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Start up: Taking the first step

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19th Aug 2016
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Budding start up practitioners regularly turn to Any Answers for advice and moral support as they deliberate branching out on their own. AccountingWEB caught up with someone who posted about their start up practice leap to discover how they’ve fared.

The accountants looking for advice on Any Answers have reached a crossroad in their career. They’ve outgrown the sanctuary of their current work situation and now harbour dreams of starting their own practice, relishing the flexibility and autonomy that being their own boss brings.

However, the most difficult step to take is the first. AccountingWEB member Glennzy's only regret was that he “didn’t go it alone earlier”, after rebuffing an opportunity to take on the practice he was working at in his early 30s. “I bottled it and took a safe job elsewhere which I didn't like and regretted it ever since,” he said.

I’ve always known that I didn’t want to work for someone else for the rest of my life

AccountingWEB member Emma May came on Any Answers a couple of months ago to persuade a member to take the leap. Although the first two years were a “massive learning curve”, she has enjoyed the freedom and flexibility: “I always wanted to run my own business, so I’ve always known that I didn’t want to work for someone else for the rest of my life,” May told AccountingWEB.   

Work part time

Reflecting on her journey, she recommends other accountants take a flexible approach to launching their practice. The start up practitioner eased herself in by working part-time, dropping to four days a week as the finance manager for John Lewis. A few months later she cut her hours down to two days.

The start up practice’s soft launch enabled May and her business partner the time to strategise. “When we were starting out, we would just meet once a week to discuss ideas and how we were going to set up,” she said. In these meetings, she and her partner would figure out what sort of clients they wanted to focus on, how they were going to build their client base and what software they should be using. 

Partner with someone

To avoid stilted progress she suggests other accountants join up with a business partner to “bounce ideas off each other”. May started her career with Deloitte, working five years in audit before moving into industry, so her partnership with a small practice accountant helped bolster their combined knowledge, as well as offer moral support. “If I was on my own I wouldn’t have made much progress,” she said.   

Hitting this stagnation wall is a common fear held by accountants. The Accountants Coach Carol McLachlan encourages accountants who are stricken by this feeling to be their own client. 

Ask yourself, what would you say to a client who was in a similar situation?

“Ask yourself, what would you say to a client who was in a similar situation? You'd be advising them to do their due diligence, draw up a business plan and make sure that they were fully cognizant of all the risks, pitfalls and of course, upside,” she advises.  

Getting your first client

It was through strategic planning that May and her partner formulated how they were going to get their first client. “A lot of our initial clients were through friends of friends, word of mouth... but we used some of the social networks we were a part of to get business,” she said.

Fortunately there’s a lot of local business that needs to be won in her area, but that hasn’t stopped her from monitoring local networks on Facebook and other social media outlets as a low cost marketing alternative. Through this, she has tried to drive new business through encouraging happy customers to post reviews to spread online word of mouth.

She’s cushioned the first year expenses by taking a low cost approach to marketing. “We created our website ourselves when we started out and decided to pay for something better once we got bigger,” May said.

But it was through dealing with clients that she overcame some unexpected challenges, namely “getting clients to work in a way that you want them to work”. And while May said that starting out they felt like taking business from wherever, this approach bred another issue: “We had a real mix of clients to begin with, from those already working from cloud book keeping packages to those working from spreadsheets,” she admitted.

However, this initial disjointed approach caused May and her partner to take action on their early inefficiencies and re-evaluate their strategy, to now offering a basic or advanced software solution for clients.

Dreams for the future

Looking back over her experience, May overwhelmingly believes the risk was worth the reward. Last June she left her John Lewis position to work two days with a start-up. This gives her more time to grow the business and to achieve her overall dream of going full time with her business in the not too distant future.

My biggest achievement is the feeling of pride, knowing that I’ve done it

She must be doing something right; so far she has not lost a client and has transferred most clients to monthly fixed fees payment. However, it’s still that first step that she often reflects on. “My biggest achievement is the feeling of pride, knowing that I’ve done it.”

To those inspired by May’s story but still lack the confidence to take the plunge, McLachlan advises: “Starting the intrepid journey into the unknown will be a lot less fearsome if you've faced the 'what do I stand to lose' questions, stared worst possible scenario right in the face, and are confident that you've made the decision by properly weighing up the risks and rewards.”

How was your first year starting out on your own? What did you learn that you didn’t anticipate when you took your first steps into starting your own practice?

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