Mohammed Karolia - The Accidental Entrepreneur
Mohammed Karolia’s journey into entrepreneurship wasn’t part of a long-held master plan. It began in 2018, as he wrapped up a contract at a local accountancy firm. Starting his own business hadn’t seriously crossed his mind until working closely with clients sparked a growing sense of confidence and curiosity.
“I’d mentioned the idea of going solo to my wife a few times, and eventually she encouraged me to go for it and chase that ambition,” says Mohammed. “So, armed with a stack of leaflets, I started knocking on doors and that’s how I landed my very first clients and set up Bookkeepers of West Yorkshire Ltd.”
Stage One in the Practice Scalability Framework
He began as a textbook example of Stage One in the Practice Scalability Framework: a solid theoretical grasp of business, an NVQ Level 3 in Business under his belt, but little hands-on experience running his own firm. “It was certainly nerve-wracking,” he admits, “but having the support of the IAB in those early days made a big difference.”
From the spare room of his Batley home, Mohammed steadily built up a client base. Like many sole traders, he initially lacked a clear system to manage his practice and was undercharging for his services.
“After some research, I decided to use Sage as my main finance delivery platform.
A clear move into Stage Two.
In addition, a session with IAB CEO Sarah Palmer, where she walked me through the Framework, really opened my eyes. I began to understand my value to clients, adjusted my pricing accordingly and soon started to see healthy turnover.”
The challenging leap into Stage Three
By 2023, following a family bereavement and a period of business consolidation, Mohammed made the challenging leap into Stage Three - transitioning from a solo practitioner to a true business owner.
“My first big step was a contra deal with a landlord client: I’d do his bookkeeping and he’d let me use an office rent-free. That gave me a professional space to meet clients and added credibility to the business.”
Soon after, he took on his first employees, including his son Hamza and invested in a nearby accountancy practice, effectively opening a second office in Sheffield. It’s been a steep learning curve: rising costs, profit reinvestment, complex systems and an evolving service offering have all challenged and shaped his growth.
“Five years ago, I never imagined I’d be a boss but I’ve really enjoyed it. I’m not just learning, I’m teaching my team too, especially about the consultancy and service side of the business. I’m also taking a more holistic approach with clients, often acting as an informal CTO - helping them think strategically, not just financially.”
Recognition has followed. “Winning various awards from the IAB and other organisations over the years has been a massive boost. It’s helped build my confidence and validated the hard work my family and team have put into MAK Accounting.”
Stage Four of the Framework
Now on the path to Stage Four of the Framework - the point where all the effort begins to really pay off - Mohammed is focused on sustainable growth.
“As an award-winning firm – we recently changed the company name to MAK Accounting to reflect our growth - with two offices in Yorkshire and clients across the UK, we’re in a strong position. While we still rely heavily on word-of-mouth and our 5-star Google reviews, we know we’ll need to explore other marketing avenues to keep growing. I’m also looking at hiring practice managers and investing in more tech so I can step back from the day-to-day operations and focus on future growth.”
Whatever comes next for this ‘accidental entrepreneur’, Mohammed remains deeply grateful for the support of the IAB and continues to make full use of the Member Benefits, events and his active role in the Ambassador Group.
