Meet Ryann-Rebecca. Numbers have been a common thread throughout her career. With a degree in civil engineering and a career as a data analyst and visualization consultant, she has built her professional life around making sense of information. Now, she is putting those skills to work in a new way as the owner of Tidy Books Bookkeeping Services LLC.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always been very math and analytics-based,\u201d Ryann-Rebecca said. \u201cNo matter what field I\u2019ve been in, I\u2019ve worked with numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her interest in finances extends beyond her professional life. She enjoys reading about budgeting, finance and the stock market, and she meticulously tracks her own spending.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a spreadsheet and track every expense,\u201d she said. \u201cI actually enjoy it. I probably should have gone into finance from the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n
For years, Ryann-Rebecca had also thought about owning her own business. Bookkeeping continued to stand out as a natural fit, but becoming a mom gave her a new reason to seriously consider making the leap.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a 2-year-old now, and I would love to have more flexibility and more time with him,\u201d she said. \u201cThe more I looked into bookkeeping, the more it seemed like something I could do well and eventually do for myself from home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another reminder came through her full-time career when her team was dissolved and her role changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt reminded me that things aren\u2019t always as secure as you think they are,\u201d she said. \u201cThat really lit a fire under me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ryann-Rebecca began taking bookkeeping courses last year, starting with a class at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College before continuing her coursework through Wake Tech. She is now just a few classes away from completing her bookkeeping certificate.<\/p>\n
This year, she took another major step by officially launching Tidy Books, registering her LLC and beginning to build the systems, website and marketing needed to attract clients.<\/p>\n
The technical side of bookkeeping was something Ryann-Rebecca could learn. The bigger challenge was figuring out how to turn that knowledge into a business.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can research how to launch a business,\u201d she said. \u201cBut every business is different. I needed help with things like how to market a bookkeeping business and how to actually get clients. You\u2019re asking someone to trust you with their finances, and that\u2019s a big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
That is where the Rowan-Cabarrus Small Business Center became an important resource.<\/p>\n
Through individual business counseling, Ryann-Rebecca has been able to ask questions specific to the business she is building and get feedback from people with different areas of expertise. Business counselor Mark Shropshire helped her work through some of the fundamentals of starting a business while also providing something especially valuable to a first-time entrepreneur: encouragement.<\/p>\n
\u201cMark gave me general advice about starting the business, but he also gave me validation that I was moving in the right direction,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She also met with another Small Business Center counselor Vicie, whose experience as a CPA working with bookkeepers and accounting professionals gave Ryann-Rebecca a different perspective.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe could tell me, \u2018This is what I look for in a bookkeeper. This is what I expect,\u2019\u201d Ryann-Rebecca said. \u201cShe gave me tangible things I could do, like making sure everything I send to a CPA is clearly labeled and thinking about how I can make myself really easy to work with.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Ryann-Rebecca, access to that individualized guidance has made entrepreneurship feel less isolating.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know a lot of people who own their own businesses, so it\u2019s really nice to have someone to ask for advice,\u201d she said. \u201cYou don\u2019t feel like you\u2019re bugging someone because they\u2019re there to help you. There\u2019s a comfort in knowing you have someone you can reach out to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, Tidy Books is ready to begin taking clients. Ryann-Rebecca\u2019s first goal is intentionally manageable: find her first three clients, put what she has learned into practice and continue refining the business from there.<\/p>\n
She also plans to return to consistently marketing the business on Facebook and LinkedIn with a new strategy for reaching the business owners who need her services.<\/p>\n
At the heart of Tidy Books is a simple idea. Business owners may be capable of managing their own books, but that does not mean it is the best use of their time.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if you can do it yourself, you might not want to,\u201d Ryann-Rebecca said. \u201cI want to take that load off business owners and do it well for them. Clean finances paint a much clearer picture of your business.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Ryann-Rebecca, those first three clients will represent more than a business milestone. They will be the first step toward putting years of analytical experience, a natural love of numbers and a desire for greater independence to work for herself.<\/p>\n