If you have found yourself here, its most likely because you were looking for an accountant or a financial consultant for your business. So, for that, I appreciate you stopping in to read this. I hope that by the end of this, you will feel more comfortable with your decision to hire the support – whether it is with me or someone else. It is a big decision, and usually one of the first a business makes as the duties pile up. I am here to give you confidence in your decision, give you confidence in your business, and relieve some of the inevitable stress and mental burden of driving your business / life forward. I know it did for me.
Since the pandemic, I have absolutely loved the trend of people taking back some control of their lives by starting their own business and building it their way. I myself am part of that trend. After being in corporate for 8 years, I decided to expand my field into my passion: supporting small businesses around me. I love getting to know how your business got started, the goals you have set, and the progress you have made towards those goals. Most of the clients we work with are individuals who started a business by themselves or with a partner. However, that also means that they have effectively done everything by themselves – from the operations, legal and accounting, marketing, web design, and social media. In all cases, this client does not have a passion for all of those things, nor are they an expert in them (who is, right?). However, they take on those roles for two likely reasons: to keep costs low until the business is comfortably making money for them, and/or because they find that they are able to manage it all.
Does this sound like you? In either case, let me offer you a different perspective: think long term, focus on your customers, and remember that money is a byproduct. Outsourcing allows you to check off those things, and it can be a very effective way to make more money in the long term. Remember, you are in the business of providing a product or service to your customers, and the money you make is a byproduct of that. You are NOT in the business of making money, or saving money for that matter. You are, or should be, tunnel visioned on giving your best to your customers. If you are trying to concurrently balance the books, push marketing campaigns, build a website, etc. then you are taking away time and focus from your customers. Not to mention, if you don’t have expertise or knowledge in those things, you (respectfully) risk the quality of those tasks. Taxes are a great example. They are unbelievably and intentionally complex in the US, even with TurboTax. So, take all that time back and spend it on building and scaling for your customers. You will be making enough money to cover the outsourcing in no time.
Easy right? No, because I know we haven’t solved the short-term crunch of paying for that outsourcing. Hiring out all of those big tasks can be costly, but there are options. Search for options for the most important task you need help with first. Let’s pretend its an accountant (bias aside). Talk to at least three accountants and find out what they charge and how they do business. You are looking for support for your business, so the cost is not the only decision point here. You want someone who (obviously) knows what they are doing, but can also communicate effectively and be amenable to your needs. Someone with those traits will help you find a structure that suits you and can scale with your business. Remember also, there is a psychology here. Think of this as an investment, it is not just money out the door. You are trading money for time, and you are thinking long term.
A good accountant should have custom pricing for you, so your investment in an accountant grows with your business. For example, I have started out clients at a price below my standard, and met with them quarterly – until more frequent meetings are needed, and a higher price is supported by where the business is in its life. Now, if you are cash constrained, then credit is an option. I want to emphasize that I say that with caution. People have different risk tolerances, and different levels of money management. I caution you to be honest with yourself on where you fall with your money management skills and your risk tolerance, and decide whether credit is good for you. This can be a detailed topic in itself, so I recommend talking to someone (like an accountant) about what the right option for you is. The bottom line is, if you spend the time up front and talk to multiple options, there is almost certainly a good option out there for you.
Assuming you have moved towards hiring one (hi), I want to welcome you to the next step as a business owner. While you still will have a part to play in effective accounting, web, marketing, etc. you can now sit back and let them provide you with the tools and information you need to make good business decisions. Meeting with an accountant who is telling you that you are spending too much in a certain area, or confirming that your sales are growing can give you the confidence you need to making hiring decisions, cost cutting decisions, or a push to start expanding. Those conversations, right there, are your points of infamy and vindication of outsourcing. Not having to single handedly unearth those conclusions, and simply translating them to the business that you are an expert in, makes the investment begin to feel worth it.
To conclude, start with a conversation. If you are uneasy about tracking your financials, knowing whether you should buy an accounting software, what to pay in quarterly taxes (yes you have to do that now) – then talk to an accountant until you are comfortable with those decisions. If you want to build a website, talk to a developer/designer, and then compare their fee to the thought of YouTubing and Googling “how to build a website” for hours on end. That is what I did, and the decision was easy. I hired a great professional who built me a great website that suits my needs and the needs of my clients (thank you Zahra). Not only did she physically execute my task of having a website, she guided me through what I needed to have in my website. I saved a ton of time, and the quality is infinitely better than any cookie cutter website I could have spun up. So just start with a conversation, feel it out, and you will know what to do after each conversation. That is why YOU are the business owner, and not the accountant or web designer!
Whether you follow up this blog with an email to me or not, I wish you and your business all the best!