to explore. Find their websites and see what they are talking about. Read their content and social media. If the niche has conventions, look at the topics they discuss. If the topic is something that they talk about every year and it's something you can add value to, it may be a good area to explore. Look for authority figures in the space and see what they are putting into the market. [17:30] Investing in a risk management association study for the industry will give you a good idea on financials for the niche as a whole and could be a good starting place to think about pricing. [19:00] What are the books and thought leaders that people in that niche are reading and listening to? Who already has the attention of the people you want to serve? Getting to know them will give you different perspectives on the industry but will also help you plant the seeds for referral marketing. [24:05] The most effective thing you can do is to get in front of potential clients and ask them the right questions. What are the challenges they face? What would they change about their business? What you want to get from the answers is a value proposition, also known as your offer. [25:15] Nobody wants our bookkeeping, they want the result. They don't care what you do or what tools you use, they want a solution to their problem. Everything we do in life is based upon feeling better about ourselves or feeling important. Everything you do for your clients should come back to those basic desires. [27:50] It's a journey, expertise in a niche takes time. When you get your first client, don't worry about the fee. Use them to learn everything you can about that industry. When you're in the books of a client you learn much faster than from the outside.     Mentioned in this episode: Triangle Business Solutions     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

We all face difficult things in our lives, but on the other side of difficulty is usually some victory. For example, getting through the Air Force's basic training and passing the CPA exam. [1:20] It wasn't what I expected, but I persevered, followed the system, did what I was told and pushed through it. When I graduated I was very proud. It was a similar story to passing the CPA exam. [2:15] It doesn't matter where you are in the evolution of your bookkeeping business, there are difficult things that you do not want to do. Usually, on the other side of the struggle that we have to go through is the very thing that we want. [2:45] List out the difficult things in your life as they relate to your business right now. What are the things that you are putting off and avoiding? Then ask yourself what would happen if you did those things. What are the best-case scenarios and worst-case scenarios? [4:20] Sometimes we have to trick our minds into looking at the benefit that is going to get us there. We've got to get over our initial reluctance and just go do that thing. [5:05] Some difficult things are things that can't be avoided, but we're talking about the difficult things that we know will move us closer to our goals, if only we could get over our fears. [5:30] Busy work is often stuff we do in order to avoid doing the things that we know we need to do to turn the dial in our business. Two of the most common difficult things that bookkeeping professionals avoid are networking and marketing. [6:35] Feel the fear and do it anyway. Verbalize what you're afraid of and then go do it. Whenever we are trying to do something new, our subconscious is going to try to dissuade us and convince us of the easier and more comfortable path. [7:30] Once you identify the difficult things you are avoiding and list them out, figure out the things that you should be doing. Set yourself up for success by putting them into your schedule and giving someone the responsibility to keep you accountable. [9:00] Take your list of difficult things and start taking action on them. That may mean getting rid of bad clients or letting go of a team member, but you have to keep in mind the benefit on the other side.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Kelly wears a number of different hats. She's a mom of three little boys, a wife to a husband who travels a lot for business, a landlady and real estate investor, on top of her bookkeeping business. [3:30] The real estate side of things were happening before the bookkeeping business came into the picture. Kelly and her husband were both working full time and had a couple of rental properties but having kids really changed things. They made some big moves, sold their properties and that was initially how Kelly found bookkeeping as a viable option. [7:15] Kelly now works from home as a bookkeeper. Her former career was in financial services helping clients invest their money. She enjoyed the numbers aspects of the job and helping people with their money. She stumbled on the idea of bookkeeping after having a chance conversation with her godfather. [8:40] She started out doing everything wrong (in her words) but she figured it out day by day. Kelly thought that there must be other businesses out there that need bookkeeping services, and that's when she found Ben's videos online and joined the course. [9:40] The best part of the bookkeeping business is the flexibility to make her own schedule. Kelly also enjoys working with people and hearing how they built their business, it also helps that she genuinely enjoys doing their books. [11:00] There were challenges at every turn but right now Kelly's biggest challenge is in bringing people into her business and leveraging them to create more time for herself. [12:10] Always start with the vision of where you want to go. Your vision gives you context to make better decisions. It needs to be specific and well defined in order to be useful. [13:00] Kelly has a three-year vision where she wants to grow slowly and bring in some contractors to help her. She has a pretty aggressive income goal of quadrupling her current income, and one of her goals is for her bookkeeping business to help fund her real estate activities. [15:20] One of the things that Kelly always puts off is the manual data entry tasks. This is one task that she be added to Kelly's not-to-do list right away and is a good candidate for a virtual assistant to take on. Make your to-do list every single day and mark the tasks that you just don't want to do, those are your first targets for delegation. [18:15] As you scale your business, the benefit you get is exponential but the downside is also exponential if you don't get it right at the beginning. [19:30] Always ask yourself this question, ‘What are my clients paying me for?' Are they paying you to do manual entries? No, that's part of what you do to get what they are paying you for but they aren't paying you for that. They are paying for your smile, for your information, for your reports, and for your interpretation. [20:10] Only do what you can do. Find someone who can follow instructions, document your task, and then give it to them to take care of. [21:00] Start with the smallest and least technical tasks and then increase the workload a bit at a time. Starting small keeps the costs down and reduces the learning curve. When someone does make a mistake, make sure you show them what the error was instead of just fixing it yourself. [24:00] Bookkeeper Elite is a great place to find someone you can add to your team. [25:45] Temper the expectations at the beginning of the relationship. With VA's the time commitment is very flexible, unlike a traditional employee. [27:00] Kelly currently spends around 80 to 100 hours a month working on her business, not counting the random nightly phone calls from clients. [28:45] Work expands to fill the time allotted. Look at your schedule, chances are you can drop 20% of your time just by giving yourself a cap on the time you allow yourself to spend on it. When you are on you are your off time, be careful about letting your work intrude on your personal life. [32:40] Once you've been more efficient with your time, that will lead you to start thinking about who can help you make your time more useful.   Mentioned in this episode: Precision Bookkeeping     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

All the things we do in bookkeeping are generally historical, but where we want to take it is in interpreting the data so that you can actually give your clients advice. [1:55] Before starting with advisory services, you need to be able to produce financial statements in a consistent, timely, and accurate manner. If your client isn't getting you the info you need, that's going to be a problem. A good rule of thumb is to not work with people who drag their feet. [2:50] Financial statements include a balance sheet, an income statement, and a statement of cash flows. [3:30] The second thing you need to have before you start with financial services is an eager client, someone who is interested in improving their business, making more money, and who is willing to pay for the advice. [4:05] If you're making your client money that is true value building, which is something you should be paid for. Getting paid $1200 a month to prepare financial statements is not value-building, that's a fixed price. Make sure you know what you're providing your client. [4:45] You need to have a receptive client that is willing to pay and can provide you the financial statements on time, but you also need to work with businesses that have the ability to pay you. That means 7-figure-plus businesses. Your marketing should be targeting those clients because they are the ones that need your help the most. [5:50] You can price these services in many ways but whatever way you choose, you should not think in terms of how much money you can make. We want to think in terms of how much help or value can we provide to the client. [6:40] You have to separate the preparation of the financial statements from the provision of advisory services. We have our minds in one mode when we are preparing statements and another when we are advising. Don't go straight from preparing the statements into the analysis, do them at separate times. [7:55] Advisory services can take a little bit of brain power to get right. Think about when you are at your best during the day, that's the time you should be setting aside to do those advisory services. This also applies to everything else in your business. [9:35] Advisory services are the key to our future. We are 21st-century bookkeeping professionals and advisory services are going to be crucial to our long term success. This is one of the critical things you can do to differentiate yourself from artificial intelligence and automation.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Erin has had her bookkeeping business for just over a year. She was a stay-at-home mom facing a divorce and needed to figure out something flexible and lucrative. In many ways, bookkeeping seemed too good to be true. [3:00] Erin was formerly a school teacher, so she never had any experience with bookkeeping before getting into the business. After getting into Ben's program, she had an aha moment where it all came together. Bookkeeping is like learning a language; it takes some time and has a bit of a learning curve, but it can be done. [5:45] Erin is currently serving seven clients, with word-of-mouth being the main way she landed each of them. One of the major things she did early on was to get in touch with a local Vermont bookkeeper to vet the course, and that relationship has yielded three clients so far. [6:50] There is a lot of job security for bookkeepers who know what they're doing. [7:15] Erin would love to build a team. She wants to grow her business and build her empire, but she isn't 100% positive on what that ultimate vision looks like yet. Her main question today is knowing how much work to take on at any given time. [9:40] Erin has almost been burned by taking on too much, especially as a single mom. You can only stretch yourself so thin before it becomes a problem. [10:40] Never ever stop marketing. That doesn't have to mean spending money or that you have to take on the clients though. Be selective with the clients you choose continually marketing will take you off the roller coaster. [12:05] Taking on a new client will always involve a learning curve, but that can be minimized by implementing processes and systems. [13:45] Another option to reduce your potential workload is to raise your fees. For Ben, he has a rule of thumb where approximately 25% of prospective clients don't want to work with him because of his fees. If everybody is accepting your price, you can probably raise your fees. [15:45] Erin doesn't even have a website yet. If you are landing clients already, don't worry too much about not having a website until a prospective client turns you down because of it. There are a number of simple options that will get your business online in the course of an afternoon. [17:55] If you're not having people complain about the lifestyle you're leading, you're not growing too fast. If you can't meet deadlines, that means you're probably growing too fast. Unless you have those problems, keep growing. [19:25] Stagger your potential clients and start them at different times. Temper their expectations right at the beginning so that you aren't wasting their time or yours. You can make clients wait if you have to. It lets them know that you are in demand and are upfront with everything. [22:30] Client compliance is a common issue that Erin is facing, especially with onboarding. Start with a specific checklist for the client verifying what you need. You can also schedule a future one-hour call with the client where you can get everything you need all at once. If you don't have everything, you can't start the work. If you make that clear, you will put a fire under them to get what you asked for. [27:00] One of the biggest things that people don't like is the pain involved in switching bookkeepers. If you can make that painless by helping them through the process, you'll have much more success. [27:30] When Ben's doing the marketing, he likes to put them in situations that he's going to be experiencing with them when they are his clients. It's like dating and marriage; the client is probably going to be a bit better during the courting phase so it's good to know what you're getting yourself into. [28:50] You can have the best processes and efficiencies, but if your client is the bottleneck, everything suffers. [29:30] Don't shy from charging a setup fee. Make that part of your engagement letter. If people continue to drag their feet, you can call the whole thing off. This is something about which they have to be serious. [31:15] Don't think in terms of people; think in terms of tasks. Do the task audit and hire a VA who can take those tasks off your plate. Don't go out and hire a bookkeeper right off the bat. [33:10] In many ways, the business is like a puzzle where you are putting the money-making pieces together to make everything easier.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Scope creep is not a good thing and it tends to run rampant in most client relationships. The question is what do we do when a client asks us to do something that we didn't agree to do? [0:45] If you're working with exceptional clients, this shouldn't happen that often, but when it does it's actually a compliment. The client trusts you because you are their trusted advisor. [1:20] Once it gets to the point where they are asking you consistently to do extra work, you have to bring awareness to the out-of-scope nature of the work. We want to let them know because 90% of the time, as long as you are working with quality people, they just don't realize the issue. [2:05] At a certain point you will get frustrated with the extra requests so before that happens, make the client aware that you are happy to include the work but you need to revisit your agreement. [3:05] You should also send them an invoice for the task that you completed with the price for what it would have cost, but you should also give them a courtesy discount. You're putting the fact into context that the requested work is outside the scope of the original engagement. [4:00] It's about open communication between you and your client, and so you're not a doormat that's being taken advantage of. If they are trying to pull one over on you and don't want to pay for the work, then that's a clown, not a client. [4:25] Scope creep comes full circle with marketing in that the right marketing will filter out the clowns that you don't want to work with. [4:40] These are awkward conversations to have with a client but when you don't communicate, that's when you start to struggle. Not getting it out in the open will only lead to resentment. [5:15] Don't work with people that do not respect you. Bookkeeping is first and foremost a relationship business and in a healthy relationship there is respect. You need to be excited to serve them and they need to be excited about having you work with them. [6:00] We want to help our clients, but we also want to make sure we're being paid for our work.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

David started out like most entrepreneurs, looking for painful problems to solve. He worked as a freelance marketer and saw a lot of accounting firms struggle with various aspects of their business including project management. [3:45] He realized there was a gap in the market because if you're a firm owner with a number of clients to manage, the average project management tool is not client centric at all. Sales tools are built for handling a pipeline, not for dealing with tasks. A conversation with one of his first customers lead to the genesis of Jet Pack. [5:40] Creating a solution and then searching for a problem is a recipe for bankruptcy. David is trying to instill that idea culturally into his business and is always trying to identify the pain that they are working to solve first. [6:25] By interviewing people in a specific niche and trying to solve their problems, you begin to learn the language of the industry and really understand the challenges they face. If you're in the world of business, do more interviews and listen to them. [8:45] The bad news is that there are many challenges, the good news is they are common challenges to the business. The big shift happens when you go from an owner that does everything to being able to articulate the right process for your team to follow. The most successful firm owners begin to think of their business as a product and understand that the quality of their product is determined by their workflow. [12:10] When something goes wrong, always go back to the workflow that lead to that result. The SAT framework (Standardize, Automate, Track) comes into play when you're hiring and scaling clients. If you don't know where to start, begin with the tasks that have the biggest revenue impact or take up the most time. If you can't get the process out of your head, have an assistant interview you. [14:50] None of us want to be micromanagers. If you can't step away from your business without having a panic attack, it probably means you don't have the right set of tools to give you the visibility to feel comfortable about the progress of the firm. [16:50] Every business has three systems: the deliverable, the marketing, and operations. Within each system there are processes that instrumental to the successful function. Simplicity is key in your checklists. [19:20] Whatever muscles you build today are going to be the muscles that you're using when you hire somebody. If you start building up the discipline of documenting your processes today, you will have those muscles in place when you need them. Anything you ignore in your business accrues, at some point you will have to deal with it. When you start learning you will discover patterns that will make it easier. [25:00] If you are already using a task management tool and it's working well, keep using it until the cracks start to show. [26:30] The more you can systematize your business, the more valuable it is. Nobody wants to buy a business that is basically buying a job. The more days of vacation the owner can take the higher the potential value of the firm, it indicates that there are processes and systems in place, and those are key to living a lifestyle you enjoy. [30:30] Planning your month in advance is one of the most freeing things you can do because you can see where you are each week and if you're reaching your goals. We're always a work in progress, you always have to reevaluate the structure of your workflow and integrate what you've learned. If you're not seeing the information in front of you it's impossible to improve it. [34:15] You don't have to bring all the business improvements to the table, you should rely on your team to bring ideas on how to make things better. Don't be afraid to ask your clients how you can serve them better. There are innovations in the minds of your clients as much as there are in your team. [37:50] More often than not, the insights are sitting outside of you in the connections and people you know and work with. [38:40] The Net Promoter Score is a simple system for pulling insights out of your clients. You will get a lot of feedback from your clients using that tool that you may never hear otherwise. It's amazing when you listen to your people and what they will tell you. Insights from the Net Promoter Score will uncover the client experience so you can deliver a great workflow. [43:20] Create a guarantee that will hold you to being able to deliver on the goods. The industry is moving incredibly fast so if you don't stand out from the pack you will fade into obscurity. A guarantee will highlight your marketing and force you to sharpen your workflow.   Mentioned in this episode: Growing Your Firm podcastDouble Your Accounting Firm by David CristelloJetpack Workflow     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Randy started her bookkeeping business after the age of 50. She had been working in a dance studio for over ten years until things went awry, and she felt that if there was no security in the traditional job market anymore she might as well do things her own way. [3:25] Freedom means being able to go out for lunch with her son completely unplanned, without having to run it by a boss first. [4:25] Randy is currently working with attorneys and has between 15 and 20 clients, depending on how you count. Trust accounts are the number one reason that attorneys are disbarred so Randy feels like she is doing the most good she could do. [6:10] Randy is a big fan of Bookkeeper Business Launch. It gave her the security to know she wasn't alone and didn't have to reinvent the wheel. Being an entrepreneur is a rollercoaster and this really helps limit the lows. [7:50] Overwhelm is a very prevalent feeling in Randy's life with her business. She feels like she has so much to do and never enough time to do it. Her vision for the business has changed from what it started out as, but now she has client work that takes up the majority of her time. [10:30] Productivity is not about doing more in less time, it's about doing less in less time. [11:10] Randy's unique abilities have to do with client relationships which gives her business a lot of security. [12:30] If you're feeling overwhelmed, the first thing to do is to find one hour a week that will allow you to start taking back your time. Overcoming overwhelm is about intentionally setting aside time for the important things. The first thing to do is create your “do not do list” and keep it in front of you all the time. What of those tasks are the easiest that you can hand off? [15:30] To hand off a task to a VA, have the person watch you do it via screen share so they can see the work as it happens. Record the video and then use it as a reference for later on. [18:30] Work expands to fill the allotted time. You have to be aware of how much time you allot to certain tasks and ask yourself what your 80/20 activities are. You want to eventually give yourself fewer activities and less time to do them in so you maximize efficiency. [22:25] The longer you are on your entrepreneurial journey, the more you realize that there are only a couple of things that you are really good at. [23:35] Randy's business has been life changing for her. She realized that she would have to go out and meet people, and every day she is doing something outside of her comfort zone. The small amount of discomfort is outweighed by all the benefits that come with it. [26:15] Quick recap on the lessons learned today. Do less in less time, take the time to celebrate how far you've come, and take things one hour at a time. [28:05] A common objection is that we can't afford the time to offboard a task to someone new, but the truth is you can't afford not to. [29:20] The difference between being excellent and your Unique Ability is that your Unique Ability is something that charges you up and could do all day. Everything else is something that you should give to somebody else. [30:30] There is always another challenge to overcome, and there will always be people who want to take your time, but you have to keep pushing and refining. It's about being effective and not just efficient. Before you do things well, you need to know what things you need to be doing in the first place.   Mentioned in this episode: Ballen Bookkeeping     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Once you've documented your processes and created the checklists, you need to put yourself into a different frame of mind and ask “how do I improve on these?” [0:55] One of the biggest traps that people fall into is documenting their processes while trying to improve them at the same time, which is a recipe for disaster. You have to clearly distinguish between documenting your processes and working to make them better. [2:00] Just like advisory services, you need to set aside time when you have the highest level of energy and bandwidth to work on your processes. Go back to your video recording and watch yourself do the task and start looking for the cracks. [3:05] You can't do this right after you record the process because you need to have as fresh a set of eyes as you can manage. Ask yourself if there is a piece of technology that you can use to make the task more efficient. [3:50] It's important to remember it's not all about technology and apps, it's about the process. Apps and technology will come and go but the process will still remain essentially the same. [4:25] The second place to look at is where the bottlenecks within your process are. If you're working with other people, this is easy to identify. If you have to continually give review notes to the person you're working with, you probably have a process problem, not a people problem. [5:20] The main questions you should be asking yourself when improving processes are “how can I do this better?”, “how can I do this quicker?”, and “how can I be more efficient?”. [5:40] The most powerful way to improve is to ask someone who is five steps ahead of you outside of your organization to review your process. [6:50] You need to have a process control document in place because improvement is not a one and done activity. You should look at the critical processes that really turn the dial in your business every 90 days. [7:50] Give your team the responsibility to question how they do things and give them permission to suggest improvements on how things get done.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

One of the most common questions that Ben gets is around documenting processes because they are often all over the place. [0:35] The first thing to do is to distinguish between process documentation and process improvement. Whether or not you have your processes written down, you will have processes in place on how you do things. [1:00] The reason you want to document your processes is to do more with less time and improve the quality of the services that you offer your clients. It also opens up the opportunity to offer additional services because of the increased efficiency. [1:35] Even if it's just you in your business, it's still important to document your processes, but once you bring on other people, it becomes crucial. [2:10] The first step to documentation is to list out all your processes in your business. For every deliverable in your business, there is a process. Once you've listed out the meta-processes, you can break them down further into tasks. [3:05] The next step is to take one of those tasks and actually do it. Go through the physical steps of the task while using a screen capture software to record exactly what you're doing. [4:30] While working through the task and recording it, you should be narrating what you're doing at the same time, preferably in a way that a sixteen year old could come into your business and do the task the same way that you are. [5:20] Once you complete the recording, you get a video file that you can use to create your process. Take the audio and get it transcribed by a service like Rev.com and then edit the transcription down to the key elements. [6:30] Once you've done that, you have a video that shows you how to do the process as well as a Word document that allows you to read how to do it. Once you have those, you can turn the document into a checklist. [7:05] The checklist has to pass the Cessna 172 test and fit entirely on one side of a folded piece of paper. The checklist should only address the big things involved in a task, the stuff that absolutely has to be done in a process. There should be no more than 5 items on any given checklist. [8:10] Improving your processes is a different process altogether. Start with the simpler tasks on your list and then work your way up. Just by working your way through the documentation process, you will reap tremendous benefits in your business. [9:10] List your processes and start documenting one. Don't worry about the quality of the recording or how you sound. The point is to get started.     Mentioned in this episode: Rev.comSnagit     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Jessie has a background in education and actually worked as a history teacher. One day in her third year, she wanted to teach some new classes and was given a flat refusal from her boss. At that point, she realized her days as a teacher were numbered. She stumbled upon Bookkeeper Business Launch on the Penny Hoarder and it seemed like a good fit. She enrolled in the course in August, launched her business in October and got her first client in November. [5:25] Before jumping into bookkeeping, Jessie was considering other jobs including different teaching positions. Once she learned what bookkeeping really is, it checked all her boxes. Going through the modules in the course was challenging initially but she benefited a lot by discussing the contents in the modules with her husband. [8:00] Jessie's first client was a startup that just needed some help with their setup. She was close enough to actually meet in person so she drove to her place to do some training with her before landing her as a client. She now has 15 monthly clients with a few others who require different services. [10:00] The first client and the majority of the subsequent clients were mainly found through LinkedIn. Building relationships with a couple local CPAs has also been helpful by referring clients and offering help. You never really know where the most valuable relationships will come from. [12:45] The business of bookkeeping can become a monster if you let it, so Jessie books time every day to make sure that she has time to herself. Even with that challenge, Jessie considers herself completely unemployable at this point. [14:20] There were three major struggles that could have ended Jessie's business. One of her lowest points involved getting fired by her second client. There are many reasons to quit a business but you have to remember why you started it in the first place. [16:25] In terms of vision, Jessie would like to move into more of a manager role. She would like to be able to work more with the clients and help them grow. [19:00] Jessie loves working with startups but it can be difficult because they have so much on their plate. It's a challenge to know what to charge and get their attention because they tend to be overwhelmed. It's a lot easier to help a business grow in the beginning than it is to jump into a big business that has never done their books at all. [20:50] It's very important to work with the right kind of startups. The ones with no money and no direction can be a major headache. The best kind of startup with whom to work are the ones with funding. If they don't have money because they're bootstrapping, it's probably going to be an issue. Vet and qualify your potential clients on the front end based on their capital structure and business model. [25:25] Most of Jessie's clients reach out to her within their first two years of business and the majority of them don't really do much beyond a box of receipts in terms of bookkeeping. The optimal time is probably around the one-year point. That's when it will be obvious if the business model is sustainable. [28:00] Jessie's niche is health and fitness but it really comes down to the personality of the entrepreneur that she's looking. It's important to write down the specific attributes of your ideal client and what motivates them. Start with your favorite clients and what they have in common. [31:20] Based on your avatar of your ideal client, think about who already has their attention. For Jessie that means CPAs and people in the banking industry. That can also mean attorneys, podcasters and authors as well. Those are the people with whom you want to establish relationships. It doesn't take too many of those to start getting clients. Keep in mind that the best way to get a referral is to give a referral. [35:30] You should try to get in the frame of mind of the referral partner and what they need from the relationship. [36:40] Jessie could also get a list of recently established business owners and create a piece of content to serve their needs then put that in front of them. [38:10] Jessie should strive to be known as the Startup Bookkeeper. It won't be a rapid process. but by creating content that actually helps her avatar achieve what they are trying to accomplish, she can become a trusted authority. Most of the people with whom you get connected will never pan out, but the ones that do work with you will pay off. [40:20] Startups have a particular set of challenges. By creating a lot of content and doing the work upfront, Jessie can create a tribe that will be much more inclined to become her clients when the time comes.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Brooke started off in the industry as an account manager with a construction company, until one day she got fired which was a first for her. Brooke was a day trader for a few years after that but once that became stale, she started looking for other opportunities. She had always wanted to start a business and after doing some searching, she found Bookkeeper Business Launch and decided it was the right fit. [4:10] Brooke's business is now one year in and she serves a number of clients, some of them are other Bookkeeper Business Launch members. [5:50] Brooke really enjoys bookkeeping so she'd be happy to just do it all for a while, but she knows that eventually if the business keeps growing, she'll hit a wall. Training a team to take some of the work off her hands is probably going to be in her future. [7:00] In terms of income, Brooke is still trying to boost revenue but she's specifically focused on increasing her average client billings first. [8:10] Higher-end, service-based businesses are the niche in which Brooke focuses. Working with motivated business owners is one of the best parts of working with her clients. [10:00] Freedom is definitely Brooke's favorite thing about the bookkeeping business and being able to shape her work around her lifestyle. At this point, she can't imagine working for someone else, which is a very different perspective from what she had when she was younger. [11:55] Not knowing what you don't know has been one of Brooke's biggest challenges with growing the business. Being able to reach out to the Bookkeeper Business Launch group has been extremely helpful in understanding what to do next. [14:00] Brooke really likes cleanups while at the same time kind of hates them because of how crazy they can be, but once the books are reconciled and everything balances, it's very satisfying. [15:30] In terms of activities that Brooke avoids, it's more the business-owner stuff that gets pushed off, partly due to uncertainty and partly due to a general dislike. [17:10] By this time next year, Brooke is hoping to double her clients and hire two other bookkeepers and outsource the work to them. She wants to have the right pieces in the right places before she starts to scale. [20:15] Brooke's struggle is whether or not to hire someone to run her business for her or should she hire bookkeepers so that she can step into the business owner's shoes. In every business, there are only three parts: marketing, administration and operations. Whenever you bring someone on, they should complement your weaknesses. [21:50] One of the things that distinguishes business owners is our ability to market and get clients. When you're getting started, you shouldn't outsource your marketing because no one will have the same vested interest in your business as you do. [23:10] Finding the time to work on her business has always been difficult due to Brooke's workload. Ben recommends booking four, one-hour sessions into your calendar next week where all you do is plan your business; preferably at a time when you are at your sharpest. [27:30] You may have to retrain your brain into being able to work on the high-level activities that move the needle. Sometimes the easy things we love to do are the ones that get in our way. [28:25] Do a task audit and list every single activity you do in your business and then assign a dollar amount to each one. The point is to not get bogged down doing the low-dollar work and focus on the activities at the top of the list. Once you've got your list, look through all the tasks and try to identify your unique abilities; the things that you love to do and could do all day. Everything else are tasks that you should be looking to eventually get off your plate. [30:55] Acknowledge what you have done to get to where you are. This helps build your confidence and to be grateful for what you have. [34:40] Make your business building work environment a special place that is physically separate from where you do your usual work. Take your vision for your business and then figure out how to connect where you are to where you want to go. [37:00] Brooke is the one running the show in her business. If she wants to do the bookkeeping, then that's what she can do. She gets to decide what her business looks like. [38:15] The lowest-level activity on your task audit is a prime candidate for outsourcing to a VA. The best time to document your procedures is right before you hand it off to someone else. [40:30] One of the biggest mistakes that new business owners make is to hire someone and then throw some clients in their lap. Always start with a task and then once they have that down, you can start giving them more work. [41:20] Brooke's action items include booking the business building hours into her calendar and to complete her task audit. One of Ben's tips with regards to to-do lists is to put an “I” or an “O” next to each item: “I” for “in the business” and “O” for “on the business.” This will give you some perspective on where you are actually spending your time.   Mentioned in this episode: Clarity Bookkeeping     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Dave and his wife have been working together for a long time. She took on the bookkeeping side of things, while Dave had been running his pharmacy. After selling off the business and traveling for a while, they got into real estate investing and eventually started looking at bookkeeping itself as a business. [4:30] Dave knew what his niche was going to be even before signing up for Bookkeeper Business Launch. As real estate investors themselves, they understand their needs and pain points, and currently work with 22 real estate investing clients. [6:15] There was no secret to Dave's success. They found their first client on LinkedIn and after working with them for a few months, that client referred another one. Since then, they have referred at least seven other clients as well. [7:20] Dave eventually migrated away from LinkedIn to Facebook and is a member of a number of real estate investing groups where they post semi-regularly. Dave also managed to get onto his real estate mentor's podcast and that has resulted in a number of other investors reaching out to them. [9:40] Dave doesn't pay for any marketing or advertising. They simply make themselves available on Facebook groups and respond to inbound inquiries. Dave has a one page website that is focused on one thing, to get someone to book a call. [13:15] In terms of work hours between Dave and his wife, they probably work an average of 50 hours a week. Their goal is to maximize their income over the next 8 or 10 years, and they want to keep most of the business in-house. [15:50] It's important to manage your clients' expectations. Rarely is anything in the business truly urgent, so it's not necessary to be taking phone calls at 9 pm. [17:10] As Dave and his wife started figuring things out and writing their processes down, they realized that they did things differently depending on the client. They have started documenting everything, and are in the process of turning processes into concrete procedures. [19:20] Processes allow them to get the most amount of work done in the least amount of time. It also allows their service to be uniform across their clients. Another big tip is realizing that niching down allows you to become much more efficient. [23:30] The struggle is mainly taking time out of the day to actually create the document itself while doing the tasks. At the same time, how they do things is still evolving and you can't document a procedure until you've figured out what the procedure is. Dave has started recording some smaller tasks to begin the process. [26:30] Start with the low hanging fruit, and document the simplest and easiest processes that can be outsourced to a virtual assistant. Each task may only take you a couple of minutes to do, but they add up to hours over the course of the month. [28:45] Dave has a checklist for his onboarding that he follows every single time. Since Dave only onboards a couple of clients a month, he still uses the checklist even though that's one of his main focuses in the business. [30:20] Mundane and repetitive tasks are the first ones you should hand over to a virtual assistant. Just by documenting your procedures and systematizing your business, you will reduce the amount of time you need to complete tasks by 20%. [31:30] Document your processes as they are, not as they should be. Once you've done that, then you can start to improve them. It's important to have a separate space to work from when you are working on your business. [34:10] Once a client gets into maintenance mode, the amount of time it takes each month to service them gets really low. The majority of the time spent in the business is on cleaning up new client's books and getting things in line. Getting the documentation from a new client is one of the best examples of a task that can be turned into a process and outsourced. Break down each major activity into smaller, more discrete tasks. [39:50] Don't let perfection be the enemy of getting started and getting things done. Document collection is the area of Dave's business that he's going to focus on first. [41:10] Sometimes it only takes a single nugget of wisdom from something to change everything about your business. Always take notes and write down action items when learning new things, and then actually execute on them as soon as you have the chance. [43:30] The business model of bookkeeping is spectacular. Dave's first rule of business is to get paid before you do any work, and once that's done, overdeliver on the results.   Mentioned in this episode: REI Bookkeepers     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Kevin has been hustling his entire life. Multiple streams of revenue have always been a focus for him and that has manifested into multiple businesses during his adult life. [6:00] Math had always been a favorite subject for Kevin, and he worked with his father in an accounting role during high school and college, but eventually wanted to do something different. He decided on teaching as a profession and did that for a few years while growing his side businesses at the same time. Bookkeeping was a natural fit as an additional source of revenue, so Kevin started looking for clients and now it's his full-time gig. [10:40] Kevin discovered Bookkeeper Business Launch through a simple Google search and enrolled while still working full time. In the interim time since starting the course, Kevin has picked up 26 clients, some of which have multiple entities. [15:30] Kevin attributes his success to his hustler mentality, but he also believes that anyone that is looking for an additional source of income or a new career could be a good fit for Bookkeeper Business Launch. [17:05] Kevin's goal is to find someone to work for him that can take some of the tasks off his hands so that he can focus on growing the business. The trouble is that each client seems to do things a little bit differently which can make it difficult to establish a process that someone else can take care of. [20:15] Kevin currently does not have a niche, which is one of the reasons he's experiencing challenges. Niching down streamlines things when trying to establish processes since the clients are somewhat the same, but Kevin doesn't plan on niching down at this time. [22:25] We always think people are our answer to feeling overwhelmed with work, but it really starts with processes. Start with the tasks that are pretty much always the same no matter the client and begin documenting those. They are the low hanging fruit for creating processes. [25:20] There will always be unique aspects to every client, but ideally that should only comprise a maximum of 20% of the total work. You have to identify the processes that are common among all clients and start with the easiest. They may only take a few minutes to do but over the course of a month and multiple clients it can add up to hours. [27:20] Once you complete the task audit, rank them in order of easiest to most difficult. Once you identify the activity that's common to all clients ask yourself whether you can stop doing it, whether it can be improved, whether it can be automated, or if it can be outsourced. [29:30] Virtual assistants are the next step. Take one of those tasks and send them to your VA first, then once they've mastered that, go down the list and keep giving them more tasks to do. [31:20] To document your tasks, get a screen recording software and record and narrate yourself doing the task. Send the video file to Rev.com to get it transcribed. Now, you have multiple formats for someone to understand exactly what they need to do for a given task. [34:50] Don't record your tasks as you want them to be, record them as they are. As you become more familiar with the tasks and get in the groove of someone else doing them, you can start to look at ways of improving those processes. [36:30] For unique clients, just refer to a client-specific process in the task. Unless those clients are large, the extra processes should be very small. The bulk of the training should be in the common processes among all clients. [40:00] Kevin's first goal is to go through his clients' common tasks and start making the recordings for them after figuring out the tasks that are the easiest to outsource. He's also going to go through Outstanding Processes and Procedures to get a head start.   Mentioned in this episode: Books by Schmidt     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Kevin started off in the IT world and he quickly got pretty tired of getting yelled at all the time. One of his friends started a business, and Kevin started doing the IT stuff for it, which eventually developed into business management. After that Kevin went back and got his MBA, graduated in 2016, and along the way, dabbled in real estate. The real estate led him in a roundabout way to doing a few bookkeeping jobs via Upwork, and finding Ben's Bookkeeper Business Launch course. [8:20] In addition to bookkeeping, Kevin's business offers clients office set up and business analysis, and process development services. Bookkeeping can be a great entry point to offer additional services. [9:25] Even if a business owner has someone doing their books they are often a mess, even CPA's can drop the ball when it comes to bookkeeping. [11:20] Kevin's favorite part of the business is the freedom and autonomy involved. He can basically work from anywhere as long as he has a wifi connection. The most frustrating part about having a business is that there are so many things to do, and it feels like there is not enough time to do it all. [13:40] Kevin tries to focus on things that yield an instant result, and things that will grow the business instead of just getting tasks checked off the list. [15:15] Kevin currently has 21 official clients, with two more onboarding in the near future, plus nine of his own with his other business. [16:10] If you're considering bookkeeping as a lifestyle for you, you have to ask yourself if you are self sufficient enough to put in the hours to make it work. [17:40] In terms of vision, Kevin wants to have a sellable business in the next five to seven years. When you build a business to be sold, you create a lot of sanity for yourself by necessity and conscious design. The desired outcome is essentially a profitability goal, which Kevin can then work back from to figure out what the business needs to be to reach that goal. [21:50] When thinking about your vision, imagine what you want your day to day life to look like. You want your business to support the lifestyle you want to lead, and the reason you should start with your vision is that cold numbers are not going to motivate you and get you through the tough times. It's also important to make sure your spouse understands your vision for your business, and is on board with what it will take to get there. [28:45] Start with your why, write it down, and keep it in front of you. It will keep everything in focus and reinforce why you are working towards your goals. Coming up with a vivid vision gives you and your team guidelines and helps them to buy in. It also helps you figure out if something or someone is a fit for your business. Share it with everyone you work with. [32:15] Get granular with your vision in a way that resonates with your life directly. Our brain has a hard time latching onto abstract concepts, but it can latch onto the desire to take a trip across the country. [33:10] Kevin has nailed his niche, but he's got a second one in his back pocket, in case he needs to find some new clients. He's also refocused the business into primarily a bookkeeping and accounting style company that offers a few additional services. [34:25] Everybody needs help with bookkeeping, they just have to get to the point in their business where they realize it. Our challenge as bookkeepers is to change that mindset and help people move closer to that realization. [34:55] Ben encourages people to acknowledge what they have achieved, and recognize their accomplishments. [36:05] Your vision has to be as specific as it needs to be for it to get you there. Keep describing until it hooks you. [37:05] The biggest win for Kevin in finding the group is joining a network of bookkeepers. Having the ability to chat with like minded individuals has been a game changer.   Mentioned in this episode: Centrosome Inc.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Prior to bookkeeping, Annette was a dental hygienist for 35 years. Her life was very structured, and every minute of her time was accounted for. Her journey into bookkeeping was pretty tumultuous. After her husband suddenly died, at the age of 56, she took over his business and realized that the books were a mess. In the process of trying to figure everything out, she saw Ben's ad for bookkeeping, and it seemed like a way to kill two birds with one stone. [5:35] Eventually, the chemicals in the office took their toll on Annette, and her doctor basically told her that she couldn't work anymore. At that point, Annette was working with two bookkeeping clients. She decided to make it her full-time business and to dive right in. She now has 11 clients and serves dentists, exclusively. [8:00] Don't compare your daily life to someone's highlight reel. Everyone on the podcast has their own problems to deal with. [9:40] When you first start your bookkeeping journey, it's like going into a foreign country without knowing the language. It takes some time to learn and be able to talk intelligently about what you do, but you can get there. [11:50] Realize that the power is in your hands, once finances are not the main drive to grow your business. It will come through in your marketing and messaging, when you aren't driven by fear and scarcity. [13:20] Annette's goal is to have 20 to 30 clients and, eventually, to get rid of the more tedious tasks involved in the business. Ben recommends flipping the thought process. She doesn't want 30 clients. Annette wants what 30 clients will do for her and her business. Get crystal clear about the lifestyle you want, and then figure out what your business has to look like to facilitate that vision. [17:30] Going through programs is the easiest way to hack the learning process. You can spend a lot of time figuring things out on your own, or you can pay someone a comparatively small amount of money and learn it now. [21:20] Annette's main challenge, right now, is a lack of self-confidence. Conveying her value in her marketing is difficult because she feels like she's still missing something. She spent a good amount of money trying things that you really shouldn't do. [24:30] Putting out blog posts on LinkedIn has been one way of generating leads, but the response has been erratic. Also, it really depends on the subject. She's currently having four to six conversations a month with potential clients. [27:15] There are two cardinal rules in business. You should never stop marketing, and you should always be looking for good people. [28:15] Realizing that you don't need to land a client will really minimize the desperation that can come across when talking with a lead. Starting out with questions about their business and how they do things is a good way to convey what you can do for a client. Lead with the reasons they started their business and what they are trying to achieve because no one has ever asked them these questions. Getting them to talk openly about the business will set you up as the authority. [33:10] Don't start with bookkeeping questions because if they don't know the answer, they will just feel stupid, and that will derail the conversation. Lead them to the discovery of how they can achieve their vision by getting in charge of the finances. [35:10] Your clients have to be able to make good decisions. How can they make good decisions about their finances, when their financial picture isn't accurate and they are getting the numbers three months late? You want them to have the realization, on their own, about what they need, instead of you pushing something on them. [37:20] The consultative close is where you prove what you can do by helping the client in advance. Show them what they need to do to achieve their vision, and then offer to help them, if they want. Don't be afraid of revealing your “secrets.” They don't have the time or inclination to do this themselves, and it shows that you can actually help them. [42:20] Give your clients the plan in a variety of mediums. If the client is worth the effort, demonstrate your value, and leave them in a better place. [43:35] Bonus tips: Record your consultation (after getting the client's approval), and then listen to the recording afterwards. Listen to yourself, and assess how confident you were and what you can improve on. Name your plan that you're providing them, and make it something proprietary. Also, talk about minimums, in terms of price, so you can at least eliminate the people that are doing price comparisons. [45:45] For action items, Annette is going to rework her presentation and incorporate the ideas talked about in this podcast. She is also going to focus on building her confidence around what she can deliver to clients.   Mentioned in this episode: Bookkeeping Aesthetics     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Jackie's family had always wanted to live in America so her family moved to LA, but for various reasons, it didn't work out. She needed to set something up that was relevant to her degree in order for it to be seen as successful in the eyes of Immigration and be able to stay in the States. She stumbled across Bookkeeper Business Launch in 2016 and it showed her a way to make her plan real. [4:50] Jackie officially launched her business in January of 2017, and she landed her first client a few weeks into the new year. She invested in SEO and advertising and tried to do the marketing herself until she realized that she had to stop trying to do everything and going through the feast or famine cycle. [6:40] Jackie now has 21 clients, most of which are being billed a set amount each month. A few of them have the habit of showing up in August needing all the accounts up to date for the previous year. [8:10] The best part of the business is in analyzing the data, interpreting the numbers, and forecasting where the business is going. That's where Jackie can make a real difference in her client's businesses. [10:40] Jackie isn't going to settle for a mini empire; she's going to build a mega empire. She wants her business to also be her retirement. She would like to grow a sustainable business that is either possible to sell or for someone else like her to take it over and run it without her having to be there. [14:30] Building a business to be sold makes it worth much more than a job that is disguised as a business. [15:20] The challenge that Jackie is facing today is two fold. She needs to be more strategic, and she also needs to get the right people in place, but she's run into some trouble on that front and is now questioning her judgment. [18:15] Jackie does not take time out to educate herself. She feels like she isn't taking the time to absorb content that would help her develop personally. If she wants to change this, she needs to schedule in time for educating herself when she's at her best. Start with a small amount of time in a place where you don't usually work. A change of environment can change the way you think. [26:15] Make it a date with yourself and make it sacred. It doesn't matter where you go, but that you enjoy it and your brain is primed to focus on yourself. It's also not necessarily about reading more books, you can find a lot of clarity simply by writing out your thoughts on a regular basis. [28:40] Creating a vivid vision for your life is even more important than the vision for your business. If you reverse the order, your life will contort around your business instead of your business being shaped around your life. [30:05] In order to create a business empire, it has to be able to run without you. Eventually, you want to only be involved with things that are your unique abilities. [32:15] Jackie wants to have someone sitting alongside her, but she has had some big difficulties with it, either with wasting time correcting mistakes or trying to train someone who is unable to learn. Someone who is willing to challenge Jackie is what she is looking for, so maybe what she actually needs is an accountability partner or coach instead of just an employee. The people you ultimately hire should complement your weaknesses. [38:45] Jackie's existing team is servicing the clients really well, and sometimes the person you need to hire already works for you. Being able to leverage your team more can be the solution you're looking for. [42:15] Start with the task audit and offloading the low hanging fruit to them, then start mining your existing team as a source for more people if you still need to. [43:35] Jackie's first action will be to book an hour and a half for herself to read, write, and develop. Then, she's going to reach out to her former employee and see if she would be interested in working with her as an accountability partner.   Mentioned in this episode: AllCents Bookkeeping     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Jessica's personal style is hyper feminine, but deep down she likes math and numbers. That synthesis is where the moniker Sparkle Bookkeeping came from. [2:50] When Jessica was in college she had an opportunity to work for a cannabis tax firm, and got a feel for the industry as well as learned bookkeeping directly. After a while, she wanted to try something new. She felt like she would be able to do it on her own and she discovered Bookkeeper Business Launch. [6:20] The mindset aspect of the business has been a big part of Jessica's journey. By applying what she learned in the course, her business has started to really take off. [8:00] Working for yourself is a rollercoaster ride with really high good days and some pretty terrible bad days, but it all evens out after a while if you can push through. [8:35] Jessica currently serves 17 clients mainly found through referrals. When she first started, she didn't really picture much more than just herself and the books, but having found success, she believes that she could do more. [10:20] Jessica needs to get granular about what her business is going to do for her. Putting together a vivid vision is a way for her to make decisions about her business, based on whether it will move her closer to her vision or further away. The vision can give you a rulebook for your business. [12:30] Making her own schedule is probably the best part of her business. She's been careful to make sure the business doesn't take over her life, but that's the struggle that most entrepreneurs have when building their business from scratch. [15:45] You have to be intentional about building a business that works around your life. You have to state what you are going to do, and then you figure out the how. [16:35] Jessica is able to pay for herself, and her day-to-day costs so she's not financially strapped, but she would be happy to make more money. Not having her back against the wall puts her in a position of power where she doesn't have to work with clients that aren't aligned with her business. [19:25] We can't talk about people without talking about processes, and we can't talk about processes without talking about people. Right now, Jessica doesn't have many processes written out, but she does have some checklists put together that have been helpful. The first step to creating processes is to record yourself doing a particular task while narrating what is happening, transcribing the audio, and turning that into a checklist. [25:15] Creating processes and checklists is the first step in hiring someone. A checklist should be able to fit on half a piece of paper and be less than 10 steps. If it's any longer, it should be broken down further into separate processes. [27:10] Most of us hire the wrong way. We find someone and just throw them into the job and that sets everyone up for failure. And if they are someone who can do everything, if you come to rely on them without having written processes and they leave, your business is in big trouble. [29:00] One of the biggest misconceptions in the business is that we need to hire someone with bookkeeping experience. That's not true, we should almost always hire a virtual assistant first. Bookkeeping experience is really just a bonus, not a prerequisite. [31:45] Document your processes as they are, not as they should be. Once you've got that done, take that task and give it to a VA. Start small, you can begin with as little as an hour a week. There is no need to spend the money and make a commitment until you get your processes down. [36:40] Once you start creating processes and giving them to a VA, you're going to become addicted to the process. It could be over a year or more before you need to hire an established bookkeeping professional. It may even make more sense to graduate a trusted VA into the position by providing them with additional training, instead of finding someone who already has experience. [38:55] Jessica is more comfortable with letting go because breaking things down into individual tasks is much less daunting than letting a whole client go. One big tip is to encourage your VA to be critical about your processes and suggest improvements. [41:30] Hiring someone and bringing them into your business is an exponential gain in your business. Changing your CRM is an incremental gain. Start with platforms like Excel that everyone is already comfortable with, don't try to do both at the same time. Once you got the ball rolling, that's when you can explore different project management options. All the tools will work, it's just a matter of finding one that works for you. [44:45] Jessica's first action will be to write down her three-year vision for her business and get specific with what she wants. In terms of practical actions, Jessica is going to create process videos for one of her easier clients, and get them transcribed. Ben recommends putting a date on each action item because that makes them real.   Mentioned in this episode: Sparkle Bookkeeping     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Jenna used to work as an auditor, but the position involved being surrounded by negative people as well as physical demands that didn't work with her family's schedule. After getting denied when she tried to adjust her work schedule, Jenna realized that she should probably venture out on her own. She found the Bookkeeper Business Launch program and once someone she trusted vouched for the content, she signed up. [5:00] Jenna currently has 10 clients and is not looking to build an empire. She's pretty happy right now just working with her clients and doing the work, but that may change as her children get older. [6:40] When Jenna was starting her bookkeeping business, she was looking for someone to handle the tax work, and the person that she previously worked with told her that the bookkeeper for the firm that he worked for had given their notice and they needed to find a new bookkeeper for their clients. Many of the clients that Jenna now has have come through this referral relationship. [8:20] She also has had some clients come through Facebook. It's important to not have to rely on a single channel to attract clients into your business. [9:40] Jenna's biggest challenge was mindset and the belief that she could do this on her own. She realized that everyone is afraid, but they just do it. That's the first step in overcoming your fear. A lot of things that we're taught as children to protect us end up as limiting beliefs that you need to break down or reassess as an adult. [11:35] Jenna wishes that she realized how much time it would take to get started. A lot of people start a business thinking that it will give them more time, but that's not true right away. The reverse is the case, you'll spend more time working in the beginning than you would if you just had a job. [13:30] Setting limits with clients is one of Jenna's biggest challenges. She doesn't want to nickel and dime her clients, but she also doesn't want to work for free. This is known in the industry as scope creep and is a real problem when you bill a flat fee. [15:20] Jenna doesn't have to take on clients to cover her expenses so that puts her in a better position and can really slow down the process of vetting a new client. She can be very methodical in determining what the client wants and what kind of outcomes they are looking for, as well as set expectations for the relationship. [18:30] One of the great things about becoming a trusted advisor for your clients is that they will come to you when they need something. When they reach out to you, they are probably coming from a positive place, but you still have to be methodical about establishing the scope of the work. [19:50] The most recent scope creep came in today from a client that wanted Jenna to call a vendor and learn more about a bill. There are a couple of ways to handle this kind of stuff. The first thing is to immediately set the expectation that the task is outside the scope of the work. Send them an invoice for your time and then zero out the amount as a courtesy discount to orient them. [23:40] Next time a client asks you to do something that happens frequently, you are either going to have to start charging for that or reevaluate the scope of the work you are doing for that client. [25:35] Be very clear about things that fall outside your engagement and be willing to have that awkward conversation and be honest. Most clients are not intentional about this.They just rely on you as a trusted advisor. [28:20] Keeping the client informed is very important. Let the client know at the start before it becomes the norm. If you keep them involved, getting paid for additional services won't be a big deal. [30:40] A lot of misunderstandings come from not really knowing what the client wanted. This is why the vetting process is so important, so that you can understand your duties and they understand theirs, as well as expectations in general. [31:45] Scope creep can actually inform services that you can offer to your clients. When it happens often, they are explicitly telling you they need that service and you can create packages around that to offer to other clients.   Mentioned in this episode: ACE Accountable Bookkeeping     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Kerrie went into corporate accounting after getting her accounting degree. She decided after 5 years that it wasn't her cup of tea and opened her own business that lasted for a couple of years. A major move meant she had to find something else and she ended up working in a public school for 13 years. During that time, Kerrie's husband developed a chronic illness and Kerrie knew she needed to find a job that gave her more flexibility. She discovered Bookkeeper Business Launch and that's where it all started. [5:05] You are always skeptical when you come across work-at-home opportunities online, but Ben's course seemed to really stand out and offer a solution that Kerrie was looking for. [6:30] Kerrie has two clients of her own, as well as three other clients she has done consulting work with. She started out with a few subcontracting jobs that she recently decided to drop as she figures out what she wants for her business. [8:30] Bookkeeping is a great fit for anyone that has the ability to learn quickly and pays attention to details. Being a people person is an asset. If you want to have success as a bookkeeper, you need to be able to build relationships with your clients. [10:35] When Kerrie first got started, she couldn't decide on a niche, so now she finds herself constantly doing research to figure out a potential client's industry. Finding her niche would really make her job less complicated and help her find clients. Right now, she's focused on attorneys and becoming an expert in that industry. [13:30] Vision is tough for Kerrie since she's just getting started. Her ten-year vision is for her business to be running itself or she will sell it. For the next three years she wants to have a few subcontractors and staff in place so she doesn't have to turn clients away. She would like to have more time to do the marketing and for meeting clients. [16:25] The key question is, “How do I become known?” The first step is to pick a niche, but that doesn't necessarily mean an industry. For Kerrie, she really enjoys working with a specific attorney. [17:20] Kerrie's favorite client has a lot of commonality with Kerrie herself. This may be an opportunity to drill down her niche even further beyond just attorneys. The next step is to serve the heck out of her client and figure out what really attracts her. [22:10] Every niche and every industry has eyes that want to see something that brings them value. A good example is the podcast. How can you get in front of the audience that you want to serve and establish yourself as an authority? Is there an event you can speak at or a resource you can create? [26:15] Don't be worried about giving away too much free information in these forums. There will always be more value in accountability and hands on work. Everything you give away is a way to establish your identity in your target niche. [28:10] Does Kerrie's client have a software rep that she can talk to? They could give her a lot of insight into what attorneys need as well as be a possible source of referrals. Who are the people that already have a relationship with the clients that you want to establish an authority with? [29:50] Given the stage of life Kerrie is in she may want to stay in BNI so that she can find more clients, even if they are not in her chosen niche. At this point, it may still make sense to keep her options open. Getting to the point where she no longer needs to take on clients to keep the lights on would allow her to be more selective about who she works with. [33:10] Kerrie should get in with the one client that she has and learn everything that she can that has to do with bookkeeping, business, and taxes so that she can speak her language. [33:45] You have to be intentional about your business. Schedule time to work on what you need to work on. Be careful about research though.The more time you spend learning, the less likely you are to act. Get in front of the audience you want to serve because there is no environment better to figure things out. Just don't do it before you can speak their language. [37:00] Don't think about it as a chance to get clients, think about it as a way to give away value and help people. No one likes to be sold to, but we love to buy. Going into it with the giving value mindset will be a complete game changer. [38:50] Kerrie's next actions are to get in front of some Bar associations and decide if staying in BNI is the best use of her time. There is no wrong decision with that. She just has to be intentional and replace it with it something that will keep pushing her business forward. [41:55] Becoming an authority is not an overnight effort; it takes time. If you're looking to make money quickly, it is not the way to go.   Mentioned in this episode: Strategic Bookkeeping Solutions     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Heather got her accounting degree in 2014 and worked in corporate accounting for a few years. That's when she realized that she was meant to be her own boss and really didn't enjoy the corporate environment. She discovered Bookkeeping Business Launch and after giving birth to her son, she decided to dive into it and give it a shot. [4:10] Initially she was skeptical about the program and whether she could handle it with a newborn, but something clicked once he was two months old. She took her time starting the business but after a year of working on things and landing her first client, it really took off. [6:00] The lack of flexibility was Heather's main issue with the corporate environment. Being able to determine her own hours and how she runs her business has been very important to her. Flexibility and freedom are very common reasons for people wanting to start their own business. [9:05] Currently Heather has 14 clients, 2 of which she had to part ways with at the beginning of the year, because they didn't have enough profit in their business to justify it. [9:55] Heather would recommend the bookkeeping business to someone who has the drive and the motivation to do what they need to do to live the life they want to live. There are a lot of benefits to working for an employer but you will never have the freedom you get from building a business around your lifestyle. You should also enjoy working with numbers of course. [11:45] Heather's end game is to move into the CEO role and start growing her and her business's capacity. Eventually, she would love to be able to walk away from the business for a while, without having to worry about the work getting done. Finances are a factor to achieve their dreams but it's not the main issue right now. [14:30] When your business is not about the dire need for money, it puts you into a better situation and puts the power in your hands. You won't feel the pressure to do something before you are prepared for it. [15:35] By the end of 2019, Heather is hoping to double her revenue and by the end of 2020 she hopes to triple it at least. [16:30] Knowledge is not power, implementation is power. It's better to take a nugget of wisdom you hear and go execute on it, rather than keep listening and do nothing with it. [18:10] To achieve the growth that she envisions for her business, Heather will need to bring on some new team members. She's nervous about delegating, because she's not sure the systems and processes she has set up at the moment are up to snuff. [20:50] Start from the results that you want, and then figure out how to make it work. [22:30] We don't want to throw people at a process problem, we want to have our processes down and then fit someone into them. [23:00] Heather considers networking and creating relationships to be her unique ability. She has never advertised to find clients, they have all come from word of mouth and networking events. [25:40] While Heather enjoys creating relationships and meeting new people, she doesn't enjoy going out and searching for new clients and creating new leads. Sales and follow up, and social media are probably the first things that she is going to offboard to someone else. [27:30] Your first hire is probably going to be a virtual assistant, not another bookkeeper. Figure out the tasks that you don't want to do anymore, record them, and then find a VA to do those things for you. This can free up significant amounts of your time every single month that you can dedicate to tasks you actually like to do. Once everyone is comfortable with the task, you can start expanding the responsibilities. [30:10] List all the tasks that you do in your business, and categorize them into things that you love to do, things that you can do well but don't energize you, and things you actively dislike doing. Start offloading the tasks you dislike the most by creating your processes around those first. [32:15] Processes are what make your business sellable. Once you get started you will get addicted to creating more. Start with one task and give it to one person. [36:10] For action items, Heather is going to figure out which tasks she can offload to a VA and start creating her processes. The task audit is the first step which she is aiming to have completed by the end of April, and have her first hire by the end of June. [41:05] Before you offboard a task, ask yourself if you should just stop doing it, or if it can simply be automated. Remember this when creating your processes, because you will see things differently when you're in a teaching frame of mind.   Mentioned in this episode: Denning Bookkeeping Solutions     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Elizabeth was looking for a way to earn money that also allowed her to spend time with her children. Bookkeeper Business Launch seemed like a good fit so she signed up in August of 2017. She didn't originally do much with the program until she was talking to someone who essentially told her that they would hire her if she finished the program. She officially had her first client by June 2018 and has since built a business of seven clients total. [4:30] Elizabeth's vision for the business is where she doesn't have to be involved in the day-to-day operations of the business. [5:35] Money is not her primary motivation at the moment. She has enough clients now that she is focused more on being successful. Success is the ability to reach your goals by doing things your way. [6:45] A typical day for Elizabeth depends on what day of the month they are in and what's due. She uses a CRM to manage her schedule and figure out what she needs to tackle first. Her day usually ends at 3pm, at which point she's on family time. [8:05] Working from home can be lonely but there is nothing like being your own boss if you're self-motivated. The support she has online has been important as well. [9:30] Elizabeth isn't very good at marketing or putting herself out there on social media. If she had realized how powerful it can be she would have pushed herself to do that much sooner. Sometimes the traits that make you a good bookkeeping professional can prevent you from getting out there and meeting people. [12:30] You have to feel the fear and do it anyway. Much of being a business owner is about marketing, if you can't get past that barrier then maybe you shouldn't be in business. [13:15] Finding quality leads within her chosen niche has been Elizabeth's primary challenge with her business. Breaking into a niche and establishing yourself as an authority has been a challenge as well. [15:15] There are three elements to marketing: your market, your message, and your media. The first step for Elizabeth is to narrow her niche down to one group and focus on them. Trying to be an expert in more than one niche can be exponentially harder and actually cause confusion in your market. [17:20] Niching down won't limit you. Building trust and authority won't happen overnight, it's a long term strategy. Elizabeth needs to start thinking about her brand, which is essentially her identity in the market. [20:30] It's not just about working with interior designers, it's about identifying her ideal customer and reverse engineering what it is that she really likes about her current clients. Start listing their attributes and the common traits that make you smile. Once you know your ideal client, they become your avatar and you can use that to talk to your market. [23:40] Declaring yourself to be focused specifically on one niche can be very compelling. [24:30] There are a couple ways to generate instant authority. The first way is to be everywhere your niche is. For interior designers, that means Instagram, Houzz, and Pinterest, and putting content online that gets in front of them and spreads your message. [28:50] Identify your voice so that someone consuming your content will know that it came from you. Then create a framework for your niche that allows you to put their problems in a new focus. It becomes a way to create your own terminology and your own approach to solving your niche's problems. [31:30] What are the absolutes you believe for that industry? Absolutes you maintain as a brand immediately become authoritative. [33:20] There are a number of ways to create content that generates authority. A podcast is one that allows you to create additional content. The idea is you should pick a media that fits your strengths. [36:30] When you can ask someone in your niche a question and know what they're going to say, that's a sign that you really understand your clients and how to solve their problems, which will make you an authentic authority. [37:45] Set aside a little bit of time on your next call with a client you enjoy working with and try to understand how to serve them better. Talk to them about their vision and goals, and who they are as people. That's a great way to understand the deep motivations of your market. When you can anticipate someone's needs you can really blow them away. [39:50] Be a bulldog, reach out to your niche's professional organizations and be persistent until they answer your questions. Make them tell you no instead of ignoring you. [42:30] Another good tip is to look at your niche's websites and make sure your site reflects a similar aesthetic. [43:20] Email outreach and research on LinkedIn can be very powerful for finding new clients. [44:15] Elizabeth has to narrow down her targeting and work on her absolutes. The next step is to devise a plan to establish her authority and figure out what medium makes the most sense for her. [45:50] Once Elizabeth changed her mindset from thinking of herself as a stay-at-home mom to being a bookkeeping professional she landed two clients. Introduce yourself as a professional first.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Ashley is very organized and isn't afraid to ask for help which is the thing that makes her business possible. [2:15] Ashley was a stay-at-home mom to her four kids in the beginning, but she always wanted to be able to contribute more to her family and the world at large. She felt that starting a business was the first step to contributing to her surroundings. Her husband was actually the person who referred her to the Bookkeeper Business Launch program and a few months later she decided to pull the trigger. [5:40] Currently, Ashley serves 11 clients and on her goal sheet, which is something that she writes down every day, her first goal is to hit six figures this year. Her bigger goal for the next two years is to be the boss of a million dollar company. [6:45] Inspiring young women is one of Ashley's major motivations, in addition to providing a life for her family that she didn't have growing up. [9:30] Working from home has worked out well. It enables her to be there for her family and her clients. [10:20] Ashley was desperate to get her first client, so if she could give herself advice, it would be to not undervalue herself. She learned a great deal from them, but if she had the ability, she would have waited for the right person. [11:45] Ashley's biggest challenge is to have the time to go to meetings and networking, so she is having to rely heavily on direct marketing. The good news is that is a fine way to build a viable business. It can be done. You just have to be intentional about it. [14:30] Posting in local Facebook groups and on LinkedIn, as well as referrals, has been the main ways Ashley has found her clients. You don't want to rely on just one way of finding clients, so for Ashley, she just has to double down on the things that are already working. [15:40] Ashley is starting to niche down into law firms and real estate. Ben's advice is to pick one and focus. [17:00] Get very clear about who your market is because that dictates what your message is. The least important aspect of marketing is the media. 90% of success in marketing is defining your market. [18:25] Once you understand what your market wants and doesn't want, you use that to shape your message. When it comes to media, the first thing you want to do is reverse engineer what's already working and focus on that. In Ashley's case, Facebook groups may be her best target to start with. [22:20] Media comes and goes. One of the best things you can do is email outreach. If you do it right, you can spend a lot of time doing research and lasering in on the right people. [24:15] Ashley sends a general message to people that she's connected to on LinkedIn that may be able to use her service. [25:30] The money is in the follow up, not in the initial contact. You don't need a CRM to keep track of those things. A Google spreadsheet will do just fine. [27:00] Look for the private forums in your niche where the people you want to work with are discussing things. That may be Facebook, but it could also be another site.When it comes to direct mail, send your marketing to the person's home instead of their office. That allows you to avoid gatekeepers. [29:30] Free consultations aren't as effective as they used to be. Sending the recipient to a free online training is what Ben prefers. [32:00] Start with your niche and start doing more of what's already working. Learn the questions and language your market is using, which starts to add value to the conversation. You can use the common questions to help you design your training. There is a saying in marketing, “you give people what they want in order to deliver what they need.” [34:30] Look for shoulder groups. Who already has the clients you want to work with, and how can you get in front of them? A podcast is a great example of how to become known in a specific niche that you want to target. [37:10] Ashley's number one action item is to get clarification of who her market is and hone down what her message is going to be to them.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Mary can remember always being good at bookkeeping, even when she was young. While going to school, she worked full time in a corporate office in the accounting department for three years. She never finished her bachelor's degree. Instead, she moved back to where she and her husband were from and worked for a local pharmacy where she was mentored by the in-house CPA. [4:30] During that time Mary's husband deployed so she needed something to keep her busy. She was nominated to be the president of the local business association. It was around that time that Mary started to look for more flexibility so she could spend more time with her growing family, this lead to some timely advice from a friend to just do bookkeeping for more than one business. [7:00] Self-discipline has been key to Mary's success. Being able to manage her time and still get things done is a very important quality to have once there is no one to tell you what to do. [8:40] When Mary started her business, she already had four clients and has built up her client base to 24 over the past five years. The flexibility of owning her own business really came in handy after Mary found out that her daughter had a heart defect. [11:30] At this point Mary works around 20-30 hours a week and has a contractor that works for her for roughly 10 hours a week. [12:30] Mary's secret to getting clients has really been her relationship with the CPA that mentored her years ago. Several of the clients that she has now came from a referral from her mentor. You never know what relationship is going to be a goldmine for you. [13:55] Mary is trying to balance taking on new clients and building out the processes and systems that will ensure she can handle them [14:40] Mary has also recently opened a second business. It's a coworking space for mom's that need a place to work that provides childcare. [15:50] Mary is a bit of a creative, so she enjoys the marketing and creative side of the business alongside meeting people at networking events and having conversations. It's quite the reverse of the way most bookkeepers approach business. [17:10] Keeping up with her email is what Mary finds the most unfun. She uses a tool called GQueues to stay on top of her to-do list. She doesn't want to waste time trying to figure out what to get done. [18:30] In terms of vision, Mary is looking to double the number of clients she has and add a full-time bookkeeper to her business. She wants to be able to do the marketing and the client-getting and having another bookkeeper handle the in-the-weeds work. [20:10] Being able to bring her husband into the business is another potential goal to work towards. [21:00] Never stop marketing or looking for good people. For Mary, she should hire a second bookkeeper and start them out with a small amount of hours. You don't want to be totally dependent on one person. [22:50] Mary is not currently doing the interpret and advise portion of the business that Ben talks about all the time. That's why she's not charging the rates that she would like, which means that she has to bring on more clients to increase her revenue. [24:20] Her current clients haven't really asked for any extra advice but that doesn't mean that they don't need it. [25:35] It's hard to say to your current clients that you are adding a new service so now you're going to charge them more. It's better to be more selective about the clients you take on in the future. For future clients, you have to educate and then sell them on the value of the service. If you work with higher value clients, the main benefit would be you wouldn't need as many clients to hit your revenue targets. [27:50] Look for clients that are going to value you and are looking to collaborate instead of abdicate. When looking for new clients, you are going to look for clients who are already interested in that service. [29:40] While you're looking for new clients, you need to start educating yourself on the services they will value. The good news is you have a built-in think tank with your existing clients to find that out. [31:10] The next time Mary is having a conversation with her client, plan for some time to talk about what they really want in their business and how she can help them get there. What roles do they not like to do in their business that she can take off their hands? This is essentially market research into what they value. Don't guess, ask. [32:50] Look for key phrases and use their language. You can use the information you learn to speak and sell to your new clients. [34:05] We are paid in proportion to the value we put into the marketplace. Ask them what they need and then create something around it. Start thinking about a system you can brand from the language and words they are using. [36:25] There is learning that you're going to have to do to deliver on the additional services. The best way to do it is to just pick a client that you already work with and do it for free. Nothing beats practical experience. The worst case scenario is you get experience and put goodwill into the relationship. [39:15] Look for the low hanging fruit and what could put on semi-autopilot so you don't have to work a lot more to produce a particular result. Your relationship with your clients is ultimately going to be the thing that protects you from the growing trend of automation. [41:10] Mary's action items include opening up the dialogue with her existing clients and looking for a need they have in common. To create a tool that she can use to attract more clients, and to find a second contractor.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Melissa was working 70 to 80 hours a week at her job and was starting to get really burned out. She decided that she needed to make a change and that was when she was injured during a run. This gave her plenty of time to look for opportunities to work from home. She found her first client online and that gave her three months to find more. Word of mouth and BNI has been how she's found the majority of the clients she has now, with the process being largely organic. [4:45] Melissa serves 62 clients that they work with every month and she has a goal to get to 100 clients by the end of the year. [5:25] We rarely stop to smell the roses and appreciate everything we accomplish. Remember to write down how far you've come and keep that in mind. [6:20] Melissa has made plenty of mistakes over the past 18 months. One of the biggest things she's learned is to stick to her pricing and not negotiate. If the client wants to negotiate, that may be an indicator that they don't value your service. [8:15] Melissa works solely from home and most of her clients are local to Sacramento. One of the motivations for her in starting her business has been to spend time with her kids and this led to her finding a team member that likes serving clients face-to-face. [10:30] Working at home can be very isolating, so Melissa really appreciates the chance to go to BNI meetings and meet people on the same journey as her. [11:40] The best piece of advice for someone considering starting their own bookkeeping business is you have to be a self starter. There will always be things out of your control and you just have to push through it and get things done. There is also a major difference between dealing with multiple clients instead of one boss. You need to develop a thick skin. [13:30] You have to be very self reliant as a business owner because the buck stops with you. [14:25] There is a lot of room for growth in the bookkeeping industry. Melissa hasn't run into any real competition in her area. If you're thinking about getting into the business, now is a great time to jump in. [16:00] In three years, Melissa would like to be in a commercial space with 10 bookkeepers working for her. The key piece of the puzzle will be a solid office manager to bring it all together so that she doesn't need to touch client accounts anymore. If you can pay somebody to do something better than you, you should do it. [18:15] Strategy is marketing, and marketing is the core of your business. It's hard to outsource the marketing because they don't have the same incentive as you as the owner of the business. [19:15] In some ways the desire for an office space is about ego but a commercial space does come with some other advantages. Melissa estimates that she's lost approximately one client a month that didn't decide to work with her because of the lack of physical space. [21:40] A physical space also comes with a lot of baggage. It can become your golden handcuffs or an anchor. [22:40] Managing people is difficult, every person you bring on increases the complexity of your business. It's important to think of things from the standpoint of the result instead of the function. Melissa doesn't want to have 10 people work for her, she wants the result that 10 people can bring. [26:50] Melissa's challenge is setting her business apart from the competition. Answering the question of “how are you different from other bookkeepers out there?” is hard. [28:45] Bookkeeping is first and foremost a relationship business. If we try to compete on the tasks, we'll lose. You should think about how to deepen and build upon the relationships with prospective clients and existing clients. [30:45] You have to know how to communicate with your client in a way that they will understand, and then go above that by advising them. Take a vested interest in their success from the deliverable standpoint. [32:30] Bookkeeping used to be about abdication, now it's about collaboration. Take two clients a month and think about what you would want to know if you were the owner of those businesses. Give them true advice, practical things they can do to improve their business and save money. Over time you will be able to charge more for your services, not because you are just raising your rates but because you are adding more value. [36:30] Start with the clients that are already receptive to feedback. Melissa may find that what she really wants is to work with a smaller number of clients in a more personal and involved way. [38:10] Melissa's typical client is a small business with less than five employees that are at the point where they are not able to take care of their own bookkeeping. [40:30] Having a specific niche limits you, but it also allows you to become very well known in that niche. You also get the perception of the industry expert and become a specialist. [43:30] The transition takes time. Changing a niche happens one client at a time. Take your client list and think of the ones that you love to work with, then reverse engineer what it is about them that you like working with. Write them down and use those traits to figure out who your ideal client is. When you look at new clients ask yourself how alike they are. [47:05] Try to niche from day one if you can. If you've established your business, you will have to go a bit slower and more methodically. [49:05] The bookkeeping world has changed over the past ten years. It's no longer about the individual transactions as much as it is about the results you can bring to your clients. [52:15] The biggest takeaway for Melissa is to find the shared traits that her best clients have and use them to find more clients just like them. She's also going to use that info to either change how she deals with her existing clients or filter through new ones. [53:20] For years the bookkeeping industry has been a replacement offer, but those days are gone. Now it's a new offer, somebody who can interpret the numbers and advise their clients. Adding more value to the clients we serve will insulate us to the changing technological landscape.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

In January of 2018, Christopher was two years away from retiring from the military and was thinking about the future. He wanted to figure out how he was going to make money once he was out and found the Bookkeeper Business Launch course and thought that it might be a good fit. Turns out it was. [3:45] Chris got his first client one month after completing the course. He connected with them on Craigslist and is still working with them today. [4:30] Chris used the money from the first client and joined the BNI (Business Networking International). Using only BNI referrals, Chris got to ten clients by October. He also got five more clients using paid leads from Thumbtack. [6:50] BNI meetings are structured so the first fifteen minutes are meant for networking with the members and occasionally giving ten minute presentations. For Chris, being in BNI is not his natural environment. He was actually voted “Most Likely To Eat Alone” in high school because he was such an introvert, but he faced his fears and did it anyway. It took him a good six months to feel comfortable at the meetings but now he really enjoys them. [10:00] Some people are good at talking to people and starting a business which seemed to be the case for Chris. He feels like it was just something he had to learn, so he did. His one regret may be not having gone to college sooner because the different learning techniques you pick up in school could have been an asset. [13:20] Chris has to serve one more year in the military before he can retire, and because of that it has forced him to hire more employees as his business expanded beyond what he was capable of handling. [14:30] Chris's vision for his future business is to essentially just manage the business, do the marketing, and bring in the clients while other bookkeepers do the numbers work. [16:15] Chris's main challenge/potential opportunity is just keeping track of everything and keeping focused. Working with clients is a lot like juggling, when you have just four in the air it can be managed. Once you start juggling 27, things start to get hectic. The good news is that nothing major has slipped through the cracks yet. [19:35] The goal is putting processes in place, not necessarily revenue or clients. Chris needs to create order from chaos. [22:30] The easiest way to create a new process is to just record yourself doing that task. Record your screen while you're doing the work, narrate what you're doing, and make sure you keep it short. Once it's recorded, you can transcribe the audio using a service like Rev.com. With the transcription you can condense the process into a checklist that contains the major important points of that process. Once you've got that finished, not only did you get the work done, but you've also defined a process and put yourself ahead of 90% of all bookkeepers. [28:15] The biggest mistake that Ben made in his business was feeling that he was so busy that he need to hire people to take care of all the chaos in his business, but all that resulted in was more chaos. [29:20] You will have to change your mindset as you transition from doing the work to reviewing the work. What got you here isn't going to get you to where you want to go. [30:35] Start with the processes you like least and that are the most client-facing. Give it time and you will eventually start to enjoy the process. [33:10] Your business is a system and a system is a series of processes that get the work done. The value in the system is in clearly defined processes, especially if you are interested in eventually selling the bookkeeping business that you're building. [34:30] You have to be committed to the process, it's always a challenge to do something new or something big. [35:40] Chris is looking at a couple of different software options to help him track what he's working on but so far he's been falling back on just using a spreadsheet. Lots of bookkeeping professionals believe all they need is one more app but that's not necessarily the case. Sometimes you just need what will get the job done. Start mapping out your processes with a pen and paper well before you get to an app or a spreadsheet. Look to the function before you look for a shiny object. [41:10] You don't want to be dependent on a person to get things done, you want processes that people can do. That way if someone leaves the team, you can move things around without causing chaos trying to find a new perfect person to fill that role. [43:55] A virtual assistant may be just the answer that Chris is looking for. [45:00] Keep your big goals front and center. For Ben, that means a giant whiteboard positioned in front of his desk that keeps his goals and projects always on the top of his mind. Technology is great, but you should lean on your process first. [48:45] When you need to get something done, don't think of “what”, think of “who”. Who has done what you want to do and how can you talk to them? [50:30] Chris's wife has been crucial in terms of support for the growth of the business. A common thread for people who have succeeded in the bookkeeping business is having a supportive spouse. [52:05] The ultimate vision for Chris and his wife is to be able to travel in their RV while still running their business from wherever they are.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Hannah found that with her previous business she was traveling a lot and wasn't able to spend much time with her husband. She was researching jobs that she could do from home at that time and came across the Bookkeeper Business Launch course on the Penny Hoarder website and decided to give it a try. [6:10] Hannah serves around 12 clients at this point. There was a lot of fear originally, taking on a client beyond Hannah's husband who was her first, but she realized that she really did have all the tools she needed to be an exceptional bookkeeper thanks to Ben's course. [8:35] All of Hannah's clients have come from LinkedIn mining, a special tactic that is covered in the course. She spent some money on Facebook but the stuff that has worked and gotten her paying clients has been completely free. [9:20] Hannah originally started out working with farmers but quickly realized they are not clients interested in paying for a bookkeeper. She has since expanded to working with agriculture businesses instead. [12:00] There is always another fear to break through. For Hannah, one of her greatest fears is one she has to overcome nearly every day; that her clients are not going to be happy. That one day she will send them an invoice and they will say she isn't doing enough for them and they won't want to pay. [14:00] There are always things that we wish we could do differently, but those are the very lessons that got us to where we are. For Hannah, that came in the form of turning down a client that wasn't willing to pay the price for the service that he desperately needed. In that case, she was glad that she managed to avoid what would have been a big mistake. [16:30] Some days the stress of owning her own business is too much, but at the same time, she couldn't imagine doing anything else. The best part of owning a business is the freedom to choose her hours. [18:20] Hannah's current opportunity is adding cash flow as an advisory service to her business but she's not sure how to implement it or how to sell it. [21:10] Everyone is motivated in one of two ways; they either want something or don't want something. For the client that has requested Hannah forecast their cash flow, they are trying to avoid debt. Before she adds a new service to her business, she should really understand what her clients are looking for and what they want. She should ask to talk to them for 20 to 30 minutes about their vision for their business and what they are trying to achieve. [23:45] In Ben's experience, 98% of accounting professionals do not present their clients the statement of cash flows. The reason they don't is because they don't understand it. Hannah should continue to show the statement to each of her clients but also seek to learn what it means and how to explain the information. [26:45] The most common questions that Hannah gets are basically “How much money do we have?” and “How can I pay these bills?”. Most of Hannah's clients are somewhat financially savvy, but she's found that what they want is for Hannah to take care of everything. But what they really need is collaboration. [29:00] Hannah is in a position where she doesn't have to take on new clients, that means she can filter through clients that are interested in collaborating rather than just dumping their financials on her. [30:30] When looking for new clients, Hannah can look for people that are willing to pay for her advisory services, need them, and are willing to collaborate with her. [31:50] Hannah should surprise one of her clients by just adding that service for free as a way to gain experience and feedback. The name of the game is simply listening to our clients and then giving them what they want. [33:50] Data entry and figuring out problems are Hannah's wheelhouse. She's comfortable and confident in those skills. [36:00] Hannah is hoping to take on a couple more employees so she can work in a more part-time role. To do that she's going to have to get clear on what she wants for her business, what it is that her clients want, and the sweet spot between the two. [38:30] The first thing Hannah is going to do is talk to her clients, dig into what they really want, and then she is going to get to know the statement of cash flows. Next, she's going to make a big push for new clients that are interested in working with her in an advisory capacity. [40:20] What are the roles that your potential clients are playing in their business that they don't want to? What are the pains they are experiencing? What are the things that they want?     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

David went to school to be a math teacher but ended up in engineering and getting a math degree. Due to the recession, he got laid off and found himself wondering what to do without a job. He started working at a church and did some of their admin work, which was David's first real exposure to bookkeeping. One bookkeeping gig turned into another. [4:45] David realized that bookkeeping was a skill that he could start a business with and since he always wanted to start his own business he thought it might make a good fit. For David, one of his core motivations is building something new. [6:50] David currently works with 16 monthly clients which he has acquired over the past 15 months since December of 2017. After his first gig with the church, David started searching for ways to create a bookkeeping business and that's how he found Bookkeeper Business Launch. [9:40] David established his business and then started building relationships. Those conversations have naturally led to more opportunities with new clients. [11:10] The only advertising money that David has spent so far has been on his website. Having the site is probably the most important thing he has done for marketing since he's started. [12:40] There was a distinct point where David had to make a decision to either go find a job or go all in with his business. After discussing it with his wife they made the decision to jump in. They made a calculated risk and it has paid off for David and his family. [15:30] The biggest game changer of running his own business has been his ability to spend time with his family and adjust his schedule. Flexibility and freedom are huge. [17:20] There is tremendous opportunity as a bookkeeper and if you want to succeed, you have to be able to do a good job. Focus on whatever the next thing is that you need to do, don't get overwhelmed by all the different things you could do. [19:50] David is now serving small retail operations and currently doesn't feel the need to hire someone, but if his business keeps growing he's going to need to bring someone else on and that's a big challenge for him. [22:30] David and his wife decided to pick the income level they are going to live at. In terms of vision for what he wants for his business, David wants to be able to work 20 to 25 hours a week while maintaining his income level. You have to really visualize what a day looks like for you in the future in order to build your business in a way that allows you to accomplish your vision. Bring your compelling vision to life. [28:00] You don't want to hire somebody, you want the result of what hiring someone will bring. For David, that means taking tasks off his plate that he's not excited to do. A lot of the everyday routine tasks are the ones that David doesn't enjoy. Before you can hire someone, you need to have processes in place that they can fit into and processes are one of David's current weaknesses. [33:20] Screen capture software is a great way to create videos that convey your processes. For David, he can record the tasks that he normally does for his clients while narrating what he's doing. Once the videos are created, he can get them transcribed and create a checklist for each task. Cover the major things that need to be done and then you've got yourself a process that can be easily implemented. Store it wherever you and your team can access it online. [40:35] Start with the processes that turn the dial in your business and the ones that you really don't like doing. Processes are your freedom lever. [42:30] Transitioning from doing the work to review the work of someone else is a tricky thing, but it can be done. Once you figure it out, you can approach the work from the role of an advisor as well. Be aware that in the midst of the transition it feels like chaos, but it does pass. [45:50] For each client, write down everything you do for that client over the course of a week. Assess the list for the things that fall under your unique ability, those are the tasks that you're good at and energize you. Then look for the ones that you are competent at, those are the ones you should start creating processes for and outsourcing to someone else. [49:30] You're not looking for an employee in the beginning, you're looking for a virtual assistant that can handle the task. Start small with the tasks that you really don't want to do. You can hire them for only 2 hours a month if you need to do so that means you can avoid the pressure of having to keep an employee busy. [51:50] What are the $10/hour tasks? $50/hour? $1000/hour? Start with the lowest value work at offload that so you can focus on the work that really adds value to your business and your client's business. [55:30] An example task that David can hand off to a virtual assistant is managing email. For Ben, his assistant filters through his email every day and saves him 20 to 30 minutes a day. You have to be intentional about outsourcing, keep it simple or it will tend towards chaos. It starts with the task audit, but it's guided by your vision for your business. [59:30] David's action items include doing a task audit, documenting his processes, and then finding someone he can give some of those tasks to. The big item on the list is the one that most people like to skip, creating the vision for his business is the first step.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

After Daniel's last deployment he was looking to start his own business. He had some experience and education in accounting so that field made the most sense. When he discovered the Bookkeeping Business Launch program, he decided to take the leap. [3:50] Painters were the niche that Daniel served, mainly due to running a painting business of his own in college and because he knew where to find them and no one was serving the market directly. [5:10] Daniel planted a lot of seeds early on, including LinkedIn, guest blog posting, and more, that netted him his first few clients. [7:00] Bookkeeping for the first time was the first challenge that Daniel had to overcome. Once he started taking on clients, finding good people to help him scale his growing business was the major hurdle. [9:00] Daniel had to get himself out of the business so that it can continue without him due to having to deploy in the near future. This gives him flexibility once he returns to the business when the deployment ends. [11:30] The value that Daniel's business provides involves advising clients on their own businesses. Daniel and his staff understand the back end of the painting niche so well that the relationship becomes more than bookkeeping. They provide consulting and advice on growing their client's business and the technology involved. [15:30] In regards to feedback, knowing the important KPI's for the painting business, in addition to the bookkeeping, gives Daniel an edge over his competitors. [17:10] System building is Daniel's focus, so much so that he's going to come out to one of Ben's events to show other bookkeepers how to do it. [18:50] Daniel finds meeting with people and having conversations to be very fatiguing, indicating that he's probably an introvert. [21:10] Niching is very important. If you figure out your target market first, you will see results earlier on. If you can't find a niche, find a client and figure it out later. Processes are important before you bring people on, get your processes 80% done before hiring. [26:00] Daniel's current bottleneck is that his business needs more advisors in order to scale, and finding the right person with the right personality traits and knowledge base is quite the challenge. He uses the DISC personality test quite a bit to make sure that the team members in his business are working to their strengths. Without his current advisor, Daniel's business would seriously struggle. [32:15] One is none, and two is one. Redundancy and cross training can mean the difference between a difficult challenge and a disaster. What Daniel should do is write out the activities that he needs to duplicate with his current advisor and prioritize them. If you're looking to hire, first you need to define the work that you need to have done. [40:20] Daniel may actually be looking for two people. The interview process should ultimately represent the way they are going to be serving your clients. [42:25] Before looking outside, you should look within your organization for people that could potentially take on your new role. If you can promote someone up, it's usually easier to find someone to take on the simpler role. Once you exhaust your low hanging fruit, it's time to put your posting out there in as many places as possible. [47:05] It may make sense to split up the role into its component parts, especially if all together it would be very rare to find a single person with all the necessary skills. For Daniel, that may mean splitting the job up into a sales oriented role and a separate advising role. [52:10] Sometimes you have to go back to the well and just do the things that worked before. But before you bring someone on full time, you have to really test out the relationship and make sure they are going to be the right one. It may take some time, but it's easier and less difficult than hiring the wrong person. [56:50] As business owners, you have to figure out every new challenge that comes your way because the buck stops with you. Beware the anecdote, what works for someone else may not help for you. Take the advice and tailor it to your individual needs.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Amanda was a bank teller in the past, which is where she discovered her love of working with money. She started her bookkeeping business in 2017 after going through the Bookkeeper Business Launch program and has since built up a base of 15 clients. [3:30] Amanda gravitates towards artists and creatives; 90% of the people she works with fall into those categories. [5:15] Amanda didn't want to quit her job, but circumstances forced her hand to consider other options. She started looking for ways to make more money or save more. She ended up on the Pennyhoarder.com website, where she found one of Ben's articles which lead her to bookkeeping. [7:20] Having a good support network was really important to Amanda when starting her own business. She was definitely scared about taking the leap. Going through the course really helped prepare her for what she needed to do while also giving her a good refresher on bookkeeping fundamentals. [9:20] Employers feel like they are doing you a favor by giving you a job, but clients think you're the bee's knees. A great example of this is one of Amanda's very first clients who was nine years behind on his taxes. It took a month and a half to clean everything up, but the client was relieved of a lot of stress and anxiety. [11:35] A huge part of being confident means getting out there, but that doesn't necessarily mean your local area. It's about getting in front of clients and having a conversation about what they need and how you can help. Every conversation gives you something to take away and will give you more confidence for the next one. [14:05] Amanda tried advertising, but it didn't work out. She tried Facebook and Craigslist, but none of her clients have come from paid ads. [15:20] Alignable was one of the ways she got a few of her clients. Other means include Craigslist, Upwork, and Facebook groups. Marketing is like planting seeds; you never know which message or channel is going to be the one that gets you your next client. [18:45] Being able to pick up her kids has been an excellent part of owning her own business. Being a mom is especially hard when you also have to work at the same time. Having the freedom that comes with not having a boss is one of the best parts of running a business. [21:50] Amanda wants to grow her business with a special emphasis on helping other moms that are dedicated to their work as well as their families. Eventually she would like for the business to not need her on a day to day basis and for her husband to be able to quit his job and stay at home with the kids. [25:00] Journaling your goals can be very helpful in actually achieving them, but as with many things, it can be strangely difficult to do the things that are good for us. Making it fun can help. [27:45] Over the last year, Amanda has tried every single app she could find to organize her business, but none of them have clicked with how she does things and she's defaulted to paper and pen. She needs something in front of her to let her know what she should be working on and in what order. [31:40] The difficulty is that paper is limiting and prevents Amanda from being able to bring on new team members. Written tasks and instructions don't scale very well. Recording your tasks and turning them into checklists that cover the key elements are one way of turning a task into a process. [37:40] You don't want to be too focused on the app or the software. You should think about what you want to accomplish with the software first. Define the process and then look for something that is going to help you facilitate that process. Sometimes the app can actually make your life more complicated. [39:45] Ben uses a large dry erase board to track his major projects, but what works for him may not work for you. The key is to figure out what does work for you and not worry so much about whether or not you're using the latest technology. As you grow your business, you have to step back, look at your processes, and then look for the lever that will make things easier. [44:20] Your success is not going to be limited by not having the right app. Amanda has a process that works and she should build on that. [44:50] For action items, Amanda is going to visualize her goals and what she is building. She's also going to record her daily transactions and what she does for her clients and figure out how to refine her processes. [46:50] It's always important to ask yourself the question “Do my clients care?” when it comes to how you get things done. As long as you deliver results, your clients don't care how you get the job done.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

In many ways Jeremy started his bookkeeping business on a whim. He encountered Bookkeeper Business Launch online and always had an entrepreneurial streak so it seemed like a good fit. The freedom to call his own shots and choose his own destiny is what Jeremy was looking for, combined with his appreciation for numbers and it just made sense. [5:30] Jeremy currently has 8 clients, 6 of which he is working with on a monthly basis. On top of his bookkeeping business, Jeremy is also a Financial Manager at a publicly traded manufacturing firm. [7:25] Jeremy is pretty passive in his marketing efforts. His first client was a referral from a former coworker and he wasn't really marketing at the time. Most people get their very first client in a similar way, basically talking to people and letting them know about their new bookkeeping business. Jeremy is also a member of a couple of formal networking groups and has dabbled a bit in Craigslist. [10:40] Of the eight clients so far, Jeremy has only spent a few hundred dollars on ads. Sweat equity has been a key component in his growth. [11:30] Jeremy made it very clear that flexibility is the most important aspect of the role so that has given him a leg up on dealing with all the moving pieces between work, family, and business. If you want your life to be better, you will have to make some sacrifices to get there. [14:20] Jumping through hoops and giving value on the front end is one of the major challenges that Jeremy is experiencing right now. Bookkeeping is a relationship-first business and it takes time to build that relationship. Being an introvert makes the conversations a little more difficult as well. [18:30] Jeremy's wife Katie has been very supportive in his move to start the bookkeeping business which has been key. Jeremy's vision for his business is to be the face of the business and away from the day-to-day tasks as much as possible in a much more strategic role. [22:10] The goal for the bookkeeping business is to provide for his family and allow Jeremy to connect and spend time with them. It's important to be very clear what your business is going to do for your life and your spouse's life. Ultimately he wants to take his 9-5 job out of the equation and that's kind of scary. [25:20] Taking the leap and going full time into the bookkeeping business is tough for Jeremy, he regular job provides a lot of stability and security that is hard to walk away from. They have to look at how it will change their lifestyle and how it will impact their family. It's good to have a counterbalance in your spouse, and if they aren't ready to take those risks that's a good sign that it may not be the right time yet. [30:40] To replace Jeremy's current income he would need approximately 25 clients. It will take time and struggle to get to that point. You don't want to coerce your spouse into taking a risk that they are not ready to make. You have to start with why when working with your spouse on what the right decision is. The question is “how do we get from where we are today to where we want to be?” [36:40] You want to get to the point where you both know exactly what criteria you need for everyone to feel comfortable with the decision. Make a visual representation of your goal and put it somewhere you can see often. Sometimes it's less about the numbers and more about the feelings around them. [40:30] Jeremy recently brought on a friend as a contractor to help him with the workload. He may actually want for her to go through the Bookkeeping Business Launch program as well to gain some additional skill set. The people and systems Jeremy has now will not get him to where he needs to be so he's going to need more of both. [44:25] In order to reach his vision for his business, Jeremy is going to have to build in processes and people that can get the work done. You don't want to build your life around your business, you build your business around your life. Jeremy has begun recording the tasks he does daily so that he can bring new people on and start setting up those necessary systems. [48:05] In terms of action items, Jeremy has to have a conversation with his wife and really figure out where the transition point for the business will be and make sure everyone is on board with it. Step two is figuring out the path to get there, refining his processes, and further defining the market he serves.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Kim started in late August of 2017 after purchasing Bookkeeper Business Launch. Four days later she registered her business name and closed her first client, who later on became her husband. [3:00] Kim had been in the banking industry for 16 years and knew that there was definitely a need for bookkeepers in business. When Kim's husband decided to start his trucking business, Kim made the choice to start her own bookkeeping business at the same time. [4:15] Kim currently has 8 active clients. There are always ups and downs in the business, and clients come and go. She mainly focuses on transportation due to her insider view of the industry. [6:05] Kim always had the desire to open her own business, but she never really knew what she wanted to do. The high costs of most business models made them prohibitive. When she discovered the idea of bookkeeping, it made a lot of sense given her background and experience. Time-freedom is the word Kim would use to describe the idea of running her own business. [9:30] Retail banking is extremely time intensive, and Kim felt like she wouldn't be able to go much further in the industry without sacrificing more of her time. Instead of just working more, she wanted to find a way to make more money while working less. [11:20] Sticking to her niche was one of Kim's first challenges. Many of the clients she initially took on were not the right fit because they were either too small or not appropriate. It can be hard to say no to a client that wants to work with you, but sometimes it's necessary. [14:50] Kim's husband has been a very valuable insider who has helped shape her marketing and how she finds clients for her business. [16:05] Take your time as you go through the learning process. While you're working your way through it, try to put processes in play that will make your life easier. In a lot of ways, time-freedom is a double-edged sword. It's all too easy to do work that doesn't actually build your business. Busy work is the work we do to avoid the work we really need to do. [19:00] The biggest challenge today for Kim is that if her business continues to grow, it's going to take up more of her time unless she hires someone. The trouble is she isn't sure if she wants to manage people again. [20:35] For Kim, success means the ability to do what she wants to do and having the means to do it. Reaching true financial security is when she would define success. Given that definition of success, Kim doesn't really need to take on more clients. [22:50] One of the best aspects of the business for Kim has been the option of working as many hours as she wants. In terms of capacity, Kim could probably take on another 3-4 clients without eliminating the time-freedom that she values so much. At this point, she should focus on finding quality clients and upgrading her existing client base. [26:40] When Kim hits a milestone, she takes a moment to enjoy her achievement but also look towards the next goal. She has to realize the pressure is off her. She can shape her business so that it fits her goals instead of doing things to generate an income. [30:50] Paying off her mortgage and becoming debt free is one of Kim's major goals. The other question is how does she want to spend her time when she's retired. When Kim thinks about her goals, she always sees herself with other people and how she can help and serve them. To serve others, we have to serve ourselves. [36:30] Whether or not you have team members, your business is a system. Systems are even more important than a list of clients. Once you define your processes and efficiencies, it pays off continuously over time. Start out where you are and map out your processes, and then think about how you can improve them. Processes revolve around your client; if they don't, then why would you do it? [42:15] You can gain a tonne of momentum and leverage in your business by hiring a virtual assistant. We think we need a big team that comes with a lot of commitment but it's not necessary. You can take on a VA for only a few hours a week, and it can completely change your business. Before you hire a VA, you need to have your processes designed first. [47:10] Since Kim works in the transportation niche, she has an opportunity to create a course that could help teach her potential clients how to grow their business. When they develop and grow, they could become Kim's ideal clients. [48:30] Before working on a new business idea, it's good to vet the idea and make sure it's worth your time and effort. If someone else is already doing something similar, that's a good sign. Don't just take someone's word that they will buy your idea. It doesn't mean anything until someone is willing to open their wallet and give you their money. Before taking the leap on a new idea, make sure that the resulting business fits into your vision for your life. [51:50] For new ideas, always start with the market side of things. Once that's in place, always undersell and overdeliver.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Kirsten took an accounting class in high school many years ago and she really enjoyed it. She eventually dropped out of college where she was studying accounting and became a mother. She was a stay-at-home mom for 18 years and tried a number of business ideas but none of them really resonated. She eventually got an email from Ben about becoming a bookkeeper, ended up on one of his webinars and ultimately took the course. [7:40] Kirsten currently has four clients but has had up to nine at one time. Some of them Kirsten decided to fire and some have gone in other directions. [9:00] Time management was Kirsten's first major challenge; homeschooling nine kids can make working from home fairly difficult. Being intentional with her time has been very important. [11:30] When it came to getting clients, putting out content that would get someone interested in what Kirsten was offering without being too sales-y was tough for her. Her first client was a friend that she had known for nearly 20 years who owned a business. Three years later, just talking to people and word of mouth is still Kirsten's primary means of getting new clients. [15:30] Kirsten wants to ultimately live someplace warm and run her business remotely. She wants to be able to travel and enjoy her family and that means she will need additional help taking on tasks within her business. [18:35] One of the keys to serving clients is making sure you are serving a particular niche. When Kirsten first started her business, her niche was sustainable agriculture. She marketed to them for nearly a year without getting any clients so she switched her focus. Her first client was in the tourism niche so she started trying to target them instead and later pivoted to cannabis businesses. The cannabis industry is currently like the wild, wild west and bookkeepers need to know so much in order to do the job correctly so that proved a little too difficult to break into. Now, Kirsten is sort of nicheless and isn't sure which direction to go. [25:15] Marketing is about three elements: knowing your market, knowing your message to that market, and the media. We get hung up on “industry” being the same as “niche,” but that isn't necessarily the case. [28:00] Figuring out which niche to target should be a priority, but it's something that will happen once Kirsten starts picking up clients and understanding which ones align with her vision for her business. Focus on the relationships first. [30:40] It's important to go after people that we truly enjoy serving. When you're just getting started, it's natural to work with nearly anyone that is willing to give you money, but eventually you want to hone in and map out who your ideal customer is. Start writing down characteristics that describe them. When you understand your avatar it will make your marketing easier because you can speak directly to them. [36:10] Slow down the process of bringing on a client. You should try to get a feel for what it's going to be like working with them before you bring them on board. You are going to be emotionally invested in this relationship so take your time. [41:15] Start to find the pattern. Think of the relationships you do have and the qualities that you like in other people. You are not about serving the masses, you are becoming a trusted advisor to a relatively small number of clients that you should have deep relationships with. If you build your relationships on a human level, the bookkeeping becomes a natural extension. [46:00] You are probably not doing any marketing because you feel stuck. Remember, it's about building a rapport with the people you want to serve. Find the groups you want to serve and become a contributor, give them value and use every medium at your disposal. [49:00] A halfway decent message to the right market will do well, a great message to the wrong market will fall on its face every single time. Go to where your people hang out. [52:25] The Irresistible Selling Statement is important, but that will come from understanding what clients Kirsten resonates with. She needs to sit down and figure out the characteristics of the people she wants to work with, find out where they spend their time, and start listening and contributing.   Link mentioned: The Customer Avatar Worksheet     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Jaime has been running his bookkeeping business for the past two years and has acquired 13 clients in that time. He's hoping to get more clients and continue growing, but it's a scary thing to think about. [3:10] When Jaime first started, he was going to partner with a friend of his that had a degree in Bookkeeping. He discovered that a lot of random tasks end up on your plate as a bookkeeper and felt that he just didn't want to work for someone else anymore. His friend wasn't ready to make the leap at the same time though, and Jaime decided to go out on his own. He discovered that he was in over his head and looked for help; when he found Bookkeeper Business Launch it changed his business. [7:10] After signing up for the course in April, Jaime got his first client in June. He reached out to his former colleagues who had ventured out to create their own firms and one of them said yes. [9:00] One of his clients has been very influential in helpling Jaime find new clients. He has referred Jaime to a number of individuals and created new connections for him. It's important to have as many referral sources as you can. [11:10] Jaime had to overcome his fear and negative mindset before starting his business. We are all limited by fear but we have to bust through it. [12:20] One of Jaime's biggest challenges was something that many people might find easy, putting a photo of himself online. When Jaime got started, he didn't know that he would be serving attorneys but it ultimately worked out really well. [16:00] Jaime enjoys putting the puzzle of a client's messy books together. It's one of the few tasks in bookkeeping that has a definitive end point. One of Jaime's least favorite activities is receipt management. [19:10] Jaime has been really challenged with his systems recently. He recently lost a contractor and has found that the systems he has in place may not be sufficient. In many ways, this is actually a good problem to have and should be celebrated. [23:00] Jaime started documenting things via screen sharing. He would record himself doing the task and then upload the video to Dropbox. Processes before people, the processes that Jaime has developed have been largely the same for all of his clients. It's important to limit the procedures that you have that are unique to one particular client, which is one of the advantages of operating in a specific niche. [27:25] When handing off the receipt management task to a contractor, Jaime realized that he didn't really explain what he wanted accurately enough so he found the contractor was making a lot of the same mistakes. In the beginning, it's important to spend more time holding their hands and walking them through the way you want something to be done. [31:00] We often try to bite off more than we can chew. You should offload one task at a time, not look for the perfect person for every task. When you bring someone on board, they will not care about your business as much as you do. Give them a small puzzle to work on and get rid of the tasks with the lowest hourly value first. Handing off too much at one time is recipe for disaster. Don't hire by client, hire by task. [37:30] Overloading a new hire is a big mistake. Give them one task to master, then once they've got that down, give them more to work on. [39:20] Jaime's first contractor was a virtual assistant that did some simple tasks like managing email that he found in a Facebook group. One of his favorite ways of getting to know a potential hire is asking them, “What Star Wars character would you be and why?” Ben recommends asking the unique questions because one thing he has discovered is that the people with prior bookkeeping experience usually come with bad habits that you have to work to fix. [44:45] People want to work in fun places with people they like. Bookkeeping is a relationship business. Going after trained bookkeepers isn't the best approach. You may train someone and they leave, but that is just the nature of the game. Set the relationship up right before you hire, put them into real world situations that they will actually experience and see how they work. [48:15] Never stop hiring, and never stop marketing. You never want your pipeline to run dry. [48:45] Give your team a say in how the work gets done. You want your team to take ownership of their work and to treat your clients with respect. If it doesn't work with one person, you've learned something that you can take to the next person. Once you master this concept, you can scale up your business. [51:52] Jaime's homework assignments are to celebrate his wins and start putting potential hires through the real world tasks they are going to be taking on.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

When Justin was 19 years old, he was introduced to the idea of owning a business but he felt like he wasn't ready to go it on his own. He decided on a career in banking which worked out well enough for the first few years until his wife told him they were going to have another child. This led him to looking at how to make money on the side and eventually Ben's course. [6:00] In early 2017, Justin was still working his full-time job while serving 11 clients, which was starting to burn him out. When he had the opportunity to take on a bigger client, Justin's wife gave him the push to go for it and make his business his full time occupation. [9:20] Justin developed a good network while he was working and spent his time getting to know who he wanted to work with and asking for specific referrals. [11:50] When looking at new potential clients, Justin wants to see that the client is coachable and open to suggestions. He's made mistakes taking on clients that weren't a fit. It's less about the niche or industry and more about the way the client works with him. [13:45] The greatest challenge is to systematize processes. Once you get them done, it's great, but for Justin, he finds it difficult to get through. [16:00] The favorite part of Justin's day is the ability to enjoy his time with his family and his wife. [18:40] Justin's first homework assignment is to take stock of all the challenges he has overcome so far and appreciating how far he's come. [20:20] Justin is in the process of onboarding three new clients so he's focused on systematizing their processes from the start. Now that he has a team member to help him with the workload, Justin needs to optimize the way work gets done. [25:00] The goal at the moment to spend 20 to 30 hours a week in his business so that he can focus attracting and meeting new clients as well as more personal things. [26:50] The vision for your business is a framework that you can use to evaluate everything you do. Is your action going to move you closer or further away from your vision? [27:40] One is none, two is one. You should always duplicate your efforts and build in some redundancy into your business processes so you aren't in big trouble if somebody leaves. Finding team members using a service like Upwork can make the process simple. [32:40] There lots of people who aren't interested in building a big business but still want to do bookkeeping for a decent rate. Justin found his first team member by posting that he was looking for some help in the Bookkeeper Business Launch Facebook group. [33:50] Calling yourself a bookkeeping professional is key. [35:50] Take the traits of your best team member and write them down. Those are the traits you should look for in potential hires. The ‘whatever it takes' attitude is the biggest thing that Justin looks for in his team members. [39:30] Be slow to hire and quick to fire. This goes for your clients as well. [41:45] It's better to have two team members working 5 hours a week than one person working 10. Anything that the team member is going to be doing with your clients should be simulated during the interview. You should see exactly how they are going to do the job and interact with people before you bring them onboard. [44:20] Add a little easter egg to your job posting that asks the person to include something in particular in their application so you know they pay attention to detail. [46:15] Justin needs to find people that have the capacity to grow and are in the business for the long haul. [48:50] If you want to scale your business, never stop marketing and never stop looking for good people. [50:00] Finding a process to develop better processes can be tricky. Take your current bookkeeping professional and just document everything they do in the course of their work. Recording your screen while your working and narrating what you're doing is a simple way to document what you do. Every time you add a piece of technology or software you add complexity but it's the fundamentals that will lead to success.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Tracy had been in the accounting world for 20 years and decided to leave the corporate world to spend more time with her kids. She ended up driving a school bus for a little while and decided that she needed to find a way to combine her love of numbers and spending time with her family. Tracy ran into Ben's videos online, and that led her to buy his course and begin her bookkeeping journey. [4:30] Tracy officially opened her doors in June of 2017 and got started by subcontracting for her fiance's accountant a little after tax season. This was a good way to jump-start Tracy's career and shift her mindset from employee to business owner. There were plenty of times when Tracy felt like she was overwhelmed, but she was able to persevere and push through. [8:35] She didn't start getting clients of her own right away. Tracy wanted to make sure she could do the job before getting in too deep, and working as a subcontractor gave her some people she could ask for help if she needed it. [9:55] Tracy currently serves 13 clients through the accounting company. She works mainly in Sage but is transferring them over to Quickbooks. She also has 13 clients of her own. [13:15] Tracy's second goal was to allow her fiance to get out of driving a truck for a living and bring him into the business she was building. She created the goal in November 2017, and as of January 2019, he finished his last day of work and has come on board. [15:30] The business started off a little slow but it has grown quite a bit in the last half of the year. Now Tracy and her fiance are available to spend time with her kids and manage their own time. [20:20] Thinking like a business owner is about knowing that you have control of your time. It's the flexibility of not just trading hours for dollars. One of the biggest challenges Tracy has encountered has been pricing her services. She usually starts them off at an hourly rate and switches them to monthly after a few months of service. [24:50] The thing that we want as a business owner is flexibility but it's a double edged sword. You're not accountable to anyone but yourself, and for entrepreneurs, it can be really difficult. [26:40] Tracy has experienced a lot of growth in the past few months, so marketing has slipped by the wayside. [27:40] Don't stop and halt your marketing. It takes momentum to get the marketing machine back up; so you should keep it going. The best time to market is when you don't need clients, that way you can be selective. [31:10] Helping people understand what is happening in their business is what Tracy loves to do when working with her clients. Doing her client's bookkeeping allows Tracy to get insights into their business and helps her deliver value to them by solving their problems. [34:40] Before we start hiring, we should understand what our Unique Ability is and where we provide the most value. List out all the tasks you do, and figure out what you are the best at and where you provide the most value. Then, list the tasks you don't like doing. [37:00] What are the things that you need to get other people to do? It's not who do you need to hire, but what tasks do you need to delegate? Finding a freelancer on Upwork and outsourcing just one task is the first step. Build out your team from a task perspective instead of a person perspective. >[41:45] Find the simplest task you don't want to do and give it to a freelancer or virtual assistant. Don't look for bookkeeping experience, hire for attitude and resourcefulness. Training someone else will force you to think of and write down the exact process for that task which is how you start to create systems. [47:50] Getting your processes down gives you a resource that you can use to bring on additional team members. This gives you a huge advantage when hiring in the future. Having great people is a luxury; having great processes is a necessity. [51:45] Tracy's next steps are to continue with her marketing and networking efforts and break down her tasks. Then, find out what she's best at and what she should hand off to someone else. [53:15] Find someone that will take ownership over the process. It's common to find people that can find better ways to do things, and there is always more you can learn.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Amy worked at a bank for 14 years and eventually it became not worth the hours she had to put in anymore, so she decided to retire. This led her to thinking about what else she could do for work, ideally from home. Since she was good with numbers already, bookkeeping seemed like a solid choice. She signed up for Bookkeeper Business Launch and went from there. [6:00] Nonprofits were the niche that Amy chose to work with because working around or in them has been a part of her history and experience. She felt like she was in a unique position to help nonprofits specifically. [7:50] In the beginning, Amy felt like everything had to be ready to go before she officially launched her business and she ended up pushing her launch back until the last week of August. She got her first three clients in the same week right before Thanksgiving. [9:25] The first client was a Facebook referral, the other two were found on Indeed by applying for remote bookkeeper positions. There is always a price to getting clients, it's either your effort, your time, your money, or some combination of all of them. [11:30] The best way Amy has found to get clients has been to spend time in Facebook groups where she knows her ideal clients hang out. Giving value first is the basic strategy. Niching down is one of the keys to Amy's success. [14:10] Now that Amy is running her own business she can turn down the work that doesn't fit the lifestyle she wants to live. [15:25] Confidence in her ability to execute was one of the biggest challenges she's had to face in starting her business. She learned a lot in the first 60 days. Each new client brings its own set of challenges. Knowledge has to be combined to gain confidence. [19:00] All of Amy's clients are across the country and she can essentially operate her business from everywhere. [20:05] Running her own bookkeeping business has drastically improved Amy's family life. [22:10] In the beginning, Amy just wanted to bring in something for her family but at this point she's looking at breaking past six figures and bringing additional staff to handle the workload. She's focused on building a real business complete with brand identity. [25:10] Get specific on your goals and what your business is going to do for you. You're going to be much more motivated by internal goals rather than external goals. [27:20] What do you want to be when you grow up? Now that Amy is becoming established she has to put some thought into her branding and how she wants to be viewed in her market. As you scale your business your brand becomes more important. [30:45] A brand is a perception of who you are as an organization and perception is reality. Your brand needs to attract and repel. When someone is looking at your business, what do you want them to feel? [34:35] Write down the words you want people to use to describe your business. Ask your clients how they would describe you already. A brand is something that is crafted, it's not created overnight. Don't be a copycat brand, your brand should be unique to you and your company. [38:20] Amy may not need to market her business very hard at this point, her current methods have worked pretty well. You shouldn't start to look for new growth strategies until the one you are using effectively stops working. [41:10] Amy has walked in an Executive Director shoes so she knows what they need in terms of a bookkeeper. The feelings and perceptions of her ideal client will inform the brand she is trying to create. Additional perceptions can come from the auditors and board members that Amy can tap into. [46:10] These words and descriptions will become the core beliefs, the manifesto that determines your steps going forward. Some core values are better than others but there is no wrong or right set. Establishing your core values is key to keeping people on your team long term. There is no proven methodology to creating your brand other than what comes from within. [50:35] Amy always thinks back to her future obituary and what she hopes people will eventually say about her. She hopes her business will allow her to spend more time with her family and live the life she wants. Once you understand your brand and core values, it makes your business decisions much easier. [54:30] Amy's action items include figuring out what she provides to her clients and what her company stands for. Building a brand is intentional and done over time.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Tracy's 35th birthday really changed things for her. She was working as a substitute teacher and wasn't really enjoying it when her husband suggested that taxes may be a way to go. She stumbled upon some videos put together by Ben Robinson, and she decided to jump in with both feet. [4:20] Tracy learned most of her bookkeeping skills by going through Ben's course, in addition to some minor experience in high school and college accounting. [5:40] If you don't have clients you don't have a business - you have a hobby. Once Tracy completed the course she dove in to trying to secure her first client, and she actually connected with her first client through a Facebook post. [8:45] You can't give away too much for free. Giving value always seems to come back to you. [10:00] Tracy is currently serving 18 or so bookkeeping clients plus another handful of tax clients. [11:00] The first year was the hardest. Tracy was studying for her EA and some other exams at the time and combined with some personal issues she faced a few challenges. Around May of 2018, things really took off, largely due to a mindset shift and a snowball of referrals. [15:40] Tracy's vision is to start hiring some help and growing her business while still maintaining her family time. Our business needs to fit into our life, not our life into our business. [17:30] Entrepreneurs never arrive, but it is important to stop and take stock of what you accomplished. Overcoming challenges builds confidence. [19:50] Time management is crucial. Keeping up with the momentum Tracy has built is a challenge. [23:20] The STEP Framework is key to getting stuff done. Time management happens across the whole Framework, but Execution is what needs to happen right now. What do you naturally gravitate towards that you're happy to do? For Tracy, it's the client interaction. [25:50] Where do you add the most value to your business? The goal of hiring someone should be about optimizing that work. Even the thing you love can wear you down though, if that's all you do. [28:20] Tracy also enjoys putting together the processes of the business as well as blogging and video creation. As bookkeepers, there aren't many ways to be creative. What you want to do is maximize the things you like to do while at the same time providing value to your clients and helping you feel fulfilled. [32:10] You have to schedule time to be creative and dream. Be intentional about putting the things that are important into your life. Start off with just 15 minutes and you'll find you have much more energy when you're done. [34:50] Time management isn't the thing you need, it's what time management can bring into your life. [35:15] Bookkeeping is first and foremost a relationship business. If you build your business on relationships and not the transactions, you will be job secure forever. [37:50] The repetitive tasks are starting to get tedious for Tracy. That doesn't mean it's trivial, but they are not important and not the best use of Tracy's time. List the tasks you do in your business and then ask if they fall under your Unique Ability. [41:50] What is the hourly rate for your Unique Abilities? What about your competencies? If you can less than the dollar equivalent for those tasks you're making money. Look at your business tasks and ask is this something to continue doing, stop doing, outsource, or delegate? The point is to free up your time so you can focus on what you do best. [43:40] You shouldn't be looking to hire a specific person, you should be looking to outsource a specific task. Don't throw people at a process problem. The tasks you're competent at but don't really enjoy doing, are the first to outsource. Time efficiency is all about saving 15 minutes at a time, those 15 minutes add up fast. [48:30] You can do the work and set up the process by recording those tasks. Videos are a powerful way to offload the tasks you don't want to do anymore. Dissect the task and show the logic behind it. Upwork is a great place to find freelancers that you can offload your tasks to. [54:15] It's going to cost you time at the beginning. The first task you should offload is something that is not going to directly affect a customer. Start with the admin or support work, the lowest hanging fruit. [57:50] Processes before people. You build the processes then you bring in the people to run them.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Ben had graduated with his degree in 2017 and worked part-time for a local music guy, which was great until music turned out to be not very lucrative. After getting hooked by a Facebook ad, Ben decided to check out a great course that helped him launch his bookkeeping business. [3:00] 99% of what Ben focuses on is real estate. Oklahoma has a growing real estate market so it made a lot of sense to niche down. [5:20] Ben spent around 6 hours per day networking and connecting with various professionals in the market, specifically meetup.com, and that time evolved into those people asking Ben to help them with their books. [7:00] Take it slow, ask questions, engage and offer value before you ask for money. [8:05] Ben formed his business in a way that facilitated a freedom lifestyle. He found that building a virtual business is more of a challenge but is totally worth it. [10:20] Fear setting is one of the major challenges that Ben has overcome in growing his business. Every day he finds new fears around talking to people and seeing what he can do to conquer them. [11:45] Understanding when to upgrade the conversation after offering value is a particularly tricky subject. [12:10] Fear is the number one impediment in not getting the life that you want. [12:50] Ben considers himself an introvert but has learned how to turn it on when necessary. There is nothing easy or attractive to the process, you walk up to someone, shake their hand and say something. Then you rinse and repeat that process. [14:50] Nothing makes you feel quite like a rockstar than providing value to someone and them saying “this is the best thing I've ever had, I'm going to tell everyone about you.” Knowing you're doing a good job does wonders for your business. [16:20] Ben's business is a one-man show other than his marketing and web design. He also has coaches and mentors that help him out as well. Entrepreneurship is incredibly lonely and having good people around you is vital. [18:10] Entrepreneurs wear too many hats and are afraid of taking time off, and that feeling becomes very real when they begin to scale. [20:30] Ben's challenge is in pre-qualifying leads. There is a huge difference between telling someone how to do something and being paid to do it for them. [21:50] Conversations and communication is where most things fall apart. Real estate is especially tricky for this because of differing definitions of the term “transaction”. [23:50] When you don't have to take on more clients to cover your costs, you can be more selective about the clients you work with. [24:40] There are four components to scale, there is Strategy, Team, Execution, and Profitability. [27:00] Make your prospects work to see you. Once you have clients, you want new clients to vet themselves for you. Marketing is more about repelling the people you don't want than it is attracting the people you do want. [29:30] List out all of the things you want to know before talking with someone. What does your perfect client look like? Most of us are people pleasers, you need to make your clients work for it so you don't waste their time or yours. [32:25] Creating a qualifying funnel is a great way to establish authority in your niche as well as filter your prospects down to the right people. [36:30] Bookkeeping is a relationship business, it's not about numbers. During the interview process, you should emulate as much as possible what the workflow will be like. Never give someone a proposal after speaking with them only once, there should be a few conversations before that point. [41:45] One of the keys to financial statements is getting them in a timely manner. Any homework you give to a prospective client should be completed quickly. [43:15] You have to think about who your ideal client is. Most of the time we think we know who we want to serve but you have to get very detailed about that. Be slow to take on new clients. Do you have one or two clients that you like a lot? What traits about those clients make them a pleasure to work with? [46:30] Without being explicit about your price, you can list a minimum amount on your qualifying page that will filter out the wrong kinds of clients. [47:45] You have to deliver value in advance. Take the information a potential client has given you and tell them how to run their business more effectively. If you put enough value into the marketplace, you will get value in return. Take the pressure off and deliver the value before you give them the proposal. [50:15] Know what you're going to charge them once that's done and put it on the table then be silent. Let them decide. The more decision points you give your client, the more friction they encounter. [52:40] Stick with your pricing and never budge. If you're working with friends and family, double it.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Why should you ask candidates about their salary expectations? Co-hosts Hannah Robinson and Melissa Honan discuss how business owners can set salary expectations based on a candidate's skill level, experience, and location. Hannah and Melissa start the conversation by announcing that this will be their last episode on the podcast. Ben Robinson will go back to hosting the show next season. Hannah explains how inflation is changing salary expectations and making it harder to attract high-quality candidates. According to Melissa, the first step to navigating pay expectations is having an idea of the type of candidates your budget can attract. Melissa believes business owners should set a pay range for salary negotiations because stating a specific number can weaken your negotiating power. Hannah and Melissa describe why business owners should create and stick to a realistic business budget. Melissa is a strong proponent of fair pay and keeping up with inflation but never at the expense of your business. For Melissa, your business model needs an update if you cannot afford a yearly pay increase to keep up with inflation. Hannah describes why business owners should always have a number in mind before going into pay negotiations. Hannah reveals the frustrating feeling of overlooking the "perfect" candidates because their pay expectation exceeds your budget. Melissa and Hannah agree that having a good team with less profit is better than having higher profits and managing a bad team. Melissa highlights the differences between managing pay rates for full-time employees and subcontractors. Hannah illustrates why new business owners should hire subcontractors first before going after full-time employees. Melissa points out the direct link between higher pay and higher employee retention rates - but company culture and work-life balance also play a significant role in retention. Employee turnover isn't always your fault - but at the bare minimum, Melissa believes business owners should always plan for turnover.     Mentioned in this episode: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

You think you've found someone who would be a good fit for your bookkeeping business. How do you make them a job offer they can't refuse? In this episode, co-hosts Hannah Robinson and Melissa Honan go through the key steps to creating enticing job offers that get you the right candidates every time. Hannah and Melissa start the conversation by describing how making an offer is arguably one of the most important elements of hiring. Melissa shares her go-to strategy for making a job offer that candidates simply cannot refuse. According to Melissa, the first step to making a job offer is sticking to your budget - be a little flexible with pay expectations, but never pay more than you can afford. Hannah and Melissa discuss the impact of inflation on the job market and how candidates have way higher pay expectations than 12 months ago. Melissa explains that making a job offer is a high-stakes negotiation, and business owners should always expect the candidates to counter. For Hannah, incentives that have nothing to do with salaries are a great way to attract high-quality candidates. Melissa agrees with Hannah's thoughts on incentives and reveals they provide benefits like self-care reimbursements to try to sweeten the deal. Melissa shares what she would do if she found the perfect candidate but they couldn't agree on reimbursements. Melissa highlights the benefits of paying candidates for taking part in the practical interview. Hannah believes hiring is like business dating - it's risky, and you will get catfished, but never lower your expectations. For Melissa, the most unrealistic candidate demand she's ever heard was when a prospect expected the business to cover health insurance. Melissa doubles down on her earlier comments on sticking to your budget - the right candidate is out there somewhere; you just have to go out and find them.     Mentioned in this episode: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Want to learn how to conduct successful interviews and improve your skills in assessing candidates? Co-hosts Hannah Robinson and Melissa Honan go through the main elements of an effective interview and how you can significantly increase your chances of hiring the right person. Hannah starts the conversation by highlighting how interviewing can be daunting, especially if you're a new business owner. For Hannah, the first step to having a successful interview is being clear on the type of person you're looking for. Melissa goes through the benefits of having a well-defined interview process. Hannah and Melissa agree that business owners would rather not fill the position than panic hire - a bad hire can be expensive, both financially and culturally. If it's your first time hiring, Melissa feels the best way to develop a hiring process is to Google other people's processes, implement them, and learn as you go. Melissa tries to compare an interview to a romantic first date and the risks involved when it's not a match. For skill-based roles, Melissa believes business owners should have a practical interview to gauge the interviewee's understanding of the tasks. Hiring is risky. This is why Melissa feels businesses should never ignore the red flags in an interviewee. Hannah reveals the quality of candidates is more important than quantity - business owners should have a screening structure on their job posts to weed out unqualified candidates. Hannah and Melissa go through the red and green flags to watch out for in a job interview. According to Melissa, the best way to improve your interview process is to ask for feedback after a successful hire. Hannah points out that interviewees can make a positive first impression by asking well-thought-out questions at the end of an interview. Melissa adds that not having questions at the end of an interview is a huge missed opportunity - this is the interviewer's way of gauging your level of interest in the job and your chance to end the interview on a high. Melissa shares her thoughts on candidates asking about compensation during the interview. Hannah and Melissa share their past interview experiences and the difference between being the interviewer and the interviewee.     Mentioned in this episode: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Want to know how to create job postings that attract stronger candidates? Co-hosts Hannah Robinson and Melissa Honan discuss creative, inviting ways to write effective job postings that filter out unqualified applicants and attract the ideal candidate. Hannah introduces the topic by highlighting the struggles new business owners face when it comes to job postings. Melissa highly recommends the Bookkeepers.com community for posting bookkeeping jobs due to its high talent quality.. While the job description must be clear and straight to the point, Melissa feels the job posting is where your personality and creativity should stand out. To get your job posting to stand out, Hannah is convinced you must be creative - This is why Melissa uses Bernie Sanders memes to gain people's attention. Hannah and Melissa agree that hiding "trivia eggs" in the job posting is a great way to ensure applicants read the entire post. Applicants that do not respond to the trivia are automatically filtered out. For Melissa, the last thing you would want is to hire a bookkeeper who is not detail oriented. The job posting is the best place to screen for such soft skills. Melissa goes through the benefits of using video in your job posting. Hannah explains why the job description needs to accompany the job posting, helping applicants apply for the right positions. According to Melissa, networking and being part of a professional community is by far the best way to land exceptional team members. Should employers disclose pay information on job posts? Hannah and Melissa believe they should. Melissa adds that making prospects go through the entire application process without letting them know your pay structure is just unethical. Hannah also points out that higher-quality candidates that know their worth will not waste time applying to jobs that don't have a clear pay structure. Hannah explains why the job posting is the ideal place to highlight the benefits of working for your organization. Hannah and Melissa discuss the pros and cons of posting jobs on recruiting sites like Indeed and Upwork. Melissa believes business owners should consider in-house talent before going after new employees.     Mentioned in this episode: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

When should you use fixed rates versus hourly rates for your bookkeeping tasks? In today's episode, co-hosts Hannah Robinson and Melissa Honan explore the pros and cons of flat-rate pricing versus hourly billing - and which payment type works best for a bookkeeping business. Melissa starts the conversation by highlighting the difference between paying an hourly rate versus a flat rate and what the law says about it. For Melissa, all new hires should be paid a flat rate until they get accustomed to the core business processes. When working with subcontractors, Hannah believes a fixed rate will get things done faster than an hourly rate. Melissa goes through the benefits of setting a fair rate for both the employer and the employee. Hannah reveals how hourly rates are mostly influenced by the economy and the demand for skilled labor. According to Melissa, one of the main benefits of hiring full-time employees is they only have to worry about production quality and not putting in as many hours as possible. Melissa doesn't really care how an individual gets paid as long work gets done and the rate is fair for the parties involved. Melissa shares what she would do to keep high-performing employees during a recession. Hannah and Melissa discuss the benefits of having a consistent pay structure - there's nothing worse than working for an organization with inconsistent pay. Hannah explores a simple way to pay employees according to your budget and still attract top talent. Melissa is a huge advocate of fair pay - employees are more likely to leave if they believe the potential pay is not worth their time. Hannah and Melissa agree that business owners should not take advantage of the job market and pay less for high-quality labor. Melissa breaks down the benefits of implementing a bonus structure in your business - bonuses are a great way to improve employee retention, increase productivity, and thank employees for their contribution in the team. Melissa goes through the mistakes she made when developing a pay structure for her business.     Mentioned in this episode: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Should you hire an employee or a subcontractor for your bookkeeping business? Co-hosts Hannah Robinson and Melissa Honan break down the difference between hiring an employee and a subcontractor, their pros and cons, and when it makes sense to go with either. Melissa starts the conversation by describing the difference between hiring employees and hiring subcontractors. Melissa explains why it's important that subcontractors and employees be held to the same performance standard. For Melissa, performing a task audit is the first step to understanding whether you need to hire an employee or a subcontractor. Hannah and Melissa go through the difference in workload for sub-contractors and employees. Melissa breaks down the steps to making a successful first hire in your small business. Melissa believes it's more beneficial for your first hire to be a subcontractor than an employee while you figure out what you want. Hiring and onboarding is expensive. To help increase the odds of a successful hire, Melissa believes all new team members should go through a 90-day probationary period. According to Hannah, the most effective way to reduce employee turnover is to make it clear from the beginning that you're investing in a long-term relationship. Melissa adds that the goal of every successful hire is to be clear on the level of commitment you expect from the new team member. Melissa highlights that employees don't like too much freedom - as a business owner, you must set clear expectations, rules, and processes. Hannah describes how having a well-defined business structure leads to increased productivity. While there's no way to guarantee an employee stays with you long term, Melissa believes maintaining a positive work environment will increase their odds of staying. Hannah and Melissa share the pain of investing in an employee only for them to move on.     Mentioned in this episode: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Want to know how to write a compelling job description? Co-hosts Hannah Robinson and Melissa Honan discuss the process of writing compelling job descriptions. They break down the key components of a well-written job description and explain why it should accurately reflect the duties and expectations of the position. Hannah starts the conversation by highlighting the negative impacts of a poorly written job description - new hires feel conned when the job description doesn't match the role. Hannah explains that crafting a compelling job description is essential to attracting the most qualified candidates. Melissa and Hannah agree that transparency is the most important part of writing a persuasive job description. For Melissa, a properly written job description is supposed to give applicants the best perspective of what it's like to work with you. Melissa believes a great job description should accurately highlight the responsibilities and duties of the position. Hannah and Melissa go through the best places to post job openings and attract qualified candidates every time. Melissa breaks down the benefits of creating a video job description - and why she believes video is an impactful and highly personalized approach to hiring the right talent. Hannah asks Melissa what should come first, the job description or the title of the role. Melissa feels the job description should come first - look at the type of help you need and build from there. Melissa shares her job description writing process - you don't have to be Shakespeare to write a compelling job description. Just be clear and to the point. Hannah and Melissa discuss the process of writing job descriptions for non-defined or complicated roles.     Mentioned in this episode: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Do you respond to work emails over the weekend? Co-hosts Hannah Robinson and Melissa Honan discuss why it's never a good idea to respond to work-related emails over the weekend, on public holidays, or after hours. Hannah and Melissa start the conversation by revealing that they don't reply to work-related emails during the weekend. For Melissa, there is no such thing as a work emergency - and replying to emails on the weekends gives people the impression that it's okay to contact you whenever they like. Melissa talks about how some people struggle to put away work on the weekends. Daniel is one such example and struggles to disconnect himself from work on weekends. Hannah and Melissa try to identify the only times it makes sense to reply to work emails - There aren't any. Hannah talks about her weekend schedule and how she shuts off completely on Friday evening. Hannah and Melissa agree that the hustle mentality and working throughout the weekend often leads to burnout. Melissa also believes the concept of "grind and hustle 24/7" to reach success is just wrong - the only thing you can expect from it is physical and emotional exhaustion. According to Melissa, another good habit is not using your phone during the weekend - time away from all types of screens can make you more productive when you resume on Monday morning.     Mentioned in this episode: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com