This is the seventh and final instalment in a series tackling some of the biggest challenges you are likely to encounter when growing your bookkeeping business.
This one’s about commitment - how committed are you to growing your bookkeeping business … really? You might say “but I have kids at school or a part time job, so I can’t commit 10/10”. Don’t confuse commitment with availability. Being committed doesn’t depend on being available 40+ hours per week. For the time you have available to work on your business, the question is, how committed are you to making that happen? What will help is having a big enough vision.
When I started my business I simply wanted to replace the income that I earned from my part time job. I did that in six months and it was a great boost to my confidence. But it was only when I started to work with Peter Cook that he helped me see what was possible. So I created a vision of replacing my husband’s income so he could retire. Did I believe it was possible? Not all the time. Not when the going was tough, when everything went wrong, when I was paying my bookkeepers more than I was taking home, not when I was working 10 hour days month after month. But my commitment to that vision steeled my resolve. (And I’m proud to say that Neil is now working part time, and can retire whenever he chooses).
Commitment means “an engagement or obligation that restricts freedom of action”. When the going gets tough, you push through. If a friend invites you to the movies on a Tuesday afternoon but that was the time you set aside to work ON your business, your reply would be something like “Let’s make it another time on the weekend.” Being 10/10 committed to growing your business makes choices easier.
If you find you’re honestly not 10/10 committed to growing your bookkeeping business then do yourself and your family a favour. Get a job and release yourself of the constant battle that’s going on inside your head.
Article by Debbie Roberts
