How to Create a Profitable Business and Change Your Life

Welcome to the very first episode of Profits + Prosecco Podcast! In episode 1, I am going to be diving into the exciting plans I have ahead for this podcast. I want to share a bit more with you all on my intentions behind starting this podcast as well as the content I plan to be sharing. I have to admit, creating this podcast has been on my mind for YEARS. I am so excited to have finally taken the plunge! 

But before we dive right in, welcome to the Profits + Prosecco Podcast! I’m your host, Katie Ferro, CPA, reformed rule follower, creator of Booked Out Bookkeeper, mom to 3 little ones, and Kajabi enthusiast.

This podcast is for entrepreneurs who desire to change their life through their profitable business, and for bookkeepers and accountants who want to escape the 9-5 and start a simple scalable bookkeeping business like I did. 

Bookkeeping increases profits and profits change lives. So pop some bubbles and let me show you how! 

In this episode, we are talking all about what you can expect from Profits + Prosecco Podcast and a bit more of the behind-the-scenes journey in creating it. And for even more juicy details, listen to ALL of episode 1 of the Profits + Prosecco Podcast on your fave streaming platform.

What you can expect from Profits + Prosecco Podcast. 

I plan to center the content in this podcast around life-changing profits as well as celebrating the impact the profits can make in our lives. There is a massive ripple effect that happens when you stop thinking about your business and start putting it out into the world. The biggest shift that happens is when it becomes profitable enough to make changes in your life that affect everyone in your wake. This podcast will be heavy on storytelling, real-life examples, and lots of inspiration from both my bookkeeping clients and coaches I've hired along the way. I can’t wait to dive more behind-the-scenes of these stories so that you too can be inspired just like I was. 

Who is this podcast exactly for? This is for bookkeepers, accountants, and really anyone who has a business idea. This will resonate especially with bookkeepers and accountants since that is my background. However, the business I focus on the most is a new solopreneurs online business, so you will be able to take inspiration from the stories on this podcast and see all the endless possibilities. What I’ve learned is that the biggest shifts in business don’t happen by strategy. Instead, it’s a series of decisions and actions. It’s also all about trusting your gut even when it doesn't make sense. None of that can happen without a business that profits at the end of the day. 

More about myself and how I transitioned from the corporate world into an online business.

So, who am I? If we haven’t already met, I’m Katie Ferro. I’m a mom of 3 little ones. They are currently 4 and under. My baby just turned 1 last week! I’m also a CPA and owner of a virtual bookkeeping business. I built this business while being a stay at home mom. For the past year, I’ve also been coaching accountants on how to quit or skip the 9-5 to build freedom in their lives through my signature coaching program, Booked Out Bookkeeper. Here’s a bit more on my story as far as how I got out of corporate and started this online business. I went to college and studied accounting, I always liked answers and being able to fact check. While in college, I worked full-time at Ale House in Orlando, working until 2-3 am. I’d be doing that while going to school during the day. I graduated when I was 22 years old and landed a corporate job in 2008. This was an interesting time as the recession was hitting us, so there was a sense of instability. Luckily, I always remained employed at this time. 

I did always love the work, and I was lucky enough to work with great people. There was something that always felt off or wrong though. After about 7 years of corporate, I never adapted. I hated the entire early mornings, waking up to the alarm, commuting to work and back. I would spend about an hour each day in rush hour traffic. Regardless, I continued to work my way up the ladder, I got my Master’s degree at night while working corporate. When that was done, I took the CPA exam. As I took this, I knew I needed tax experience but I didn’t have that from my corporate job. My goal was to work from home, so I left the corporate job and went to a CPA firm for a little over a year to gain experience. Funny enough, my old corporate job called me back and offered a great opportunity to return as a manager. At this point I'm 29 years old, I have my degree in accounting, a Master’s in accounting, and my CPA is finished. I’m a sales tax manager of a multibillion-dollar corporation. I felt like I had made it in a sense. I was happy with the position, the salary, and all the benefits. 

The wake-up call that I couldn’t continue to work my corporate job.

After a year of that new management role, I became pregnant. I remember asking myself how I would spend 12 hours a day between waking up, going to work, while raising a baby. Finally, I had a wake-up call. At about 20 weeks pregnant, I was driving to work and ended up in a four-car accident on the highway. Fortunately, I was not injured. However, I was extremely startled and taken back by the whole thing. This event put things into perspective for me. Interestingly enough, the next day, I didn’t go to work. My company was offering a voluntary separation incentive program at this time. Anyone who had been with the company 5 years or more could choose to leave with a generous bonus and 12-week severance. I took this opportunity, and within a month of leaving as I gave birth to my child, I saw on the news that they were selling the company. It’s strange how it all fell into place but I was so relieved I didn’t have to worry about losing my job. 

Once my son was about 10 months old, I found out I was pregnant with my daughter. At this time, it was the end of 2016. Coming into the next year I had to start thinking about plans. All the stars seemed to line up because I left my corporate job, the CPA firm I once worked with started calling me with clients that were not a good fit for them, but they thought of me. Sometimes you have to leave something for an opportunity to arise. I started accepting clients who came to me through connections in the past. I got one big client and 3-4 small clients. For a year or so, I continued to say yes to things that presented to me. I knew I wanted to be a stay at home mom, I wanted to still make the most of my skills and opportunities. Just not at the cost of sending my child to daycare. I wanted to find a way to continue contributing to my family and make sure I never went back to corporate.

How my online business took off and grew.

This realization that I wanted to continue being self-sufficient while being a stay at home mom was the beginning of the online business. I first thought I’d sell webinars, but by looking up webinar software, I found Facebook Ads targeting me for free webinars. I went through my first funnel as a consumer and bought my first online course. I realized I could use online courses as a way to educate entrepreneurs. This whole process was far from linear or easy though. I spent about 6 months building up my course. While doing that, I had to make sure I was mindful of my time, so I started hiring bookkeepers so I could still serve my clients without having to put in my hours. Without noticing it, I began scaling my agency. One day I looked at how much I invested in courses vs how much I made. I was at about a five-figure loss to be transparent. On my bookkeeping side, I realized I was making money without hardly working anymore. Luckily this was paying for the loss I had with the online courses. This was when I realized I needed to grow and focus on the bookkeeping business. In early 2019, I made this decision and went all in.

Once I grew the agency, I began to get leads faster than I could keep up. This was when I started the Facebook group, Bookkeepers’ Corner. This was mostly to connect leads. I believe in abundance and that if someone else needs a client, I can match the two and continue serving my purpose which is to help people. In December 2019 I knew that coaching bookkeepers were what I needed to do next. I launched Booked Out Bookkeeper and for all of 2020 that has been my biggest focus. Through my business and being able to connect with all of these amazing people, I’ve been able to show up for myself while getting a new sense of confidence. Now I’m able to serve my clients at a high level and serve my free audience which was the mission on my heart when I started educating entrepreneurs online. 

How to Create a Profitable Business and Change Your Life: The Bottomline

This podcast is such an honor to be able to bring it to the world. Whether you join anything paid of mine, I will be pouring deeply into this podcast of what’s worked for me, my clients, and coaches. This way you can take it and apply it for yourself, start changing your story and your outcomes. I am so excited to share more stories and encourage you on your journey. 

Don’t forget to tune into episode 1 of the Profits + Prosecco Podcast. Thank you so much for listening to Profits + Prosecco podcast. I know this episode has helped you see how profitable businesses change lives. If you enjoyed the episode, please take a second to rate and review. Each review helps us reach and inspire more entrepreneurs and bookkeepers just like you. 

Don’t forget to take a screenshot, share it in your Instagram stories, and tag me at @orderlyaccountingbykatie. Cheers to your inevitable success and I’ll see you in the next episode! 

Connect with Katie Ferro

Join my Facebook Group, The Profit Pursuit Community, which is ridden with tips and trainings to help you know your numbers, increase profits, and avoid mistakes when it comes to the numbers side of your biz.

Be sure to sign up for free monthly bookkeeping & tax reminders sent straight to your inbox to be sure you stay on track and never miss a deadline.