Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Albee.
Jessica, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve always been the most organized person I know. Even when I was little! I would organize all my Halloween candy and sell it to my family (haha, suckers!), so I’ve always had that hustle in me. Once I “grew up,” I decided to study accounting in college and… did not enjoy it. I changed my degree to Business Management and graduated from SDSU in 2015. I got a job at an accounting firm right out of college (ironically) and ended up really enjoying it! Thank you, universe! The real-life applications were way more interesting to me than the old school t-accounts they taught in college. I worked at the firm for 3 years and decided that I wanted to put myself in a position where the sky is the limit, so Sparkle Bookkeeping was born!
Has it been a smooth road?
Starting my own business, I learned very quickly that I had to get thicker skin. I was getting so tired of trying to please and bend over backwards for everyone and every lead! Not everyone is a perfect fit, and that is OK! I also had to get over my codependency & people-pleasing. Especially when it came to billing, omg. In the beginning, I was always like, “hi, um excuse me, here’s your invoice. It was due over a month ago, do you think you could possibly make a payment?”. But that got old QUICK! I was confident in my work, but I hated asking people for money. It wasn’t until I hired my first bookkeeping helper and realized HOW MUCH training went into getting her up to speed. And that is when I realized my work IS VALUABLE, and not everyone can do this. Now, I’m slingin out invoices left and right without a flinch. 😉
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Sparkle Bookkeeping – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Well, not many people will understand this, but accounting is so beautiful. Once I really started to understand accounting, I cried (beautiful sparkly tears of happiness, of course)! Once you get everything balanced- omg, what is lifeee!! I do have a creative, fun, kitschy side, so that is where the sparkle comes in. I’ll print your P&L’s out on pink paper, and if it’s looking like an extra good month for your biz, I’ll throw some glitter on it. Who else is going to get you this hyped about accounting!? Let’s give you some insight into your biz so you can make business decisions and grow girl!!
Do you think there are structural or other barriers impeding the emergence of more female leaders?
For me, it was growing up not seeing many women in leadership roles. I didn’t know I was “allowed” to be bossy when I was younger. I always wanted to be nice and make sure everyone was happy, and then figure out my own happiness afterwards. But doing that got me NOWHERE! You only have one life, you gotta live for yourself and if that means you gotta be bossy, then, be bossy. 🙂
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sparklebookkeeping.com
- Phone: (619) 207-2941
- Email: jessica@sparklebookkeeping.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/sparklebookkeeping
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/sparklebookkeeping
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/sparklebookkeep
Image Credit:
Geoff Davis geoff@counterflow.marketing
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