The Freelance Bookkeeper

It’s a great time to be a bookkeeper and finding new clients will cost you only a bit of time and effort, even if you are just starting out.

Let’s take a quick look at just a few bootstrapping strategies for building your client base that you can put into action immediately.

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1. Networking, Networking, Networking

Referrals are usually the main source of new clients for freelance bookkeepers. Networking is a key method of getting those referrals flowing your way.

There are a gazillion ways to network, both locally and online. The nice thing about networking is, it is a soft way to let others know about your services without coming off salesy or pushy.

Relax. The most effective way to network is to just be yourself. Focus on meeting people and get to know them, and in the process, just let them know the benefits you offer to those who are in need your services. Be sure you always have business cards with you to leave with those who may want to contact you again.

Here are some easy places to find networking opportunities.

Locally:

* Chamber of Commerce

* Community Groups

* Talk to the service providers you use (Pizza shop, dry cleaners, etc.)

* Family and friends (be sure they know what you do and ask if they know anyone who might need your help).

Online:

* Social Networks - a few of my favorites are Women Owned Network; LinkedIn; and my latest discovery, FindVirtual

* Email - reconnect with past friends, acquaintances and clients, and be sure to send it from your business email. Sign your messages using a “signature” that is a one-liner for the benefit you provide, along with your contact information.

* Blog Posts - If you are subscribed to any blogs, you’ll want to post comments regularly and include a “signature” with a one-line blurb about your business and include contact info.

* Forums - same idea as blog posts. If you use QuickBooks, you SHOULD be involved with the QuickBooks Community forums.

INSIDER TIP: If you are well-versed with Quicken software, you have an opportunity that appears to be greatly underserved! There are A LOT of businesses using Quicken to keep their books! Participate in the Quicken forums and you’ll likely find clients who REALLY need your help!

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2. No-Cost Advertising

Online Directories are still a great no-cost way to pull in inquiries. These listings will show up when people are looking for bookkeeping services on the Web.

Here are a few of the good ones:

http://listings.yellowpages.com/
http://listings.local.yahoo.com/ (must have a Yahoo ID)
http://advertising.superpages.com/spportal/business-listing (SuperPages)
http://www.google.com/local/add (must have a Google acct)

Online Classified Ads are another way to let new clients find you. Craigslist is probably the most lucrative one you’ll ever find. You can run an ad for three weeks at a time for free. You’ll also find classified ad areas on both the QuickBoooks and Quicken Community Sites.

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3. Proactive Marketing

Search Help Wanted ads for part-time bookkeeper in newspaper listings. Most of these potential clients will want you to work onsite.

Many local newspapers publish their Help Wanted classified ads online too, so get in the regular routine of checking their website listings for a constant supply of fresh leads. And of course, you should check Craigslist for your area.

If you are able to work remotely with your clients (thus removing geographical limitations), you can even search Craigslist nationally.

Here’s how…

Contact local CPA firms. As I’ve suggested in previous articles, it is important to cultivate these relationships, since they are a great source of quality referrals.

From now through the early part of the new year, many of their clients will be scrambling to get their books in order to prepare for year-end tax planning and tax season in general. It’s therefore the perfect time to offer your services to local CPAs. They may hire you themselves, or refer you to clients in need.

Just remember that you will have to win their trust first, so be prepared to offer them references or a “free trial” period so they can see the quality of your work.

Other companies who you can partner with for referrals and complementing services are payroll service firms, office supply stores, and printing shops. You may even want to partner with other bookkeeping firms for subcontracted work or mutual referrals. Just be sure to seek ways to complement their services, not compete with them. Always think win-win.

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4. Quick-Fix, Short-Term Opportunities

If you’ve tried the above methods, but results are not coming fast enough for your budget, you can always take on some temporary work to fill the gaps until you build up your ongoing client base. AccounTemps is a great place to start, since you will command a higher rate than with a general temp agency. Of course, this will be far lower than your typical billing rate.

Recently, I was contacted by H&R Block who is apparently seeking experienced tax preparers for the upcoming season. If you do taxes, this might be a quick fix if you are cash strapped. If this is an option you want to consider, I suggest inquiring at your local H&R Block office, since I am not sure of the specific requirements for this new arrangement.

Keep in mind that with both of these options, they should be considered a last resort. Working as a temp bookkeeper or tax preparer will not really grow your business because you will be restricted from soliciting new clients from their customer base. But it will add to your experience and promise some guaranteed cash for a short while.

If you’re a bootstrapping freelance bookkeeper, the opportunities to pull in new clients truly abound. So what are you waiting for? Get to it this week! Then tell us about YOUR bootstrapping success!

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WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR OWN BLOG OR E-ZINE? You have permission to re-publish it, as long as you include the following author’s bio and link:

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Gabrielle Fontaine, PB is a freelance Professional Bookkeeper and Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor. She also publishes an interactive blog especially for bookkeepers who are ready to break free and run their own home-based bookkeeping service. Get more information at www.TheFreelanceBookkeeper.com

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When you decided to start your own business, did you realize that you’d chosen something that ultimately only about 5% of the general population ever accomplishes?

If you succeed and prosper with your business, you are part of a very exclusive club indeed. That’s because far and away the majority of all small businesses fail. We’ve all heard the bleak statistics.

But why do so many fail so miserably?

Often it’s because when success isn’t realized as quickly and as easily as expected, most would-be entrepreneurs just throw in the towel and give up. They conclude that they just can’t do it.

But is there a secret key to running a successful small business that most everyone is missing? And do you need that key to start a profitable freelance bookkeeping business as well? Yes, there is, and yes, you do.

Since I started writing articles like this one, more than a few people have approached me for advice on going freelance. In fact, just this week I was chatting with a CPA who has been working closely with many small businesses for over 10 years. He’s seen firsthand those that have succeeded and those that have failed. A few weeks ago he resigned from his job. He’s decided to start his own accounting practice.

But there’s a problem.

He confided that now he is quite worried about his plan. In fact, he told me that if a high-paying offer from another employer should happen to fall into his lap, he’ll immediately abandon his entrepreneurial aspirations.

I have serious doubts about whether he’s got what it takes to make it in his own business.

And then there’s the case of a young woman who has a good business sense who used to call me periodically for advice on setting up her freelance bookkeeping service. Not long ago, she missed our telephone appointment. I haven’t heard from her since. On that call she was supposed to have come up with her own version of a client contract that she would use in her new business, based on some guidance I had given her.

It seems that she may be missing the key as well.

I could go on with many more real life examples, but I bet you’d rather know exactly what this key is, and more importantly, figure out whether you’ve got it or not!

The key is positive, proactive persistence.

Back in 2005, an article in Psychology Today stated, “Psychologists have found that the ability to persist in the face of obstacles is at least as important a factor in success as is talent.” 

Chew on that for a minute.

Habit #1 in Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is, “Be Proactive.”

And the power of positive expectations has been studied and documented in medicine as well as education, time and time again. They are known as the Pygmalion effect and the Placebo effect.

Is it any wonder that the combination of a positive, proactive persistence in the building of your business just might make a significant difference when it comes to your success?

Persistence is extremely important when you work for yourself. You must take the initiative to keep the billable work coming in to pay the expenses. The ability to persist with positive expectations in the face of obstacles when the going suddenly gets bumpy will serve you far better than an alphabet of academic designations strung after your name ever will.

Calvin Coolidge really hit the nail on the head when he said…

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”

So what does all this mean for you and your freelance bookkeeping service?

It doesn’t take any special genius or talent to succeed. You might want to learn the technical skills involved in doing the bookkeeping work. But then again, that’s not absolutely necessary. You could instead, hire someone else who’s far more skilled than you are at doing the billable work, if you want. It’s really not the technical skills of bookkeeping that will make your business prosper.

It’s your determination to use the true key to success: Positive, proactive persistence. If you do, sooner or later you will reach your goals.

It’s “sooner or later” because you will also make mistakes along the way. There’s no doubt about that. You’ll face many problems too. You may even need to work much longer and harder than you ever imagined necessary. But if you refuse to give up, if you proactively keep paying attention to what’s working and expect success, you WILL make it.

Be determined to do it and don’t give up!

A line from the song that has become the theme for my own business success is from ”Icarus Ascending” by Dan Fogelberg. The line is…

“There is a gamble in each proud act of flight,
but the losses pale before the winnings.”

I truly believe this, when it comes to taking your business to the next level. If you do too, then be determined to always use the key to success to reach your goals–positive, proactive persistence–and it will unlock the door to winnings for you as a freelance bookkeeper.

Now you know the secret.  So the next question is, what are you going to DO about it?

 

***Special Resource***

This neat little video (created by my favorite business mentor, Jim Edwards) reminds me why I went into business in the first place. It’s truly inspiring. You will also see the tool I now use to put positive, proactive persistence into action in my business every day. Enjoy!—->Watch Video Now

 

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR OWN BLOG OR E-ZINE? You have permission to re-publish it, as long as you include the following author’s bio and link:

Gabrielle Fontaine, PB is a freelance Professional Bookkeeper and Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor. She also publishes an interactive blog especially for bookkeepers who are ready to break free and run their own home-based bookkeeping service. Get more information at http://TheFreelanceBookkeeper.com

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