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Hey there, I’m Bill Von Fumetti with Booming Bookkeeping Business, and I’m here with another one of my successful students. This is Jim Wittenberg. And Jim, we were just talking a little bit, and he is approaching that $200,000 a year mark in terms of bookkeeping revenue.
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So that’s really exciting. So who better to come talk about their journey from starting out to being successful than Jim. Thanks for being here, Jim.
Sure, thanks for having me, Bill. Tell me, tell us a little bit about where you were before you got into the bookkeeping world. Okay, I was a CFO for a small 10 million-ish revenue real estate development company that did rehabs, remodels, and also owned some apartment buildings.
So I was the owner’s right hand doing that. And then COVID hit, and I started working from home. I liked being at home.
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My wife liked me being at home, so I quit. I retired from that, and then decided I wasn’t ready to be retired. And so I just said, all right, let me start.
You know, I know how to do accounting and bookkeeping. But I really didn’t know how to start. Like, what do I do to get clients? So that’s where you came along.
What were some of your biggest concerns when it came to getting started? I really had no idea how to find clients, where to go. No clue. So really, I didn’t know what I should be doing to find clients.
I can post on Facebook, you know, all day, every day, but that’s not good enough with the friends that I have. And I’m not going to, I didn’t want to pay for any advertising. So I just was like, I don’t know.
Don’t know how to find clients. Was there ever a feeling of, I’m not sure I’m going to be able to get clients? Yeah. I got really super lucky because I did post one off on Facebook that said, all right, I’m coming out of retirement, and I’m doing this.
And QuickBooks expert and a friend of mine I’ve known for, I don’t know, 15 years said, I need your help. He runs a roofing company. So he was my first client.
And then he introduced me to a networking group that I’ve been going to since November. And that alone has brought in $10,000 in annual billings. That was one thing that was very lucky.
But after that, it was like, all right, so now what? How did you find my program? I honestly don’t remember. If you’re on Facebook, if you’re advertising on Facebook, that’s most likely where I saw you. I’m like, all right, I’m going to check this guy out.
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And I just looked through it. I’m like, well, I know accounting. I don’t have that struggle.
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So I’ve got that up on a lot of people that are just starting fresh without the bookkeeping or CPA behind their name. I felt like it gave me the idea about, all right, so how do I structure my presence online? And that was the starting point. So you started the program basically with zero revenue.
You’re just getting started. And then you’re currently where in terms of bookkeeping revenue? Bookkeeping revenue, well, total revenue is $200,000. Bookkeeping of that is about $150,000.
Let’s just say $150,000 of it. Now it’s more like $190,000 because it’s only $10,000 in tax returns. What kind of a goal did you set for yourself when you were starting out? I just replaced my income from my job I retired from, which was much lower than that.
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Um, and I don’t have to commute. So, um, yeah, it was, uh, and then, you know, you have the thing in the initial target, $100,000. Just let me get to a hundred.
That’s a good number. My wife was also working and she, she’s been the primary breadwinner for the longest time because, you know, I was working for such a small company that the salary wasn’t huge. So it was easy to replace that salary really fast.
And then $100,000, I’m like, all right. So now I’m like, all right, what else can I do? So I wasn’t, I guess throughout the year, I was targeting $200,000 in total revenue. And then 2024, I’m targeting $200,000 in just bookkeeping, monthly work, not counting cleanup fees, not counting tax returns, just the monthly billing.
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So it’s a pretty straightforward process. I mean, you make it sound fairly straightforward. Is the process that straightforward? Key that I think, and I guess I would call it sales, but, um, it’s just get them to start talking.
Like, why are we here today? Why are we talking? And people like to talk about themselves and their business. And 15 minutes later, I can start talking. So I listen, I take notes.
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I understand what their problems are, what their pain points are. And then I hit those pain points as we talk about what and how I can help them. Um, so approximately how long did it take you from when you started the program to where you hit about that a hundred K mark? It took about nine months.
The first three months were really slow. And the next six months just started snowballing. Your wife has got to be proud, thankful.
I mean, she’s, I would, how do you feel? What would you say she thinks of you or feels about this bookkeeping thing that you did? Oh, she’s, she always, uh, calls me her hero almost every day. You’re my hero. You’re doing such a great job.
You’re my Superman. And so, yeah, I, I tell her about the clients that I added whenever I had them. Um, and, uh, just, you know, she’s super happy with the, with the success.
And she’s not even just, uh, yesterday. She’s like, do you need help with keeping track of your calendar and your emails? And I guess that’s one of the worst things about it. Like I need to make sure I see my emails.
So I don’t miss a client saying this is urgent. Why have you not answered me? I can’t miss an email. So yeah, she’s like, I can do that.
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I’d love to hear your thoughts and what you would say to someone who’s thinking of starting a bookkeeping business? What would you say to them? Well, I would say, um, learn as much as you can about, um, what bookkeeping is, what it entails. Um, if you haven’t, if you weren’t, weren’t an accountant like me before, um, you need some understanding of basic bookkeeping. So get that while you’re looking at your program.
Um, you know, knowing how to use QuickBooks is key because I have years of experience with QuickBooks. That was also helpful. But if you’re just coming fresh from nothing and you just want something to do, um, to make some money, educate yourself as much as possible.
Don’t, don’t be afraid. If you know what you’re doing, um, you’re, you know, you’re ahead of most people. Um, you’re going to be talking to people that are trying to do it themselves, or they have, um, a family member doing it and they’re not trained to do it.
You are, you have the knowledge. So just learn how to find people, how to help people find you. That’s the better way to put it.
Very cool. Very cool. That is very helpful.
Jim, congratulations on all your success and, you know, you deserve it. You’ve been putting in the work and, you know, I’d love to see it happen. And, uh, I appreciate you taking the time out to talk to us today.
Sure, Bill. Thanks for having me.
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Are you a finance professional who’s retired but not ready to stop earning? Jim, a former CFO, left his job to work from home and built a business that’s now approaching $200,000 a year in revenue. His wife calls him her hero! If you’re ready to leverage your experience into a highly successful business and become your own hero, visit our website to learn how you can start your Booming Bookkeeping Business today.