Thanks and advice for today

[Marky65]

Hi everyone,

A few months ago I asked a few questions regarding setting up a bookkeeping & payroll business on the forum and the help and advice I received both directly in reply to me and other threads I picked up on was really great, thank you. Just after I started along this path a client I was working for offered me a position which at the time seemed better than where I was and what I was planning so I decided to accept their offer, ooops what a mistake there is no need for me to go into the details but as usual the grass isn't greener and I wish i had stuck to my original plan of going by myself.
Anyway, my question now is, in todays economic climate is it adviseable to consider going out by myself or should I just put up with where I am.

Thanks again for your previous help and any advice given now.

Mark

[Red Eye Media]

I would say that it's a good time to start. It's always a good time to start if you have a good product that people need. There may be some bigger companies struggling at the moment as well as small ones but there are alot of start-ups popping up at the moment because of circumstances so I would say it's as good a time as any.

Don't worry about the hype, help the recession and go for it. Your overheads are low and you should be able to grow, whatever the weather.

[Maslins]

Keeping your overheads low is key. It is fairly easy when you're starting out, just make sure you don't sign up to hundreds of "low monthly instalment" things.

Is there any scope for you to have a part time bookkeeping job to begin with (say 3 days/week as an employee) whilst you try to build a client base.

Building a client base is the hardest thing. If you've already got a few cleints through friends and family then great. Otherwise, you'll need to think about how you will win paying clients. You certainly won't be the only bookkeeper in your area, but that doesn't mean there isn't the work out there for you.

[accountancyextra]

Personally I think it's a great time to go it alone.

In todays climate, business owners need to spend more of their time and efforts on attracting new work themselves and keeping existing customers happy. They shouldn't be spending hours toiling over the books.

However, as I'm sure there will be lots of competition in your area, you need to differentiate yourself from that competition to make sure that the business comes your way. The trick will be in working out how to do this. Find a way to add more value to the client and there are lots of ways to do this without much additional effort.

Good luck

[Philip Hoyle]

I'd agree with the other posters. There is plenty of work out there for accountants and book-keepers. We're receiving phone calls or emails almost daily from potential new clients. The smallest businesses are the ones most likely to benefit from the recession - they aren't stuck with high overheads and are a lot closer to their customers so they can react far more quickly to what is happening around them. The only thing I'd advise is not to under-charge - this is the killer mistake that far too many small businesses make. Yes, you may get some new clients who only want a cheap job doing, but they're the ones you'll lose when the next firm comes along and under-cuts you. As your firm grows, your overheads will increase too and soon you'll have to increase your charges. You want long term stable clients with whom you can establish a good relationship - this makes your working life easier and more enjoyable and produces referrals.

[elainec100@cheapaccounting]

I would say it would depend on how good you are at both getting the work (marketing / sales) and then doing it!

Do make sure you are registered for money laundering and have PII. You may need a PC if you are a member of an institute.

[Marky65]

Hi Elaine

I know this may seem a touch arrogant but it is not meant that way but I know I am good and would offer an excellent service but the difficult bit I know I will have is on the marketing/sales. So any advice from yourself and anyone else on this would be much appreciated.

Also, thanks for the reminder about money laundering/PII etc

Thanks

Mark

[Maslins]

It might be worth having a chat with a few of the smaller local qualified accountants. They probably have a few clients with messy books, and if you can convince them you're good (I know you say you're good, I'm sure you are, but you need to be able to convince others of this), they may recommend you to some of their clients.

In return, they'll expect you to give them top quality books at the end of the year, and also they would obviously appreciate it if you recommended them to other bookkeeping/payroll clients that you won from elsewhere.

I essentially did this in reverse. I'm a qualified accountant doing stat accounts, tax returns etc, but not really wanting to be spending all my days doing bookkeeping. I approached a few local bookkeepers, effectively for mutual referrals.

Only thing to be very careful of with this is that there's not too much overlap of your services. Eg if an accountant gets you to do the bookkeeping for a sole trader client of theirs, and you decide that you'll have a go at doing the personal tax return for less than the accountant, you could find yourself very unpopular, and potentially on sticky ground too.

[elainec100@cheapaccounting]

Hi Elaine

I know this may seem a touch arrogant but it is not meant that way but I know I am good and would offer an excellent service but the difficult bit I know I will have is on the marketing/sales. So any advice from yourself and anyone else on this would be much appreciated.

Also, thanks for the reminder about money laundering/PII etc

Thanks

Mark

That is not arrogant. It is good that you recognise what you are good at and where your weaknesses are - the issue I was trying to point out was that you need to have both sets of skills on your own (or some other way of finding the work).

If that came across in the wrong way - this was not the intention. It is just a view that I have that some (and not all) accountant / bookkeepers are great with the figures but not so good at marketing through to closing the deal.

Three things to think about (yes there are loads of others):


- who is your target market. Try to be specific. Yes your skills may suit 'everyone' but if you can target an industry / area etc then you can come up with a marketing plan

- what are you offering. If you can't explain it in a couple of sentences then why will someone buy it from you

- why will someone buy from you as opposed to the other bookkeepers out there?

Hope this helps as a start - and it is only a start. There are many things to get in place e.g. T&Cs, your back office systems, work scheduling etc

Don't want to put you off - it is great fun building your business but it is not for the fainthearted.

[Maslins]

I agree wholeheartedly in what Elaine is saying.

Essentially, in brief, you used to be "just" a good bookkeeper. As the owner of a small business, you now still need to be a good bookkeeper, but also a salesperson.

A guy called Robert Kiyosaki wrote a book called "Rich Dad Poor Dad" which became a best seller. A journalist spoke to him and asked him how his book was so successful, as the journalist considered his writing style to be poor (it is).

Robert pointed out to the journalist that on the front of his books it did not say "Best author", it said "Best selling author".

[Alison Jones]

I see this different from others. If you have a job which is secure and a steady wage (even if you may not like it that much) that is a good thing. I got made redundant in August 2006 and set up a self employed bookkeeping business. It does depend on the area you live and how many bookkeepers there are already, there are more and more opening every week in most areas, but building a client base from scratch and getting the amount of clients to be equilivant to a full time wage you have from job takes a lot of time, a lot of hard work and there are some months of the year that are really difficult to get the amount of work of a full time job. I would say worth a go in this current climate if you have either the following:- savings to live off in the bad months or partner or parents to support you financially in the bad months. I am not sure if I am just unlucky or other bookkeepers find the same, really bad months are February, July and August. 2007 and 2008 were full years of self employment bookkeeping and in both years these months were the worst.

Alison

[Marky65]

Hi Maslins

Thanks for the warning regarding overlap of services. I intend to offer bookkeeping, payroll, accounts to tb and monthly/quarterly reporting. I certainly have no desire to move into taxation or other specilised services, I am more than happy to leave that to those whose job it is to know about them.

Mark

[Marky65]

Hi Elaine

Nothing came across the wrong way, thanks for the three tips they are a great start.

Mark

[Zeno]

As I understand it, every man and his dog who work in finance right now are thinking about setting out on their own.

The sad fact for you is that in the short term, it is the ones who are good at saying they are good who will get the work rather than the ones who are actually good.

DFL has a service that may help you.

[Marky65]

As I understand it, every man and his dog who work in finance right now are thinking about setting out on their own.

The sad fact for you is that in the short term, it is the ones who are good at saying they are good who will get the work rather than the ones who are actually good.

DFL has a service that may help you.

Hi Zeno

Was that the start up advice service he was talking of setting up last year

[Zeno]

I think so. Seahorse he calls it.