We all start out not knowing
I started using QuickBooks in 1997 when I had my catering business. Though I always thought of myself as a “numbers person,” I had no idea about balance sheets or liabilities or even equity.
As I went through the initial set-up, QuickBooks asked a bunch of questions… I didn’t have a clue. What was my opening equity balance? I dunno…. I think I entered $2,000 because I wanted to have some equity in my company. I had no idea what that meant or how that might impact reports. I didn’t even know what reports I might use.
The other day, as I was cleaning up my computer, I stumbled across my balance sheet from 2003. Today, without looking at even a single transaction, I can see all the mistakes I made back then.
Why was my Opening Bal Equity $519.55… such a random number! Why did I have a negative balance in Accounts Receivable? I must have received a payment without recording an invoice first. What was that Petty Cash about? And did I really have Accounts Payable? It’s hard to believe I was using the Pay Bills function correctly. Certainly, I did some things right too. I had figured out items, though I wasn’t sure how they fit into the scheme of things. And I knew that if I received a deposit from a client, that it wasn’t “earned” revenue until I delivered on the service; I recorded the prepayments as a liability.
In other words, no one starts out perfect.
When we learn new things, we all make mistakes and get things wrong. Even after 25 years of using QuickBooks, I’m still learning new things. Like last month, I shared how I just recently figured out how to “sell to yourself”
How did I learn QuickBooks 25 years ago? I googled things and I played around. I tried entering things in and ran reports to see how things looked. I made mistakes. Lots of mistakes. I figured out how to fix them. Even in 2003, after I had been using QB for 5 years, I was still making mistakes.
And it’s okay. That’s how we learn: by doing.
I’ve been teaching farmers how to use QuickBooks for 10+ years. And I can assure you, the best way to master QB is to practice. And by “practice” I mean, use it regularly.
Honestly – learning any new skill requires actual, physical practice. You can’t learn to dance by watching YouTube videos, and not physically dancing. You can’t learn how to change the oil in your car by watching videos and not actually trying it out on a real car. Things look so much easier when we watch someone else do something. And then when we try it ourselves, it’s not so easy.
What do you do when things get not easy? Some people will persevere. Others will quit because it’s too hard. Or as Adam Grant noted we avoid things that cause a negative emotion.
The negative emotion can be:
⁃ I feel like an idiot for not being able to master QB.
⁃ I’ll feel vulnerable if someone sees me dancing poorly.
⁃ I might get dirty if I try to change the oil.
Remember this: We all start out not knowing. It can be discouraging to watch an “expert” make it look so easy. But if we avoid things we’re not good at, we deny ourselves the opportunity to grow and get better.
You will have a better understanding of your business if you can master QuickBooks. You’ll have more fun at concerts if you dance. You’ll know how to care for your vehicles (and save money) if you learn to change your oil.
We all start out not knowing; and slowly, slowly with continued practice, we know.
Ready to get started learning and practicing QuickBooks? Sign-up for my QuickBooks self-paced course. If you want extra support, join with All-Access … so you can have “all-access” to live, one-on-one coaching during office hours. It’s the best way to learn!
