Before My Bookkeeping Business: The Profits & Prosecco Story

The Before

Once upon a time, I was a very rigid rule follower. Rather than thinking outside the box, I committed to what society told me that I should do to be successful: I was a straight-A student, I went straight to college, I studied accounting because I was good at math (and it was a safe bet as far as employment went), and then I pursued a master's degree while I worked my nine-to-five.

I finished up that master's degree in tax, got my CPA license (I passed all four parts on the first try within nine months, which is quite a feat), worked at a CPA firm for a couple of tax seasons, then ended up back at my previous corporate job as a 29-year-old tax manager for a multi-billion dollar company.

I was super proud of everything I had accomplished. I had finally made it…and to be honest, I was pretty happy.

The only thing that I didn't love about my job was my commute. I drove about an hour each way in rush-hour traffic, which was a little stressful—but at the time, I didn't have kids. So there wasn’t much reason to be concerned about that kind of commute.

Within a year of landing that job, I (intentionally) became pregnant with my first child. That was the final piece of my dream life puzzle…and that was also the first time I really started to think about how I was going to manage motherhood and corporate for my whole life.

Achieving and earning was something that mattered to me. I’d always wanted to be a mom (specifically of three kids, and specifically very close in age, because that's how I grew up). I didn’t want to sacrifice either.

So there I was, in that moment of culmination for everything I’d been working for…and I was realizing that the two things I wanted to do ran perpendicular to each other, not parallel.

I couldn't figure out what life was going to look like when my baby came. But for the first half of my pregnancy, I tried to shush and ignore that voice. I didn’t want to hear it.

Instead, I looked around at others in my nine-to-five office and sought out all the moms who were doing both. I didn’t know how it would be possible for me, but they were doing it, so it must be doable…right? I’d figure it out when I got there.

But God had other plans.

The Shift

At twenty weeks pregnant with my first child, I was driving that terrible commute to work…and I got in a car accident.

I was okay, but I was sobbing on the side of the road, which is not something that I do.

I was rattled to my core. And in that moment, the little voice I’d been ignoring began to scream.

I realized that my drive was dangerous—and I realized that I was going to have to decide whether to leave my baby at daycare near home (in which case I’d be an hour away if something went wrong), or to take him with me on this dangerous drive.

A little hysterical (understandably so), I called my boss, who told me to take that day and the next off. It was a Thursday when I got in the accident, so I had the weekend to think.

I still remember it like it was yesterday. He just told me, “Take tomorrow off. Breathe. Everything's going to be okay. Go get yourself checked if you want to make sure the baby's okay, then come back on Monday.”

But even he didn't know what the next day was going to hold.

Unbeknownst to me, our multi-billion dollar international company was gearing up for a sale at that time. And on the Friday that I missed, they announced that there would be a voluntary separation agreement where I could choose to quit my corporate job and get paid to do so.

Now, I am not one to take big risks like this…and it did seem risky. Being pregnant, I knew I would be leaving my job and not replacing it right away, which would not look good on a resume. I would be jeopardizing my entire career to take that offer…but I also knew that it must be a sign.

So I took the leap. For the first time, I didn’t do what society might have said to do—I just made the choice that felt right intuitively.

After much deliberation, I decided to take that package.

The Beginning of the After

Even though the car accident was in September, the powers that be at corporate (who operated out of another state) gave me my last day, which was exactly a month before my son was born. And while I was holding my newborn on my chest in the hospital, the news showed that my company had announced a sale.

I remember thinking that had I not taken the deal, I would have been very scared about the future of my job…not exactly ideal on top of trying to figure out new motherhood.  The leap was a risk, and it absolutely paid off.

Ultimately, I tell this story to let you know that if you are scared to take the leap, I get it. I never would've done it on my own…especially because I didn’t know what was possible then. I had to be forced out with a parachute, and even then it felt terrifying…but it was a necessary precursor to finding my way to this.

But that didn’t happen immediately. I didn’t leap right out and start my bookkeeping business the next day…first, I had to get through the gauntlet of new motherhood, as well as figuring out how to work with a newborn that stuck to me like Velcro.

How did I do it? Hop over to Episode 219 of Profits & Prosecco to hear the whole story…especially if you’re a mom, new or experienced, wondering how you could possibly find the time and the energy to run your own bookkeeping business.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Sick of imposter syndrome keeping you stuck? Join the new + improved BECOME A BOOKKEEPER now: https://www.katieferro.com/become 

Want a peek behind the curtain into LIBBY, my program all about what it really takes to have a simple and scalable (and successful) bookkeeping business? Get access to my free, on-demand four-part series, 6 Secrets to a Simple, Scalable Bookkeeping Business: www.katieferro.com/6-secrets

Learn how to take your bookkeeping skills and turn them into a business that allows you to replace (or surpass) your corporate salary, be present for your life, and profoundly impact your clients without selling your life in the process by joining Life by the Books (LIBBY).  

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