Mandatory Questions –
- Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities.
- BooXkeeping is a nationwide provider of affordable outsourced bookkeeping services to small and medium-sized businesses.
- Kindly give us a brief description of yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
- Max Emma is the CEO and Chief Bookkeeping Officer of BooXkeeping. He is a serial entrepreneur who is changing the bookkeeping industry. Max has always been interested in entrepreneurship. When he was growing up in the former Soviet Union, he used to resell Snickers bars to make money. After his family immigrated to the United States, Max had to work to support himself through school. Consequently, he accepted a position with a large telecom company after graduation and gained a lot of experience in the accounting and finance field. However, following his passion for entrepreneurship, Max decided to quit his job and start his own business in 2002. Since then, Max has owned multiple businesses that have ranged from construction and consulting to maintenance and services.
- What inspired you to (start a new business venture) or (to make significant changes in an existing business)? How did the idea for your business come about?
- In one of his early ventures, Max needed to outsource the bookkeeping function for his business, so he started by searching for local bookkeepers. He called all of them to get a sense of what they would charge for the same scope of work. However, he was disappointed by the responses he received. Some bookkeepers didn’t even return his calls, and others were very unprofessional. He also received estimates from them that ranged from $300 to $1,800 per month. Noticing a gap in the market, Max and his partner decided to open their own remote bookkeeping company. They wanted to make it simpler and more efficient for small businesses to do things like financial data entry, billing, bookkeeping, and reporting.
- What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
- Don’t give up. The journey is full of highs and lows, but if you’re truly passionate about your business, you’ll find a way to make it work.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help. There’s no shame in admitting that you don’t know everything and seeking advice from those who have been successful in the past.
- Learn as much as you can. Knowledge is power, and the more you know about running a business, the better equipped you’ll be to succeed.
- What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
- Being able to identify and capitalize on opportunities.
- Having a strong work ethic and being able to ” hustle” and grind.
- Being able to take risks and pivot when necessary.
- How many hours do you work a day on average?
- As an entrepreneur, it’s important to be flexible and adaptable and to be able to work when and how you need to in order to get the job done. There are no set rules when it comes to running your own business – you have to find what works for you and make it work. So don’t be afraid to experiment a little bit and find what schedule works best for you. At the end of the day, being an entrepreneur is about providing value and getting the job done no matter what it takes.
- To what do you most attribute your success?
- A commitment to providing maximum value to customers and hard work. Just hard work plain and simple.
- How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
- There’s no simple answer to how you go about marketing your business. It depends on what your business is, what your goals are, and who your target audience is. That said, you need to get in front of people. For some, online marketing might work really well. For others, hit trade shows and networking events. At the end of the day, referrals will always be your best source of marketing.
- Where did your organization’s funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
- Raising capital can be a daunting task, but there are a few things you can do to increase your chances of success. First, make sure you have a well-thought-out business plan and pitch deck. Investors will want to know how you plan to turn a profit, and they’ll also want to see evidence that your business is viable. Second, start networking with potential investors as early as possible. Get to know them, their interests, and what kinds of businesses they typically invest in. Third, be prepared to offer potential investors something in return for their funding. This could be equity in your company, warrants (rights to purchase shares at a set price), or debt financing.
- What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
- Stay consistent and swap out what doesn’t work with new ideas along the way.
- Where do you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
- As a household name in our industry. When a small business owner or start-up company is asked, who do you use for your bookkeeping, they say BooXkeeping.
- Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
- I admire Uber for their innovation and disruption of the transportation industry. They’ve made it easier than ever for people to get around, and they’re quickly changing the way we think about transportation. It’s very similar to what we are trying to do in the bookkeeping industry.
Recommended Questions –
- How important have good employees been to your success?
- Good employees are essential to any business’ success. They are the ones who keep things running smoothly and make sure that the customers are happy. I have been very fortunate to have some great employees over the years, and I owe a lot of my success to them.
- How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
- If there’s value extract it, if not, move on immediately.
- What motivates you?
- Helping small businesses succeed with fewer headaches.
- How do you generate new ideas?
- Read Books : )
- How do you define success?
- Success is not about making a lot of money. It’s not about becoming famous. It’s not even about having a lot of things.
- Success is defined by one simple metric: Did you achieve your goal?
- How do you build a successful customer base?
- Over-deliver value.
- What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
- Freedom
- What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
- We recently won the 2022 Best of Accounting award for Bookkeeping. That was great.
- What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
- The responsibility. If you work for someone else, you aren’t responsible for what happens after hours. This is not the case as an entrepreneur and it’s just a different state of existence.
- What kind of culture exists in your organization? How did you establish this tone and why did you institute this particular type of culture?
- Our internal # is #CoolBeanCounters.
- In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
- Elevated
For more information visit us at booxkeeping.com