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Hey, it’s Bill von Fumetti with booming bookkeeping business. And today I’m here with another one of my successful students. This is Stephanie.
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Thanks for coming on, Stephanie. Hi. So let’s start off by hearing a little bit about what life looked like before you started your bookkeeping business.
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20 years in hospitality. And then COVID hit. So I was actually in the middle of getting my associate’s degree in accounting because I wanted to pivot into finance in the corporate world.
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And then I got laid off. So here I am with this associate’s in accounting degree going, what am I going to do with this? And I reached out to a girlfriend who had been a bookkeeper before, but I didn’t really know what a bookkeeper was or what she really did. And she was like, yeah, I used to do this, this, and this.
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And I was like, yeah, that’s something I could do. But where do I like, I don’t know how to learn it. Like, how do I run a business? And that’s how I ran across your program.
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So when I was doing my research on which programs to buy, because there’s a few out there, yours was the most attractive because of how simple the program is. And you had the marketing aspect and the pricing and how to start a business and where do you go from here? And, you know, that was really the main part of it for me. Before COVID hit, I mean, in hospitality, what was that like? Can you speak to the burnout? Can you speak to long hours? Can you speak to what that was like back when you had it? All of it.
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I mean, I spent years waitressing, bartending, management. Like I worked my way up. I was a director of a private country club when I got laid off.
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And, you know, I was doing 10, 12 hours a day, evenings, weekends, holidays, you name it, Christmas, Thanksgiving, all of it, you know, and I was single. And even then I was like, I don’t, I’m going to stay single if I keep working like this, you know, because you don’t have time for anything else. And then on top of that, in order to be good at your craft, no matter what it is, you have to research it, be part of it.
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So bookkeeping specifically because it, I mean, you were kind of going back to do some accounting. It was something that you had some exposure to before. A lot of people watching this are brand new to bookkeeping.
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No accounting, no classes, you know, and I’m from the, I’m from the perspective of you can learn this. You’ve got to put in the work, but you can learn this. What would you say if you were talking to me and I told you like, I’m willing to do the hard work, but I don’t know if I can learn this.
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Anybody can learn it. The way that, especially with the way that the program is built, you know, you create the visuals there too. I mean, I have an associate, I just have an associate’s degree in accounting from the local community college.
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Like that was literally where I started. And that degree didn’t do anything for my bookkeeping career. Like it didn’t teach me anything that your program didn’t teach me because an accounting degree isn’t the same thing as bookkeeping.
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Accounting stuff, they taught me like, you know, if I were to run an inventory warehouse, this is how you would do first in, first out, last in, you know, it’s totally different. It’s very much a different process. Typically when people get started, especially people who might be watching this and they’re brand new and they’re like, am I going to be able to get clients if I’m brand new? What was that fear like for you? And then now looking back, what was the reality of whether or not that fear was founded? It’s not as scary as you think it is, because these business owners know even less than you do about bookkeeping.
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So you sound like an expert already, just in terminology alone, you know? So that’s, that’s the big, I think that was the big like morality booster for me. The big, you know, courage boost is, I would kind of like talk the talk because of what I learned in the program and people will go, okay, yeah, that sounds good. I’ll sign up with you.
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I’m like, oh, okay, I’ll be right done. They get your contact and send out an engagement letter. So, you know, people are really willing, you know, when they need help, they need help and they’ll, they’re more willing to sign up.
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So what you’re saying though is anybody can get clients, even if you’re new. They come from everywhere. They come from every walk, any, every direction you turn.
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There’s clients. There’s clients on LinkedIn. There’s clients on Facebook.
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There’s clients on Google, Yelp, CPA’s office, the guy walking down the street, the person that owns a restaurant that you buy sandwiches from. There is a need for a bookkeeper everywhere. And I have gotten them from every corner of the earth, I swear.
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Like they just come from everywhere. So, you know, that whole, how do I, how do I find them? They’ll find you. That will happen.
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So let’s talk a little bit about, because I know you’ve, you know, you’ve had a little bit of success and I shouldn’t say a little bit. You’ve had some success. Let’s talk a little bit about that.
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What does, you know, you started from zero and what do things look like now in terms of revenue, in terms of clients? I will say that my revenues are, I gross over a hundred thousand dollars a year now, which after two years is incredible. And that’s two years because I took my time. I actually worked for a bookkeeping firm for the first six months while I built up, you know, my clientele.
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And then, so if I, I mean, so really a year and a half is what it took for me to get to this point. I never imagined that I would be working 20 hours a week, making over a hundred thousand dollars a year. How does that make you feel? Successful, happy.
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I shout from the mountaintops. Anybody who’s struggling to find a work from home job or isn’t sure what to do with their life or who says, I want to start a business, but I don’t know what I want to do, bookkeeping. It’s, you can work from anywhere.
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There’s no overhead. You don’t have to have a college degree. You don’t have to wear a suit.
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You don’t have to wear makeup to work every day. You don’t have to wear shoes that hurt your feet. It’s the best, it’s the best career.
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It really is. What does your husband think about this? He started his own business because I had so much success at mine. It really inspired him to do his own thing.
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What would you say to somebody who’s considering starting a bookkeeping business? I would say, don’t be afraid to invest in yourself. You are your most valuable asset. Start today.
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How long did it take you to get your first client once you started doing some of the, and not necessarily talking about the program, but once you started implementing some marketing, how long did it take you to get that first client, that second client? How did that progress for you? I probably got my first client within 30 days of actually going out. And then I had three clients within 90 days and then my fourth client was the one that was the tiebreaker for me, for me to be able to quit my job. Well, I don’t think there’s anything left to be said, except congratulations.
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Thank you. I mean, that is incredible. And I appreciate you just, you know, coming on and sharing your story because it’s extremely inspiring.
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You should be very proud of that. And, you know, not just what you’ve accomplished, but the inspiration that you provide, you know, to other people who want to follow in your footsteps. Yeah.
I mean, I’ll shout about your program all day long. You know, it’s still the best out there as far as I’m concerned. I appreciate that.
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It means a lot to me. And thanks for taking some time to talk to me today. My pleasure.
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It was a pleasure meeting you, Bill. Nice to see you. Nice to go face-to-face.
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We’ll talk to you soon. Okay. Bye.
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Are you burned out from long hours, missed holidays, and a job with no future? Stephanie was, after 20 years in hospitality, until she got laid off. Now, she makes over $100,000 a year working just 20 hours a week from home! Her success even inspired her husband to start his own business. If you’re ready to invest in yourself and build a life of freedom and financial security, visit our website to learn how you can start your own Booming Bookkeeping Business.