What could happen 3 years down the line if you start assisting US startups, SMEs and CPAs with their financial and accounting needs?
I want you to imagine that you have been transported to the future.
Now when you read the email below I want you to create these images in your mind.
The clearer you can see your future in your mind’s eye, the more likely it is that you will take actions to get there.
You wake up in April 2027 on a bright, sunny morning here in Bali.
It was your dream to travel here and finally you made it.
You have a job in a USA based startup – in Silicon Valley here
Your job gives you the flexibility to work from anywhere occasionally. Today you are working from Bali.
Last week, the startup secured hundred million dollars of funding for its international expansion
How did you get here?
3 years back, you were struggling to get a well-paying job or good increments in your career – but you decided to take responsibility for your future, and learned high demand, low supply skills.
You approached many US startups in the first month. Eventually, a couple of them replied to you.
Initially, you just started with some book-keeping work on softwares like Quickbooks and Xero, but the rewards looked promising.
You continued outreach, and some of your clients even gave you solid referrals.
After 3 months, you were able to earn around INR 25-30,000 per month, just by working part-time!
It was game on!
Soon, you learned US GAAP accounting and started creating financial MISes.
Your clients gave you glowing testimonials.
When they needed to raise funding, they needed to rope in an expert for the financial modeling, budgeting and forecasting work.
Fortunately, you were already prepared and offered to assist!
In 6 months, you were already hitting USD 1000-1200 per month!
By now, a couple of US CPAs whom you had invited to podcasts also engaged you on some US accounting and corporate finance work.
Your friends were surprised and jealous, but you were proud.
You could do all of this remotely. It was so exciting!
Those who have not seen this world have absolutely no idea how the feeling is.
Soon, you had more work than you could handle!
So, you did two things at this point. First, you increased your rates to USD 20/hr and hired an intern and a junior remotely from a small town.
Your clients were happy to pay this, as you were shouldering heavyweight responsibilities for them.
You also flew down to Singapore, Dubai and the US to network with your clients.
It was easy to get a business visa as you were earning enough from these countries from remote work.
The meetings were highly productive – you also landed a few introductions to new clients!
After 2 years, one of your clients, a startup in California which you had initially assisted with bookkeeping work and later with tax, had raised a huge round of venture capital investment and needed to hire someone on a full-time basis in the US as a finance manager.
It did not matter to them that you didn’t have a US CPA or CA or MBA degree.
You were the first person they reached out to! You got that job without any interview because the founders already knew you and trusted your work!
This was your dream come true and you grabbed the opportunity with both of your hands and here you are today.
In a few years, it is possible for you to become a CFO of a global startup.
Or, you could even come back to India and start a financial consultancy firm catering to US CPAs and startups.
You receive job invites from headhunters who work for the Big Four accounting firms and management consultancy firms almost every week.
What will you do next?
It is entirely up to you.
For now, you are enjoying living and working in the US.