What inspired you to start your business?
After working in corporate for a very long time, I craved a career change. Unable to move away from the city, changing careers seemed like the next best thing. After some research, gardening ticked a lot of boxes; outdoors, physical, simple. Best career move ever!

What were the biggest challenges you faced with your bookkeeping or financial management before working with us?
My first move when becoming self-employed was to onboard an accounts person. Before earning my first dollar I knew that managing cashflow is a cornerstone of a successful business. My background is brand and operational strategy, not account keeping. So rather than wait for money challenges to arise, I ensured there was someone there from day one to manage this part of the business. It has made all the difference and ensured I was able to focus on managing the business.

How did those challenges affect your day-to-day operations or your business growth?
Having someone deal with the money has given space to focusing on growth, strategy and the most important thing, a life outside of the business. My end of day was not spent sending invoices, chasing late payments, managing bills. I have been able to spend time onboarding new clients, managing existing clients, and building a growth path for the business. It has also allowed time to spend with the family.

What made you decide to seek professional bookkeeping help?
Attempting to manage my own bookkeeping would be like attempting to diagnose a illness when I’m sick, or repair a dodgy light switch in my house. I can certainly give it a crack, but chances are somebody (ie me) is going to get hurt. My clients contract me because I provide a particular expertise that makes their life easier. It only makes sense for me to do the same.

What were your initial expectations when starting to work with us?
I was hoping to never worry about money management in the business again. This came to fruition from day one. Elevate assisted in setting up my accounting software, organising invoicing, payment of accounts, outstanding invoice follow-ups, everything. My accounts person, Nichelle, is amazing. In every aspect of her care and professionalism, she is like an inhouse employee. We could not have grown as quickly as we have without Elevate and Nichelle by our side.

How has our bookkeeping support addressed your challenges? Can you share specific examples?
We have not faced any accounts challenges because we have used an accounts person from the very beginning. Leveraging Nichelle and Sally’s expertise has meant we’ve been able to navigate with confidence.

How has having professional bookkeeping changed the way you plan for the future of your business?
Having a dedicated accounts person means I don’t think about the day-to-day money. It frees my mind to focus on how I can better serve my employees and how we can better service our clients.