At one point, she had attempted to delegate some of the bookkeeping tasks to one of her employees. However, not knowing how to properly train this person is using the software she had selected (which was also not the best choice for her business model), Celeste eventually fell victim to multiple errors and miscalculations that ultimately led to her being over-drawn on a check she issued to an important vendor.
Embarrassed and appalled, Celeste feared that her previously spotless reputation and perfect credit history was about to be irreparably damaged. No longer trusting her employee's input of the data, or the reflection of the figures in the software program, Celeste re-claimed full responsibility for the money-management, vowing to depend on her spreadsheets and personal data-entry instead.
Less than a year had passed before Celeste found herself completely exhausted, dreading every day, and spending hours of over-time managing the business that had once been her passion. Her "dream business" was becoming a nightmare.
Nearly at her wits' end, Celeste agreed to hire me on a short-term basis, to see if I could help her regain the freedom she knew she had lost, and restore some sanity to her daily routine.
Although she was tentative at first, Celeste recognized that, in her pursuit of having more control over her finances, the rest of her life was increasingly out of control.
I first set about converting all the data contained in Celeste's hand-written spreadsheets into usable accounting information, utilizing a more appropriate software program. I cleaned up old errors and then continued to keep Celeste's books in good order.
When the time came that she decided to apply for a business development program, and also needed to apply to her bank for a business loan to cover the cost of the tuition, I immediately provided her with reliable, formal financial reports to submit.
Due to the availability of these reports at a moment's notice, Celeste was able to quickly and easily submit her applications, was granted the loan from the bank, and was accepted into the program.
No longer trying to run her business and manage the money all by herself, Celeste feels completely re-energized, and her daily task list now seems almost effortless to complete.
Celeste is so grateful, and I am pleased to report that my short-term assignment has now become a long-term relationship with a wonderful client.
Running a successful and profitable business can be exhausting and overwhelming, just keeping up with the ongoing tasks of money-management - dealing with ever-changing rules and software, not to mention all the details, details, details!
Don't wait until your finances are a fiasco!
Take the first step TODAY toward taking control of your money...
