The Entrepreneurial Struggle: Left In The Dark

I'm taking aim. This is a struggle I've seen, over and over.

And frankly, I'm tired of it.

We, as entrepreneurs, have been conditioned, by an industry that has operated on the premise of keeping financial 'know-how' confined to their offices, that the only way to have good record keeping is to pay them, or go it alone blindly.

The accounting industry has held us back.

Here's the deal... 

Entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, small business owners, ALL should consider financial recordkeeping a crucial piece of their business....from the beginning.

And we don't.

Sometimes because we don't know where to start. That's fair. No one is bucking to show you, really.

Mostly it's because we have been led to believe we either have to be SUPER smart with numbers to understand, or it's not important until tax time.

Both, of which, are stupid wrong. 

"You have to be SUPER smart with numbers to understand your own business."

No you don't. You just have to be willing to learn as you grow....which is usually not a hot topic. And most accounting firms do not take the time to educate you after your taxes are done. Nor do they have a viable solution available to get you from being a shoebox entrepreneur to a savvy business owner.

That's the gap you can close yourself. These are numbers you are in control of.

How is it can you operate a business, no matter what stage it's at, but you can't handle the number tracking?

I'm pretty sure there isn't a specific manual to running a business. But you're doing it.

"Business numbers are only needed to complete a tax return each year."

That's one of the biggest lines of crap out there. And truly the biggest misconception we have been encouraged to believe.

To be fair, the numbers are needed to complete a tax return each year. But that's not all.

"I'll have to hire someone to do it for me."

Yep...you guessed it...that's wrong too. And here is where the accounting profession has let us down.

As a small business, or entrepreneur just starting out, we either don't think we can afford to have any bookkeeping done for us (by an accounting firm) because it's costly. 

True. Not for the reason you're thinking though. This is an expense that should be incurred, just like marketing, or supplies, or any other expense. You REALLY should not consider this an option. 

But let's go back to the thought that you have to hire someone to do it for you.

Why do you think that? Because the accounting world said it's too hard for you, me, us?

It's not. 

You have to reframe that thought. There are options that do most of the dirty work for you. 

And there are a boatload of accounting firms that are charging you hundreds of dollars to do the exact same thing you could be doing for yourself.

You do the recordkeeping, let the accounting firm do the taxes.

Maybe you want to spend hundreds of dollars not to do it yourself.

That's cool. Just don't pay them hundreds to do it for you just because you don't think you can do it yourself. Lean into the learning curve while you grow. 

It's worth it.

All is not lost...

Look..it IS important to get your taxes done. You DO need someone to file those for you. But honestly ask yourself this question; Do I know what my business financial picture TRULY looks like each month outside of my annual tax return?

If you cannot answer that question, do something about that now. Don't go blindly running your business...or you may just find you don't have a business to run one day.

Take back ownership of your own future by being in control of our financial picture while continuing to create something this world needs.

Own your business.

All of it.