Word of Mouth

When I first decided to start my own bookkeeping business, my biggest struggle was with finding clients. I prayerfully began this business as a supplement to my income as a part-time Plant Controller. I had been blessed with the opportunity and after shaking in my boots and putting off decisions for a while, I finally ran with it. I purchased a book and read up on the subject on the internet. I am highly uncomfortable with cold calls so I decided to send out letters. Out of the 50 or so letters I sent, I got one reply. And that one reply was the beginning. I worked with that client for a couple of years and was beginning to consider going back to work fulltime when a casual conversation between my client and another subcontractor (I mainly service the small general contractor and subcontracto business sector) led to that subcontractor becoming my next client. That client recommended my services to another soon-to-be client. In addition, my first client recommended me to yet another soon-to-be client. So after a couple of years of just one main client, in a matter of months, my business grew to 4 clients. All of this because of one client appreciating the quality of my bookkeeping services. So, I write all of this to tell you, don't give up. If you provide a quality product, and God has led you to this business, then you will prosper when the time is right. Do your job and do it well.

Definition of Bookkeeping

What exactly does a bookkeeper do? Well, first of all, we do not keep books (as in the ones you read) for other people. While that may seem silly to state, I once had two young women approach me and ask me what a bookkeeper was after they saw the sign on my car. When I explained, they smiled and one said, "Oh, that's not what I thought." Granted, I don't believe English was their first language, but even so, maybe it does need defining.



A bookkeeper basically takes care of all Accounting functions for a company except for the high level functions such as corporate taxes and final financial statements. There are three basic areas of bookkeeping: Accounts Payable (paying bills), Accounts Receivable (invoicing customers), and Payroll (paying employees). A bookkeeper may perform all three or any combination of these functions. For example, some companies have a bookkeeper that processes Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivables, and an outside company processes the Payroll.