Marketing gets easier if you are the shy type, if you just choose one small action to focus in on at a time, and then set a goal to make progress on it this week. Doing is the best teacher of all, and it will help you to keep stretching that comfort zone in a way that will build your confidence…and your client base.

Always remember – inch by inch, it’s a cinch!

You sound like you are starting to get the picture regarding what it’s like in the “trenches.”

The biggest issue with security is not really the technology, but the perception. Many, many typical small business people still feel it is “safer” to have all their financial information on their desktop computer, or physical paperwork in their own office. They are uneasy about having their financial information “out there” somewhere on the web. When, in fact, as you describe, there is often much more security with the SaaS products and virtual desktops. It just doesn’t feel that way to most of us (even when intellectually we know better). It’s a perceived control issue.

Document management IS catching on, but it has been slow. And scanning lots of documents, in itself, can be time consuming. As freelance bookkeepers, no, we do not need to have physical documentation if we already have digital documentation. But often, our clients are not necessarily keen on taking the time to put physical documents into digital form if it is just as easy for them to give us the physical ones. But it’s happening, as the benefits of storing information digitally becomes more convenient and easier to manipulate. It’s just not as encompassing as so many software companies and others who live in the high tech world imagine.

You are wise to be reaching blogs such as this one where you can better understand what is really needed in the small business, mom and pop market. I’m glad you’ve asked these questions. Thanks for contributing your perspective.

Yes, you’ve got that right. The vast majority of very small businesses who hire freelance bookkeeper are not up to date on the new media. Many are leery of the cutting edge, cloud computing….as are many bookkeepers themselves. It takes time for these technologies to filter down to the “little guy.” I see this as a common lack of understanding in the software development world. They believe that all small businesses are up to speed, when in fact, most typical small businesses simply are not. As bookkeepers, we need to be ready to serve the businesses that need us at all different levels (and choose our own slice of the huge small business market).

Marketing always sounds do-able when I’m reading about it … but much harder to implement successfully. All your suggestions help me to think outside my comfort zone … which is in front of the computer doing bookkeeping or web master tasking.

Thanks for all your ideas. :0)

To further cultivate your suggestion, the biggest problem we face is sharing documents by e-mail and/or other digital formats that do not provide such a security?

Now, when we are focusing on web based document sharing software, excluding actual desktop accounting software, do you think that the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), provided by some online service providers, could help to solve this problem? In case you’re not familiar with SSL (here’s a Wikipedia link for you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSL_certificate), what it basically does, is that it secures the connection between your web browser and the server your web software uses to store data. It means that whenever you are in a SSL secured environment, everything you do, every file you up or download, is fully secured. It is a special licence that could be included in a software you use to share and organize your documents on the web. However, this is not the same when people are exchanging files by e-mail. Then, it’s usually up to every party to decide whether to crypt the data or not. In most cases, people either don’t pay any attention to it, or it is not provided by the email client server they use.

Your other comment about getting not only digital, but physical documents from your clients, seems more challenging, but definitely also possible to solve. There are already some applications on the web that could help you do that. One web site, that I recently came upon, was Shoeboxed.com. I think that what they do is that they ask their customers to mail them all their documents, which are then converted into a digital format. Then you can store or use the data however you want it. Does this apply to what you question? Again, I have no idea about the security issues when it comes to sending original documents by post or regular mail.

This raises another question I have – do you always need a physical document when you already have a digital copy? Would it be enough, if the document is just faxed, or scanned? The numbers etc. should always be traceable and it’s just so much easier to organize this data in a digital format than on paper. You are also able to print it out whenever you might need it. Or do you always need an actual physical original document for every digital copy? In this case, how often do you need to collect these documents and are you converting them into a digital format right now or do you just store them in your library?

Gosh, this came pretty long. I am sorry to shower you with all these questions. Hope you don’t mind By the way, you are correct, I am working on a project similar to your description, but I really do not want to use your blog space to promote something that is not even ready. I’d rather listen and learn to create something people like you and other bookkeeping specialists could really use to add value to their business and service. It feels pointless to develop something that does not actually benefit your customer. I find your feedback very valuable. I wish I’d get more of it Thank you.

Runno

I just love Donna’s enthusiasm. Donna, you seem like a very ambitious young entrepreneur, who is not afraid to try new things to market your business any way possible. It’s obvious, we all have to take extra steps to sell our business.

I am currently learning how to help people like you to do that. Could you help me understand how do you find your clients? Where do you find them? What else, than your outstanding service, you could offer them to stand out from the competition and give extra value?

Thanks.

Especially in the beginning the marketing can feel like an uphill battle. But stick with it. Building relationships is going to be your most powerful marketing, but it is harder to gage when it will start paying off. A connecton you make today could bring in new clients next week, or next year. So you just have to “scatter your seed” like crazy and eventually you will hit critical mass and have clients coming to you.

Stay tuned, because I have several new webinars planned over the next few months for some “out of the box” ways to market your services.