WrkWatchr

And it is a good thing that typing skill is not a requirement for my business that I cannot have someone else do! :-)

I too own and operate my own business - something I resisted starting for many many years because of a critical knowledge of myself. I know that I am not an accountant nor do I have any interest in becoming one. Unfortunately over the years, I have learned more about accounting than I ever had any desire to know. Once I finally got backed into a corner and decided to take the plunge, I found an accountant that I thought was good and would help me. I found out the hard way that he was more than willing to provide information and answer questions (at $300+/hour) whenever I had any. Unfortunately I wasn't smart enough to know what questions to ask and as a result almost ended up in a scrape with the IRS.

Luckily, I found a "book keeper" who was worth ten times what I was paying the CPA. She was able to unravel the books that were primarily set up to avoid taxes - not support the business I am in or company growth. After a couple of years she recommended I get a tax attorney and corporate counsel along with a CPA to overview the books and to help me plan for things like growth, taxes, benefits for employees, as well as a "retirement" plan for both the employees and more importantly myself. As a result of her advice both from teh beginning and even today, I am spending less that I did with teh original CPA and getting significantly better support adn advice.

The morale of this story is it is critical to be honest with yourself and know what you don't know and don't either want to know or have time to learn, then find the best people you can to help you fill in those gaps. In the last 7 years, I have met with and interviewed many attorneys and CPAs, etc. and I can tell you from experience that these things are critical to your long term survival as a businessperson, but most importantly, the professionals you choose need to be people you can trust, and who understand not only what you want, but what you need. They all speak their own language and you need to find people YOU can communicate with in a manner you understand. I still can't read a P&L statement, but I know where my company is financially and have full faith and confidence in the people I have watching my back and if you step into the world of owning your own business - this kind of support is more critical than your own skills. They will tell you the things you need to know when you need to know them, while freeing you up to do what you do best.

Taking a little liberty with a quote from Theodore Roosevelt - he said adn I think it is the most important thing ANY busienss owner/supervisor can do... "The best executive [business owner] is the one that has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants [needs done and cannot/doesn't want/know how to do himself]and self restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.

i.e. Know yourself and don't be afraid to admit you don't know everything and get people you can trust to fill those gaps and listen to what they tell you!

Roy
aka Wrkwatchr