Dawn Brolin: Grow Your Firm By Shrinking It

Make life at work better for yourself, your team, and your clients.

The Disruptors
With Liz Farr

Dawn Brolin, CPA, CFE, intentionally shrank her firm, Powerful Accounting, from 11 to three team members, the opposite of the way most firms grow. She also drastically cut her client list, while nearly tripling her fees from a select group of just 19 clients.

“I decided I wanted to change my life," Brolin says. "I want to change my staff's life. And I want to change the way my clients work with me where they weren't worried about getting a bill because they called me and asked me a question.”  

• 13 MORE TAKEAWAYS: Dawn Brolin show notes here
• MORE: Disruptors
• MORE CPA TRENDLINES PODCASTS and VIDEOS: Jason Blumer & Julie Shipp: Move Leaders Out of Client Service | James Graham: Drop the Billable Hour and You'll Bill More | Karen Reyburn: Fix Your Marketing and Fix Your Business | Giles Pearson: Fix the Staffing Crisis by Swapping Experience for Education | Jina Etienne: Practice Fearless Inclusion | Bill Penczak: Stop Forcing Smart People to Do Stupid Work | Jason Deshayes: What We're Doing Isn't Working | Heather Satterley: You've Got To Meet People Where They Are | Bill Penczak: Stop Forcing Smart People to Do Stupid Work | Sandra Wiley: Staffing Problem? Check Your Culture | 

Part of that change in Dawn’s life was her passion for coaching college softball, where she serves as the team’s Designated Motivator. Because softball season overlaps with tax season, she leaves the office at 2 PM, five days a week. No one in her firm works more than 35 hours a week.