How One Libby™ Student Built a Successful Bookkeeping Business as a Stay at Home Mom

babs for bookkeepers libby podcast Mar 21, 2022

In today’s post, I’m recapping my conversation with LoriAnn, who is a virtual bookkeeper and the CFO of The Creative Entrepreneur. She also started working with me through taking the BOB (now Libby) program, and she shares a lot about how that has affected her business.

LoriAnn didn’t realize the potential impact of starting her bookkeeping business, and she doesn’t even remember how she stumbled upon my Instagram page. When reading my page and diving deeper into what I had to offer, she didn’t believe that what I was describing was realistic. But, alas, here she is- having brought what she dreamed about to life! Let’s learn more about her experience below.

Career Shifts During Times of Change

LoriAnn joined the program a year and five months ago and was about to have her second baby. She was pushing hard before her baby came, which I totally relate to. When I was pregnant with my third child, I also pushed towards a shift in my career. I think it’s because when you know that your life is going to change a lot, you want to push yourself to be able to be as present as you can – especially for your kids.

LoriAnn’s goal is to be mindful of the time she spends working because she really wants to be present for her kids. She totally gets that when you have kids, you start thinking way differently about how you spend your time. She recalled during our conversation that she was way more intentional when starting her bookkeeping business because she was getting ready to welcome a new baby.

The Value of Human Connection

In thinking about her business journey, LoriAnn shared that she realizes how much work it takes to start a business like hers as well as time. Furthermore, she notes that the biggest thing is the human connection and genuine connection in relationships you build along the way. That is key to growing your business and keeping your income consistent and sustainable.

LoriAnn is all about building her reputation the right way, and she’s learned that she had to get over herself in business and implement things the right way to really build her business the way she wants to. Taking action is of paramount importance. She gives it her all and because of that, she was able to pay off her initial investment in BOB (now LIBBY) in just two months!

But going back to those connections, having great relationships with her clients has helped her build her business in amazing ways, and on her website she’s been able to take people on a journey and show them her business and work, which really seals the deal. She even talked about how great Kajabi is – the CRM platform that I use and recommend to everyone (I even recently talked about it in a different post).

LoriAnn’s Reflections

LoriAnn loves having the freedom in her life to work only a few days a week, be present with her kids, and travel with her family when she wants to. That’s why she finds it so important to get ahead on work and be organized, allowing her to account not only for the unexpected parts of life that come up, but also to

She also loves that her husband is able to take time off from work without being the sole provider of their family. Now, they can go on vacation as a family, they were able to pay off their house, buy a new car, and buy new appliances. All of this is so gratifying and has completely changed their finances – for the better!

She’s also found it really rewarding to read her client testimonials. She recently received a lot of feedback and was able to see just how much she’s impacted her clients. She’s helped people that had no idea how to handle their money and were almost scared to touch it and has totally transformed that for them. She’s found that many clients aren’t sure where they stand in sales versus profits, but it’s been really rewarding to help lay that out for them in a way that they can understand. Talk about empowering!

This has allowed them to make a huge shift in their business, giving them more confidence that she is even able to see in their social media. It’s TRULY rewarding work, and I’m so glad that LoriAnn shared that with me.

Something that’s surprised LoriAnn about her business is just how easy it is to get another client. She’s lost a few clients, but she’s been able to replace them and sustain her income, which is something she’s really proud of.

LoriAnn’s Accounting Background

LoriAnn grew up around entrepreneurs – both of her parents own businesses! She has always had a nose for numbers and got hired at a CPA firm at the ripe age of 17. This taught her a lot, and she also realized that she didn’t want to be a CPA. She wanted to really help the business owners.

There, she was working with a lot of traditional businesses on their bookkeeping. It was pretty transactional and they were just looking to get their books in a place where their taxes could be submitted.

She then went to work for her parents, but then eventually wanted to do something different. She stumbled upon my program and the rest is history! Now, she’s happily running her own bookkeeping business.

What she does is really intentional, helping business owners see the bigger picture of their business and what’s really driving their income. She’s also getting specific on their expenses, which most CPA firms don’t do for businesses in that manner. This thoughtfulness is what’s different about my bookkeeping business as well as LoriAnn’s – you just don’t get that at a more traditional tax firm. I know that firsthand!

Just Do It: The Bottom Line

This isn’t a Nike commercial, but LoriAnn’s final advice to anyone is to “just do it” when it comes to Libby or Babs. These programs have been so helpful in allowing her to jumpstart her business. Just believe in yourself, show up to the programs and be present in order to get the most out of them and you’ll be setting yourself up for success.

Ready to take action? Apply for the program that's right for you:

If you're looking for more insight on how to become a bookkeeper, and how to say hello to a more confident business model, enroll in Become A Bookkeeper (BABs).

Or, if you’re confident in your skills as a bookkeeper and want to learn how to grow and scale your bookkeeping business, you can apply for Life By The Books™ (Libby).

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