It’s time for another Anti-Sell Story! (You can see previous Stories here on the blog and/or in the book!)
This time we have Alexis Charkiw (or “Lex” for short). Lex and I live locally (South Wales) and both know each other through Welsh ICE, the coworking space and startup hub based just outside Cardiff. I’ve known Lex since her previous business (before her current freelance bookkeeping practice), so it’s been awesome to see her business journey evolve over the years – and it’s equally awesome to be able to interview her about it!
A few highlights from Lex’s Anti-Sell Story:
- Lex is a big fan of coworking – but since COVID she’s seen more people networking online, such as in Facebook groups.
- Having a focus on being a Xero expert (Xero being a popular accounting software tool) has been a big help, rather than – say – just saying “I do bookkeeping” – because it not only eliminates prospective clients who don’t use Xero, but for those who do, they’ll be more inclined to hire and work with her.
- Lex has found that both attending and hosting training and workshops has been a great way to meet fellow business owners and to network with them.
Steve Morgan: Hi Alexis! First off: please introduce yourself! Who are you and what do you do?
Alexis ‘Lex’ Charkiw: Hi Steve, thanks for having me here. I’m Alexis and I’m an advocate for startup and small businesses in the UK. I own a bookkeeping practice called Right Click Bookkeeping, I am a Xero and automation expert, and most recently I am in the process of launching Alexis Charkiw Consultancy (website coming soon!): an online resource membership for business owners.
Steve: Why did you decide to go self-employed?
Lex: I didn’t, really – if I’m being truthful about it. I worked in Barclays for ten years and worked my way up through the corporate career ladder. In 2013, my partner and I discovered we couldn’t have children naturally and that IVF was our only chance. We were lucky to be successful on our first try but what we didn’t realise is that our one embryo could split, meaning identical twins! Blessed, of course, but realistically, childcare for two children and working out of the house for 13 hours every day just wasn’t feasible for us. My husband stayed in work and I took redundancy.
Whilst having the girls was amazing, I felt really lonely and needed something to keep me mentally active, so I started a business from home. Initially I started with a few product businesses which I had some success with, but through those businesses I used my skills in finance and AAT qualification to do my own bookkeeping and accounts. I self-taught Xero and joined AAT as a professional member, and have been bookkeeping ever since.
Steve: How did you find your first few clients?
Lex: With my product business, I had joined Welsh ICE, in their coworking space. I went to lots of trainings and webinars, so I networked with other business owners. Someone asked me if I could help them with their accounts, so my first client was through face-to-face networking.
Steve: You mentioned coworking! How do you find it?
Lex: Very different to pre-COVID! Pre-pandemic I loved it, because it was busier and there were so many business owners to connect with and share info with. Now it’s quieter because the pandemic pushed people to set up from home so I don’t think as many of those conversations are happening. That said, I find online networking groups busier, which is great because – as a member of a busy networking group on Facebook, for example – other people may be discussing a topic that I can read up on later. When we are having face-to-face conversations, only those people present could contribute, so I do think it’s opened the conversation to a wider network of people.
Steve: How do you market yourself these days?
Lex: I still network, but since COVID I have done less. I mostly post on social media platforms and have recently started taking my marketing strategy more seriously, including focusing on my website, SEO, and building quality content that provides value to business owners – not just around tax and business expenses, but any business support that I can share. I also collaborate with other local accountancy firms whereby, they concentrate on the compliance and need someone with expert knowledge to complete the bookkeeping, so that works well, too.
The [Facebook groups] that people have told me they’ve found me in the most are the business-related ones in South Wales, where business owners openly ask for referrals and where one of my existing clients has tagged me.
Steve: Out of interest, how many of your clients are accountants vs business owners (if you’re happy to answer that)?
Lex: All of my clients are business owners, but where I add value is when an accountancy firm doesn’t offer bookkeeping as a service, or the business is too small to warrant paying an accountancy firm bookkeeping prices. It’s a great collaboration because it means I can have a closer relationship with my clients, and the accountant gets a clean set of accounts to work on at year-end.
However, I think there’s a change in the tide: when it comes to MTD (Making Tax Digital) and ITSA (Income Tax Self-Assessment), HMRC are going to expect business owners to submit their numbers with the coding you’d currently expect of a limited company. This means sole trader businesses either paying for a firm to do their self-assessment, or learning how to their own bookkeeping. I’m currently looking at ways to support this change because it’s going to be a big hurdle for some businesses who can’t outsource it.
Steve: Has there been a particular marketing or networking tactic that’s worked well for you?
Lex: At this stage, I can’t pinpoint one thing, but I definitely think putting myself out there as a Xero expert has helped. I host face-to-face training and workshops, and offer support to various Facebook groups, so when people need bookkeeping support on Xero, they reach out to me.
Steve: Which Facebook groups work well in particular? Is it bookkeeping-focused ones? Or ones that are more general – e.g. about freelancing and entrepreneurship? Or a mix?
Lex: I’m part of a few Facebook groups so I’d say a mix. I’m part of my neighbourhood group where the local businesses may ask for support. I’m in lots of accountancy industry-related groups, where people need to sub-contract or pass on the referral. The ones that people have told me they’ve found me in the most are the business-related ones in South Wales, where business owners openly ask for referrals and where one of my existing clients has tagged me.
More recently, I’ve found some Facebook groups where the members are like-minded business owners who excel at their area of expertise, but hate numbers. I especially like helping those people because they care about their accounts and want help analysing their figures to gain insight into their business and strategy moving forward.
Steve: What’s the most roundabout way you’ve gotten a really enquiry?
Lex: Well, this just highlights how online can be so powerful, because I had someone contact me via email, and when I asked them how they found me, they said they read a post I had replied to a year ago. I couldn’t even remember the post they were referring to, but luckily I must’ve made a good impression!
Steve: You’ve grown from a solo freelancer to a business with employees. How’s that gone? What are your future plans with it all?
Lex: It’s been so rewarding but so scary too! The thought of getting all my processes, clients info, and how I deal with their accounts into a format that I could share with a stranger was incredibly daunting. That said, it’s been a brilliant journey because now I have my business to a place where I can scale it. Also, recruiting people is something I’ve never dealt with before, so I was worried about being out of my comfort zone, but I couldn’t move my business on without developing myself, too.
My plan now is to refine my internal systems, find more great clients, and recruit more staff. I’d love to find people who were in the same position as me when I had to leave my job and find something that fit my new family life. I want to use my experience in my company but in a positive way.
Steve: What advice would you give to your younger self – the version of you who’d only just gone self-employed?
Lex: Oh gosh, this is easy because I still deal with it now. Stop self-sabotaging by procrastinating so much. Just go through the fear of success because you could be further along by now.
Steve: Any final advice to aspiring freelance bookkeepers out there?
Lex: Be honest about your expectations and your clients’ expectations. I find honesty stops any miscommunication, and always follow up with an email to confirm the details. Also, join the 6 Figure Bookkeepers’ Club: Jo and Zoe are amazing and I found the membership so valuable when I was out on my own.
Alexis Charkiw is the owner of Right Click Bookkeeping, a bookkeeping practice specialising in Xero. Follow Lex on Twitter and Instagram. Join her Facebook group: UK Small Business Support with Alexis.
