Major Announcement #1: This Is Me
When I first started my blog in January 2015, I did so with the intention I'd be anonymous for the foreseeable future. I could write whatever I want and not worry about co-workers, family, friends, and others finding out about me. Afterall, I read various blogs where numerous authors are anonymous. That's all fine and dandy but at this point I feel like I want to put my name on my work because it's become such a huge extension of me. I'm aiming to create a personal brand and I want this to help me connect with others and set myself apart, not only on the blogosphere but in the accounting community.
Initially, I was more worried what readers would think of me. But when I started making the decision to begin living life on my own terms, I stopped caring as much about what other people think of me. Sure there are some haters in the world and by exposing my true identity, I can be making myself really vulnerable. I've decided to do it anyway and I hope it doesn't turn out to be a big mistake. I think in the long run, it will be a good thing.
I've focused on transparency from Day 1 of the blog with the exception of my real identity. But I put my personal finances out in the open. I do it to help start a conversation and because personal finance is important to me. It's such a taboo subject and people don't talk enough about their personal finances, but get themselves into some very challenging situations. I've shared some personal feelings and blogged nearly everything I've done this year. I am transparent because I want to build trust online. As a Certified Public Accountant, trust is everything.
Aside from building trust, I'm trying to create the content and community that I wish I had been able to read and join several years ago when I first started reading blogs. Instead of waiting around until someone else does it, I'm taking this opportunity to share my voice and be the change I want to see.
If it weren't for starting this blog, I wouldn't have been able to connect with some of my Accounting Idols. I knew if I wanted to start connecting with people in the accounting community doing interesting things, I would have to go online to find and build the community for it.
So without further ado, here's who I am: Jeff Maddux, CPA - a.k.a The Lifestyle Accountant
Major Announcement #2: My New Business Venture
I've worked in a variety of industries and environments doing accounting but none of them seem to be the right fit for what I was looking for. Something that no accounting firm, corporate accounting department, nor retail tax company can offer based on what I've seen so far. I could certainly hang up my own shingle. I've contemplated doing that, and I just didn't feel like it was going to have a big enough impact on my life. I didn't want to trade time for money and become a worker bee again and get stuck in the same old accounting routine. I wanted something that'll allow me to grow and that was bigger than just my name. Plus, one thing I often hear entreprenuers say when it comes to starting a business is to not go at it alone.
So where do you go if you are an entreprenurial accountant?
The answer to that question is Accodex Partners.
Accodex is a high-tech accounting startup out of Australia that offers cloud accounting services to small businesses. They have plans to expand into the USA and beyond. First stop: my hometown of Sacramento, California.
This is a great opportunity for me because my values are very much in alignment with those of Accodex. Accodex was created by co-founders and childhood friends Chris Hooper and Markus Cirillo. Like myself, they found the traditional accounting career path frustrating and slow to change. Chris and Markus set out to completely revolutionize what an accounting business looks like and brought it into the 21st Century. Not only are they killing it with providing an awesome experience for their clients, they have a very unique business model for entrepreneurial accountants.
I left a 9 to 5 with the intention I wouldn't settle for another "job" or "career", I wanted to build a business. With this arrangement, I am in complete control of my schedule and I am still a business owner, not an employee. But I wanted to join something bigger than myself. More than just becoming a freelance accountant with an hourly rate. I want to be a part of a valuable network of entrepreneurial accountants. I work as little or as much as I want and build exactly what I wanted for a long time: a lifestyle accounting business. A business that has no constraints on where I work, doesn't require a lot of capital investment or huge overhead, and that is scalable based on my ideal lifestyle. It's not going to be easy though as I have to build up my own client base and still be responsible for my work. But I am up for the challenge. My favorite part of this business? It will allow me to serve those who I'm most passionate about: small businesses and entrepreneurs.
The BOTTOM LINE
I'm really excited to become part of the Accodex Partners network. I believe in the Accodex vision 100% and the business model that they offer. There's a lot of work to do, however, I'm eager to get started. In the coming weeks, you'll be seeing some changes on my website with the addition of my service offerings. I will continue to blog about things that interest me including personal finance, small business, and what it's like to grow a client base from zero. Instead of building a life around a business, I'm focused on building a business around my life. I hope you follow me on my journey and contribute to the conversation.
