One of the books I read early in my entrepreneurial journey was The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki. He talks about the importance of a business being founded upon an idea that ‘makes meaning’ in people’s lives.
That has always stuck with me, and ‘making meaning’ remains my goal and most fulfilling reward as an entrepreneur. My current venture, Complete Controller, was born from a client’s request for access to my level of accounting expertise for his concerns nationwide.
To solve his problem, we created a hosted accounting desktop long before the ‘cloud’ was a prolific and accepted business environment so he could access our work and interact with the books and records regardless of his location. We made meaning for him, and he brought us our first round of clients that fed our growth and development.
As I developed processes for performing the bookkeeping and reporting services remotely, I became enamored with the luxury of being paid for my work product rather than my hours. Meanwhile, I wasn’t diluting my effective hourly rate by commuting to serve my client base.
This made meaning in my life as I was finally positioned to be free to serve my clients without sacrificing my presence at home with my three beautiful little girls! As the word got around that we could provide bookkeeping services at a fraction of the price of traditional methods because we were working product-centric, and more and more businesses were asking for our service. After all, that savings made meaning to them. When their tax preparers reviewed the books and needed someone to talk with about transactional structure, financial management, and ongoing maintenance, our accounting teams were accessible and knowledgeable.
So, the experience was much more fulfilling than in prior years when they only had their clients to interact with about the bookkeeping and records. This really made meaning to them, and it made good sense to encourage their other clients to work with us as well. What do I love about being an entrepreneur? That through my business, I can make meaning in all of these people’s lives in a very real way.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.