The Freelance Bookkeeper

In the last post we talked about getting down in writing your “big picture” plan for 2008 for your freelance bookkeeping business. Whether you are just starting out, or even if you’ve been on your own for a while, making a plan each year is your first step toward getting the results you want in the least amount of time. It is an extremely valuable tool to help keep you focused and moving in the right direction all year long. That’s why I do it myself every year.

This week, let’s add a little more structure and detail to your plan and start moving it from a mere vision to a solid action plan that you can start putting into motion immediately.

If you’ve been following along, you should have some of your basic parameters written down already. These include your target income amount, the specific services (otherwise known as profit centers) that will generate your income, and your desired work schedule. These are what I call your milestone goals.

Now, let’s start creating a foundation on which to build your business and make it real over the next 12 months. Do that by defining the following:

1. In one or two sentences, describe your business overall, as if someone asked you, “What do you (or your business) do?”

Want an example? Here’s my brief business summary: “I provide QuickBooks training and consulting services via the Web to Internet savvy entrepreneurs and solo professionals. I also do seasonal income tax preparation on a contract basis.

2 Give a brief description of each of your profits centers, or specific services, such as monthly bookkeeping services, QuickBooks training / consulting, or payroll services. You should define what it is exactly you will be doing for your clients.

A word of caution here. YOU should define the work you want to do. Your clients will, of course, ask for other services that you may or may not want to provide on a case-by-case basis. But you have got to remember that YOU are the boss. So if you want a business that you love, you have to decide the work you want to perform. Do not let your clients call the shots. So DO NOT say that you will perform whatever services your clients want you to do. That’s a sure way to build a business that you will be enslaved to, and will not give you ultimate satisfaction or the income you desire.

Of course, you should listen to what your clients want. Because without demand, no one will want to pay you. My point is that you should choose the work you do, instead of being a victim of it.

3. Now it’s time to bring in some reality to your plan. Under each of your profit centers / services, you will also want to predict what your costs will be. If you don’t know, you may have to do a little research. But make your best guess based on what you do know what you will have to spend in order to provide the services you’ve defined for your clients.

This exercise will help you to know how much you need to charge and still turn a profit in your first year. It will also help you to see if your income milestone is within reasonable reach this year.

4. Lastly, you will want to predict how much of your income will come from each of your profit centers. Which will be the easiest to sell? Which will be your “flagship” service? Again, you may not know the answers to those questions, but you’ve got to start somewhere. So make your best guess. These plans are not written in stone and you can adjust them as you get more experience.

Your business plans are beginning to take shape, and I hope this is getting you excited about your business. To help you complete this part of your plan, I’m giving you a form you can use to start putting it all together.

Business Profile – Overview (Word Doc)

Next time we’ll add the finishing touches to your plan and turn it into an Action Plan so you can hit the road running as soon as the holidays are over.

In the meantime, here’s a little inpsiration to keep you focused on the road to success!