In January of 2018 I "took the leap" and launched Profitize Us. In July of 2018 I decided, "Hey! It's time to start a blog!" As I go through my work and my learning, thoughts arise that I'm inspired to share with folks like you. So here we are.

In this spot, I look forward to sharing about tips and tools of the trade, new technology, and thoughts on how management accounting/financial analysis practices can be helpful to small business owners, even on the micro-level. And forgive me, I might geek out a little bit.

To start us off, I'll share what brings me here today and why I began Profitize Us. My business career began in 2010 at SkySouth Aviation. Prior to that, I worked in theatrical lighting in New York City (some day, I'll do a blog post on how a career in theatre prepared me for just about everything else). I had previously worked for the owner of SkySouth for a year before moving to New York, and after many years up north, North Carolina began calling (backyards! gardens! mildish winters! reasonable cost-of-living!). I was excited to work again for this growing small business.

In fact, SkySouth's operations had grown significantly and I looked forward to becoming part of something with more permanence than I ever felt in theatre. My role was general at the start. I had already taught myself QuickBooks (Desktop), and focused on bookkeeping and sales. In time, the owner of the company began asking me harder questions that required deeper analysis. I loved the challenge. I was good at math, becoming proficient in Excel, and a strong analytical thinker. Realizing it was time to focus on my career growth, I enrolled in the Elon MBA program.

“It was clear how much stronger an organization we were with documented, efficient workflows that leveraged technology. ”

While I pursued the MBA, SkySouth continued to grow, as did my role in the company. We moved our accounting operations to QuickBooks Online which opened up a world of technology to automate processes and work more efficiently. I also had a baby, which required me to fully document our accounting procedures and build robust workflows that could sustain my three-month maternity leave (more on that in another post). It was clear how much stronger an organization we were with documented, efficient workflows that leveraged technology.

I completed the MBA in May of 2017 and was well recognized for academic success, which I attribute in part to being able to practically apply my classwork directly in the small business environment. One night in class we learned about the basic financial analysis ratios. The next day I was calculating them at work and seeing what I could learn from them. It all just made sense! What fun! Today, I remain devoted to life-long learning. I'm happy to be a QuickBooks ProAdvisor and studying daily to become a Certified Management Accountant, which I hope to achieve by early 2019.

And so here we are... late in 2017 I realized that my calling was not to a corporate career but to help small businesses grow - whether it is through solid bookkeeping or meaningful analysis - and develop ways for them to track that growth without spending hours toiling over a spreadsheet. I get to keep doing what I love, yet experience new and unique challenges by working with a variety of businesses.

Now, that's enough about me for awhile. I'm excited to use this space to connect and share with owner-operators and managers of small business, other advisors, and people who might be thinking about launching a venture of their own.

Want to work together? Send me a note at info@profitize.us or contact me here.

Until next time!

~ Katharine

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