Testimonials

“We employed Donna Satterlee from June through December 2008 to do our personal and business bookkeeping at our residence in Portland. Donna’s work performance was satisfactory. We found her to be punctual, honest and dedicated to the tasks that we presented to her.

Jeannine and Robert Leeper
March 20, 2009

Donna knows the right questions to ask. She is also diligent about getting the information that she needs from me in order to keep our bookkeeping up to a high standard.

Larry Ferguson
Compass Consulting  Group.

http://www.obln.org/E-MAG/09/09.01.htm#COMPASS

Compass Consulting Group: Working Smarter, Not Harder with Blue Water Bookkeeping

Larry Ferguson is the owner of Compass Consulting Group in Portland. As a small business owner, he has outsourced his company’s bookkeeping functions to Blue Water Bookkeeping.

OBLN: Larry, please tell us a bit about your own company, Compass Consulting Group.

Larry Ferguson: Compass works with up and coming, newly promoted, managers who have a strong technical background, but lack the people skill component needed to become the leaders for tomorrow in their companies. We provide assessment, development planning and implementation services to help them become successful and rise in their careers.

OBLN: How did you first become aware of Blue Water Bookkeeping?

Larry Ferguson: Donna and I met at a small business marketing meeting. She was among several other entrepreneurs/solo practitioners. During the introductions, she mentioned that she was a bookkeeper and I lit up, because I had been looking for a bookkeeper for the past couple of months. After the meeting, I cornered her and said “Let’s talk. I might have some need for your business.”

We set up a meeting about a week later. I explained my situation and bookkeeping and accounting needs. She told me that she was a QuickBooks ProAdvisor. QuickBooks was a software tool that I have been using for many years. I said “Let’s go. Let’s give it a try for a month and see how it works.”

That was six months ago. Since then, Donna has been helping me to keep a lot of the individual transactions and postings for my business updated and current. She has also helped me convert from the desktop version of QuickBooks to the online one – so we can now work simultaneously through the web tool and don’t have to flip files back & forth - wondering whether or not we each have the latest file version and changes. That was a very significant move for us. It became apparent that we needed to move online so we could avoid making any errors or omissions that would create needless confusion for ourselves.

OBLN: Why were you looking to outsource your bookkeeping?

Larry Ferguson: One of my goals at Compass is to work smarter, not harder. I am looking at the areas of the business where I have my best strength and skill. (Bookkeeping is not one of those.) I now outsource functions where I know I need help or where it makes more sense, from a time management viewpoint, to have someone else pick it up. This, then, allows me to focus on more important areas like marketing, contracts, negotiation, keeping the cash flow going – instead of worrying about some of the more detailed stuff that isn’t my strong suit anyway.

OBLN: So, this new arrangement with Blue Water Bookkeeping has worked out well for you? 

Larry Ferguson: Oh, yes. In my book, one of the things that is a significant hallmark of any professional is responsiveness. When I have a question, Donna is extremely good about getting back to me within 24 hours or sooner by email or phone.

I also rely on subcontractors to ask smart questions, to ask the right questions. Donna knows the right questions to ask. She is also diligent about getting the information that she needs from me in order to keep our bookkeeping up to a high standard.

http://www.obln.org/E-MAG/09/09.01.htm#BLUE

Entrepreneurship and Outsourcing -  Blue Water Bookkeeping meets the Needs of Other Small Business Owners

Donna Satterlee is the owner of Blue Water Bookkeeping LLC, a company that she started in April, 2008. She is one of many people with disabilities in Oregon who have chosen to participate in the workforce as self-employed entrepreneurs. Donna’s target customers are small businesses who are looking for tailored relationships. 

OBLN: Donna, can you please tell us how it was that you decided to start up Blue Water Bookkeeping?

Donna Satterlee: I became disabled as a result of complications that followed a back surgery. It causes me a lot of ongoing pain. I now have difficulty walking, sitting or standing for long periods of time. When it was time to return to work, I began working with Oregon Vocational Rehabilitation Services (OVRS) and Kedma Ough from DBA and Avita. Together we decided that operating my own business would be the best plan to follow. It would offer me the flexibility that I would need to both manage my disability and work productively.

OBLN: Once you settled on the goal to become self employed, what did you do next?

Donna Satterlee: We assessed all of my skills and, because I have been involved with bookkeeping for almost 20 years, determined that bookkeeping services should be my focus. Kedma Ough helped me do a feasibility study and develop a business and marketing plans. Working with my vocational rehabilitation counselor, we determined start-up costs, what costs they could help me with, and what finances I would need to contribute. They helped me get my licenses, my QuickBooks® software, and my training as a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor.

OBLN: When you were ready to open the doors of your new business, you had to attract customers, how did you do that?

Donna Satterlee: In the bookkeeping business, you mainly get new customers through personal contact or referrals rather than advertising. Few businesses are willing to entrust their finances to someone they don’t know anything about. 

Early on, I found an organization online called MeetUp.com. I searched for business groups that were meeting in my area and found two of them. At the first meeting I went to, there were eight people attending and I got one referral. At the second meeting, I met another man who owned his own business and he became my customer. I found another customer on Craig’s List. Another one came by referral through DBA. Now, on an ongoing basis, I regularly attend several networking meetings.

When I do meet with a client for the first time, in addition to finding out their business needs and what I can do to take care of those needs, I spend time getting to know them on a personal basis - and letting them get to know me. That is important. If they don’t feel comfortable with me as a person, a business relationship is not likely to work out well. I also usually share a bit about my disability so they are aware that I have some physical challenges. I feel better being upfront about this, since it does adversely affect me from time to time. 

OBLN: Do you have a particular customer base that you are targeting?

Donna Satterlee: I focus my business to the needs of smaller businesses - sole proprietorships through to micro businesses with no more than ten employees. I am also keen on working with other entrepreneurs with disabilities. I know first-hand about the additional struggles that they sometimes have and how tight their finances can be. In fact, I extend a bit of a discount to those clients.

OBLN: With almost a year behind you, how do you feel about your decision to become self-employed?

Donna Satterlee: I enjoy running my own business and the flexibility that it provides has worked really well. It has allowed me to both manage my disability and remain productive. When I am experiencing pain, it is terrific to be able to lie down for a few minutes to relieve it.

Working from home also allows me to keep my overhead costs down – so this has worked out well for my customers too. Since all of my clients pay me on an hourly basis I want to make their use of my time as cost efficient as possible. It is important to me to complete my work as timely and as accurately as I can.

I do let all my clients know a little bit about my disability and why I sometimes have some difficulty walking or sitting. This helps them to understand if I have to call and say that I’m hurting really bad and will be 10 or 15 minutes late for our meeting.

One of my clients and I have just started to use the online version of QuickBooks. We are in the process of changing the way we do things to streamline everything. More and more, he has been able to send me the information I need by email and fax. We are making the work as “virtual” as possible. This is an exciting new development because virtual accounting can allow me to have clients anywhere, not just in the local area. 

My business has been growing well, but I do have the capacity to take on additional clients.

OBLN: The DBA was instrumental in getting your business off the ground. Are you still involved with them?

Donna Satterlee: DBA has a support networking group that meets twice a month and I attend it regularly. Sunshine Dixon, the group facilitator, helps to keep me motivated. She often suggests unique ideas to help find new clients. We always discuss ways to “meet our next payday.” A payday is something that each of us has set as a goal. For example, my first payday was to get my first client.

Kedma Ough and Sam Sproson of Avita/DBA are also instrumental in providing support. They are always available to help brainstorm ways to overcome any barrier I may be facing. They often ask, “What can I do to help?” or “What do you need from me?” It’s great to have a group like this that is so willing to support and help me along the way to building a successful business.

OBLN: What advice would you give to other people with disabilities who are considering going into business for themselves?

Donna Satterlee: First of all, make sure that you decide on a business that you like and are passionate about. This will help you to keep moving forward when you run into difficulty. Make sure that you carefully examine your capabilities. If you have limitations, explore possible accommodations that will enable you to minimize their impact on your business. Plan your business well.

Having a good support system is extremely important. See if there are support groups available to help you. If you don’t have access to DBA or something similar, S.C.O.R.E. is another place you can go to get free services. Whenever you start to feel frustrated or feel like giving up, remind yourself about why you chose this path and why it is important to you. Focus on finding a way to get past whatever obstacle you are facing. No matter what, don’t give up!