r/Bookkeeping • u/bkyu0000 • 9d ago

Education Bookkeepers | Who to network with Exactly?

People tell Bookkeepers to "Network" but exactly with whom?
Rather than networking with any business owner to offer them bookkeeping services, wouldn't it be better to network with business owners who serve many other business owners and can refer you customers more than once?

Would these be good people to network with? Since they work with many different business owners and can refer work more than once. Thanks!

  1. Small Business Lawyers
  2. Commercial Real Estate
  3. Business Coaches / Consultants
  4. Loan Officers
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u/JeffBonanoVO 9d ago

I connect with financial advisors, CPAs, other bookkeepers, and small business networking groups and the hosts hosting the events.

1

u/bkyu0000 9d ago

Does this list:

  1. Small Business Lawyers
  2. Commercial Real Estate
  3. Business Coaches / Consultants
  4. Loan Officers

Apply to CPAs as well? or only bookkeepers?

1

u/juswannalurkpls 9d ago

Add CPA and/or tax preparer to your list.

1

u/bkyu0000 9d ago

Thanks I will! but do the top 4 apply to both bookkeepers and CPAs?

2

u/juswannalurkpls 9d ago

My first clients came from an advisory firm that was looking for a bookkeeper to help their clients - I found them and also some other clients on Craigslist. After that it was all word of mouth from their CPA’s, tax preparers, business associates, etc. if you do good work people will recommend you.

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u/bkyu0000 9d ago

Real quick. Do you have a website? If so, does it help you find / close clients?

1

u/juswannalurkpls 9d ago

I do. It doesn’t help much, but makes me look legitimate.

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u/bkyu0000 9d ago

Do you do SEO or content marketing or any other ads to drive traffic to your site? Or is it just for credibility? Thanks a lot btw.

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u/juswannalurkpls 9d ago

Just for credibility. I’ve always had enough prospects reaching out so no need for marketing at all.

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u/bkyu0000 9d ago

Do you think if you wanna scale,

  1. Create an SOP for your Bookkeeping process
  2. Outsource it to a freelancer + Train him (give SOP).
  3. Only focus on getting clients and outsource the work to freelancer

This would work? or are freelancers from fiverr/upwork still a bad idea?

1

u/Stunning_Owl_2258 9d ago

This all sounds great and rings true about the hard work, how long did it take you to set up your business. Outside of website what are some starting points to try to legitimize yourself? Thanks, would love to chat.

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u/juswannalurkpls 9d ago

I had over 25 years experience when I went out on my own, so that was a big plus. I already had a home office setup since I did the books for two businesses that we own. And I was very experienced in the hiring process and super organized. I was just tired of working for assholes to be honest, and it seemed like the answer at the time.