Assisted entrepreneurship: A new way to work

As more CPAs, CFOs, bookkeepers and other accounting professionals make the choice to start or purchase small, independent practices, the need for community and support becomes imperative. It is hard to work on your business, as well as in your business and still maintain joy in your work and balance in your life. Assisted entrepreneurship, in the shape of franchises, robust online communities and education portals, and enthusiastic software partners is changing the way accountants build their own businesses and serve their clients. 

There are currently more than 33 million small businesses in America, thanks to a surge in small business registration during and after the pandemic. 2022 saw a whopping total of 5 million new businesses registered in the U.S. alone. Not only are these new businesses in desperate need of accounting help and financial guidance, these intrepid entrepreneurs are also inspiring many accounting professionals to leave the grind of the corporate world for greener pastures. 

Now, accountants are notoriously risk averse and can easily be overwhelmed when faced with all the challenges of running their own small business beyond the numbers. Business development, marketing, branding, networking, maintaining a tech stack, IT, continuing education and more become daunting when they are all on your entrepreneurial plate and there’s no one to share the burden. The cost of running your own business often comes at the expense of serving your clients well, or actually enjoying any of that freedom and flexibility promised by entrepreneurship. This can create a diminishing effect wherein the independent accounting professional is making less money, serving more clients, and has a whole lot more stress and less work-life balance. On top of this, these financial entrepreneurs feel isolated and alone without the comradeship and support of even the most toxic corporate job. That’s not what it should be about.

Enter the need for “assisted entrepreneurship.” This concept provides most of the safety of a firm, but with the flexibility of true entrepreneurship. While it might sound too good to be true, there are more ways than ever to engage in entrepreneurship on your own terms. 

• Buy a franchise. Franchises are not new to the accounting world, particularly the tax and payroll side. There has been huge growth in bookkeeping and fractional CFO franchises over the past several years, even before the pandemic. With a variety of initial franchise fees to fit all budgets and surprisingly low royalties, this is a great opportunity to work for yourself, not by yourself. Franchises will provide you with all the marketing and infrastructure support you need, with the advantage of a big brand name — giving you instant street cred. If the back office logistics scare you and the burden is too large, it’s well worth investing in a franchise to create the life you want. 
   

• Join a robust community. The pandemic saw a plethora of online opportunities for education and community. While we might feel some burnout for all our online work, these are a lifeline of information and link to knowledgeable folks who can help the new accounting entrepreneur bypass years of trial and error, as well as avoid the isolation of solopreneurship. Groups like Realize, Roundtable Labs and Future Firm are some of the fastest growing and most supportive communities out there, and most offer both paid and free ways to interact with their groups. Not sure you want to pay for your community? Check out places like #taxtwitter where you can come in contact with some of the warmest and most helpful people in the biz.

• Automate your tech and find the human behind it. Building a robust tech stack is de rigueur for the modern accountant. That being said, long gone are the days of having to bang your head against your desk because you just can’t get the software to work or feeling like making your different programs play together is akin to negotiating a peace treaty. The major players in fintech these days are very human-centered. Know your partner rep and work with them to automate your workflows between platforms and take the opportunity to sit back and relax. Many cloud accounting companies, like Xero and FreshBooks, actively create opportunities for accounting professionals to connect in real life, while Ignition has one of the most robust online communities out there, in addition to sympathetic, knowledgeable and kind teams who will stand by your side until the work is done. 

If this is making the leap to entrepreneurship more exciting and palatable, we’re still overlooking one key advantage. All those millions of small business owners are also struggling through the same issues as our independent accounting professionals. Having a fractional CFO, bookkeeper, CPA, etc. who understands the trials and triumphs of entrepreneurship not only makes them feel seen and heard, but also gives the accountant direct, invaluable insight into small business problems that a traditional corporate accountant just won’t have.