Make a Living as a Small Business Accountant: A True Life Story
At Universal we’re constantly looking for ways to expose you to more areas of our website. We’re especially pleased with our countless testimonials about the Professional Bookkeeping Program; they act as proof that you too can start your own successful business as a freelance accountant for small businesses.
Jon Schofield has an especially interesting story. After working for years as a professional accountant for big companies and ultimately as a controller for a large corporation, he desired a change. More specially, he wanted to own and operate his own business.
Regardless of his 16 years of experience as a professional accountant, Jon realized that he didn’t have the training or knowledge to serve the small business sector, and in order for his new business venture to work, he needed to be well-versed in small business accounting. That’s when Universal Accounting Center’s Professional Bookkeeper Program became very appealing. Far from a get-rich-quick scheme, the principles taught in the course gave him a step-by-step process for building a profitable business. It took some work to get there, but Jon now reaps the rewards of what he describes as “the best decision I made in my career,” starting a business with the Professional Bookkeeper system.
Allen Bostrom, President and CEO of Universal Accounting Center, sat down and asked Jon a few questions. Here’s some insight into Jon’s success.
“Why did you take the Professional Bookkeeper Course?”
There were a number of things that Jon had become unfamiliar with in the course of his corporate career, and a number of small business accounting tasks that he didn’t even know how to do. “Even though I had had a lot of experience it was not necessarily the type of experience I needed to be a small business accountant.”
“What were your goals?”
“I approached it with the idea that it was certainly a good second job, and if things worked well I could make it go as a full-time career. I wanted to make it work, but in my mind I wasn’t sure if I could make it work.”
How Jon stays busy
- Managing accounting for clients
- Consulting
- Providing personal financial advice
- Preparing taxes
“How has your life changed for the better since starting your own accounting practice?”
Jon enjoys the flexible work schedule that comes with owning your own business. He also appreciates determining the work he will and will not do. He says, “I now have enough work to pay my bills so that I can be more selective and . . . take higher paying jobs.” Jon currently makes $45 to 50 dollars per hour.
“Where do you want to go from here?”
Jon admits, “I don’t want to be doing this when I’m 60 or 70.” But he does want to have a successful business that he can pay someone else to manage while he continues to enjoy the benefits of business ownership.
Advice Jon Offers for Others Who Want to Start Their Own Accounting Practice
Jon says you need to be self-disciplined. “To be successful you need to approach it as if you are working for someone else. . . . Don’t let yourself be distracted by other things . . . Treat it like a business. If you treat it like a hobby it will end up being like a hobby.”
Jon’s all about continuing one’s education. He says, “It’s an on-going learning experience. Regardless of what I already know, I need to keep learning.” He counsels others like him to recognize that while the information they learn in the PB course is invaluable, they need to continue to learn and grown once they graduate. That will improve their services and make them a much sought-after accountant.
He wants people to know that in the beginning you will be required to put in a lot of hours, but after time that hard work pays off. “There’s satisfaction at the end of the night that I’ve done this by myself. . . . And I’ve been able to help people . . . in many instances . . . save their businesses. . . . That’s very rewarding.”
In Conclusion
Jon enjoys working in the private sector with smaller companies. His insights and coaching have given small businesses a greater understanding of how to improve their financial health. Jon exemplifies what the Professional Bookkeeper program teaches: that the most interesting and profitable work in accounting is in support of small business.
Jon relates that working with small companies has “refreshed his career.” Every day he learns something new, which keeps his interest in accounting alive.
To learn more about Jon and other Professional Bookkeeper graduates visit our page of testimonials and how others have discovered that if it’s about accounting, it’s universal.
