Would you hire me???

Make sure you list all your skills on your resume and if questions come up in the interview, be honest. Also, some places check references and past job history. Have a friend call or hire one of the places on the internet (expensive) to check and see what he will say...if there is no pay trail that you worked for him, would he deny it altogether?
Alot of staffing agencies can test you over certain things and will give you your results to use in your portfolio. I would also get myself some classes in accounting and I would check out www.realworldtraining.com for classes in Quickbooks. I have taken them and they ROCK!
I say this as a present Credit Manager and past bookkeeper. Hope this helps!

I worked for several years at our business as the bookkeeper til I decided to quit to stay home and raise the kids. Did enter the Outside work force again for a short time. Answer to your question on resume. I put that I was a bookkeeper at XYZ, how many years and listed duties etc. You do not need to list family business, how much pay etc. When you get an interview and if they ask you can tell them it was a family business. As far as pay goes, you should be able to come up with something as a figure, even if it was not an actual paycheck. Hey it was part yours too. Just be honest and upfront at interviews. Some places like that you've worked for yourself, I think. You know what hardwork it takes to run a business and the customer service aspect employers like too.

I think the offering your services for a few days or week is huge. I have a couple small businesses with 17 employees. Over the past 12 months I've had probably 1000 resumes while only advertising an open position twice. The two that are still with me - 1 was given the nod over 2 others that were pretty close after interviews because he kept saying, "I don't care what you pay me, just give me a shot and I'll prove my worth. the second person (hired the wrong person for the position first) came in and even during interviews has done more than is "required" - came early, stayed late, asked questions, took notes, had thoughts and an action plan for her first month if she were given the opportunity etc. In short, there are no shortage of capable people, but there is still a shortage of people willing to do more than is "required"...and as a small biz owner, that's what i'm after. good luck.

big slobbery moose-kisses and hugs to all!!! i'm gonna go back and re-read and take notes. i'm going to hire a professional to do my resume. i know this is what i want to do and what i'm good at. and i stink at putting it on paper.

just to answer a few questions:

- it was an ex-boyfriend and the bizz was in his name. when i LLC'ed the bizz for him, he wanted me to be on it. at the time i was having IRS problems due to the ex-husband (yep, i sure can pick'em!!) and i didn't want to jeopardize ex-bf's business.

- i went to our local state employment agency for resume writing. what a joke!!

- i will be checking into the temp agency thing. my ex wouldn't dispute the work i've done for him (i don't think, but like i said, i sure can pick'm, so who knows). i LLC'd his business, fought (and won) 1 L&I claim and 2 unemployment claims (which isn't easy to do in this state).

i think i'm having 'employment self-esteem' issues. i'm proud of my skills but my fear is that potential employers will look at my 9 yrs of 'unpaid' work as not counting for anything. if you take those yrs X 40 hrs a wk X $10 p/hr....it counts for a hell of a lot. (that means $$$$ in his pocket, look at the math on that one!!! trying not to get ----y about it but it is difficult).

moose-drool again for the input.

I hope that you find a lot of useful information in this thread. You mention potential employers worrying about your past work being "unpaid." You DO NOT need to tell them this, and honestly, you shouldn't tell them this. Your resume and cover letter should not mention past compensation, but should instead focus on your work history and skills.

I would not use the term "bookkeeper". I would say "Financial Manager" or "Accountant". Titles really mean nothing (most employers look for the experience and degree to back it up), but those 2 look better than 'bookkeeper" which dates back to a 50's term.

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"I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back..." Maya Angelou