A few months ago, I told you about why I got into bookkeeping. It was kind of an accidental journey, one that turned out for the best. And one that allowed me to turn to business ownership not too long ago.
In July 2015, I joined the Stacy K Academy because I wanted to master my craft—not because I aspired to start my own business. I was already working with a few clients on a contract basis, but hadn’t really thought about growing that.
The program was delivered live but I had to watch recordings of the live instruction because I was working full time. It was a huge time commitment to take a class of this magnitude, but I was determined to make the most of my investment.
What I found was that Stacy goes way beyond sharing her systems and processes; she teaches you how to actually set up and run a business. From contracts to pricing structures, she gives it all to you. And these elements are some of the things that I found most beneficial in the program.
I started implementing what I was learning right away, both with my own clients and in my job. I had already been talking to Stacy and following her, taking most of the free information she offered and putting it to work.
I spent my lunch hours at my day job putting Stacy’s ideas into action, setting up processes and putting together systems. By the end of 2015, I knew I wanted to run my own business full time.
My contract work quickly grew from 3 to 10 clients over the last few months of 2015. Then in 2016, the opportunity presented itself to go all-in in my business. So I took that opportunity and ran with it.
Over the last 14 months or so, business continues to grow and I continue to hone my craft so I can be the best resource possible for my clients. I’ve tested out project management and accounting programs like 17 Hats, Teamwork and Harvest and have put all of these to work in my own business.
Make no mistake: starting my own business was a challenge. It’s been a lot of long hours, frustration, changing direction and time in front of the computer. But what I’ve learned has helped me grow as a person and a business owner and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
