I admire anyone who starts a business. It takes guts to start your own thing and to watch it grow and adapt as the business moves forward. Starting a company is so exciting and scary that most people will never do it. I think back to many conversations over the years about ideas that would make a good business, but most of them never actually went anywhere. Why is it so hard to start and run a business?
To start a business, you have to come up with a product, build a business plan, run a marketing campaign, develop an operations plan and measure your financial results. No small task! As every business owner can attest, you will struggle, confront failures and switch gears many times along the way. This is the awesome part of running the show! You get to call the shots.
I started my own business in 2008 at the beginning of tough economic times. There were days when I cried at my desk wondering how I would overcome a particular challenge. I wish I would have documented those days better but what I do remember is that even though some days were really hard, the weeks, months and years were good and I liked seeing my project grow and become better. I learned things I never would have learned without going through the experience.
I differentiated my CPA office by listening and working hard to make each client feel important. Success came as I mentored and coached my clients and became a partner in their business. I helped clients to set financial goals, measure the results and grow the value of the business.
Along the journey, I learned things from my clients. I watched my clients grow and sell their businesses. I watched them navigate business and commercial lending, bring in new capital or use cash from the business to grow the business valuation. As I learned steps to help companies grow, I got the most out of helping them to measure and read the financial reports. I loved teaching the tools to maximize the value of their business while also building a culture of working together with integrity and collaboration.
In 2020, I sold my CPA practice in the Portland area and I moved to Central Oregon with the pine trees and mountains. However, I am not ready to stop contributing to the mission of helping business owners thrive. I learned that it is just as exciting to work together virtually and collaborate online to achieve the same results as I did at the desk in my Portland office. That is why I started Apex Virtual Accounting with my co-founder Nicole Zobrist. We are having fun starting the journey again and if you want to come along with us, please add your email address to our list. We will send you insights and helpful tools each week to help you thrive too!
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