Business Strategy for CPA's

Today we’re talking about the copy on your website. Because you might be either alienating prospects who visit your website, or not attracting them to begin with. And because of that, you could be missing out on really good revenue.   What am I talking about? All kinds of words and phrases that are meaningless at best - and are potentially harmful - and are taking up valuable real estate on your website, and doing nothing to rank in search results when your ideal clients are googling around for someone like you. And when prospects DO make it to your website, they go, mmmm, not THIS CPA. and they bounce. And you might be thinking to yourself, well, I don’t get most of my business from my website. I get it from word of mouth and referral. So, why bother with my website? You might be right that website traffic is not a source of leads for you, so why bother… but the other way to think about it is… a lackluster website that doesn’t speak to your prospects is exactly why you get few to no leads from it.    So let’s take a spin through a bunch of words and phrases I see in use, see what is problematic about these words, and what to say instead: Affordable Experienced, Accurate, Integrity, Trustworthy, Honesty Talking about things that are expected, the bare minimum Full-service, broad range of services, wide range of expertise Small Firm Personality, BIG FIRM CAPABILITY Bizarro Aspirational phrases that mean nothing:  THE SKY'S THE LIMIT, Achieve Your Goals committed to your success, ensuring success We dream big with you achieve more than you thought possible Serving our community since the stone age We have established a reputation for excellence, teamwork, community involvement, and a certain alternative character.   Here is what prospects want to see on your website: You know who they are - specifically - martial art studio owners. Landscapers. Creative agencies. Architects. Etsy shop owners. Women in the stages of divorce, who need to get a handle on their finances.   And an indication you know what those people want: Martial art studio owners: what do the numbers need to look like for them to buy the building, or open a second location? Landscapers - stop getting paid 60 days after they’ve mowed the lawn, and instead get paid up front, so they can stop chasing cash and instead have enough reserve to make it through the winter months.  Contractors - want to stay on top of project costs and know week to week how estimate to actuals are doing.  Women in the stages of divorce who need to get a handle on their finances after years of not being in charge of the money.   You need to be able to identify the pain points that are specific to the type of business owner you want to attract, so that they know you understand them. Doing this will not only separate you from the CPA around the corner, but it will get you much farther along the value curve.  Scrub your website of accurate and honest and we reply to your questions, and instead give your prospects an indication you know who they are, what their struggles are, and what they want. If you want my eyeballs on your website to see what kind of verbiage needs to be scrubbed and what you can replace it with, sign up for Accountants Anonymous - it’s Nov 19th at 12 ET - and walk away knowing exactly what to say to attract your ideal clients.  Register at https://shethinksbigcoaching.com Episode mentioned: 106 Better Pricing Strategies for Accountants: Stop Billing by the Hour https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/106   Upcoming training:  15 PHRASES TO SCRUB FROM YOUR WEBSITE AND WHAT TO SAY INSTEAD Thursday, November 19th, 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/

Are you stuck thinking about Advisory Services in the commonly accepted tiers of transactional, controller, vCFO? These 3 tiers are great way to begin to think about Advisory Services for CPAs. But why these 3, and only these 3?  Here are some other questions I ask, when it comes to CPAs transitioning to advisory:  Why stop at vCFO?  Why do the tiers stop at being strategic? (Helping business owners adopt smarter strategies is where it's just starting to get good.)  What is being missed when service stops at strategic?  What is beyond vCFO? It seems to me like two tiers are missing. Why not add beyond vCFO, a service column for anticipatory? Anticipating, and not just taxes, but also in your client's businesses. And you help your clients think through how changes, be they economic or seasonal or technological, or even social changes, how these changes that are coming down the pipeline are going to impact your client's businesses.  What else could be beyond vCFO?  What about being innovative? Innovation creates significant new value that didn't exist before. And when you innovate, for a while, you will be the only one offering that new value to your clients. Now, you might be thinking, “I am a CPA. CPA's don't innovate.” I beg to differ. I work with CPAs just like you.  I watch them innovating. It's just that they don't frame it like that to themselves. They think of it as “solving an obvious problem.”  There are services beyond vCFO. All you have to do is listen to what your clients are, to date, unable to accomplish when it comes to money, numbers, math, and data. And I guarantee you, you can find innovative, powerful ways to help them.    I give you permission to anticipate and innovate. Because when you do these things, you can maximize your prices. And when you maximize your prices, you will be able to work with fewer clients. And when you can work with fewer clients, your business gets simpler. And when your business gets simpler, you don't have to work as many hours. And when you don't have to work as many hours, you can get your life and your health back. And you get to read Dr. Seuss books to your grandkids. And when you read Dr. Seuss books to your grandkids, you get more joy back. And goodness knows we could all use a bit more joy in 2020.  Remember, anticipate and innovate new additions to the tiers of CPA services.  If you have innovative ideas that you want help flushing out and piloting to your clients, I can help you do just that. The best place to start is by putting 15 minutes on my calendar at http://shethinksbigcoaching.com.   Upcoming training:  10 PHRASES TO SCRUB FROM YOUR WEBSITE AND WHAT TO REPLACE IT WITH Thursday, November 19th, 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/  

Guidance and wisdom in the accounting industry tend to be provided by accountants and CPAs. There's a notable absence of expertise and wisdom from thought leaders outside the accounting industry. In order for any profession to advance, it needs to have conventional thinking be challenged. And the best people to challenge conventional thinking are those who have never been taught to believe conventional thinking in the first place. Why do we cling to our views so tenaciously after they're formed? Psychologists attribute this to at least two phenomena: self-affirmation and cultural cognition. Both of these concepts suggest that we cling to our views because the walls of our opinions are like battlements that keep the good guys on the inside safe from the enemy on the outside - all those dopes with different opinions. The problem is that when you have these walls set up, you don't allow in new information that would actually be good for you. Knowing this makes it extra important to be in about listening to people outside the profession, and to welcome them as observers and commentators so that you on the inside the profession can benefit from fresh thinking. The danger in listening only to accountants for wisdom is that regardless of what they're thinking about, they're still thinking about it in accountant type ways. So whether they're thinking about numbers or thinking about concepts, their way of thinking reverts to reporting on what has happened in the past, rather than what can be created in the future. Instead, think beyond the perspectives that the industry typically shares with you.  I want you listening to voices outside the accounting space so that you can rise above the din of the same-same, and expose yourself to completely different viewpoints and ways of thinking. And if you're looking for inspiration for some other fresh thinking and voices, here are some of my favorites:  Seth Godin https://seths.blog/ Jonathan Stark https://jonathanstark.com/ Elizabeth Gilbert https://www.elizabethgilbert.com/   When you listen to leading voices outside the accounting profession, you're exposed to fresh perspectives. And when you apply fresh perspectives to your work, you advance your business. And when you advance your business, your clients get more value. And when the value you provide to your clients increases, your rates increase. And when your rates increase, you don't have to work as much. And that is how you get your time back.  Now, I want to hear from you. What fresh perspectives have recently shifted your business?    Episode mentioned: 106 Better Pricing Strategies for Accountants: Stop Billing by the Hour, with Jonathan Stark https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/106   Upcoming training:  GIVE UP CALCULATING $ PER HOUR Break free of this arbitrary metric: there is a better way Thursday, October 22, 12pm ET   10 PHRASES TO SCRUB FROM YOUR WEBSITE AND WHAT TO REPLACE IT WITH Thursday, November 19th, 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/  

Have you ever heard of a tool called the wheel of life? It's a really simple but powerful tool to help you take stock of the most important areas of your life and visualize which ones are going best and which areas you want to devote more of your attention to, to improve. The wheel of life gives you a bird's eye view of the different aspects of your life.  I want to share this tool with you because I want you to have it not just for your life, but also for your business, so that you can get your life where you want it and your business where you want it. With everything that’s been going on this year it can be really hard to focus. And when you do focus, what do you focus on? With all of the problems that you could address, how do you know where to allocate your attention? After all your attention is limited. And just like you allocate cash for certain priorities in your business, you allocate your attention. The problem is that sometimes we allocate our attention indiscriminately. And when your attention gets allocated indiscriminately day after day, year after year, you might inadvertently end up with a business you no longer like owning.  The problem with that is that life is too short to own a business you don't like owning.  So back to the life wheel, back to the business wheel. How can these two things help you? This really simple tool will help you move in the direction of building the business you love to own that fits right inside a life you love.  It's a really simple tool to help you see what is actually happening in your life that often otherwise just gets lost in the day to day.  This simple exercise can really help you understand where you need to focus in your business and where to allocate your attention. And when you know where to focus your attention, you improve the right things. And when you improve the right things, you make progress in the right direction in your business. And that is how over time you build a business that you love to own.  Now, it would be really easy to do with the life wheel and to do the business wheel and then tuck it away in some file folder. But I want you to pin it on the wall so that you can check in with it and remind yourself where your focus most needs to be. DOWNLOAD PDF: Life Wheel and Business Wheel https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/107-pdf-download/   Upcoming training:    GIVE UP CALCULATING $ PER HOUR Break free of this arbitrary metric: there is a better way Thursday, October 22, 12pm ET   10 Phrases To Scrub From Your Website And What To Replace It With Thursday, November 19th, 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/

My guest today is Jonathan Stark. Jonathan is a former software developer who is on a mission to rid the world of hourly billing. He is the author of Hourly Billing Is Nuts, the host of TWO podcasts: Ditching Hourly and The Business of Authority, and writes a daily newsletter on pricing for independent professionals. We’re talking today about better ways for CPAs to price their services so that they can get out of the accounting rut.  We will get into different pricing strategies, the differences between value, price, and cost, selling outcomes instead of deliverables, and more.    “If you can find clients that will get more and more value out of the services that you provide, the prices that you can put in your project proposals just magically go up... In other words, without much more work, you can charge a client a hundred thousand dollars for basically the same thing if the value to them is a million. So your growth comes from finding clients who value the stuff that you do more.”  - Jonathan Stark   Value is not just about increasing prices. It's a way for you to provide a range of possible solutions for your clients so that they can choose what makes sense to them given the context they're in and which solution they want, in a way that is always profitable for both parties. What I see as most immediately implementable when it comes to moving out of hourly billing is to take one thing that you already do all the time anyways, and turn that into a flat-fee service, and give yourself the experience of getting faster and better at it, so you know what it feels like to divorce your profit margins from your time. Once you get a taste for that feeling, you’ll be thirsty for more.    Episodes mentioned: 105 Mathematical Proof Different is Better  https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/105 104 How Much Would a CPA Pay for a Kid’s Bike?  https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/104 Upcoming training:  GIVE UP CALCULATING $ PER HOUR Break free of this arbitrary metric: there is a better way Thursday, October 22, 12pm ET   10 Phrases To Scrub From Your Website And What To Replace It With Thursday, November 19th, 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/  

I am here to offer you mathematical proof that different is more profitable.  The best possible strategy to becoming more profitable without having to work so hard includes specializing.  A few weeks back, a well-known software developer turned consultant named Jonathan Stark invited me to be on his podcast, Ditching Hourly, so we could discuss other ways to bill forensic accounting. And it was in our conversation that he dropped this equation that I want to share with you.    Here is the max price formula that proves that specializing will make you more profitable. Desire x Buying Power / Availability of Options = Max Price   Let me give you some good news and some bad news.  The bad news is that making yourself different is among the hardest and most necessary gates to pass through on your path to becoming a highly compensated CPA. Now, the good news. Because this gate is one of the hardest ones to get through, very few people actually get through it. Many people try, but they either get lost or they run out of steam, or they don't see it through.  If you are willing to come in and see it through to the other side, you will find that you are in small, great company.  So if you have the courage to commit to the process of specializing, which really only takes about six months, you will cut the number of options your prospects have down to such a small number that you will be able to bump up your max price by a factor of three or five or even eight or more.  If you want to work on upping your max price, here are some initial steps you can take:   Run through your client roster, and note which clients are in a lot of pain. Then look at their buying power. Which of your clients are best positioned to invest with you more deeply? Conversely, which ones do you know will never have the buying power to work with you in a way that lines up with what you want your business to be doing? Finally, look at how many CPAs around you look just like you in a white press button-down shirt who do all things for all people.    Look inside your client roster and leverage the types of businesses you already have as clients to begin the process of specializing. So that you can look different from the white shirt CPA next to you, who specializes in serving everyone and no one at the same time. Remember, specializing is a process. It takes three months just to see if you're getting traction. It takes six months to know for sure if your specialty is working. But if you commit to an industry that is specialized enough, and you give it time, you will get there and you will reap the rewards of being able to maximize your price. And when you maximize your price, you will be able to work with fewer clients. And when you can work with fewer clients, your business gets simpler. And when your business gets simpler, you don't have to work as many hours. There you have it - mathematical proof that different is more profitable.   Podcast mentioned: Ditching Hourly Episode 193: The Forensic Bounty Hunter with guest Geraldine Carter https://podcast.ditchinghourly.com/episodes/coaching-call-with-geraldine-carter   Upcoming training:  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 I want to talk to you today about how to price a bicycle. Now you might be wondering, what has this got to do with being a CPA? What does the price of a bike have to do with payroll, cashflow, or tax strategy?  I'll tell you what the connection is.  And I'm going to tell you through a recent experience I had buying a bike for my five-year-old daughter, Hazel.  It was an expensive, but worth it bike. Here are five ways I never thought to justify the price: Component parts: rubber, aluminum, plastic.  Time for the machine to stamp out the bike.  Margins of the bike company.  Goal earnings of the bike company owner. Comparing to prices of other bikes.  Instead, I made the purchase based on the value to me. And that value is being able to watch my daughter have a blast in the pump track with her friends, to feel more confident riding, and to be able to keep up with the boys.   Check her out, getting the hang of the pump track! Here’s the YouTube link:  https://youtu.be/6reW8zJivmM The price of the bike had nothing to do with the cost.    How this connects back to CPAs: they price their services all wrong, all the time.  Here are five examples of how CPAs price their services incorrectly: Hourly. Not so much a price, but more an expression of your confidence. Breaking it down into its component parts like their time, staff time, court time, bookkeeping is this much, payroll is that much.  Destination margins. Shooting for the industry average of 14.9% or above.  Goal earnings. “I need to make $400K so I can cover my desired expenses.” Comparing. They say they are not the most expensive, nor the least expensive CPA in town.  Each of these is something that I've heard a CPA say, and sometimes it's how my own clients can think about pricing when we're starting out. And I get the value of these ways of thinking about pricing. You have to start somewhere.  The problem is the amount of money that CPAs are leaving on the table when they use incorrect pricing strategies.  In none of these examples did we talk about value. Nowhere did we talk about the value to me, the buyer. Value and price are not one and the same.  And the fundamental problem with pricing any other way than on value is the amount of money left on the table.  So how do you get from pricing your time to assessing the value of the outcomes you help create and putting a price on that instead? You start by listening more to your clients. You listen to what they really care about.  When you spend more time with your clients and listen to why it is they want what they want, you will be able to uncover untold value. And then you can start value pricing. And when you start value pricing, your income increases while your workload decreases. And that is how you work less and make more. When your service is amazing and the value is priceless, there will be clients who are happy to pay you for it.  If seeing the five ways not to price listed out would be helpful to you, zip on over to my website, shethinksbigcoaching.com where you can download the free PDF I made that lists the examples that I mentioned.  DOWNLOAD PDF:  https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/104-pdf-download/ 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’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/