Erin Pohan is the founder of Upkeeping, a bookkeeping and payroll firm, and Wave Seattle, a conference for women in accounting.

In this episode, Erin shares what it actually looked like to build her firm, grow a team, and figure things out without ever feeling completely ready. She and Yuri talk honestly about the pressure to scale, the challenge of hiring before there is enough work, and why success does not have to mean building the biggest firm possible.

The conversation also gets into a difficult season of burnout caused largely by one high-paying client. Erin explains how the work began affecting her health and family life, why walking away from the revenue felt terrifying, and how that decision ultimately gave her more freedom without hurting the business long term.

Episode Highlights:

0:00 - Intro

1:57 - Erin’s background and the start of Upkeeping

3:21 - Going from employee to firm owner

10:46 - Why you may never feel ready to launch

14:42 - Hiring your first team member

19:47 - What does success actually look like?

23:42 - Setting boundaries with clients

27:22 - Erin’s vision for her firm

30:00 - Burnout, overwork, and one major client

36:11 - What burnout looked like physically and emotionally

39:52 - Letting go of misaligned clients

43:09 - The financial upside of owning a firm

49:11 - Building community through accounting events

54:20 - The hidden costs of hosting events

1:03:47 - Imposter syndrome and finding your lane

1:08:13 - Where to find Erin

1:08:46 - Episode wrap-up 

ABOUT HOST YURI KAPILOVICH

Yuri, aka #thefuncpa, has been in the accounting profession for over 15 years and has seen, first hand, the challenges the profession brings. After seeing that no firm was fitting the bill, Yuri set out to do things his own way with his firm K&A and the journey began with LinkedIn posting at the front end. 

Yuri is proud to bring you #thefuncpa podcast highlighting the fun and all the amazing opportunities our profession can bring us all. 

CONNECT WITH YURI KAPILOVICH

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ykapilovich/

Website: https://www.thefuncpa.co/

CONNECT WITH ERIN POHAN

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinpohan/

Website: https://www.upkeeping.co/