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Is accounting a great business to start? Assuming... (alien.top)
submitted 9 months ago by Sardine86@alien.top to c/entrepreneur@indiehackers.space
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Assuming:

A) your goal is to reach 8-figure net worth within 7-8 years

B) you're willing to work your ass off (obviously!)

C) you're able to be one of the best out there AND adapt to new technology

In other words: with the above criteria and a strong desire to learn and apply a valuable analytical skill set as you become an entrepreneur, is accounting a particularly good choice?

Hot takes welcome!

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[–] 88captain88@alien.top 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Like a CPA? The problem is accounting is generally $150-200 hour rates so good steady income and good career but not great to establish a ton of wealth. Accounting firm maybe but it requires hiring people with degrees and careers which means heavy labor costs and thin margins.

Accounting isn't like other skilled labor like Attorneys and doctors where they can hire interns and assistants to do most of the work, Accounting typically has all the work handed to them by the business and they just need to review and rubber stamp it

[–] HangryHangryHobo@alien.top 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Ya OP is looking to accumulate over 10M in 8 years meaning they need to clear 1.25M per year after taxes and expenses. Not sure accounting will get you there.

[–] Sardine86@alien.top 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Very fair point. I should have been much clearer, sorry. I did mean starting a firm and growing it from there. Outsourcing, automation, and likely combined financial planning services could all be key tenets of the business. It's hard to know what to do nowadays since I'm not one who's inclined at all towards programming or dragging myself through poverty in university (when it hardly seems necessary IRL) but everything seems to be going that way!

[–] LeadThySelf@alien.top 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

The margins on this business are tough, there are some new companies that are doing accounting for startups for like £20/mo I have no idea how they will generate enough profit. Honestly I would steer clear.

[–] Sardine86@alien.top 1 points 9 months ago

That's crazy. Maybe combined AI automation, oversees outsourcing, and frankly minimal services? Just a wild guess.

I'll steer away from this iceberg. Not sure where to but the sea of business is immense!

Like the name by the way: Lead Thy Self.

[–] TheScriptTiger@alien.top 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I don't really care too much for A, personally, as putting the monetary figure to it seems too arbitrary for someone who would claim to be a professional accountant. But if you take it slow, build your book of business based on the resources you have at any given time, don't overextend yourself, and grow incrementally over time, you can definitely still build a relatively successful business by most standards even in today's landscape.

[–] Sardine86@alien.top 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

That makes sense, thanks. It seems like you're coming from an informed perspective that accounting isn't the way to make it big in the 10M+ range (even as a firm owner), but that it's still a field where respectable success can be tapped into. Hard to know what to do really, but accounting is something I'm really close to deciding to study, so your input is very helpful.

[–] TheScriptTiger@alien.top 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Just curious, but why do you seem to arbitrarily correlate "10M+" with "making it big"? The average American spends about $3 to $4 million over the course of their entire lifetime. Most people aspire just to fulfill that budget and give themselves an ample runway for retirement. What would be the need to grossly exceed that lifetime budget more than twofold year over year?

I mean, frankly speaking, the amount of waste we're talking about here is just of incredible proportions. Where do you think the money you aim to accumulate is coming from? The more you arbitrarily accumulate, the more you take out of circulation for someone else and contribute to the ever widening economic gaps. Do you just have some arbitrary rich old guy as a role model for your life or what? Dude, just live your own life and be happy lol. You don't need to sentence the rest of the planet to death just because you want to be supreme ruler or whatever lol.

[–] Sardine86@alien.top 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

10M+, enough to make a small difference in the world and invest in businesses and causes that create meaningful change. Enough to not worry about my own finances and to commit to my more meaningful passions. Enough to sort out my family who've always struggled. 10M+ is a lot for "average - something I've frankly never aspired to be! The work, the game, the drive, the big vision is part of what makes me happy. And supreme ruler? Seriously, that's just petty. If you think supreme rulers have 10M dollars, you're tragically misinformed; the "real" sharks are out there with trillions or multiple billions of dollars, and in the ocean of wealth, 10M is a small pond-sized reserve. I'm not here saying "I want this but it will make me unhappy and careless about life!", which I'm sure you're acutely aware of.

[–] TheScriptTiger@alien.top 1 points 9 months ago

I guess you misread my comment entirely. I used the word "arbitrary" several times. It makes no difference if your goal be "10M+" or trillions, that's entirely besides the point. And assuming that the world is just waiting and begging for you, of all people, to rise and invest and make the world a better place... Seriously... That's one heck of a savior syndrome case you've got going on, not to mention just arrogance in general. If you want to make the world a better place, just do it. Saying someone else has trillions so excusing yourself of amassing billions or millions as "not being that bad," what a joke. You yourself attempt so much to hide behind a mask of arbitrary ideals you've picked up from here or there, and yet all the while have no clue who or what you are.

[–] Sonar114@alien.top 1 points 9 months ago

No, it’s a fairly saturated market with terrible leverage.

[–] RocketMoonShot@alien.top 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

No.

[–] Sardine86@alien.top 1 points 9 months ago

Sounds like you've seen accounting firms go stale before.

[–] accidentalciso@alien.top 1 points 9 months ago

If you are considering starting a CPA firm, you might consider specializing in SOC2 audits. Cybersecurity is hot and will continue to be. SOC2 audits are becoming the standard (in the US at least) for companies to look to as a 3rd party attestation for Vendor Risk Management. You could definitely build out a CPA firm specializing in these audits to reach your financial goals.

[–] founderscurve@alien.top 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Its a very reliable business, for the most part you'll always be in-need, but its not particularly scalable in that its basically always going to be a margin business where cost of salaries and revenues will general run in parallel, so to get the kind of returns you're describing would be a challenge, especially over the timeframe you describe.

[–] Sardine86@alien.top 1 points 9 months ago

This is the crux of the matter isn't it? We shall see if AI drops the overheads as time goes by, b for now I'm convinced this probably isn't the right move to make. Thank you.

[–] FrenchMajesty@alien.top 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Life is too short to do a work that pays but isn’t fulfilling. You can make money in a million ways in 2023

[–] Sardine86@alien.top 1 points 9 months ago

This is a message that strikes deep because it would be amazing if it were always practical... It's very difficult to make much money in the areas that fulfill me without advanced degrees, however. And money is practical. Accounting wouldn't be the end goal but the means to then pursue fulfilling work and study with absolutely freedom to do so unencumbered by financial poverty. All in all, I also believe that success in business itself would make the game of business rather fulfilling.

[–] Unique_Ad_330@alien.top 1 points 9 months ago

I would try to get AI technology implemented into accounting, imo it shouldn’t be hard to do with todays technology. I’ve asked around from people i know if they have any AI that can do that, they said no but it would be a good idea.

To be honest, accounting will probably be replaced by AI pretty soon.