Scott Ivins, PB
Scott Ivins is a great example
of one that worked in corporate America for a number of years before discovering
how rewarding working for yourself can really be.
Scott found that he learned more
about real-world practical accounting in the 4-week Professional Bookkeeper
program that he had learned with an associate's degree. In classes he has
taken since taking the Professional Bookkeeper program, he knew the answers
so often and so completely that the instructor began to defer other student's
questions to Scott! The instructor even invited Scott to teach some of the
classes because his practical knowledge of accounting exceeded even his instructor's.
Universities teach plenty of
accounting theory, but if you want hands-on learning that you can put to
work right away, Scott is evidence that you just can't beat the Professional
Bookkeeper program.
Learn
More About How the Professional Bookkeeper Program Prepares You to Earn
$30 to $60 Per Hour With Your Own Successful Accounting Service
Complete Transcript of Teleconference
ROGER: Let me begin by welcoming
those of our guests that are here listening today. It is wonderful to have
you here to visit with you and others with the great success in starting
and growing your own accounting and bookkeeping services. We will be asking
you a number of questions as to your success and some of the things you have
experienced as you have grown your company., Let's begin by you introducing
yourself. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
SCOTT: I am Scott Ivins. I live in South Salt Lake in Cedar Hills, Utah.
I have a wife and four children and I enjoy being a full-time accountant.
ROGER: Well, with that brief introduction, we want to thank you for taking
the time out of your schedule to be here with us today. Let me give you a
few questions to get the ball rolling. Some of the things I think everyone
is going to want to hear about is why you actually considered stepping out
on your own years ago.
SCOTT: I went out and decided to go into the field of accounting after working
in a semiconductor company. After they had a meeting they decided they were
going to close our plant, and then I went to work for another company 6 months
later. It shut that down, and so after 2 layoffs/shutdowns, whatever you
want to call them, I decided I wanted to do something on my own, and looked
at my options with accounting and decided that would be something I would
like to do and took off and started doing it.
ROGER: Interesting. When you started doing that, first of all, why accounting
of all things?
Scott:I had background in tax. I had been doing taxes for myself and for
some family members and friends. I enjoyed working with numbers and worked
with the statistics department at the semiconductor place. I was familiar
with working with numbers, but I really hadn't decided where I wanted
to go until I came to one of Universal Accounting Center seminars in a newspaper
ad.
ROGER: Well I have to say that your story is one of those many stories I
am familiar with of individuals starting their own practice, having not done
accounting before. So many people think you need so many years experience
or so much education to succeed or to work with clients but, as many people
know, accounting is simply a number of very basic steps that you do with
every company, and once you are able to master that confidence to do it you
are able to succeed. One of the things I would like to ask you about is how
did you feel about initially making that change? What were your own feelings?
Do you recall how you felt when you were just starting to break out on your
own?
SCOTT: That was quite awhile ago. You know, there was always a little bit
of apprehension things of "can I really do this?" But after going
through the two shutdowns, I say I was going to work for myself one way or
the other, so I kind of took the leap of faith, just went ahead and said
I am going to go do it, and looked at my options on where to get the training
and who was going to be able to help me the best way to take that jump and
get the training and to get some clients.
ROGER: Good. There is one thing I have heard, I am not sure that you have
shared this same thought with me, but I have had so many share with me that
it takes just as much effort to look for and find an interview to get a position
as it does to look for and find and get a client and understanding and realizing
that you can at least appreciate the opportunities for you as the business
owner and kind of, as some people say, " take the bull by the horns". So
that's good. With the idea of going out and getting clients, what helped
you in making this transition in your life? What were some of the things
that made this possible for you?
SCOTT: One of the biggest things I needed was the training. I came to the
free seminar that Universal Accounting provided, went through that, and after
working at the semiconductor place, they had re-training funds available
so they would pay for a two year course. So I looked at going to a local
college here and looked at getting a two year associates degree in accounting
and looked at the Universal Accounting Center. Instead of deciding on which
one or the other I decided I would do both, which is very unique because
now I have both perspectives. The Universal Accounting course - we were done
in 4 weeks. I knew everything we needed to do was getting started. As to
the other one, in that four weeks I hadn't even finished the first
class yet, and 18 months later I finally had a little piece of paper that
says I have a degree in computerized accounting. But from the get-go with
Universal Accounting Center, their training was fast and simple. In looking
at both, it was actually more comprehensive than the 18 month class. We had
to do the entire extra general education things, and they broke the training
up into little pieces, where in Universal Accounting Center you got the whole
picture and you got to do it all in four weeks. It was great.
ROGER: Very Good. Having brought that up, I do need to ask you a question
that I am sure our listeners are going to definitely enjoy. You have shared
with me on a few occasions an experience you have had when you were at the
school going for the 18 month program, where the instructor wasn't
always present, and some of the things that took place to interact with some
of the other students there. Could you share with us some of that?
SCOTT: Yes, there were a couple of occasions, one where the teacher was
gone for the day. We were supposed to be watching a video, but it was pretty
boring. Half the students left and the other ones there we just kind of sat
there and talked about it and a couple of them were having a real struggle
going through it and trying to figure out how everything fit together, and
so I was able to sit with them for an hour or so and we went through the
whole accounting cycle and everything I had already done and finished with
Universal Accounting Center, but we were just getting the little pieces.
We sat and went through that and helped 2 or 3 students get a better idea
of where the classes were going, what we were going to be learning about,
because they had no idea. Then in the other class, we were talking because
there was not enough students in the class. The same instructor was teaching
that class as well as beginning accounting, and he didn't have time
to be in both rooms. We would go in the other room and put on the overhead
projector and go through all the examples and every now and then he would
pop his head in and see how we were doing, but thanks to the Universal Accounting
training, I could go through and tell the other students, "Well this
is what we got to do, and this is how we do it," and we would sit there
and go through the problems and all the examples, and so basically I spent
most of my time teaching my own class that I was attending.
ROGER: Well, one thing I think everyone is going to enjoy hearing is how
you got your first client. Tell us where they come from and a little bit
of that story.
SCOTT: It was kind of my first 2 clients. My very first client was someone
I worked with at the semiconductor place. Since they were shutting down,
she decided to open a GNC retail store, and she had a CPA who also worked
at the company doing her books as she was getting started but he was being
relocated as well, and so she asked me because I was just starting to take
the class. The first time I did these [accounts] I had no idea what I was
doing, all I did was copy the exact stuff he did the quarter before, the
CPA, so I really had no idea what I was doing, but I got that chance because
she let me try it and I just went ahead said, "Yeah, I can do it," and
figured out how to do it later. But after going through the course, it was
simple and easy. The actual client I got myself, I answered a classified
ad. They were looking for an in-house bookkeeper, and I went in and talked
to the owner and basically helped change their mind to say you don't
really need somebody full-time in-house. I can take your stuff and do this
much more, and do it for an actual less price overall per month than what
they would pay somebody in-house.
ROGER:So often times, it is much better than what they would have gotten
from the main person in-house?
SCOTT: And then with the tax, I said I can do your accounting and tax work,
we can wrap the whole package deal and we got started that way.
ROGER: One thing I noticed that you said in the stories about the two clients
is, you said "I'll just do it". S o many times, that first
step of taking on the first client is, for some people, a leap of faith,
because you are offering some pretty good services. You're explaining
you're going to be doing their accounting, and that they can rely upon you
to be the profit expert for them, and I am always pleased to hear of the
people with the training and the background that they are able to get from
Universal Accounting Center can have that confidence to go out and succeed.
SCOTT: Yes, it was great with the training, and the support staff here at
Universal Accounting Center. If there was any situation to come up, they
were always here to help and to get you through the problems, and to get
things done right, and make sure the client is satisfied.
ROGER: Excellent, now what are some of the techniques you have found to
be particularly useful in getting some clients, promoting your services?
SCOTT: A lot of my clients have come through referrals, so by servicing
the clients you expand on it. The referrals come in. I got a few neighbors
and relatives that didn't jump on board immediately, but after seeing
that I was picking up new clients and developing a successful practice, I
was then able to add those on and expand quite quickly once we got a few
going.
ROGER: Now, remind all our listeners how many years you have been in business.
SCOTT: I started the Universal Accounting Course and graduated about 12
years ago, and have been full-time ever since, working for myself, and working
out of the house, the basement room. About two years ago, because I was able
to have been so successful, I have gone out and have an office outside the
house. It gives me a little more room and a little more of a professional
status, but I did do 10+ years out of my basement.
ROGER: Whatever you want out of this business, it can become whatever you
want it to be. Whether it be a supplemental income or a primary income for
you, either way, it is possible. Now you have had 12 years of doing this.
How do you feel about where you are today?
SCOTT: I have been very satisfied with where it has gone, other than this
last year. I have been so busy that I should have hired an assistant a year
ago instead of last month. And so, it is going really well and keeping [me]
very busy and enjoying life.
ROGER: Very good. Now that enjoyment; what are some of the greatest benefits
of being out on your own?
SCOTT: The biggest thing is being your own boss and being flexible with
your time. And to go in whether you need to. The other day, my little boy
was sick. You could take him in the middle of the day and take care of things
like that or over the last two weeks we have had family reunions. So I took
a half a week off and worked the other half, and now I am taking another
vacation to San Diego next week.
ROGER: Now I am getting jealous.
SCOTT: Having your own time to schedule it around family activities is just
great.
ROGER: Now, I know that traveling is very important to you and that you
shared with me at one point how often you take vacations. You have got kind
of a little rule. Tell our listeners what you do for yourself now that you
are in this position.
SCOTT: I started out the first few years. I had the mentality of, "I
have to work hard, I have to bring in the money, and if I am not there nobody
is doing the work," and after a few years of doing that, you get to
a burnout mode. At that point, I decided we need to schedule vacations. We
need to look forward to them and have things. The next time frame, when am
I going to take the next vacation, right after tax season, have little goals
like that. I try to take a vacation every quarter, every quarter there is
an extra week, the 13th week. I try to take a vacation, whether it be with
my wife and myself, or take the whole family.
ROGER: Wonderful. This is fun for me. I like to travel, and I know you do
as well. Please share with us some of the places you have been.
SCOTT: I have been to St. Thomas down in the Caribbean. Last year we went
on a Caribbean cruise. We have been to California a couple of times and took
the kids to Disneyland. Tomorrow we take off to go to San Diego, spend a
day at sea world and go to the beach a couple of days. We like to go to Colorado.
We have gone every year for the past 3 or 4 years. We just like being in
the mountains in the peaceful areas, and those kind of things. We have a
trip planned to Hawaii for next year, and then probably an Alaskan Cruise.
ROGER: Now, in the past 12 years you have been aware of and have interacted
with Universal Accounting Center at one level or another, how has your experience
with Universal Accounting Center aided you in building your practice?
SCOTT: Universal Accounting Center has been great. First of all, the training
classes have been fabulous. They have taught me everything I needed to know
to get started. You are always learning and expanding. They taught me the
basics to get me everything I needed to get started, and then the support
staff helps with questions, with all kinds of extra training, with software
and QuickBooks and tax program. They have everything you need to expand your
business.
ROGER: I do need to ask you what good advice you have to give to our listeners.
First of all, what would you say to someone who is thinking about going out
on their own, whether it be to go part time as their supplementary income,
or full time as their primary income? What advice would you give them?
SCOTT: Once you have gotten the training, it is just a matter of going out
and using the marketing tools that are taught in the class. The first few
things they teach you will get you a few clients to get started, and then,
based on where you want to go, how much time you want to put into it, it's
just how much you continue marketing. You can have 3 or 4 clients and have
a nice part time business or you can go straight out, and I am not saying
you will be self-supporting in a month or two, but within 6 months you should
be able to get enough clients to have a decent income and expand from there.
ROGER: I appreciate that advice and I know you have done it and it is something
you can say. So one thing I think all of our listeners would also appreciate
is kind of an understanding of what your background in accounting is. We
had one person who wrote in a question here. I have been asking a few of
them, but one specifically asked if you need prior experience in accounting
to succeed. What would you specifically say to that person?
SCOTT: The accounting experience isn't necessary if you are going
to take the Universal Accounting Center course. It will teach you everything
you need to know. If I was to try to go out and do it without having taking
that, even having gone through the associates degree program at the college,
I don't believe I could have done what I have done, just because they
didn't teach us how to go out and get clients, or how to start up your
chart of accounts for small business and get them started. [Regarding university
training] Everything was so modularized and the training was more geared
to how to go out and get a job. So the first thing I say is go through the
accounting program. In four weeks, you will be done. The training is well
worth every penny you pay for it, and that will give you everything you need
to go out and get started. You expand from there. I usually suggest to new
people [to] go through the accounting. Get comfortable for that, usually
for the first year, and as you are going for that point, then think about
taking the tax class, because every one of your clients and more wants you
to do taxes for them, since you are already doing their accounting books.
So that is kind of the second step. Get settled in your accounting business
and add on the tax and it will just bring in much more income.
ROGER: Very good feedback. Are there any other final words of wisdom you
would like to leave us with today?
SCOTT: Just the best thing about doing this is being self-employed and having
control over your time. And being able to do what you want to do, but having
the support staff behind you to get you going, get you the training and help
you market yourself, and don't forget to take some time off and enjoy
life.
ROGER: Scott, I do want to thank you for your time and to speak with us
today and share with us some experiences you have had and some insights.
With your background, a lot of people appreciated what you had to say. For
our listeners, we would like to thank you as well for your participation
and listening in today. If there are any questions, we encourage you to contact
Universal Accounting Center.
Other Success Stories
Scott's success story is not
uncommon. Using the principles taught in the Professional Bookkeeper program,
hundreds of our graduates have gone on to start successful accounting and
tax services.
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