I'm a carpenter turned remodeling contractor. I know carpentry best, but when necessary I can also do some wiring, plumbing, painting, and plastering, among other specialties. Nevertheless, I subcontract those and other trades, because my subs can do them better and more cost-effectively. There's one job, however, that I've never subbed out during the eight years I've been in business: bookkeeping and accounting. I'm not especially skilled or talented in this area, and doing it myself doesn't save me money. But I've found that to really know what's going on in my business from week to week, I'm best off crunching the numbers myself. Keeping and analyzing my own books enables me to spot trends and react to them quickly, both within
