Publisher's Synopsis
How to set up, create and start your own bookkeeping business from scratch. And be successful. This book is written by UK author Lisa Newton who started her own bookkeeping business for £150 in 2004. She used £100 from her overdraft and got £50 'investment' from her mum. And she made it work. It is an action-packed, tip-filled, no-nonsense approach to how to start, what to do, things to look out for, pitfalls to avoid and its guidance will help you to avoid the expensive, painful time-consuming mistakes which most freelance independent bookkeepers make. There are plenty of horror stories to keep you on your toes and plenty of useful content to help you to make that transition from full time employee to full time business owner. Amongst other things this book covers: - getting started - products, price, place, promotion - dealing with clients, suppliers, subcontractors - practical exercises for you to try - key templates to help you get started - and a whole lot more. This isn't theoretical or written by some lecturer. This is written by someone who has been there, done it and franchised the bookkeeping business. And won the Bookkeeping Franchisor of the Year (BKN award) in 2012 AND 2013. What you'll soon realise (for those of you thinking of starting this kind of business), is that there are a lot of HATERS out there... and the minute you start to become successful - they'll want to find a way to tear you down. This is because their own businesses are failing, and instead of working on themselves they feel threatened and prefer to either try and either steal from you or stalk you (beware of fishing callers and emails) or prevent you from getting on with running the show. Instead of minding their own business, some competitors prefer to focus their efforts on you. But it doesn't matter... its actually part of the fun and games which this book also covers. The author draws on their own personal experiences and shares the stories and events to help you to avoid the pitfalls which no-one else will warn you about. Not all businesses are the same, and this book does specifically cover issues direct to running an accounting / bookkeeping business. In stock/cash-based businesses one must be wary of pilfering (goods and cash), in this type of business other things can be stolen - resources, time, ideas etc., The book covers it. In the words of Richard Branson 'you have to be so good that they just can't take their eyes off you'... I'd add - 'and they just can't stop talking about and thinking about you'! Aim to be part of their every waking moment - be the stuff of dreams and nightmare. Be everywhere (it'll irritate them even more). Always be flattered when people make an attempt to sabotage your efforts (be it a bad review or to try and get information out of your team) to 'find out how you're doing it'... its all happened to us, and its to be expected when you're causing a ripple, and doing something that works.... Whats the secret? I hear you ask. Read the book and find out!: ) Please share your stories with the author. Find the book on FaceBook - we have a support group for people who have read the book, and want to take it to the next level of bookkeeping businesses. The follow up to this book, is 97 WAYS TO MARKET YOUR ACCOUNTANCY BUSINESS - which goes into marketing for accountants/bookkeepers... here's an idea for you... when you start your own bookkeeping business, in effect, you are no longer just a mere BOOKKEEPER, oh no... you are now a MARKETEER OF BOOKKEEPING SERVICES... and believe me... there is a difference. No-one went to accounting school to learn about sales/marketing, yet if you want to run a business, nothing happens in that business until SOMEone SELLS SOMEthing...
