Business Strategy for CPA's

Today’s guest is Emily Sandberg. Emily provides cashflow and forecasting services to online coaches and course creators.  While many accountants focus primarily on making sense of the past, Emily works with her clients to know the future of money in their business, so they can make strategic decisions with their cash. Her work has helped dozens of clients go from running a money-hungry business to a predictably profitable enterprise, by simply following her profit-centered framework.  When she’s not running scenarios for her clients’ Facebook Ad Spends, she can be found playing pickleball or hiking in the gorgeous red rocks of southern Utah with her family.  I wanted to have Emily on the podcast because her business model is unique in that she did not pass GO, she did not collect $200, she went directly to Advisory Services.  Her perspective on what her clients need when it comes to money is well outside the box, and I think it will be interesting for you to hear from someone who was never tethered to traditional accounting. So many things stuck out to me, it’s hard to pick just one. The top 3 are: How niching down takes the pressure off What her clients need most from her is advising and forecasting That charging more is actually good for my clients. Each of these is counter-intuitive and can be a difficult mental transition for people to make.  If you want help establishing the value of and shifting the services you offer to increase their value, and you're looking for the courage to raise your rates, I can help you make these changes in your accounting practice.  Episode mentioned: 053 Adding Advisory Services and the Power of Niching Down with Tracy Jepson   Connect with Emily: Website: http://emilysandberg.net   Upcoming training:  PLAYING SUPERHERO Stop being all things to all people: How to narrow your niche the easy way Thursday, September 24, 12pm ET   GIVE UP CALCULATING $ PER HOUR Break free of this arbitrary metric: there is a better way Thursday, October 22, 12pm ET   Download the ebook “6 Simple Steps to Double Your Revenue” https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/download-double-your-revenue   Schedule time with Geraldine: https://calendly.com/geraldinecarter/15min   Work with Geraldine: https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/work-with-me/

Today we're talking about your business. Is it a lot of work? Do you spend it too many hours or more hours than you want in front of a screen toiling away?  At the end of a long work week, do you ever wonder if there was an easier way? Many CPAs work really hard. And when I say hard, I mean, lots of hours, lots of clients, endless fires. And it can seem like hard is the path, and it can be the only path that you see. But what I want you to know is that there are easier paths available to you. And I will tell you what keys you need to unlock these easier paths.  But first, I want you to listen to my story about inner tubes and me and some friends, a few years back.   So how is this misadventure relevant to you?    You got started as a CPA. And you knew it might not be easy-peasy. You may have thought that there was some risk, but little did you know that you would end up in the position of having 250 or 1400 returns to process in a 10-week timeframe. And there were probably moments that you felt desperate. And when you have that desperate or piled on or overwhelmed or sucked under feeling, it can be difficult to see the path out. What I want you to know is that if you're feeling swamped in your accounting practice, that you are only in knee-deep water, because you have a skill set that no one else has. As a CPA, you are able to understand a business's finances in ways that other professionals simply cannot. As a CPA, you are uniquely positioned to provide immeasurable value to your clients. You are standing in two feet of water. It's just a matter of harnessing your talent and your ability to provide insights and get it pointed in the right direction. So remember at the top of this episode, when I said, I would tell you how to find an easier path? Here are five pieces that you need to get on the easier path:  Learn to value price.  Continue to narrow your niche or specialize.  Develop a framework for consistent high-quality results.  Make yourself visible.  Be open to the idea that it can be easy. And that it's all right for it to be easy.  If you believe that it's supposed to be hard or that making money isn't supposed to be easy, your subconscious will seek out ways to make you right. And you will continue to make it hard.  If you believe that it can and that it should be easy, your subconscious will look for the easy path. And when you're looking for the easy path, the answer will appear.    Episodes mentioned: 081 Time To Rethink Your Pricing Strategy? With Ron Baker, Founder Of Verasage Institute https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/081 091 Is Your Accounting Niche Niche-y Enough?  https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/091 054 How Narrowing Your Niche Can Help You Grow Faster https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/054 098 A Framework is Essential to CPAs Working Less and Earning More https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/098 Upcoming training:  PLAYING SUPERHERO Stop being all things to all people: How to narrow your niche the easy way Thursday, September 24, 12pm ET   GIVE UP CALCULATING $ PER HOUR Break free of this arbitrary metric: there is a better way Thursday, October 22, 12pm ET   Schedule time with Geraldine: https://calendly.com/geraldinecarter/15min   Download the ebook “6 Simple Steps to Double Your Revenue” https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/download-double-your-revenue   Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/strategy-session/ 1:1 Coaching https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/business-coaching/ VIP Day https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/vip-day/

Today I want to talk with you about why checking in a few times a year on your best clients’ results and how you as a CPA contributed to their success can help you feel more confident in your pricing. When CPAs take the time to stop and observe, what some of them find is that their best clients are getting amazing results. And that they had a hand in the creation of those results. But because those results had been invisible to them or because they had been dismissing their role in the creation of those results, they were undervaluing their services. And when they were undervaluing, they were underpricing. And when they were underpricing, they were overworking to compensate. And when they were overworking to compensate, they're spending more time at work than they need to be in order to make the same amount of money.  In addition to the quantifiable, like increased profitability and tax savings, there is also a value you might be adding to your clients’ lives that is simply not quantifiable, like:  sleeping better,  peace of mind,  finally understanding their financials,  trusting that they are getting the right information from their accountant,  being more at ease in their business.  Not quantifiable, but have enormous value.  So if you ever have a sneaking suspicion you are not getting compensated for the value you contribute to creating, take yourself through this exercise. All you have to do is list out your top clients and rough in the outcomes and results that they have gotten since they started working with you. Get it down on paper or in a spreadsheet and give yourself credit where it's due so that you can see the part you play in contributing to the growth of your client's businesses. By gathering this kind of evidence, it can be an enormous help in growing your confidence around raising your prices.  When you quantify the results you help your clients get, it helps you see more clearly the value you provide. It helps you stop diminishing your role, and it helps you own your talent. When those things happen, your confidence increases. And when your confidence increases, you can raise your rates. When you raise your rates, you can earn more while working less.  So I would love to know what kinds of big results have you helped your clients get over the last few years? If money is not your motive, maybe it's time. I want to hear the success you are helping create in the world.    Upcoming training:  PLAYING SUPERHERO Stop being all things to all people: How to narrow your niche the easy way Thursday, September 24, 12pm ET Schedule time with Geraldine: https://calendly.com/geraldinecarter/15min   Download the ebook “6 Simple Steps to Double Your Revenue” https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/download-double-your-revenue   Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/strategy-session/ 1:1 Coaching https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/business-coaching/ VIP Day https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/vip-day/

It’s just too easy to assume that your clients want only what they come to you for, and then, simply, serve them up the usual menu of accounting and tax.  The problem is that your best clients likely want so much more than accounting and tax. Chances are good they are asking you for more but the questions aren’t getting through to you, because they lack the language to articulate it, or because you’re buried under a pile of compliance and back-office accounting When you’re in the hole and you want to get out, it makes sense to dig if the tool you have is a shovel. But what you need is a ladder.  And the ladder comes in the form of client interviews.  Client interviews are a key step on the path out of accounting rut. Client interviews are the differentiator that you need, to put your accounting practice on the trajectory of working less, without sacrificing income.  When you ask your clients what they want and then you turn right around and give it to them - it’s one of the most powerful things you can do to transform the quality of the service you provide.    Here are some Don’ts and Do’s when it comes to interviewing your clients: DON’T follow guidance in Accounting Today that cites: 5 tips that are WAY TOO GENERIC LIKE   Being a trusted advisor; Responding quickly; Understanding the client’s business or industry; Being affordable; and Communicating clearly with non-accountants.   That’s all helpful, but it’s also way (waaaaay) too generic.  When my clients interview their clients, what comes out of it are insights wanting very specific things, like: data mining tax planning in August rather than November for more time for large purchases when prices are lower margins on specific projects Estimated vs Actual increased clarity on crop yield getting ecommerce data to match insight on cash available for Facebook ad-spends   Here are the dos: Tip/ how to solve: Don’t ask them what you are doing right or wrong. You’re not looking for feedback on your service. Instead frame the conversation around wanting to serve them better.  Ask what they like about other service-based businesses. This will give you insight into what’s important to them when it comes to service-based businesses like your own. Ask about the challenges in their business, and if they could solve the problem, what would that give them?  Ask them if they had time to make their business more profitable, what would they do? These questions will help you understand the problems they have, solutions they are looking for, and the kind of service they want to get. AND THAT could be gold for you.    When you know exactly what your client wants - because you have heard it directly from them, you  know exactly what to give them start giving them what they want your life gets easier, and you can stop guessing stop giving them things they don’t care about or are less important to them start giving them huge value and you now have a secret weapon that will not only keep your clients coming back to you, but will also have your clients sending you other clients with the same problems.  Schedule time with Geraldine: https://calendly.com/geraldinecarter/15min   Download the ebook “6 Simple Steps to Double Your Revenue” https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/download-double-your-revenue   Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/strategy-session/ 1:1 Coaching https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/business-coaching/ VIP Day https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/vip-day/  

Anjali Jariwala, CPA and CFP®, is the founder of FIT Advisors — a financial planning firm serving physicians and business owners virtually across the US. She utilizes her expertise in tax and finance to empower her clients to discover and reach their life goals while building a stable financial future.  Anjali hosts Money Checkup podcast - a semi-monthly checkup that discusses the many facets of financial well-being.   When Anjali started her practice 5 years ago, baked right into the plan was how to build a highly profitable business while working only 30 hours a week, so that she can spend time with her young daughter.  I wanted YOU to be able to hear exactly what Anjali has figured in order to work less and make more, so that you can see that it’s real, and do the same in your accounting practice.  What stood out to me in this episode was the level of intentionality with which she designed and built her practice to align with her values. And that by choosing to stay small, she could cap the number of clients she takes, be selective, charge a premium for limited seats for a specific service, and provide value that most people cannot.  All of that was intentional. She set out to do it that way, and it works.   Previous episodes mentioned: 91 Is Your Accounting Niche Niche-y Enough? 86 Secrets of Shifting to vCFO Services   Connect with Anjali: Website: www.fitadvisors.com  Podcast: Money Checkup Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anjalifit/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnjaliFIT LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anjalijayakumar  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FITadvisors    Schedule time with Geraldine: https://calendly.com/geraldinecarter/15min   Download the ebook “6 Simple Steps to Double Your Revenue” https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/download-double-your-revenue   Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session https://shethinksbigcoaching.com  

Today we're talking about how creating your own signature framework can be a gamechanger in your accounting practice. A framework is your process or methodology, your approach of how you work with your clients. It's the process you walk your clients through to get the consistent, impressive results you help them get. A framework helps both you and your clients know how to think about things. Most CPAs I work with have a framework. They just don't realize it. What they tend to do is give away all kinds of advice and guidance for free, and then they get upset when their client does nothing with it.    So how do you come up with your own framework?    Imagine one of your clients who you know is leaking money.  Imagine being able to have your way with that person's business: What would you do?  Where would you go to look for and find money?  What would you change about their business, their structure, or the way it's run? What are the opportunities for profit that are being left all over the table?  What would you do that's different from others in your field?    When you can list out answers to those questions, you have the beginnings of a framework. Just like a framework helps me help my clients, you having a framework helps your clients understand what order to do things in. It increases their clarity and it reduces their overwhelm. Not only will it increase clarity for them and reduce overwhelm for them, it will do the same for you.  Most importantly, it will improve your ability to create consistent, amazing results for your clients. When you help your clients get better results, you can raise your prices. And when you can raise your prices, you can work less. –    Previous episodes mentioned: 91 Is Your Accounting Niche Niche-y Enough? 54 How Narrowing Your Niche Can Help You Grow Faster   Upcoming training:  Stop Underpricing: It Does A Disservice To Your Clients August 21st at 12pm Eastern   Schedule time with Geraldine: https://calendly.com/geraldinecarter/15min   Download the ebook “6 Simple Steps to Double Your Revenue” https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/download-double-your-revenue   Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/strategy-session/ 1:1 Coaching https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/business-coaching/ VIP Day https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/vip-day/  

What’s on your summer reading list?   Now that the July 15th deadline is behind us, hopefully you have a bit more discretionary time to read the latest releases on finances. Now, I don't need to tell you why to read books, but I will anyways: because you want to work smarter. You want to set yourself apart and you want to find forward-thinking ways of adding high value to your clients so that you can start working less and earning more. In my reading, I learned that double-entry accounting dates from 14th-century Italy. Who knew. And that’s really cool, but here’s the thing - your clients don’t give a hoot about double-entry accounting. What they care about is how you can help them grow their earnings while protecting more of what they make.  And YOU learning more about double-entry accounting won’t help you get them there. But HERE are 5 books that will:   Subscribed by Tien Tzuo Read Subscribed if you want your mind expanded - it’s full of forward-thinking ways you need to be accounting for clients with subscription revenue.    Fix This Next by Mike Michalowicz Read Fix This Next if you want to add value to your practice by helping your clients know what they need to fix next in their business. Plus, it provides a simple framework to apply again and again.   How Finance Works by Mihir Desai Read How Finance Works if you're wanting to get into more vCFO - type work, and if you need to bone up on finance terms and concepts.   Million Dollar Consulting Proposals by Alan Weiss Read Million Dollar Consulting Proposals if you want to get more yesses on high-value proposals. Creating great proposals is a key to a high-margin practice.   The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss Read The 4-Hour Workweek if you want to live a rich life while working less.  If you enjoyed one of these books, please comment or shoot me an email! Happy summer reading outside the accountant box! Episodes mentioned: 081 Time To Rethink Your Pricing Strategy? with Ron Baker, Founder of Verasage Institute 032 On A Mission To Transform Healthcare, with Lesley Von Eschen, PA-C And Carol Bridges, MD, co-CEOs of Costcare 088 The Case of The $475k Proposal: Did They Accept?   Upcoming training:  Stop Underpricing: It Does A Disservice To Your Clients August 21st at 12pm Eastern   Schedule time with Geraldine: https://calendly.com/geraldinecarter/15min   Download the ebook “6 Simple Steps to Double Your Revenue” https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/download-double-your-revenue   Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/strategy-session/ 1:1 Coaching https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/business-coaching/ VIP Day https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/vip-day/

Today’s guest is Hugh Duffy, CEO and Co-Founder of Build Your Firm (BYF), Inc. Hugh is the leading marketing coach for accountants and takes pride in the impact that it has on their practice, and lives. With more than thirty years of marketing experience, Hugh has been teaching accountants how to improve their marketing so they can make more money in their accounting practice.  I wanted to have Hugh on so that you can better understand the role marketing can and should be playing in your business, so that: you can get better leads for your business, and get the most from your marketing dollars.  your marketing time, dollars, and energy bring the right number of high quality leads into your business. What stood out to me in this episode was just how much Hugh is on the same page about choosing a vertical or niche to become an expert in - and the impact it has to quality leads being able to find you, and you being able to command and defend much higher rates.    If you want to know if your niche is niche-y enough, go back and listen to episode, #91.  Figuring out your niche so that you can make your marketing more effective and command higher rates is one of the hardest parts of shifting your business from traditional accounting to highly paid advisor.  It’s a process I move almost every single one of my clients through - even the ones who thought they were sufficiently niched.  If you know your business’s growth is being held back because you can’t figure out your niche, I CAN HELP YOU find it.  Past Episode Mentioned: 091 Is Your Accounting Niche Niche-y Enough?   Connect with Hugh: Website: https://www.buildyourfirm.com/   Schedule time with Geraldine: https://calendly.com/geraldinecarter/15min   Download the ebook “6 Simple Steps to Double Your Revenue” https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/download-double-your-revenue   Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/strategy-session/ 1:1 Coaching https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/business-coaching/ VIP Day https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/vip-day/

In this episode, you get a different way of thinking about the proposal and it's called a choice of yeses.  A yes or no choice pits you and your buyer against each other. But when you give your prospect options, you change the very nature of the conversation: You set your clients up to answer an entirely different question: What's the best way for me to work with this person? Now they're viewing your relationship as a partnership, a collaboration whereby you are offering them options to best help them solve their problems. Your conversion rate goes up. The value you provide goes up and your margins go up.  If you're a traditional accountant, prospects often come to you for transactional services. It's what they think they need. But when you take the time to listen more deeply to your prospect's challenges, you might hear that there are other pain points you may be able to help them with and new ways that you can add significant value.   Here are six guidelines for you to follow when creating your proposals:  Start with your bread and butter service.  Spread out other ways you can solve numbers and money based problems for your clients.  keep a healthy spread between your prices.  If your buyer wants vCFO, but can only afford controller: If they want the price reduced, they need to take out value.  Keep it simple. Don't make this rocket science and definitely don't make it accounting-y.  Make clear the value to your client because ultimately that is what matters in the buying decision.    When you offer a choice of yeses, it makes the conversation about the prospect and them getting their problem solved.  By providing value that your clients seek, that is how you can start working less and making more. Schedule time with Geraldine: https://calendly.com/geraldinecarter/15min   Register for Free Livestream for CPAs: How to Become A High-Priced Advisor http://shethinksbigcoaching.com/livestream   Download the ebook “6 Simple Steps to Double Your Revenue” https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/download-double-your-revenue   Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/strategy-session/ 1:1 Coaching https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/business-coaching/ VIP Day https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/vip-day/

If COVID has taken your accounting practice on a long, unexpected detour, it's time to pause and ask yourself where you are relative to your goals.  And given where you are, what is the best path to get you to your goals?  You might tell yourself that you don't have the time. But the truth is that if you don't take the time now it'll cost you far more time and far more energy in the long run to get to wherever it is you want to go. Now's the time to pick your head up: if you don't pick it up now you might stay on your trajectory and finish the year way off course. Or, if you do pick your head up, but you take a little while to do it, the longer it takes to recover and the more energy it takes to get back on track. So how do you do this? The first thing to do is to look at your calendar. And before the end of July, or if you're listening asynchronously, before the end of the month, block half a day where you can check in with your business and assess it.    Ask yourself: What is my income year-to-date relative to where I thought it would be? What percent of my clients does it take to create 80% of my income?  What actions am I not taking to grow my accounting practice?  What's holding your current system in place? What would it look like if my business were easy?  If I knew I couldn't screw up, or if my decisions wouldn't upset anyone, what would I do?  When you take a moment to pick your head up, to see where you are, you suddenly see where you need to be heading. Pausing your work for a day to ask yourself these questions is how you get yourself on the path to working less while making more.    Download this PDF for more questions to assess your accounting practice: PDF 094 - Questions to assess your accounting practice   Previous episode mentioned: 044: CEO DAY: Why you need to pick your head up in your business   Schedule time with Geraldine: https://calendly.com/geraldinecarter/15min   Register for Free Livestream for CPAs: How to Become A High-Priced Advisor http://shethinksbigcoaching.com/livestream   Download the ebook “6 Simple Steps to Double Your Revenue” https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/download-double-your-revenue Work with Geraldine: Strategy Session https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/strategy-session/ 1:1 Coaching https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/business-coaching/ VIP Day https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/vip-day/