If you came along to the Australian Bookkeepers Network Roadshow in November, you would have seen Pete and I present the Bookkeeping Business Blueprint. Pete created a masterful presentation using martial arts "white belt to black belt" as a metaphor to show you how to grow from a start-up practice, working through different "belts" until you reached "black belt" business turning over $600,000 to $1m + with a team of 10+.
The challenge Pete put forward was to make the "decision" to either stay as a practice with you working on your own or to grow into a business with a team of people.
Why is it important to make a decision? Let me tell you of my experience.
When I started my practice working from home in 2001 all I wanted to do was replace the income I had earned from my part time work as an employee. Tick that box. Then I wanted to have enough hours to work full time. Tick that box. I was pretty chuffed because it happened over 12-18 months by word of mouth. Well done! After that my practice continued to grow organically until I was working nights and weekends as well. It was hard for me to turn away clients. They were in such a mess which I knew I could fix so I just kept working harder, faster and longer. But still no "decision" had been made and there were definitely no plans.
If I had made a decision to have a successful practice I would have chosen the clients that I enjoyed, sacked the rest and then worked the number of hours I wanted to for a number of years until retirement (nothing wrong with that model). On the other hand, if I had made a decision to grow into a successful business I would have taken the appropriate action to make that happen. Because I hadn't made a decision I was stuck in this black hole where BAS-ON was a nightmare of long hours under pressure, relentless work for the rest of the year with no holidays and dragging myself to clients even when I was sick, while fitting all that around the important needs of my family.
I only made the decision to grow a successful business after I started working with Pete. But that didn't happen straight away. Every year when Pete and I met to create the Game Plan for the year he would mention goals that seemed unachievable to me. He was always stretching me out of my comfort zone. He was always up for playing a bigger game. I was the one holding back. I was afraid of failure. What if I didn't achieve my goals? What would people think? So for many years I was playing a game that felt comfortable. Sure, it was small, but it was safe. My reputation would stay intact. I was achieving a comfortable level of success.
This is what Wikipedia says about decision - "A decision is the selection between possible actions". In other words, after decision comes action. It was when I made the decision to grow a successful business and took the necessary actions that a change occurred in me and in my business. You have already heard me talk about systems. That was the primary action I took. I spent years and years creating and improving systems that I could rely on so that other people could do the bookkeeping the way I did it. Systems that I was so confidant with that I could guarantee the quality of the work. That was the beginning of the transformation which has taken me to where I am now.
So my challenge to you this week is - are you ready to make a decision about your future? Have you decided to grow a successful practice, charging out at $65 per hour (plus, plus), working say 30 hrs per week and turning over $100,000 (which is a pretty neat game). Or are you up for a bigger game and have decided to grow a profitable business which can run without you, where you can take holidays, have time to look after your team and one which when you sell, could earn you enough money to set you up for retirement. And just as important as making the decision is being truthful about the answer to the next question. Are you ready to go full out to make it happen in the new year?
