In 1984, Sandy Rockwell started her first business with her husband. This began her nearly twenty years’ experience as a business owner. However, when her father-in-law became ill, she decided to sell everything in order to take care of him. After he passed away, she reentered the traditional workforce as an administrative assistant, but when the recession hit in 2008, she was laid off. It was then that Sandy put her business knowledge to use and launched her own bookkeeping practice. She explains, “Bookkeeping and accounting is what I am good at and it is the least favorite thing a business owner enjoys.” She had found her niche!
While Sandy had achieved a basic mastery of accounting and bookkeeping over the years, she knew that in order to become truly successful, she would need to update her training and acquire certification demonstrating her expertise. For that, she turned to Universal Accounting Center.
Sandy completed the Professional Bookkeeper and the Professional Professional Bookkeeper’s Guide to QuickBooks programs and obtained the designations for each. She says, “I enjoy having the credentials after my name which gives me immediate creditability. I have a better understanding of accounting even after doing my own books for years. I gained knowledge in several types of industries which gives me the ability to work with more industries than just the one I knew.”
Sandy currently has nine clients, most of which she acquired through word-of-mouth. She targets service-based businesses and non-profit organizations, providing QuickBooks training, bookkeeping services, coaching, and business assessments. She explains, “As a profit and growth expert, one of my primary roles is to ensure that business owners have the historical data that is needed to make accurate planning decisions.”
She credits her success to perseverance and hard work as well as confidence in her professional abilities and industry knowledge. It also doesn’t hurt that Sandy thoroughly enjoys her work and has felt tremendous achievement in helping owners turn their businesses around. She says, “It is a great sense of accomplishment when those who had no smile when I started with them are smiling now! Helping others acquire accurate information that will change their lives and the businesses that they are relying on to support their families is a great accomplishment.”
Sandy Rockwell is grateful for Universal’s training. “One thing that has been very helpful for me is the Master Coaching program. Being all by myself, I have that support when I run into something that I don’t know; I have someone there to help me when difficult situations arise.”
And to those considering enrolling in Universal’s training, Sandy encourages, “[The] UAC program is everything that you’ve been promised! Take the education and improve your marketability to achieve a better-paying position. If you have owned a business and enjoy this type of work, you can build any size of business with this program that you would like and make a great living. If you believe in yourself, you have all the material necessary to start your own company for the first time!”