My husband and I recently started a plumbing business - him being the plumber and me being the bookkeeper etc. Jesse is quite good at what he does but when it comes to keeping track of anything, he hits a brick wall. I might go so far as to say, a steel wall. That's where I come in with my superiour organizational and comprehension skills - or so I thought.
Managing a business is a whole new ballpark for me. Even five and-a-half years of keeping on top of endless assignments at university didn't prepare me for this. So we need an official name - why are there so many sites to register with? Shouldn't there be one "official" one? We need insurance - do we stay with sole-propriatorship or go limited? There's HST now, guess we gotta get registered with that. Nope, not til we've made over $30,000. Ok, gotta keep track of all the finances - Quickbooks? Grumbles from Jesse - he likes writing things down on paper. Did I mention scrap pieces of paper? Where is that number honey? Somewhere...he doesn't know. Ok, we need one place that he writes stuff down. And so the list goes on. Advertising, business number, business cards, client book, check and respond to emails, order materials, bill clients, and so forth.
We're finally starting to get a system going, after trial and error I might add. Living in a small community means that Jesse has to be extra mindful of earning a good reputation since word of mouth is the fastest (and cheapest) means of advertising around here. So far, he seems to be doing alright. He has work everyday, and lately, he has had a couple new customers call each day.
As for me, I monitor things back at home base. I recently finished my last semester of school and now have a BA in journalism with a concentration in public relations. Besides the fact that this isn't the most promising place as far as finding a career in my fields, it also just isn't the time. I'm having a baby in April!
