Today I want to share this sunset and tell you a little bit about myself and Anik’s Books Inc
The services we offer include:
Payroll
Bookkeeping
QuickBooks Online Support
Accountability Coaching
As my TikTok followers know, I struggle with anxiety, mostly thanks to Autism. This means that working in a traditional office setting as a bookkeeper was kind of a nightmare. The office cliques, the air conditioning, the fluorescent lights… I didn’t know at the time, but those things really weren’t good for me to be around long term. The whole office environment was not healthy for me; it caused stress I didn’t even realize it was causing.
When I stumbled onto bookkeeping, it was like having the light of God shine down on me. I heard the angels sing and the whole nine yards. I mean, I discovered a place where everything makes sense!
With accounting, if something doesn’t make sense, it can’t exist. So to me, bookkeeping, accounting, it’s a little slice of heaven. I get to spend my days in a world where everything HAS to make sense or it cannot exist! I mean, who can resist that?!
So, now I know I love bookkeeping, but I hate the office environment… what else could I do but start my own business? How else could I do what I loved without being trapped in this horrible office?
I was lucky to be working for an employer that was willing to let me be flexible with my hours. I got to start my business in a small town with many small businesses that needed all the support they could get.
Turns out, working remotely was my salvation – #WFH – my anxiety got worse as I got older, so being able to go to work in the spare bedroom meant I could work even when I couldn’t make myself leave the house. Working from home meant I could GROW A BUSINESS even when I wasn’t strong enough to make myself leave my home.
When COVID hit, we didn’t have to change a thing in how we serviced clients. When I had a complete burnout and sold everything to live and travel in a 20ft RV with my 2 cats, I was able to keep running and growing my business. Bookkeeping saved me.
Well, bookkeeping, QuickBooks Online and a kick-ass tech stack saved me: they let me grow a practice that is entirely remote, servicing clients with employees across the United States. We don’t work with any other bookkeeping product, which is why we know it so well.
Now, I have an employee that works with me remotely. It means I get to give the same opportunity to other people to work in a field that usually requires you to be stuck in an office. It’s magic.
Sometimes I think it’s my favorite part of growing my business: giving this option to other people. And of course, I LOVE bookkeeping. That’s how I fell into this. But today, my favorite part of what I do is actually the Accountability Coaching, which really took shape and became a well-used service during COVID. The reason I really love the Accountability Coaching is being autistic and having anxiety issues, small talk is just not something I’m not capable of doing.
To me, a casual, meaningless conversation is just torture.
Accountability Coaching sessions allow me to have conversations with my clients that just wouldn’t happen otherwise… there wouldn’t be any reason to be so open and authentic that they can share the hard things.
Instead of having superficial conversations about dollar signs and numbers, or the dreaded small talk being the other option, I get to have REAL conversations that are useful to my clients.
They wouldn’t get to have these conversations if I wasn’t able to create this safe space where they’re not going to be judged for thinking “Dammit, owning a business is hard, isn’t it?”
There’s just something magical about being able to have that level of conversation, to have that level of connection with a CLIENT! It’s taken my enjoyment of what I do for a living to a whole new level in so many ways.
Of course, I LOVE the bookkeeping and payroll. I love the peace of mind we bring to our clients through these services – just knowing their numbers can be trusted. I know we contribute indirectly to our client’s success just from this confidence we bring to their business life.
With the Accountability Coaching, I get to be a PERSONAL part of the adventure of being a business owner. I get to be an intrinsic part, even if it’s very small, even if it’s just a question I ask… I may not have a lot of answers, but I have a lot of questions, questions they might not have thought to ask.
You know, in very small ways I get to have a personal connection with these business owners and to be a personal part of their successes, big or small. The little things that make the long-term big differences are just as magical as the big aha moments, and I get to be a part of that.
I get to have people willingly open up and let me in and we both benefit from doing so. To me, that’s the magic of Accountability Coaching.
To view the video this blog is based on, click HERE to view this post on TikTok