There comes a point in every future business owner’s life when they say, “Take this job and shove it. I don’t need you. I don’t need anybody. In fact, I’m never working for anyone else ever again.” Then the next thing that person knows, they’re slamming a door behind them, racing across toward their crappy little car, and burning rubber out of a parking lot. (Ah – the memories.) A week later, they’re starting something new with a lump in their throat and their heartbeat racing a mile a minute. They’re contemplating DBAs, websites, business cards, and whether they really need to incorporate or not. Yet the one thing they’re not contemplating is returning to the crappy job they just quit.
Wait. That’s not you?
Uh – me neither.
Truth is, it took a lot of those moments for me to finally strike out on my own. In fact, the one person who I did tell to take his job and shove it up his keister (although in much more graphic terms) was three employers before the last one. The embarrassing truth is, it took a multiple number of bad bosses and mediocre jobs for me to finally say, “Why am I doing this? Why am I slaving away to make someone else rich – someone who treats me like I don’t matter?”
Here’s my story – where the final straw came for me that made me take the leap.
Quick Backstory: I got married, pregnant, quit my job and was collecting unemployment until my daughter was born. So basically, I was desperate to work because I hate being sedentary. It was a very boring time for me.
A month after I gave birth, I jumped at the chance to go back to work. I took a part time job as an administrative assistant for a man that was... well, the word “tyrant” would be putting it mildly. The man was a complete and utter jerk. And I knew he was going into it because the HR woman confided that my new boss hadn’t kept an assistant for more than a year... ever. That was a big warning signal for me, one which I ignored, so I had no one to blame but myself.
I managed to make it three months working for that guy – the shortest job I’ve ever had. But during those three months, I was the man’s scapegoat for everything. He worked out of his home, and when his guesthouse-turned-office keys were lost, he blamed me even though it turned out his son had taken the keys. When he returned from a trip and forgot where he had put his passports, he blamed me even though they turned out to be in a hidden pocket in his travel bag. When he forgot an appointment or to make a phone call, he would make his excuses saying that I was the idiot who hadn’t reminded him even though that was not part of my job. And the man would never apologize because “nothing was ever his fault.” He was verbally and emotionally abusive on a daily basis, but I hung in there despite the terror I would wake up with every day because I was young and stupid.
But finally, at three months, enough was enough. It was a Friday, and I told Joan (the office manager) that I would not be coming back. I asked her to wait until Monday to inform “the jerk” to which she understood and agreed. But apparently, she only waited until after I was gone. So, I never expected that when my phone rang later that evening, it would be the jerk calling to badger me into staying.
“Why are you quitting?” he demanded hostilely through the phone.
Since I have never been a confrontational person, I evaded. “I don’t think I’m the right person for you because obviously, you’re not happy with my work. I think you’d be better off with someone else.”
“But that’s ridiculous. I’ve spent a lot of time training you; I want you,” he insisted.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I hedged, desperately wishing I was the type of person who could hang up on someone. “I’m just not happy, and you’re not very easy to work for.”
“That’s ridiculous. If you weren’t happy, you should have told me. And I’m really easy to work for. I’m an easy going guy.”
Bullcrap, I thought. Instead, I pointed out, “If you’re so easy to work with, why haven’t you kept an assistant for more than a few months?”
“I have. Joan’s worked for me for over a year.” That wasn’t exactly true. Yeah, Joan had been his personal assistant, but she’d only stayed because he’d promoted her out of his office and away from him within the first year. Her office was nowhere near his office... not like mine. “I think you should come back.”
I wanted to cry. The man was such a bully. “I don’t think I’d be comfortable with that.”
“Look, you’ve obviously got issues,” he told me in a hard voice. “And you’re pushing those issues off on me, making me into something I’m not. I don’t know what you’re issues are, but you need to get over them.”
“If you think I’ve got issues, then why would you even want me back?”
“Because you’re good at your job. You’re efficient, and there’s still a lot you can learn from me. I think you’re smart, but you’re just not very bright.”
I swear on the Bible that he said that to me! You don’t forget an insult like that.
And now I was appalled.
“So, you should come back,” he pressed, “and get back to work. But you have to promise that this quitting stuff is all in the past. I can’t have you coming back only to quit on me again in six months.”
I wanted to say Bite me or Piss off. But instead, I answered with, “I have to think about it.” Because the truth was, as insulting as he was, he was very persuasive and he did have me wondering if this was all just my drama. “Can I call you on Monday and let you know?”
“Absolutely not! I can’t wait that long. But I will give you an hour to think about it. In one hour, I will call you back and expect your answer.” And with that, he hung up.
I sat there stupefied and trembling. He’d really made me wonder if I was some kind of crazy, overemotional coward... but his words kept ringing through me head: “I think you’re smart, but you’re just not very bright.”
Finally, I got angry... really angry. Why should I come back to work for a jerk like that – someone who makes me feel like I’m gum under his shoe? It would be better to strike out on my own and fire people as clients than to be stomped on every single day.
And that was my defining moment. That’s when I said, “I have to start my own business.” Since I knew how to do bookkeeping, it seemed natural to go that route.
But I was still a coward. I’d never worked on my own before; I’d never been good at confrontations; I’d never been able to stand up to bullies. So I took the coward’s way out: I changed the message on my answering machine so that it would politely refuse the job when the jerk called back – and he did, although he didn’t leave a message – and I never went back.
A week later, I had a website and business cards. I sold Mary Kay products until I finally got my first client a month later. (Surprisingly, it was Joan who sent my first client my way.)
And the rest, as they say, is history.
What’s your story?
Originally posted 2010-04-30 20:51:41. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
E.T. Barton has been in bookkeeping since 1998. In 2002, she began her own business specializing in bookkeeping, office administration, and market financial feasibility research. She has worked on a large variety of books - from construction, retail, restaurants, and resorts - and completed research for businesses both large and small. To learn more about her, read her article: 
Pingback: Tweets that mention Why I Became an Independent Bookkeeper | One Hour Bookkeeper.com -- Topsy.com
That’s a great story- It’s hard to believe someone would talk to an employee that way, at any rate you got your first client referral out of it…if only we could forget the insults and remember the complements that come our way, but it always seems to be the other way around.
I too have worked for jobs that ended up with me leaving because I got feed up.
The last job that I had before I struck out on my own, was full of good ole boys who thought that women should just do as they are told and keep quiet.
They had an accountant that was there when I started. He couldn’t train to save his life but thought that he knew it all. Don’t get me wrong, he is a very smart accountant but really should stay away from his co-workers. People walked in smiling and came back out looking like a deer in the headlights. Everybody complained about it but nobody said a thing. I did tell him at one time that I didn’t know why but I just couldn’t understand what he was trying to do at times. He was also famous for asking your opinion and then telling you that it was a bad opinion but would be in the owners office within the hour giving your opinion as his own. He also liked to tell you that you could learn so much more but fought you learning anything new. Loved his power. I loved being out with our customers and showing them about their accounting and getting them on coarse with our balances due. He didn’t like me getting out of the office. Made metion several times that he couldn’t believe that I would choose what I did over being an auditor.
The owner tried to let you make some of your own decisions. I asked one time why we didn’t charge a bad check charge. I was told that I could try it but I wouldn’t get it done. Well I am proud to say that they are now charging and collecting those charges. Then he changed. Guess he got tired or something.
That is the short version of a very long story but can tell you that the benefits of being a freelance bookkeeper out-weigh the benefits of a job. I will never work for another person again.
Hi,
I would like to take up independent book keeping assignments. I’m a certified accountant in India. My wife also is an accounts degree holder. Both of us work for different organisation. One of us would leave the job and stay at home …and hence we want to explore this new source of earning within our core expertise…
Let me know what you think..
regards,
Hey Amitesh, You should probably try going to Elance.com. That is a great site for people that want to do Independent Bookkeeping as an outsourcer. Since you are in India, your fees would be a lot less than a lot of U.S. Bookkeepers, which means a lot of Independent U.S. Bookkeepers will probably be willing to hire you to help relieve some of their load. Elance.com is where they can find you. It’s free to register and create your profile, then just start surfing through the job boards. You’ll have tons of work in no time.
I too have worked for jobs that ended up with me leaving because I got feed up.
The last job that I had before I struck out on my own, was full of good ole boys who thought that women should just do as they are told and keep quiet.
They had an accountant that was there when I started. He couldn’t train to save his life but thought that he knew it all. Don’t get me wrong, he is a very smart accountant but really should stay away from his co-workers. People walked in smiling and came back out looking like a deer in the headlights. Everybody complained about it but nobody said a thing. I did tell him at one time that I didn’t know why but I just couldn’t understand what he was trying to do at times. He was also famous for asking your opinion and then telling you that it was a bad opinion but would be in the owners office within the hour giving your opinion as his own. He also liked to tell you that you could learn so much more but fought you learning anything new. Loved his power. I loved being out with our customers and showing them about their accounting and getting them on coarse with our balances due. He didn’t like me getting out of the office. Made metion several times that he couldn’t believe that I would choose what I did over being an auditor.
The owner tried to let you make some of your own decisions. I asked one time why we didn’t charge a bad check charge. I was told that I could try it but I wouldn’t get it done. Well I am proud to say that they are now charging and collecting those charges. Then he changed. Guess he got tired or something.
That is the short version of a very long story but can tell you that the benefits of being a freelance bookkeeper out-weigh the benefits of a job. I will never work for another person again.
I LOVE THIS BLOG!!!
Do you guys have an RSS feed?
Yes, we do have an RSS feed. It’s the blue button to the right, under the “Follow Us” section. Let me know if it’s not working for any reason.
It took me a while to search online, only your site explain the fully details, bookmarked and thanks again.
- Kris
I enjoyed reading it. I require to study more on this subject..Thanks for sharing a good info..Any way I’m going to subscribe to your feed and I hope you post again soon.
Keep posting stuff like this i really like it
Do you accept guest posts? I would love to write couple articles here.
That is nice to definitely find a site where the blogger knows what they are talking about.
Great blog, thanks a lot for the awesome posts!
Been looking for this article for long time ago and finally found here. thanks for sharing this post. appreciate!
Great work keep it coming
Me too, ty for sharing this..
I think youve made some really interesting points. Not as well many people would basically think about this the way you just did. Im seriously impressed that theres so significantly about this topic thats been uncovered and you did it so properly, with so considerably class. Excellent one you, man! Truly terrific things here.
First of all, allow my family enjoy a person’s command during this matter. Even though this is certainly brand new , nevertheless soon after registering your site, this intellect has exploded extensively. Allow all of us to take hold of one’s rss to help keep in touch with at all probable messages Sincere understand but will pass it on to help admirers and my private are living members
Keep up the post, haven’t seen a lot new on your blog lately.
Do you mind if I quote a few of your posts as long as I provide credit and sources back to your website? My website is in the exact same area of interest as yours and my visitors would definitely benefit from some of the information you present here. Please let me know if this alright with you. Regards!
Does your blog have a contact page? I’m having a tough time locating it but, I’d like to shoot you an e-mail. I’ve got some creative ideas for your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great website and I look forward to seeing it expand over time.
Woah! I’m really loving the template/theme of this site. It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s challenging to get that “perfect balance” between user friendliness and appearance. I must say you’ve done a great job with this. Also, the blog loads very quick for me on Opera. Outstanding Blog!
Have you thought about adding some relevant links to your article? I think it will really enhance everyone’s understanding.
Have you considered including a few social bookmarking links to these blogs. At the very least for twitter.
Have a good day!. Very nice post, I was expecting something like this from you. keep up the good work. Hair Loss Treatment for women
I think we live the same life. I had a boss that was just as bad if not worse. I was there for 4 1/2 years and one day he said something on the phone to me that NO one should every say and I walked out. I did go back for 6 weeks (after being gone for 5 days) and get his office in order. I did everything for him, bookkeeping, managed office, managed the horse farm files, purchased all products for his daily work, made his phone calls, worked on his divorce, his IRS audit, keep track of the expenses of his daughter weeding, I how more about his financial records over the past 30 years then he does. And nothing was ever his fault. Enough is enough!! So I am starting my own bookkeeping business and selling Mary Kay products. I love the Mary Kay Company!! I am very excited about this next chapter in my life!!!