What Business Ownership Taught Me About Money, Even After Decades in Accounting

October is always a meaningful month for me because it marks another anniversary for RMA Bookkeeping Solutions. This Friday, October 16th, marks 6 years of owning a business that has literally changed my life.

Each year, our anniversary gives me an opportunity to reflect on how much this business has grown and, perhaps more importantly, how much I've grown alongside it.

I came into entrepreneurship with an advantage that many business owners don't have. Before starting RMA Bookkeeping Solutions, I had already spent decades working in accounting and finance. I understood financial statements, budgets, expenses, cash flow, and financial performance.

But knowing how business finances work and experiencing them as a business owner are two very different things.

Entrepreneurship has taught me financial lessons that no accounting textbook, corporate role, or spreadsheet ever could. As we celebrate another year in business, I wanted to share a few that have shaped the way I manage my own business and support the business owners we serve.

Revenue Isn't the Same as Financial Success

As an accountant, I already knew this technically. As a business owner, I learned what it actually feels like.

Revenue can grow while cash feels tight. You can have a great sales month while simultaneously making significant investments in technology, contractors, professional services, or other areas of the business. You can reach a revenue goal and still realize that the business isn't operating as efficiently or profitably as you'd like.

I've learned to look beyond the top line. Revenue matters, but so do profitability, cash flow, capacity, and the cost of operating and growing the business. Financial health isn't simply about generating more revenue. It's about understanding what happens to that revenue after it comes through the door.

Cash Creates Options

There is a difference between knowing that cash flow matters and experiencing the freedom that adequate cash reserves can provide.

Cash gives a business owner options. It can provide breathing room during a slower month, allow you to make an investment without immediately taking on debt, help you navigate an unexpected expense, or give you time to make a thoughtful decision instead of a rushed one.

I've become increasingly intentional about thinking beyond the balance in the bank account today and asking what the business may need tomorrow. Cash isn't just something to accumulate. It's a tool that can create stability, flexibility, and choice.

Every Opportunity Doesn't Deserve a Yes

This has been one of the most important lessons of entrepreneurship. Growth creates opportunities, but opportunities also have costs. Sometimes that cost is financial. Other times it's time, capacity, energy, or focus.

A new client can increase revenue while creating more operational complexity. A new service can sound exciting but require systems and resources that aren't yet in place. A new software subscription may promise efficiency but become another monthly expense that isn't actually being used.

I've learned to ask better questions before saying yes:

• Does this opportunity align with where the business is going?

• What will it require financially?

• Do we have the capacity to support it well?

• What problem is this actually solving?

• Is this something the business needs now, or simply something that sounds good?

Sometimes growth means adding something. Sometimes it means becoming more intentional about what you don't add.

The Numbers Are More Valuable When You Actually Use Them

I built a career around financial information, but owning a business reinforced something important: reports alone don't create better businesses.  Decisions do.

Financial statements tell you what happened and where the business stands. But the real value comes from asking what those numbers mean and what you're going to do with that information.

That's why I've become such an advocate for regular financial reviews, budgeting, and forecasting. Financial reports shouldn't simply get filed away until tax season. They should help you recognize patterns, answer questions, and make more informed decisions throughout the year.

You Don't Have to Fix Everything at Once

Entrepreneurship will always give you something to improve. There will be another process to refine, financial goal to reach, system to implement, or idea you want to pursue. Trying to address everything at once can quickly become overwhelming.

I've learned to appreciate the power of making one thoughtful improvement at a time.  Maybe this month it's increasing cash reserves. Next month it's reviewing expenses. Next quarter it's developing a budget or improving a reporting process. Those changes may feel small individually, but over time they compound.

In many ways, this lesson has become one of the guiding philosophies behind the way I think about financial management today:

Small, intentional financial habits create stronger, more sustainable businesses.

There's Value in Building the Business You Actually Want

Perhaps the biggest lesson I've learned is that financial success isn't only about making more money. It's also about building a business that supports the life, work, and impact you want to create. 

When I begin working with a new client, this is often one of our first conversations. I don't want to know only, “What are your revenue goals?” I also want to understand, “What kind of life do you want your business to support, and what do you ultimately want this business to help you achieve?”

Those answers matter because financial goals don't exist in isolation. The decisions you make about revenue, profitability, hiring, capacity, and growth should ultimately support the business and life you're trying to build.

That may mean choosing sustainable growth over rapid growth. It may mean becoming more selective about the clients you serve. It may mean investing in support so you aren't doing everything yourself. It may even mean recognizing that the version of the business that got you here isn't necessarily the version that will take you where you're going next.

I've been thinking about that last lesson quite a bit lately.

Celebrating Where We've Been and Looking Ahead

As RMA Bookkeeping Solutions celebrates another anniversary, I'm incredibly grateful for the clients, colleagues, referral partners, friends, and supporters who have been part of this journey.

I'm also excited about what's ahead.

Over the past year, I've spent a lot of time thinking about what this business has become, the clients we're best equipped to serve, and how I want us to continue growing. Some exciting changes are taking shape behind the scenes that reflect that evolution.

I can't share everything just yet, but I look forward to sharing more soon.

For now, I'm celebrating six years of entrepreneurship, the lessons learned along the way, and the opportunity to continue building a business that helps other business owners build stronger ones of their own.

And if entrepreneurship has taught me anything, it's that the businesses we build rarely follow a perfectly straight line.  We learn. We adjust. We become more intentional.

And we keep building.