Faith

Like the majority of other Sundays, we went to church this morning. Today’s sermon was on Hebrews 11, which is about having Faith. Today’s sermon really got me thinking about my journey with Gundersons Bookkeeping. Starting back in High School, I wanted to be a CPA and have my own Accounting Business. Then in college, I started out with a degree in Accounting, switched it to Finance, switched it to Management, then graduated with a double major of Management and Marketing. The day after I graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Superior, I moved to Houston, TX. Looking back on this, I believe God was involved in this even though I wasn’t a believer then. After getting into the healthcare industry, I ended up in the accounting department and realized I should have gotten my accounting degree. After this revelation, I went to night school and got my masters in Accounting. This is also the company where I was surrounded by believers and after a few years of working there, I was influenced to start going to church and eventually accepted Christ as my Savior. I left that company to pursue bigger dreams and I worked my way up to an Assistant Controller position in the Payroll Industry. We paid off all of our debt, bought a house in Waller, and after a few years at my job got sick of the 2.5 hours of drive time each day into work.

In 2011, I kept on thinking that I needed to have my own bookkeeping business in Waller. This was really scary though cause yea our debt was paid off, but now we had a mortgage and the other expenses associated with owning your own home. I went to night school to get educated in income tax preparation and I took courses on how to create your own bookkeeping business. Many discussions with my husband who knew I wasn’t happy with my employment situation later and I had his “approval” to start my own business. So, in February of 2012 I filled out the business paperwork needed to get this dream off the ground and decided that after tax season in 2012, I would quit my job and start my own bookkeeping business out of my home office. Guess what? Right after that I found out I was pregnant with Owen! Wouldn’t it be stupid to quit your job when your pregnant? I mean really, you have another baby on the way, you need an income, you should probably just quit when the baby is born. Yea, that was a great idea, let’s go with that and procrastinate some more.

I started doing the leg work in the meantime with getting my bookkeeping business off the ground really hoping that I could start it on the side while still collecting a pay check. I really felt called to start my bookkeeping business, but I was just scared, stubborn, and really sick – all the time.  Then it’s August, six months after I filled out the business paperwork, and four months after tax season when I was going to quit my job.  My employer at the time found out about my bookkeeping business (that I hadn’t gotten off the ground yet), and she let me go that day. I figured this was God’s way of saying, if you weren’t going to take the step, I’ll help you get started. I could have found another job I suppose and really ran the other way from this business, but finally I listened and was obedient. This time off gave me a few months to really focus on the business, I attended networking events daily. If you know me, this is stepping way out of my comfort zone and I hated it. I got to meet a lot of small business owners who eventually turned into clients. I also got to spend time with my family and enjoy the end of that pregnancy. Oh yea, and imagine this, God provided for our family with all of our monetary needs while I lost my paycheck until the following February, when I actually got my first monthly bookkeeping client, which quickly spiraled into three, in that same month.

This bookkeeping business has been a constant need of prayer for God to lead me in this business. It has been scary and uncertain at times. The first year I really questioned if I heard right cause it wasn’t how I thought it would be, it still isn’t.  Every time I felt the need to hire someone it was such a leap of faith for me because I knew when I hired them, I couldn’t afford to pay them. Wouldn’t you love to be one of my employees when I first hired you! Amazingly though, after every hire, business picked up almost immediately and I was able to pay them, continue to pay our own mortgage payment, and increase their hours from what I originally told them I needed when I hired them. This has happened every single time I felt the need to hire another person in the business. When I went to hire a CPA to help me with my duties, I kept on telling myself, God has done it before, He will do it again. It made it a little easier, but it was still scary and I flat out told Tom that I had faith that business would pick up in order to pay him what he was requesting. He would also have to have faith that this was right for him. Tom started in December of 2016. I will say, I am still having faith on this right now.

This whole business is God’s and I try to glorify Him in everything we do in this business. I feel like God has been in this from the beginning and continues to guide and direct us. Personally, owning my own business has its ups and downs. I still don’t make the money I used to when I was working in Houston, but I feel like I make a difference in my clients’ and employees’ lives. This business has grown way beyond I ever imagined. I really just thought having like 4 clients and continuing working from home would be it for me. That is all I hoped for. I never thought I’d have 5 employees, have a bigger office space than our current home, and so many clients that I needed to hire a CPA to help me so that I can still have a good balance in my life between work / family / life.

I just felt like I needed to share this, even if no one reads it, because of the sermon today. I hope that if you do read this that maybe it has inspired you or giving you some faith, or words that you needed to hear today.