It was January 2018 when I officially resigned from my full-time job at a not-for-profit Community Health Centre in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, to start my bookkeeping and tax business. At this point, I was only doing bookkeeping for three very small businesses and around 50 annual tax returns for friends and family. Going from a stable Monday-to-Friday job into the great unknown was one of the scariest moments of my life.

From the start, I wanted to do it right. I could have worked from home, but during the pre-COVID-19 era, there was a real need to meet with your bookkeeper/accountant face-to-face and I wasn’t comfortable shifting my home into a client-facing establishment. So, I rented a small office in downtown Cornwall to ensure clients had parking and that I “looked” the part. I was now all in and there was no turning back.

Slowly, I grew my client list to around 65 monthly clients, 550 annual tax returns, and I hired 4 full-time staff members throughout three and a half years. I did this by:

I knew that to build my business, I needed our community to be aware of who I am and what I do. To do this, I reached out to individuals that I had heard of in passing or through other contacts to personally introduce myself. Going for a coffee, having lunch, and dropping by their office were some of the different ways I met this goal. Not too long after, I built actual relationships with these people where they became colleagues and later, friends.

When you live in a small community as I do (Cornwall, pop. 47,000), word of mouth and referrals will either put your business above others or will make you stagnant. I ensured I met with anybody and any business that I thought our mutual relationship would benefit. Businesses such as marketing/website agencies, lawyers, financial advisors, banks, local government agencies, our Chamber of Commerce, and more. It’s not surprising that a business owner will mention in passing how their website needs a refresh. By referring them to someone you know, you get the added benefit of being both resourceful to the client and providing a referral to your contact. A win-win situation!

I’m a huge believer in providing care and helpful advice to our clients. I accomplish this in our community by conducting free webinars on various topics (bookkeeping, income taxes, sales tax, eCommerce, etc.). By making our webinars accessible, it’s easy for a wide range of people to attend.

When COVID-19 hit, our government kicked into action by providing a huge range of subsidies and loans, which were very complicated to understand. So, while business owners were panicking, I kicked into override and spent countless hours researching, reading, and understanding these subsidies and loans. I then took this information and provided free webinars with our local government agencies (Chamber of Commerce, government officials, etc.). It produced a huge amount of goodwill in the community, which paid itself back to me in more ways than I could have imagined.

Bookkeeping and taxes are topics that often make people either roll their eyes to the back of their heads or cause an immediate sense of drowsiness. So, I circumvent this by being as passionate as I can when I am talking to a potential client about the different bookkeeping-related products that are on the market. Showing them how to submit receipts through Dext or the clean financial reporting by Syft Analytics showcases our use of technology to blow their minds. And trust me, it works.

I highlight our love and passion for bookkeeping by using the greatest and best applications that are on the market to make lives easier. I even sprinkle the word “fun” throughout this discovery call and slowly, I can see a sparkle in their eyes, and I show them that bookkeeping can be fun when they get something out of it (financial reporting, less stress, etc.). By the end of the discovery call, they want what we can provide.

I strongly believe that to build a successful bookkeeping and tax business, you need to understand that your business’ success is dependent on your clients’ success. You need to care about the service you are providing and to be helpful in difficult times (e.g., during COVID-19). This is how your success will be measured.

I learned a lot over the last three and a half years and I’ve had so much fun running my own business. I have had stressful days and even days at the beginning where I questioned why I ever decided to quit my full-time job. However, thinking about all of the great friends and colleagues I have made during this journey and how much my service has helped our local businesses makes me even more excited to continue down this path.

Andrew Seguin is the Founder of Seguin Financial, a cloud-based bookkeeping and tax located in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. Seguin Financial utilizes the latest and greatest technologies to provide proper guidance and support to their clients across Canada.

You can read Andrew's case study with Syft here.