This article shares Ana Hindocha’s journey from corporate finance employee to running her own First Class Accounts bookkeeping franchise, highlighting the challenges, lessons, and personal growth that came with building a business after redundancy.
What you’ll learn:
- How redundancy became the turning point that led Ana to start her own bookkeeping business
- The challenges of moving from internal finance roles into sales and client acquisition
- Why confidence, pricing clarity, and learning to say no are critical in the early years
- How she navigated competition, automation, and changing technology in the bookkeeping industry
- Why she chose the support and structure of a First Class Accounts franchise
- How community, training, and shared knowledge accelerated her growth
After 17 years in finance roles, from accounts receivable through to finance manager, Ana Hindocha thought she had a stable career path. She loved working with numbers, improving systems and helping leadership teams make decisions.
Then, during the aftermath of COVID, she was made redundant.
That moment forced a difficult question. If she could steer someone else’s business through a crisis, why was she still relying on others for job security?
Today, Ana runs her own bookkeeping franchise with First Class Accounts. She has grown past those early doubts, built a loyal client base and now leads a small team of three. This is her story.
From corporate finance to business owner
Before joining First Class Accounts, Ana spent 17 years working her way up through finance roles in Australia.
She started in accounts receivable and accounts payable, then moved into broader accounts officer positions. Over time she stepped into more senior roles, eventually becoming an accounts manager and then finance manager.
By the time COVID arrived, she was responsible for helping her employer navigate a very difficult period. The pressure was high, but the team managed to keep things on track.
When the business later told her they could no longer afford her role and made her redundant, it was a turning point.
“When I can do this for someone else and run their company during this difficult period of time, why cannot I do something for myself?”
That question is what started her search for something different.
Turning redundancy into a new direction
Redundancy can knock anyone’s confidence. For Ana, it became the trigger to rethink what she wanted from her career.
She knew she wanted to stay in finance and work with small businesses. She also wanted more control over her future. The idea of building something that belonged to her, instead of to someone else, became more appealing.
Running her own bookkeeping business felt like the right fit. The next decision was how to do it.
Rather than starting completely alone, Ana chose to join First Class Accounts so she would have support, resources and a community around her while she built the business.
The hardest part at the start: sales and self confidence
Like many bookkeepers who have spent most of their career in internal roles, Ana’s biggest hurdle was not the work itself.It was sales.
She knew she could do the bookkeeping. What felt unfamiliar was meeting potential clients, talking about her pricing and explaining why her services were worth more than a cheap, unlicensed option.
“Work wise, I was quite okay, but it was about finding the new clients, that first client, having that confidence to be able to say why am I charging this compared to someone else who is charging very low.”
That first phase involved a lot of learning. Learning how to talk about her value. Learning how to hold her ground in conversations about price. And learning how to keep going even when things felt uncomfortable.
Learning to say no and choose the right clients
In the early days, Ana took on work at lower rates than she was comfortable with because she wanted that first client and wanted to prove herself.
Over time, she realised that unclear scope and under-pricing creates strain for everyone. Some clients expected her to “do everything” as a bookkeeper, far beyond what had been agreed. When she started to set clearer boundaries, it led to some tough conversations and even a decision to step away from one client relationship.
It was not easy, but it became an important lesson.
“It is absolutely professional to say, I am sorry, I do not think it is matching for us. I do not think we have the same wavelength that we can work together.”
Today, Ana is more confident about choosing the right clients, setting expectations and saying no when the fit is not right. That has helped her protect both her standards and her energy.
Navigating competition and changing technology
Like many franchisees, Ana sees a few ongoing challenges in the bookkeeping industry.
The first is price pressure. There will always be people offering “cheap” bookkeeping with little training or no licence. Ana’s response is to stay focused on quality, accuracy and the long term value she provides as a trained, experienced and registered professional.
The second is technology and automation. Many business owners are still used to manual processes. Some are not confident with apps, portals or automated workflows. Others just need a nudge to adopt a better way of working.
Ana takes a one to one approach. She spends time understanding how each client prefers to work, then helps them move towards more efficient systems at a pace that suits them. It takes patience, but it pays off in better data, better compliance and less stress for everyone.
Why she chose First Class Accounts
Ana knew from the start that she did not want to build the business completely on her own.
Accounting rules, ATO requirements and Tax Practitioners Board guidelines are always changing. On top of that, new software and apps are constantly arriving in the small business space.
Trying to stay across all of that as a solo operator can be overwhelming.
“If you are on your own, it can be quite challenging to keep up with all those new laws, new requirements. Being very new in business, I just thought it would be good to be around people, have that support.”
Through First Class Accounts, Ana has access to ongoing training, technical updates and a community of franchisees who share what is working for them. When a client asks about a particular app or industry tool, there is almost always someone in the network who has already used it and is willing to help.
That support has directly improved her productivity. Tasks that once took an hour can now be completed in 20 minutes with the right tools and processes in place.
Personal growth: finding her worth and her voice
Running a business has changed Ana in ways she did not expect.
She talks about learning to recognise her own value, feeling more comfortable with difficult conversations and understanding that she does not need to be the right bookkeeper for every business.
“It is okay to not be suitable for every business. You have got to learn to find your own choices of client. Learn to say no, stand up for yourself, know your worth, feel comfortable having difficult discussions.”
Those skills have helped in her personal life as well. Clearer communication, stronger boundaries and more confidence have become part of how she shows up day to day.
Community, friendship and support
Beyond the technical and business support, Ana values the relationships she has built in the First Class Accounts community.
Work can be isolating when you are in front of a screen all day. Conferences, regional meetings and training events give her the chance to see familiar faces, share experiences and keep learning.
Over time, some of those professional connections have become friendships. She now has a small group of fellow franchisees she can call for advice or simply catch up with outside of work.
“I would say it is fantastic on a personal level and work level. It is very helpful and very supportive too.”
Looking ahead: growing with intention
Ana’s business is growing and she already has three people working with her. At the same time, she is investing in automation and better systems so growth does not lead to overwhelm.
Rather than chasing a massive long term target, she is focusing on practical short term goals.
She is using this stage of the business to:
- Build the right mix of apps and software
- Refine her processes
- Make sure she can keep delivering quality as the client list grows
In her words, four small goals in a year add up to one big goal achieved.
Her advice to new franchisees
Ana is very clear that the first one to two years are hard work.
You have to learn new technology, find your first clients, manage your own admin and step into roles like sales and marketing that may be brand new.
Her message is simple.
“Hang in there. It took me three years to come to the stage where I am now. It is not easy, but it is definitely not impossible. Quite rewarding.”
She remembers looking at other franchisees with staff and established businesses and wondering if she would ever reach that stage. Now she has a team of three and cannot imagine going back to full time employment.
For her, joining First Class Accounts and building her own bookkeeping business has been the best thing she has done for herself.
Thinking about your own next step?
If Ana’s story feels familiar and you are wondering what your own future in bookkeeping could look like, you do not have to figure it out alone.
You can learn more about starting a bookkeeping franchise with First Class Accounts and explore whether it is the right next chapter for you.
