6-Figure Success from Accounting Skills: Clarissa Wilson’s Story

This is an interview with Clarissa Wilson of Nerdy Number Lovers.

Hey, Clarissa. Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do.

Thank you for having me. My name is Clarissa and I am the founder of Nerdy Number Lovers. My company helps small business owners handle the accounting and bookkeeping in their business and know that it’s actually correct so they can make better financial decisions in their business. 

How did your online business journey begin? 

It began when I was working as a government tax auditor and I wanted something I could do in my spare time.

I have ADHD so I get super bored really easily if I’m not constantly doing something to keep my brain thinking. So I was searching for something to do from home.

I have 3 college degrees in accounting and spent years as an accountant and auditor, so I started my business offering bookkeeping. I was in a few groups where I was constantly asked to answer accounting related questions for business owners in the group.

This was what I knew and it was easy for me, so I fell into helping other online based businesses with their bookkeeping and accounting because many accountants were not up to learning how to run a business online. They were giving incorrect advice to business owners claiming that a lot of the expenses that online businesses incurred were not actual expenses. 

What does an accountant and financial strategist do exactly? And how can those skills be monetized online?

I make sure that businesses have their bookkeeping done the right way in their business and also help with creating cash flow plans so that you can plan ahead for where your cash is going in your business.

These skills are monetized by working one on one with my clients to handle their bookkeeping. 

When and why did you start Nerdy Number Lovers?

My business was officially started in 2014 when I was still trying to figure out what I could best offer.

I dabbled in a few different offerings for the first 2 years because I thought I needed to get away from the accounting industry. But I kept being asked to answer accounting questions since I could explain them so easily for the regular non accountant to understand. So I quickly found my niche in assisting online based service businesses by answering these questions. 

My business name came to me during the middle of the night one night and I just loved it. I consider myself nerdy and after you end up working with me, you end up loving your numbers. 

How long did it take you to make your first money online?

I can’t remember how long it actually took me to make my first money online, but it wasn’t that long. I created my Bookkeeping Toolkit as an intro kit to business owners to be able to understand what needed to be done for bookkeeping in their business before they were ready to hire a professional to do this for them.

I made the toolkit as easy as possible in plain English for small business owners and it was a hit among many people who discovered it. 

Looking back at your first year in business, what did growth look like in terms of clients, income, or visibility?

You are digging deep. I’ve been in business for almost 12 years at this point and don’t remember much of that. I know most of my visibility came from answering questions in Facebook groups because I knew the info so easily.

I didn’t make a lot of income in my business until 2020, though, when I went full time and I had to really begin making a full-time income in my business.

But I have made 6 figures in my business since 2021 and most of my income comes from one on one clients where I handle their bookkeeping. 

How did you attract your very first clients and students?

By answering questions in Facebook groups where people asked about accounting for their online businesses. 

How do new clients or students typically discover you today?

Typically referrals from current clients. 

Can you walk us through your content strategy?

I do have a blog and try to post a new blog each week and email my list 1-2 times a week. But I don’t have an actual content strategy as I tend to get burnt out due to my ADHD trying to continuously create content. 

What kind of content do you create to gain visibility online?

I try to post one blog post a week and my topics are decided based on questions I tend to see a lot on social media that need to be cleared up or explained better. 

What was your first paid offer?

My course The Bookkeeping Toolkit. I was led to combine the one on one services because people wanted to work with me since I made the accounting so easy to understand. 

How much are you currently earning from your business?

I currently earn more than 6 figures. 95% comes from one on one clients. The other 5% comes from my courses. 

What other ways to grow your brand have worked for you? 

The biggest things I’ve done to grow my business aside from word of mouth referrals has been by participating in bundle giveaways. I try to participate in 2-5 bundles a year to get my business out there. 

Do you use AI tools in any way?

I use ChatGPT on a regular basis to help me brainstorm ideas since I have so many of them, as well as to do spellchecks for me when I write my content.

There are probably other AI tools I use, but they aren’t top of mind clearly. 

I have a virtual assistant who loads all of course content into Thrivecart since the formatting doesn’t stay when you copy and paste into TC. It drives me nuts, so I had to outsource it all. 

How do you see the future of digital products?

I do see a lot more courses being created with the use of AI just creating the course. However, the issue I see with this is that a lot of the information is not going to be accurate.

I am personally correcting a lot of info from AI in the accounting industry. It likes to make stuff up that is completely false for business accounting. So I see a lot of people who are going to create courses putting out false information, similar to what they do on TikTok and Reels simply because it’s a way to get interactions on your content.

However, the false info just hurts businesses who are trying to do things correctly and find your false info and try to use it. 

What advice would you give to other service providers who want to offer digital products?

Make sure you do your research and provide the correct info to your students.

Even if you do use AI to help you write it, I’m not against using AI tools to help you do things better and quicker, just doublecheck what you are putting out there. 

What’s your long-term vision for your business?

My long term vision for my business is to have employees and several hundred bookkeeping clients that we make their accounting easy for.

I have several courses already and I don’t see myself really creating many more, but I do also see myself hiring a marketer somewhere down the line to do the marketing for me to help push out the courses I have available for sale. That’s because marketing is not my thing and I actually tend to avoid it as much as possible. 

Key Takeaways from Clarissa’s Journey

Clarissa’s story shows how turning your expertise into an online business can pay off big. She leveraged her accounting and auditing background to help online business owners get their bookkeeping right—and eventually scaled to a 6-figure business.

Here’s what made the biggest difference:

• Start with what you know: Clarissa focused on her accounting skills and solving real problems for business owners.
• Answer questions where your audience is: She got her first clients by helping people in Facebook groups.
• Create accessible entry points: Her Bookkeeping Toolkit helped people understand the basics before hiring her.
• Mix services with products: One-on-one client work became her main income, with digital courses supplementing.
• Leverage referrals and collaborations: Word-of-mouth and participating in course bundles helped grow her visibility.
• Use tools smartly: AI and virtual assistants help her work efficiently without burning out.

Clarissa’s journey proves that clarity, expertise, and helping others can turn “nerdy skills” into a thriving business.