The most obvious investment I wish I had made earlier in my career.

Join 90k+ subscribers getting Unstuck! Sign up for our quick 5-minute read, arriving every Tuesday in your inbox. Stay ahead with insights on what’s working in entrepreneurship for creators like you and get the latest updates from SPI.

Hi, it's Pat!

“Pat, what’s the #1 thing you wish you did differently when you started your online business?”

This is, by far, the most common question I get. My answer is usually about starting my email list sooner. But there’s one other thing that I wish I had invested in earlier that I wanted to share with you today. It’s something that would have saved me a lot of time, money, and helped me avoid many of the headaches I experienced in the early days of starting my business.

And the best part? I still use it today.

Intrigued? Let’s talk about it. Because for many business owners, especially new ones, this is where they can get stuck.

Let’s get unstuck.

QUOTE

“Accounting is not just numbers.”

—Anuj Jasani

THE STORY

The quote above probably gave it away, but I cannot stress enough how important this principle is:

Your business numbers aren't just for counting — they're your company's health report, showing you where to act next.

The investment I wish I made earlier was, of course, in a bookkeeper.?

In the beginning, like many entrepreneurs, I was determined to do everything myself — including my business finances.

My revenue came from eBooks I was selling to architects, and my expenses were website costs and shopping cart fees. That’s it, so I figured it was simple enough for me to handle on my own. Looking back, tracking my finances was just one of dozens of tasks I had to manage in my business. Around tax season, I realized I wasn’t doing a great job of keeping track of everything I needed to:

• Categorizing expenses for tax purposes.
• Tracking mileage for business-related travel. Even though I didn’t travel much, I could have deducted more for certain trips and events I attended.
• Keeping track of contractor payments specifically and issuing 1099s.?
• Handling the few refunds that came through on the record.?

And these were just some of the bigger items. I remember having to frequently dig into my inbox to find receipts, especially for small, recurring expenses like software fees. I wasn’t smart enough to easily find opportunities just by looking at the numbers.?

In fact, I still feel this way.?

So how did I solve this problem? At first, I hired a bookkeeper through a website called Elance.com (now Upwork.com) and paid someone $75 per month to keep track of everything. Thankfully, she took most of the work off my plate. I still had to forward receipts and handle small tasks, but for the most part, all the financial admin stuff was taken care of.

But there was no analysis or digging into the numbers to identify trends, like what was working and what was not. Where are there opportunities to save? What expenses could I cut out entirely??

For $900 a year, you’d think that kind of analysis would be included, but it wasn’t. I later found out I was just one of 100 clients this bookkeeper managed, so she wasn’t completely focused on my business. As the business grew, I switched to a more expensive bookkeeper for additional help. But in many cases, things still felt like they were happening without my involvement. I’m not sure if that makes sense, but it was as if I still wasn’t fully in control of my own finances.

Recently, however, I discovered Kick, an AI-based, automated bookkeeping tool that changed the game for me. I’ve been so impressed that I’ve worked closely with the team and am now an official advisor to the company. I don’t do that kind of thing unless I truly believe in a company, and Kick is the latest one that I’m confident will be a game changer — especially for this often “unsexy” part of running a business.?

It’s designed specifically for online business owners like us, and what I love most is how it combines both automation and insight. Kick doesn't just track and automatically categorize your expenses — it helps you analyze your numbers in real-time, offering actionable insights into where your business is thriving and where you can tighten things up.

Also, it can automatically find savings for you, too. I mean, check out this email I received last week:

If you’re still trying to manage your books on your own, or you’re not getting the financial clarity you need from your current setup, take a look at Kick (affiliate link), which just launched publicly last week!?

I’ve been using it for a while, and as an advisor to the company, I’m excited to support them (and you!) with their current launch promotion. Today, you can get two years of bookkeeping on their PLUS PLAN for the price of just four months. It may or may not be the right fit, but I wanted to make sure this offer got in front of you, just in case.?

Just use the code LAUNCH on their PLUS PLAN here: https://www.smartpassiveincome.com/kick

Congrats to founder Conrad Radowskiover and the entire Kick team! It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with them to get to this point, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to share this with you if you’re in need!

Dad Joke of the Week???

When does a joke become a dad joke?

When the punchline becomes apparent.

We hope you enjoyed this week's Unstuck Newsletter! For more weekly business insights, actionable tips, and real-life examples from Pat Flynn, subscribe to Unstuck today.