Balancing Life with Work with Alyssa Lang

Alyssa originally started her business four years ago focused on doing her client’s taxes after falling in love with accounting in school. It wasn’t until a client asked Alyssa to help repair their books that she got into bookkeeping, but at this point, she would never go back.

[3:25] Alyssa doesn’t prepare the taxes for clients that she does the books for. There is a lot of value in having a second pair of eyes so the client gets the right information.

[4:05] Alyssa currently has 12 clients, many of which are monthly. She gets the work done with her team of three virtual assistants and one full-time bookkeeper.

[5:00] Alyssa also has another business that came from the result of working with another client who fell in love with her systems. Now she also builds the systems that other bookkeepers use to run their businesses.

[6:45] We often get stuck in our heads and tell ourselves that we are the only ones who can do things, but the only reason that is is because you haven’t documented it. You should have your systems and workflows set up so that if you’re hit by a bus tomorrow, someone can come in and pick up where you left off.

[8:20] Alyssa works from home and enjoys the benefits that come with that as well as the downsides. Being stuck in the same place all the time can be a blessing and a curse.

[9:50] Being able to decide how hard you are going to work is great but if you don’t work hard it can cause problems a couple of months down the road. Sometimes it would be nice for someone to tell you what to do rather than making all the decisions.

[11:20] Long term goals for Alyssa are to pick up some more clients but not so many that she isn’t able to work one on one with them and give them the highest service possible. She’s at the point where she can say no to some clients so she’s in a good place right now.

[13:20] Work/life balance is the biggest challenge that Alyssa struggles with every single day. Ben has issues with that as well, it comes with loving the work, but if you want to spend more quality time outside of work you have to be intentional about it. Writing down your perfect day is a good exercise to get clarity on what you actually want. Put more than just work on your calendar.

[17:55] Taking yourself away from your work allows you to clear your mind and refocus. Working all the time doesn’t mean you are accomplishing more, taking breaks will lead to more work being done overall.

[20:20] The advantage of creating courses is that you gain the ability to generate revenue without having to actually sell or get clients all the time, while still allowing you to stay in the bookkeeping world.

[21:50] The most important thing about a workflow is writing it down. Take the time to write every little task so you can identify exactly where the results are coming from. Entrepreneurs always encounter the struggle of managing the workflow as the business grows.

[24:35] Set yourself guidelines for your future vision. Keeping why you want to do this will keep everything in perspective.

[25:30] As you build the business the way you want, not only do you get to benefit from it personally, you also create a business that is much more sellable. Most “businesses” that are sold are just jobs.

[27:00] Works expands to fill the time allotted to it. If you set yourself a schedule and less time to do something, you will be surprised what you are capable of when you are down to the wire.

[28:30] Don’t forget to take care of yourself, if you don’t you won’t be able to serve your clients properly and your life and business will suffer. You’re pouring yourself into your clients and team every day, and the only way you can continue to do that is to pour energy back into yourself.

[30:45] Balance is a constant struggle, it’s easy to say and incredibly difficult to do but your long term success hinges on that.

Mentioned in this episode: Workflow Queen Top Notch Bookkeeping Solutions