A little mistake that cost my business $1,423
Over the past 2 years, I’ve spent $1,423 on bookkeeping.
I can tell you that now, but 6 hours ago I couldn’t have.
Why?
Because despite all the money I’ve spent on this, my “books” were royally screwed up.
It wasn’t for lack of trying.
I’ve spent hours with several different bookkeepers, answering questions and trying to explain how I wanted my expenses and income categorized.
But I still felt like I was flying blind.
I couldn’t tell how much money I spent on Facebook ads last year… Or how much affiliate income I earned… Or what I spent on hosting my websites.
One of my goals for 2016 (I do goals, not resolutions) is to get a better grip on the cashflow and finances for my business, and I decided to take matters into my own hands.
And over the last couple of days I finally rolled up my sleeves and got my hands dirty in QuickBooks.
I reviewed all of my expenses for the past year and reorganized them into meaningful categories.
I figured out what numbers I need to know—and which reports I can run to generate them.
I even hunted down and speared the “white whale” that haunted my bookkeeping dreams: a report that lets me see all the subscriptions I’m paying for month after month.
All this took a LOT less time than I would have guessed—about 10-12 hours total.
And I feel 100X better about my business finances as a result.
The painful lesson buried in all of this:
There are some jobs that you should NEVER outsource until you’ve actually done them yourself.
As tempting as it is to try to “4-Hour Workweek” all of your problems away, you’re just setting yourself up to lose your shirt.
Or in my case, $1,423.
Nowhere is this more true than in your marketing.
That’s why every entrepreneur and business owner should study copywriting and direct marketing.
Reading and re-reading classics like “Scientific Advertising” and “The Boron Letters” is THE fastest way to go from business rookie to marketing pro.
And even if you never write a line of copy for yourself…
You’ll know how to sort the fakes and frauds from the serious gunslingers.
You’ll know what good copy smells like…
And you’ll save yourself a LOT of money and heartache.
I have a handpicked list of books that every self-respecting marketer MUST read.
Check it out here: