Why I Started My Business

This is a question that comes up so often for business owners. Our clients, our family and our peers will all ask this, but more likely, we probably ask ourselves this on a weekly basis!

For me, I wanted one thing: Freedom.

Freedom to use my time as I decided and freedom to earn as much as I desired without any constraints. While some people might think that statement is selfish, that’s the fact and I’m unapologetic about it. 

During my corporate career, I had a growing frustration in how my work life was consuming so much of my time, my life revolved around work and not the other way around. I hated the fact that annual salary increases or bonuses were at the discretion of a board of directors who most likely had no first hand knowledge of my capabilities, my potential, or how hard I worked every day for their companies. 

This feeling came to a head one day when I went into my managers office to ask for (unpaid) time off to bring my daughter to her speech therapy appointment. At that stage she had weekly appointments and it had become such a stressful task juggling who would take her between my husband, my mother and me. I felt guilty every time she had to go with someone else because I knew it wasn’t something she enjoyed. She was three at the time. I stressed out each week thinking how it would work and feeling guilty that I would need to take time off for two hours to attend with her. 

So I asked the question and was told no. Not because there was any pressing deadline, just a flat no with no explanation. When I mentioned that of course I’d make up the time later in the day, it was still a no. I remember feeling that no one would tell me what I could and couldn’t do when it came to my children. A switch had finally flipped for me. I stood up and told my manager that regardless of what he had said, I wouldn’t be there the next morning at 9am because I would be at the appointment. The fact that I had gone into his office was actually a formality to me, but there was no way I was NOT going with my daughter. If he had an issue with it, we would discuss it when I was back in the office at 11am the next morning.

I went to the appointment and we had no conversation about it afterwards. I worked late that evening to make up the time. And while that might seem like a fair trade to some, the damage was done. I knew the same issues would continue. Not even a month after that, I was told the company was being sold and we were to be made redundant. As I started the job search, I was filled with absolute dread knowing that I’d never find the role I was looking for. A truly flexible one that I knew would be possible without sacrificing the quality of my work.

At the time I had a couple of clients that I worked with directly but the idea of starting my own business was always just something I thought about without much conviction. After one or two interviews with recruiters though, my mind was made up. I would much rather bet on myself making a success of a new business than place all my trust and efforts into someone unknown who had no commitment to me or my goals for the future.

Accelerate Accounting was born! 

From the beginning I built it around my model for what a modern service business should be, using technology to create flexibility and agility that saved time so it could be spent on having a closer relationship with our clients. At the time, the idea of a virtual practice was pretty laughable to most, but I’d seen it work in the States, I knew others who had had great success with it. But most of all, it made sense! My clients didn’t really care where and when the work was completed, as long as it was on time and to the standard that was agreed. They cared about being able to have conversations with me when they needed to and about having someone to go to for support rather than an annual meeting based around financial information that is out of date!  

I wanted to distance myself from the traditional accountant stereotype who provides end of year compliance accounts and not much more! I am a small business owner, I know how hard it can be! But I’ve also worked with companies at all stages of growth and I’ve been part of the team making strategic decisions in multinationals. 

What I know  for sure is that small business owners can be largely forgotten by my profession. 

Start ups get support from local enterprise offices and are signed up by accounting firms, but what about after that? Larger companies normally have the funds to have an inhouse accountant but the majority of small business owners will fend for themselves, half terrified to approach their accountant with questions for fear of feeling foolish. This needs to change. 

Can you imagine what most small business owners could do if they had access to quality commercially focused accounting support as and when they needed it? They would take action more quickly, they would seize opportunities with confidence, armed with quality financial information and a security that they have gone through the numbers and their decisions make financial sense. 

The relationship between the entrepreneur and the accountant is changing, and I hope that Accelerate is at the forefront of that change!