Small businesses are undoubtedly the backbone of the American economy, but their owners are often buried under the weight of administrative tasks, unable, as the saying goes, to see the forest for the trees.

It’s understandable, given that many people start their own businesses not because they’re good businesspeople, but because they have expertise in their chosen field. MyOfficeOps, a West Chester-based provider of accounting, bookkeeping and consulting services, is a lifeline for such small and medium-sized businesses. Founded in 2013 by Steve Rickel, who has decades of experience in senior financial leadership roles, MyOfficeOps offers the best in full-service bookkeeping and business advisory services for those businesses that want to get a handle on their financial health and want to use that to help fuel their growth.

“Small businesses don’t have access to the resources, information, and guidance that big businesses do,” said Rickel, a CPA who has served as a CFO for clients in the insurance, real estate, private equity, and mortgage finance industries. “At MyOfficeOps, we provide CFO and business advisory services that are designed to empower businesses of all sizes to achieve financial excellence and sustain long-term success.”

Rickel cited The E Myth: Why Most Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It, an influential book that tackles the entrepreneurial myth that most people who start small businesses are good businesspeople, as the guiding principle behind his work.

“Say you’re a good mechanic, have been doing it on the side for a while, and decide to start your own business,” said Rickel, who grew up near Indianapolis and earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Butler University. “You rent a shop, hire a few workers, and start repairing cars. You build up a nice customer base by focusing on what you do best. Six months later, though, you’re at your kitchen table, behind on your payroll taxes and trying to put together some financial statements for the bank that gave you your loan. For most business owners, there’s what they know and what they don’t know. And what they don’t know can creep up on them and choke the business.”

It’s not uncommon for a company to have high revenue but low profitability, and Rickel supposes that that many small businesses have books that need an overhaul. MyOfficeOps certainly offers bookkeeping and accounting services, but the company’s CFO and business advisory services are what differentiate it from your typical CPA firm.

Rickel uses the analogy of a dartboard to illustrate how MyOfficeOps takes data and makes meaning out it, thus helping its clients to enhance their financial performance, make informed strategic decisions, and achieve sustainable growth.

“At the bullseye is all the transactional work,” he said. “I’m an advocate for knowing your numbers — if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. Once you move beyond the center of the dartboard, we provide those wraparound services, the insight around the data that lies in the bullseye.”

MyOfficeOps focuses on three components to help clients grow their business: measurements, metrics, and KPIs (key performance indicators).

“Measurements are single data points, like number of employees or number of products sold,” said Rickel. “Metrics are a comparison of two or more measurements, like average revenue per employee. Then, a KPI is a metric relative to a goal you have. It demonstrates how well a company is achieving its objectives.”

Rickel’s team of seasoned professionals is dedicated to ensuring that clients can focus on their core operations while MyOfficeOps expertly handles their back-office tasks. This approach not only saves businesses time and resources but also provides them with the strategic insights they need to thrive.

MyOfficeOps is currently taking on new clients. Contact MyOfficeOps to see how it can help your business.