Meet Candy Beauchamp (@CandyTX), owner of OffAssist Virtual Bookkeeping, based in Austin, Texas. Candy was a real pioneer in the “virtual” industry, starting her business in 2002 as technology such as fax machines and the Internet made outsourcing a viable, cost-effective option for companies. Here’s what Candy had to say:
What title did you give yourself (i.e. Owner, president, CEO, founder)? Why did you choose that title? Chief Number Cruncher. I chose that title because, after working for myself for 11 years, I realized that I own this joint and can be as silly as I want. Plus “President” or “Owner” just sounded too stuffy. I like to believe that I’m a little more open and friendly with my clients than that 
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How many people do you have on your team? 13
Best part(s) of being a business owner: Being able to set my own agenda, work the hours that I want to work (which one day will be less than 45!), able to take off to take my kid on their field trip, and give fellow business owners the absolute best work product that I can. More than one part, but I can honestly say that I love what I do.
Most challenging part(s) of being a business owner: I think the single most challenging part is life/work balance. I’m definitely improving in this area, but it’s a constant struggle at times to separate the two.
One thing you wish someone told you before you started your own business: You are going to fail. Don’t be afraid of it, embrace it and learn from it and move on.
Your business outlook for 2013: I’m so happy to say that we are on track to have our biggest gross and net income year. We’ve got a solid, awesome team in place. More than that, having worked really hard last year to get my team in order and everyone settled into places that they want to be, it leaves me open to pursue actually running the business and bringing in clients, which is my strongest point. It took me a long time to realize that I don’t have to do it all and I should be doing the parts that I love and that I’m truly good at.
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