‘Tis The Season To Get New Clients!

Did you know that right now we are in the middle of the absolute best time of the year to find new clients for your freelance bookkeeping business?

Yep, it’s tax season! Many small businesses are still scrambling to get their 2007 books in order so they can have their tax returns prepared on time. Those who have not been keeping up with their bookkeeping records know time is quickly running out.

Most corporate tax returns are due on March 17th, and sole proprietorships (Schedule C filers) are due with the personal tax returns on April 15th.

The crunch is here and many small businesses owners realize they are in desperate need of help, and they need it fast.

Small CPA firms are also feeling the pain. They are loaded down with clients who show up at their doorsteps with shopping bags full of a year’s worth of receipts. These need to be tediously sorted out and assembled into some kind of decipherable records. There’s just no other way to get the taxes done. They hate the pressure of doing that kind of time-consuming work, especially now. That’s why CPAs generally charge their clients through the nose for the aggravation.

Enter freelance bookkeeper.

Even bookkeepers with only basic skills can suddenly seem like a god-send to both small business owners and CPA firms this time of year. You simply need to let them know you are available to help.

So how do you find these hungry clients who need your services? Two ways. First, be where they can easily find you, and second, use the direct approach to get their attention.

Let’s take the second approach first. One of the most effective ways to quickly get all the work you can handle with minimum effort is to contact all the small and solo CPA firms in your area.

Because of the season, do not attempt to make your first contact with a phone call. They are so busy that if you are out of sight, you will be out of mind as soon as the phone call ends. Better to go by their office in person, preferably first thing in the morning when it is the quietest, and drop off your business card.

If one of the CPAs is available to speak with you, get right to the point and focus on how you can help him or her with their overload bookkeeping work. Do not take more than 10 minutes of their time! You will know very quickly if they want your help or not.

A word of caution here. If you also have tax experience, do not mention it unless that would be helpful to the situation. You do not want the CPA to feel vulnerable, worried that you will steal his/her tax clients away. Instead, let them know you are on their side, ready to support them and make this crazy time of year easier on them.

On the other hand, if no one is available to speak with you when you arrive, simply leave your business card, along with a pre-written, professional letter explaining the reason why you dropped by – what you would have said in person. You can then follow that up with a phone call the next day. Again, try to call at a time when it is most likely quiet, either first thing in the morning or shortly after normal business hours.

Building alliances with CPAs will be one of the best ways you can grow your business quickly and get top-rate experience. And of course, if they are pleased with your work, you will likely continue getting work from them after the primary tax season has ended. Remember, many, many businesses go on extension and won’t actually file their tax returns until September or October. CPAs are also a great source of referrals, once a relationship has been established.

Additionally, if you want to work with your own clients individually, they are also very easy to find this time of year. Some no-cost ways to get them to contact you is to post your services at the public bulletin board at the supermarket, coffee shop or library.

If you are a member of your local Chamber of Commerce or other business organization, give the executive director a call and let her know you are available to help the members of the organization to get their books in order. Offer to drop off a short stack of your business cards that she can use to make referrals.

And of course, be sure to post a free add for your services online at Craig’s List. You’ll also want to keep an eye on the ads for those who are seeking a part-time bookkeeper. It’s amazing the amount of local business you can get immediately from this well-known, free resource.

The clock is ticking! There’s really no better time to jump in and get your feet wet with your first few clients than right now. Take at least one of the above suggested actions this week. Because as they say, timing is everything!

~Gabrielle

Tagged As: bookkeeping help, freelance bookkeeper, networking, new clients, tax season

How Much Should You Charge?

This is always a hot question, especially when you are in the planning stages of your business. But that is also the best time to set your sights for how your business will give you the lifestyle you seek!

One of the biggest problems I see many new bookkeepers and consultants make (yes, I made this mistake myself too!) is to set their rates too low. Do not undervalue the benefits you provide others! If you don’t value what you do, neither will your clients. You will also damage your credibility in your clients’ eyes.

The first step in learning how much you SHOULD be charging for your expertise is to see what others are doing. You DO NOT want to set your rates below your colleagues. If you feel you need more experience, go ahead and set your rates closer to the lowest rates they are charging, but not at the bottom. As your confidence builds, you should raise your rates. So that means your rates should be going up at least once per year.

As a guide to follow and get your bearing on what other successful freelance bookkeepers and QuickBooks consultants are charging for their services, here is the latest national survey from Intuit, the makers of QuickBooks software, that you should take some time studying.

Intuit 2011 Rate Survey

By reviewing these real world results, you will not only get a good idea about how much you can charge for your services, but also zero in on the profit centers you would like to develop and specialize in as you grow your business.

I’ll look forward to hearing your comments about how you are doing in setting your own rates, or raising them as the need may be.

When it comes to your fees, the best way I’ve found to know if you’re charging enough is to just go ahead and raise your rates, and then see if anyone complains. If absolutely no one is complaining, your fees are not yet high enough!!

And the best part is that when you charge just a little bit more than you really feel like you “should,” the clients you attract will be the kind who highly value what you do and are the easiest to work with. I’ve done this many times in my own business, despite the fear of losing clients (which is always there), it just doesn’t happen. The only clients you are at risk of losing are the price shoppers who are the hardest clients to work with and don’t pay on time or value your services anyway.

So again, think long and hard about how you want your business to succeed, the kind of clients you want to serve, then set your rates (fearlessly) in line with your intended outcome.

Tagged As: bookkeeping services, charges, clients, fees, hourly rates, QuickBooks, specialty, survey

What’s Next For You?

In December we discussed committing to paper (or computer file) your plans for your freelance bookkeeping business. It included the income you want to achieve, the schedule you desire, and the services you are offering. You even guessed at which services would pull which proportions of your revenue.

Now it’s time to put some action plans in place. Nothing happens until you take action! What will it take for you to find your first client and start logging some billable hours?

Ponder that for a moment.

Based on the services you plan to offer, do you already have the skills you need, or do you need more training?

Are you ready to take on a few clients right now to get the revenue flowing?

These two questions will show you what actions you need to take next to really get your business moving.

Bootstrap Training Resources:

If you feel you need more training with bookkeeping itself, or with QuickBooks software, here are some resources that are low-cost or free that give you what you need in a relatively short time. I’ve added my own comments based on my experiences with each of them:

http://www.aipb.org/continuing_education.html – The American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (AIPB) offers many self-paced inexpensive training courses in good old fashioned, traditional double-entry bookkeeping. You can even get their certification, which is the industry standard (though there are other certification programs around). Highly recommended if you are starting from scratch in the bookkeeping world, or need a good brush-up.

http://www.nationalba.org/training.cfm – The National Bookkeeping Association (NBA) also offers quite a few low-cost training options. But a word of caution here. Though I think they have the right spirit and will eventually improve, this is a relatively new organization and I have NOT been impressed with the quality of their online trainings or publications.

http://www.quickbooksgroup.com/ – This is QuickBooks Community site. It is loaded with many small business resources and some free training with QuickBooks.

http://accountant.intuit.com/training_cpe/quickbooks/index.aspx?lid=body1 – Intuit offers webinars and self-paced training classes, mostly surrounding the benefits of their software to accounting professionals. Some of these are free, but the meatier ones are for a fee. It’s worth it to stay in touch with what they offer, especially if you plan to become a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor (which I highly recommend).

http://quickbooks.intuit.com/product/training/certified_user_program.jhtml – If you have some experience with QuickBooks and want to be sure you have “enough” to gain some confidence, but can’t yet afford to join the ProAdvisor Program, this new program by Intuit is quite inexpensive for the training you will receive.

http://www.bookkeepingdirect.com/newuser/ – If you’re new to QuickBooks, you may want to attend this, the latest class I am presenting to the public. It is geared toward business owners who are doing their own books, but you will get a good functional knowledge of QuickBooks with this live, online class…but of course, I’m partial.

Bootstrap Marketing Resources:

If you are ready to start accepting clients, the first and most effective step you can take is to tell everyone you know. It doesn’t have to be a “hard sell.” Everyone hates that. Just mention with enthusiasm what’s been going on in your life – starting your freelance bookkeeping business. Then simply ask them to mention you to anyone they know who might need your services.

This very basic method usually results in almost instant business. You just can’t beat word-of-mouth marketing. Here are a few more suggestions for getting the word out quickly and inexpensively.

Social Networking Sites – I’m talking about FaceBook, LinkedIn, Squidoo and many other popular sites where people share profiles and connections. You can build a following on an informal level, and that will, over time, turn into clients. Always remember: People do business with people they know and like.

Social networking is the type of marketing you should be doing all the time, even before you’re ready to hang out your shingle officially. But when you are ready, try some or all of these methods to attract clients.

www.ezinearticles.com  - If you can write short 300-500 word articles about the benefits of hiring a bookkeeper, or other helpful, bookkeeping-related topics that will position you as the person in-the-know, you should publish them on this website. This site not only sends these articles to subscribers all over the web. It also makes your articles available for other online publications to pick up and publish. Publisher must include your author bio, which serves as your soft-sell ad. Done consistently, this is an extremely effective marketing method.

www.Ebay.com – Did you know you can now advertise your services on EBay? It’s true. I’m just starting to experiment with it myself, so I can’t yet comment on its effectiveness, but it is an inexpensive way to get exposure to a HUGE audience who are already looking to buy.

http://listings.local.yahoo.com/ – List your business for free in Yahoo’s version of the yellow pages. It is based on your local area, making it easy for clients to find you. This is quickly replacing the hard copy of the yellow pages.

www.craigslist.org – Another great local and free place to list your services. Make your ad targeted at exactly the type of clients you want to serve (not everyone who has a business) and you’ll get the best response.

Make a Plan And Stick To It!

Now you need to make a list of all the ACTIONS you are going to take over the next 30 days. Yes, I want you to write them down and put them on your calendar! Then after one month, assess what worked best, and schedule more of that onto your next month’s calendar.

This is a very simple, but consistent way to keep you moving with your business and really get it off the ground this year.

Do let us hear about your results and comments below. This blog is for all of us, and by sharing our ideas and experiences, we will all benefit.

To your success in 2008!

~Gabrielle

Tagged As: bookkeeper, bookkeeper marketing, bookkeeping business action plan, freelance bookkeeping, Quick Books, QuickBooks, Training, tutorial

“What Do You Do?”

That’s a question we all get asked at least occassionally. But how you choose to answer it can have a significant effect on your bottom line.

I’m very pleased to announce that that’s why I’ll be hosting a brand new teleseminar, “Effective Networking Made Easy” next week on January 8th with my special guest, Networking Expert Karen Frank.

I’m making this live training class available to you at no charge because I know that having a simple yet effective way to introduce yourself and master the art of networking will help you jump into 2008 with one of the most powerful marketing tools known to man – word of mouth.

To register for this special event, or to learn more about the class, go to: www.bookkeepingdirect.com/networking/

Tagged As: free teleseminar, introduction, Marketing, networking, word of mouth

QuickBooks Learning Tools…and a whole lot more!

Hey everyone! I know this is a busy time right now, but I wanted to pass along a quick link to a great resource, if you are already working with QuickBooks (and you should be) or you are looking to learn the program.

If you haven’t been to the QuickBooks Community web site yet, you’re in for a treat. There is a ton of useful information  and resources there. In particular, I thought you’d like to see the videos and tutorials they have available for free. You can find them at: http://www.quickbooksgroup.com/webx/qblibrary/Tutorials/?@437.oRxze3zxvbg@

That should keep you busy until my next post, which will wrap up our business planning for the new year. So keep your eyes open for that. Let’s all jump into 2008 at full tilt!

And just so you know, right now I’m busy putting together the finishing touches on a teleseminar I’ll be hosting on January 8th with a very special guest. I can’t give you the details just yet, but suffice it to say that this free class will teach you a highly effective way to find new clients quickly. Stay tuned because I’ll be publishing the full scoop in a day or so.

Ciao for now!

~Gabrielle

Tagged As: business plan, Quick Books, QuickBooks, teleseminar