Being an Entrepreneur
Running your own business is challenging and rewarding. Not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur but for those who are, many opportunities await them.
You start with a vision and passion because that’s what’s going to carry you through all the challenges. You find products that other people need or want and you figure out a way to distribute those products. That’s the part most people see.
What a lot of people don’t think about is all the behind the scenes tasks that help a business run well. You are in charge of all the finances pertaining to your products and services, including your staff. You don’t have a boss but you often find that you work long hours, especially at the beginning. You don’t have anyone to be accountable to except yourself but with that come many responsibilities, including promoting your business. You need to have good systems in place for your bookkeeping, time management and organization, and marketing.
As owner of C Campbell Agency, not only do I need to run my own business well, but I offer consulting services to help others to do the same. Here are a few systems that work well for me:
First, as a bookkeeper, of course I’m going to talk about Bookkeeping. No matter how big or small your business is, you need to have a good system to keep track of your finances. You need to know your numbers to run any business and it’s even better if you know those numbers in real time.
QuickBooks is the accounting software we recommend. We can take care of the bookkeeping for you or teach you how to use this software yourself. Going with an online program like QBO, gives you the advantage of knowing your numbers in real time. It enables you to track, organize, and manage your business. It helps you to keep track of your expenses, invoice your clients, pay your employees, and prepare your taxes. It frees up your time, allowing you to focus on what you do best.
LedgerDocs has multiple ways to upload and collect digital documents. It stores everything in one place enabling better collaboration and allowing for accounting tasks to be completed on a timely basis. It is today’s new online filing cabinet.
As an entrepreneur, you can often set up your own work schedule and systems, which means you need to be good at time management and organization.
I use Slack to communicate with my team. It’s fast and organized and keeps track of conversations. It’s made up of channels, where team members communicate and work together. The different channels can be assigned to different people on the team, enabling them to work on the same project.
17hats is the amazing organizing system I use. I like that their systems are integrated and paperless. The key features that I use the most are contacts, leads, projects, calendar, to do lists, contracts, questionnaires, and workflow.
Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) is the platform I use for emails and is my everyday communication tool with clients. The best part of this tool is that it is a secure and cloud-based storage and includes Gmail, Docs, Drive, Calendar, and more. It’s accessible from anywhere and by everyone on the team.
Just running a business isn’t enough, you need to attract clients and customers. This means you need to spend time on marketing and now more than ever, a lot of the marketing happens online.
It’s important to belong to associations that help promote your business. Becoming a member of the Chamber of Commerce is a good place to start. It also enables you to network with other business owners.
You need to have a good website with good Search Engine Optimization (SEO). I use Squarespace. You can either design it yourself or hire a website designer. Its easy to use features enable me to update and make changes on a timely basis so my website is always current.
These days you also need to be on Social Media. I find that FaceBook is a great platform for reaching my target audience. It has features to help me boost my posts and track the responses. It also enables me to share some personal posts, letting people get to know a bit about the person behind the business.