As your accounting business grows, you’ll be looking for people to add to your team. The best way to do that is to actually create a network of other bookkeepers.
There’s some resistance and even a scarcity mentality that goes on in our industry that there’s not enough business for everyone. But there absolutely is. Just look at how many small businesses there are out there!
Knowing other people in your industry creates a sense of camaraderie. It lets you know that there are other people going through what you’re going through. You don’t feel so isolated, which is really important for those who work from home and are solo-providers.
Here are a few ways to find colleagues so you can create your own network of bookkeepers:
• Check out local industry meetings.
• Intuit has an online community available.
• Look in the phone book for colleagues. Call them and say, “I’m a local bookkeeper too. Do you want to get together and have coffee?”
• Ask the CPAs that you work with – they’re not only working with you, they have other bookkeepers in their pocket. Say, “Do you have other bookkeepers you work with? I’m looking for a colleague to collaborate with…”
• Find LinkedIn groups. Social networking is a great way to create relationships with colleagues.
• Attend networking events and look for other bookkeepers that are there.
In my own business, I eventually quit offering historical write-ups and needed to refer them out. To find someone, I made myself known to other bookkeepers. I said, “I have this potential. We don’t do this work. I’d like to be able to refer it out.” And I found someone who I was happy to refer.
Another place to find like-minded colleagues who are interested in business building is The Bookkeeper’s Club – check it out.
