I can’t believe I’m saying this but it’s true: two years ago, I started the business that would become Little Fish Accounting. At the time, I was working full time as a government auditor, and looking for a way to serve the people I care about and create a side hustle at the same time. Little did I know, that business would grown and change, from me as a sole proprietor offering one or two services to a team of us offering everything from workshops to one on one service to products. As much as I love this company and where it’s gotten me, it came with its challenges. Like what? Check out the top three lessons that I’ve learned since we’ve been in business.
YOU WILL NEED HELP. When I first started, it was relatively easy for me to handle it all myself, from working on the business to working for my clients. After all, my roster was small, and my services limited. Since I hadn’t planned to leave my full-time job, I took on just enough work to keep my free time interesting. But that changed quickly. As we got bigger, the work got to be more than I could handle, and even moving into full-time entrepreneurship wasn’t enough to run the company alone. So I hired. And I fired. And I hired some more. And it was HARD, but ultimately once I got the right team together, I was better able to better manage my time and my business.
YOU WILL HAVE TO LEARN TO SAY NO. When I started, I said yes to almost everything. If I was asked, I basically checked my calendar and if I was available, I did it. That means I did plenty of free workshops, speaking engagements, podcast interviews, and panel discussions that I hope helped everyone in attendance. And here’s the thing - I love those opportunities. I consider it part of our business to make sure that all information is not behind a paywall, and that our original intention of providing access to an accountant is met as often as possible. The problem is, always saying yes isn’t sustainable. With the same 24 hours as everyone else, I was unable to take all phone calls and do all events and still have time leftover to do the work. It means I’ve had to limit how often I’m able to say yes, but Little Fish (and my sanity) are better for it.
YOU WILL FEEL CHALLENGED BUT REWARDED Starting and building this business is easily one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. But at the same time, I’ve never felt so close to the idea that I’m doing what I’m supposed to do. It is an amazing feeling to directly impact people, and to use my skill in service to help build other small business dreams. So while there are definitely times where I think “if I had a J-O-B, I could take some P-T-O” lol, I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. Wherever my journey leads me, I’m proud to have Little Fish as a part of it.