The partners:

I grew up loving words. I loved reading books, I chose to study literature in high school and then in university. I was drawn to the stories, the worlds they opened for me and people to whom they connected me. Numbers, on the other side, not so much. To me, numbers always seemed cold, empty and a bit intimidating. There was only one right answer and so many easy mistakes to make in the process. They represented structure and rigidity where Literature represented creativity and flow.

Fast forward to winter 2007. I took the year to live and experience NY life. When I was offered a job in an accounting department by my cousin I blurted out: “but I am not good with numbers”. The answer I got was “how difficult can it be?”.

I don’t think I am alone. Many business owners that I meet express a similar sentiment when talking about their business figures. I hear two things: 1. I have no understanding of the financial reports / I am not good with numbers 2. I can’t see the relevance or value to the challenge of running my business. The result is that they would consider it the accountants’ domain and responsibility an have little relevance to their core role of running the business.

Back to NY 2007. I guess there was a part of me that saw this as a challenge and I found myself working in accounting and getting to know numbers in a different and more intimate way. I am not going to lie, it was challenging. I read books, I had a boss that was a generous teacher and I learned by showing up every day to work and challenging myself doing something new.

Most of all I chose to question my belief that I wasn’t good with numbers.

The reward was huge. I remember one day going over the company’s financial statement and suddenly it occurred to me – the numbers did have a story to tell and I knew how to read that story. I realized that the different concepts I learned were like a new set of glasses that gave me a new perception of the company. They provided me and the management team a valuable view point that assisted in making sound business decisions.

I feel fortunate and grateful to have learned a great deal about finance and business and I am motivated to share what I have learned. This is why I opened my consultancy business in Jerusalem and this is why I am writing this blog. To be continued…

The above is my subjective view-point as of March 2019. I reserve the rights to learn new things, gain a different perspective and potentially think of things differently… 😊