25 Years - The Truth Behind the Milestone

Next month marks 25 years since I started my business.

It’s definitely a milestone worth celebrating. But the truth? The story behind those 25 years is much more complex, messy, and deeply personal than most would realise. And while I’m pretty sure I could write an entire book about it, I’ve done my best to summarise the journey below…

I started my bookkeeping business as a single mum of two young boys back in 2000. I’d walked away from a marriage, had nothing to fall back on, and was starting from scratch. There was no business plan or strategy, just a pressing need to create an income that gave me flexibility and a way to support myself and my boys. That was it. Survival, not success, was the goal.

Back then, being a young woman — and a single mum — trying to build something of her own didn’t come with much credibility. In fact; it was a battle to be taken seriously. There was a definite stigma. You weren’t seen as a professional, more like someone dabbling or doing a bit of admin to get by. It was hard to be viewed as capable or business-minded, especially in male-dominated rooms or around older professionals who assumed you weren’t running a “real” business.

There were no flexible working models, no female entrepreneur networks, no industry associations to lean on, and certainly no social media showing what was possible. Just a lot of figuring things out as I went.....moving between client sites, managing deadlines, furthering my education and trying to build a business with very few support structures around me. I didn’t start this business thinking it would grow into a multi-staffed, award-winning firm at that stage in my journey, I just hoped I could pay the bills and build a future for my kids.

Those early years were a blur of survival. I juggled school drop-offs, daycare, school holiday care, managing the kids with little family support at that time, client calls, and working every available hour in the day. These were the days before cloud accounting, every day was onsite work and then taking paperwork and data back-ups home to keep it going. There were many nights I sat at the kitchen table, exhausted, stressed, staring at the computer, knowing I had to keep going.

As the business grew, life kept growing too. I remarried and had two more children, and suddenly I found myself raising four kids, all at different ages and stages. There was a time when I had a baby at home, a toddler in daycare, one child in primary school, and another in high school… all while managing a client base, a growing team and a business that had started to take on a life of its own.  And…just because I had so much time…I decided to franchise my business!

My days were an endless loop of school drop-offs, pick-ups, team check-ins, client meetings, BAS lodgements, meal preps …. and then logging back in at night to finish what didn’t get done during the day. But by that point, it was not because I wanted to. It was because I had to. I had become completely trapped in my business, everything revolved around me. Every question, every task, every deadline. I’d built something successful on the outside, but behind the scenes, I was exhausted, stretched thin, and quietly wondering how much longer I could keep up the pace.

I never thought I’d made a mistake starting the business. But I had plenty of moments where I felt completely overwhelmed, alone, and unsure of how I was going to keep all the balls in the air. And I didn’t talk about it. I kept it in. I didn’t even tell my husband or my closest friends how worried I was at times. There’s this unspoken pressure — especially for women — to show up like we’ve got it all worked out. To be capable, composed, and holding everything together, even when we’re quietly falling apart behind the scenes. I carried that pressure for far too many years, putting on a brave face while silently struggling with the weight of it all.

And underneath that silence was something deeper: a constant hum of self-doubt. Imposter Syndrome has been a constant throughout my entire journey. I’ve questioned myself more times than I can count. And to be honest, it still lingers. Over the years, I’ve done a lot of personal reflection, and I’ve come to realise that some of that self-doubt goes way back to my early childhood, experiencing domestic violence, where I learnt to stay small and quiet. That internal belief that I wasn’t quite enough didn’t just disappear when I started a business. It came with me. I’ve learnt that imposter syndrome doesn’t go away on its own. You have to push through it. You have to keep showing up, even when your voice is shaking. I only wish I’d understood that sooner; because I know now it held me back from stepping into my full potential earlier.

And then there’s the guilt I dealt with being a mum running a business … mother guilt, wife guilt, business guilt. I think so many women in business carry this heavy load, feeling like we’re never quite doing enough in any one role. I spent years trying to be everything to everyone, and it nearly broke me.

I didn’t grow fast. I grew by accident - slowly, without a real plan, figuring things out along the way. And I didn’t always grow the right way. I undercharged because I was afraid of losing clients. I over-serviced because I thought that’s what was expected. I had no boundaries, and I constantly ignored my own needs - putting everyone else first, thinking that was just what running a business required. It took me years to realise that building something sustainable meant backing myself, not burning myself out.

Over time, things changed. I learnt to back myself. I learnt to price properly. I learnt to build systems, build the right team, and build a business that didn’t revolve solely around me. And in doing that, I opened the door to something even bigger …. a second business, The Bookkeepers Academy, where I now get to help others build stronger, more profitable, and more sustainable businesses (without burning out like I did).

And while I’ve spoken a lot about the hard parts, there are also so many amazing things to celebrate that has made it all worthwhile.  25 years in business has given me so much more than I could have imagined.

It gave me financial independence. It gave me choices. It gave me the ability to support my family, and to design a life around what matters most to me.

It gave me friendships, true, deep connections with people I’ve met through this work. Clients and team members who became friends. Fellow bookkeepers who’ve become like family who have walked this path beside me.

It gave me confidence. Fulfilment. A sense of purpose. A sense of identity.

It gave me the opportunity to contribute to a profession I now care deeply about…. to be a voice for bookkeepers, to advocate for better pricing, better boundaries, and better recognition of the value we bring to business.

It gave me achievements I’m proud of, including winning industry awards, being asked to speak and teach, and mentoring others as they grow their own practices. Those moments remind me that what I’ve built matters. That all the long nights and tough calls were worth it.

Yes, there were highs and lows. There were mistakes, lessons, detours, and doubts. But amongst the good, the bad, and the ugly of running a business — it’s given me a life I’m proud of, and a journey worth celebrating.

To anyone who’s still in the trenches, wondering if it’s all going to be worth it … I want you to know this:

It can be. It will be. If you stick with it, if you keep learning, if you find the courage to back yourself - even when it feels hard - you’ll build something stronger than you realise.

Here’s to the last 25 years… and whatever comes next. Because I’m not done yet.