Meet Amanda Evans of Tight Ship Bookkeeping!

Hey, babes! So happy to get the chance to bring you the stories of women I know you’ll love and take inspiration from. Today is no different— we have Amanda Evans of Tight Ship Bookkkeeping. Amanda is that friend who tells it like it is and the entrepreneur who dives right into new challenges head first. She loves living in sunny St. Pete, is a mom of two, & she believes you can accomplish great things if you put yourself out there. Enjoy getting to know her & stay boss. xx -Gina

Take a peek into Amanda’s daily life! | Video Interview

Tell us about yourself and what you do!

I am a bookkeeper with a love for math, fishing, and family. I love being able to help my clients not only with their day to day bookkeeping, but taking a load off of their administrative side of running a business to allow them to grow to their full potential.

How did your business begin?

The idea for Tight Ship was born about 16 years ago, when I was doing books for my friends' businesses. I noticed how incredibly hard it was for my friends to keep up with the dreaded books, how long it took me to drive here and there, and how cumbersome they made it. After sitting many hours with my friend Jon's fishing marketing company I insisted on finding a way to provide this service efficiently to all of my friends. 16 years ago technology wasn't quite there, however, it has come a LONG way and I am now able to provide 100% virtual bookkeeping, and provide a paperless document retention system that works for them. In July of 2018 Tight Ship was born; providing simple, streamlined bookkeeping.

What's 1 challenge you've faced and how has it effected your business? What did you do to overcome it?

My number one challenge is growth! What started as a manageable 9-10 hour workday load quickly became 12 plus hours of work. What has helped me (start to) overcome this challenge is obviously streamlining my processes, along with hiring some part time help. I had to decide exactly what type of client work I could pass off so I could create exactly the position I was hiring for. I feel like I have made steps in the right direction, but growth is continuing (which is a good thing!) I am always reworking and tweaking my plan regularly.

What's 1 success you've had since you’ve created your business? How do you feel when you look back on it?

My number one success was hitting my 1 year client goal at less than 6 months in! Looking back, I still beam with happiness because it showed my husband (aka my equity partner) THIS IS REAL and I am going to make this work!

What's the best piece of advice you could give someone looking to start a business?

Make a business plan, even if you don't plan on getting financing. It helps give you that little "box" to live in when making business decisions. It has helped me keep my brand consistent, decide on whether or not I can spend money on certain things, and have a finger on the pulse of my market and competition. The Small Business Development Center has great resources for this.

What's a pivot you've made in your business?

I've made lots of pivot tables in my business. Just kidding, a pivot I've made in my business is the addition of payroll services to my clients, along with offering a different accounting platform (Xero is the JAM if anyone is looking for an awesome cloud based accounting software).

When are you at your happiest?

Oh gosh. I am really at my happiest when I am caught up with work, sitting on our boat, fishing with my family.

What do you tell yourself when things get difficult?

I always circle back to my WHY. This helps me focus on the outcome of the service I provide my clients, and pushes me just a little bit extra to get out of whatever situation I may be in.

Whats 1 personal goal you've set for yourself this year?

You wouldn't believe this, but my goal for myself this year is to get more than one hair cut . Years past, between a full time job, mom of two, I haven't prioritized myself enough to take the hour out of my day to get a hair cut. So I will get at least two hair cuts this year. Having a hair salon as a client has helped motivate me to do this as well.

What's 1 business goal you've set for yourself to accomplish this year?

Oh I love a good business goal. These are ever evolving for me. A short term goal for me is to hire 2 more part time employees by the end of second quarter 2019. A long term goal for me is to hire out all positions of my company, and workflow it to the point where it almost runs itself.

What's the first thing you do on a Monday morning and why?

Mondays are my client days. These are days that I sit and concentrate only on clients accounts. So the first thing I do on a Monday morning, is I get dressed like I am having a client meeting, sit behind my laptop, and start processing paperwork.

Where can you be found + what will you typically be up to on a Friday night?

Friday nights are the nights we catch up with friends. You can generally find my family and me at Southern Brewing having a beer with friends with our kiddos coloring.

Finish these sentences: 

My go to karaoke song is… Hall and Oats "Rich Girl”.

My favorite cocktail is… Margarita.

My favorite quote is… "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them" -Albert Einstein