My Journey Toward Helping Women Entrepreneurs Gain Financial Wellness

Written by Annette Bevers, Annette Bevers CPA + WELA Lead

When I started my business 16 years ago, I had just had my first child and I knew that working long hours in public accounting wasn’t going to work with my vision of how I wanted to show up for my kids. I didn’t have a grand plan for my business. For the first few years I don’t think I even really considered it a real business, it was just something I was doing “on the side.” But as the years went by and my kids grew and required less of my time, my side business had grown as well.

In the early years, I admit I was not very intentional about the clients I took on. As people came to me, if I had the time to do the work and it was in my skill set then I said yes. As a result of doing that for many years, I found that I had built a business that, although successful, was mentally draining. I was helping too many different kinds of businesses doing too many different things. I realized that I needed to make some changes, which we all know can be hard.

The first thing I needed to do was to make a decision about who I wanted to serve and in what capacity. As I reviewed my client list, I found that most of them for one reason or another were not my ideal clients. They didn’t spark the joy that I was wanting more of in my business. I knew I wanted to focus on women entrepreneurs, but I needed to narrow it down further. So I had to dig a bit deeper, and call in some help.

I hired a coach to help me do the work necessary to refine the vision for my business moving forward. The more exercises she had me do, and inner work I did as part of the process, I realized that women entrepreneurs in the wellness industry were who I wanted to help.

I had a few clients and several friends in the wellness industry, such as chiropractors, acupuncturists, and massage therapists. I saw women that had gone into their particular field because it was personal to them, they had a passion for helping people gain better health. I personally have benefited from working with wellness practitioners over the years, so I know the impact they have in the lives of their patients and clients - they are changing people’s lives for the better.

However, a common issue I was seeing was that even though they had successful businesses, they were often struggling with their finances. They had gone into their profession because they wanted to help people, not because they loved dealing with accounting and all of the other administrative details that come with running a business. I saw women procrastinating and avoiding dealing with the financial aspects of their business because it was overwhelming to them. They were sometimes embarrassed to ask for help, or they didn’t know where to go for help. As a result, they were stressed out, struggled with making financial decisions, and weren’t making the money they deserved for the hard work they were putting in.

It seemed like a natural fit for me to focus my business on supporting these amazing women, helping them gain financial wellness. I take a more holistic approach to the financial wellbeing of a business than many accountants. I work with business owners to make sure they have access to the financial information they need to make informed decisions by assisting them with their bookkeeping. I provide educational support so they feel more empowered and confident when they are looking at their finances and they know when to ask for help. Together we discuss the strategy needed to help them meet their financial goals, and I provide accountability to keep them on track.

Working together we can create stronger businesses, so they will be able to better serve their patients and clients, better provide for their families, and increase their impact in their communities. Together we can change the world!

www.beverscpa.com