Business Strategy for CPA's

Business owners across the country are wondering, more like, dying to know, what the impacts of COVID might be to their business, their revenue, and their cash flow.  They want to know the best case, worst case and likely case scenarios. And they want to know the UH-OH case of how long do I have before I run out of cash. By providing simple scenarios, you can help your business-owning clients, make wiser decisions sooner. As a CPA, you can run scenarios and be clear about the variables you use and be frank about the assumptions you've made and see what results each scenario spits out. Doing this for your clients now can be the difference between them weathering the COVID storm with some bruises or their ship totally sinking. Even if you can't tell them exactly how things will play out, showing them what happens in these different scenarios gives them a greater sense of control over their future. And when you provide your clients with a greater sense of control and an ability to make better informed decisions, now the value you add as a CPA goes way up. But it’s YOUR accounting practice that has the most to gain. When you add more value, it allows you to:  command much higher fees let go of low-margin compliance work free up time for higher impact work.  Start by picking one client for whom you could easily run scenarios. Walk them through your thinking and be sure to include the variables they know to be important.  Start there and you will be well on your way to offering this service more broadly to you best clients and transforming your CPA firm.  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/

Today’s guest is Germeen Guillaume (GEE-YOME), Founder of Visionary Accounting Group.  Germeen founded Visionary Accounting Group in 2015 and has been helping nonprofits leverage technology as a means to gain deeper financial insight and real time data. To date, Germeen has led the Company in recouping over $2.8M in receivables, through workflow automation and accounting system conversions. I wanted to have Germeen on to better understand the experience that people of color have when it comes to being an accountant and business owner, so that you can be on the lookout for opportunities to level the playing field. What stood out to me long before I recorded this episode is just how much leadership in the accounting space is predominantly white and mostly male.  And as a woman, frankly, I’m not down with that.  What this conversation helped me see is how pervasive and systemic biases and prejudices are in accounting, banking, and funding , and how much work there is to be done. It’s shifted how I view my role as someone who values a level playing field.  Rather than a call to action that supports my business, which is what I would usually put here, instead I pass along Germeen’s request: Speak up when you see bias, prejudice, or racism in play Take the time to educate yourself about challenges that people of color uniquely face And if you’re in the VC space, consider who you’re funding Start with your inner circle - the people with whom you have contact on the regular. Connect with Germeen: Website: https://www.visionaryag.com/ Download ebook “6 Simple Steps to Double Your Revenue” https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/download-double-your-revenue Schedule time with me: https://calendly.com/geraldinecarter/15min 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, we're talking about how niching can bring you one step closer to earning more while working less. Having a clear niche as a CPA is the single biggest thing you can do to get you off the hamster wheel of working like crazy, and makes it easy for great clients to find you because you're a go-to expert in their field. When you go through the process of making your niche niche-y enough, your business will become more simple for you to run. You'll deliver more value, more easily, and in less time. And you'll become known as a go to person to be serving that type of client. And then once all that happens and given some time, then you can take things to the next level where many more opportunities that you may not be able to see right now, including additional revenue streams will begin to appear. 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 Adam Hale, Co-Founder and COO of Summit CPA Group.  Summit CPA Group is the leading provider of Virtual CFO Services in North America.  Summit CPA offers virtual CFO, Controller, and transaction-level services remotely and at scale. And Adam works with his team to deliver the best possible vCFO services to their clients. I wanted to have Adam on to dig into the art and science of pricing and delivery of these services, so that you can learn his hard-earned secrets so you serve your clients better and at a higher level.  What stood out to me in this episode was the idea that they decidedly want clients in Controller and vCFO, and don’t want clients at the transaction level.  After all, transaction is labor and time-intensive, while excellent guidance can happen in a short amount of time and add far more value to the client.  Listeners, if you want help building Controller and vCFO level services to your practice but haven’t been able to figure out how on your own,  so that you can get your practice to the next level, from 150 clients down to 15, with $60K or $100K annual engagements, I can help you make that transformation.  Put 15 minutes on my calendar - just go to shethinksbigcoaching.com and click on the big fat red Schedule Time with Me button.  Connect with Adam: Website: https://www.summitcpa.net/ Download ebook “6 Simple Steps to Double Your Revenue” https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/download-double-your-revenue Schedule time with me: https://calendly.com/geraldinecarter/15min 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 Annette Bevers, a solo CPA based in northern California.  I wanted to have Annette on because she has many of the classic challenges that CPAs face when they say yes to most types of work that arrive at their door.  She has a mish-mash of clients, whose needs vary, which makes it hard to have consistent processes, which means work takes up a lot of time, leaving little to think about growing strategically. She’s bogged down in work and not using her full potential.  What stood out to me in this episode is just how easy it is to stay caught in the tangle of questions you ask yourself when trying to break free of the traditional model.  Fortunately, the path out is straight-forward, and it works. Interviewing top clients, shedding 20% of your client base and committing to using that time to grow, and raising your prices are 3 key pieces.  But it’s hard to walk through this fog alone.  If you want to know what the simple steps are to grow your business, go grab a copy of my e-book, where I walk you through the 6 steps.  Download ebook “6 Simple Steps to Double Your Revenue” https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/download-double-your-revenue   Connect with Annette: Website: https://beverscpa.com/ 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/

I have a story for you today about what is possible in your business. So often the thing I hear from my clients is that one of the reasons they wanted help working together was that they knew that bigger was possible in their businesses. But they didn't necessarily know how to get there. They knew that other CPAs were making this transition from billing by the hour to shifting into delivering high value. They knew that others were doing it, but they didn't really know that they themselves could do it.   In telling this story I want you to know what is possible and what is potentially not that far away from you with some key changes in your business and that without any shenanigans, you can be earning two or three or four times what you're currently making right now. By getting away from hourly billing, if you haven't already, by deeply understanding what your prospects and clients really want and what is worth to them, and putting together powerful proposals where you serve your clients at a high level in this way with far less effort than some of the compliance and or accounting or transactional work than you may be doing right now. 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 Amy Vetter. Amy is the CEO of the B3 Method® Institute, a keynote speaker, corporate board member, author, and contributor to Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com. Amy authored the book: Business, Balance & Bliss: How the B3 Method Can Transform Your Career and Life. She is the host of the Breaking Beliefs Podcast. I wanted to have Amy on to talk about how to manage yourself and your time in your business and in your life so that you find better balance.  My take-aways on the notifications and self-discipline is that no one can do it for you.  Just like no one can eat for you, and no one can sleep for you, NO ONE can turn off your notifications for you and no one is going to focus for you.  The other turn of phrase I appreciated was Handle Your Relationships with Care. I do see my own clients getting stuck here, especially as updating your business model often requires finding new accountants for your current clients. If you position it in your mind as doing this with grace, kindness, and care, it can make the process easier to take.  I also want to add my own take on the phrase “I don’t want to disappoint people.” You may have noticed that this phrase got called a feeling, and I want to clarify that this is in fact a thought and not a feeling.  This clarification is important because, in the vernacular, we say that feelings are true and real, and that’s right. However, “I don’t want to disappoint people” is a thought, and shouldn’t be taken as true because it’s accidentally believed to be a feeling when it’s not.  The other piece of this is people will say, “You can’t please everyone” to which I say, “You can’t please anyone, it’s not in your power.” And if you have done something before and another person has been happy, remember that correlation does not imply causation.  Connect with Amy: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyvettercpa/ Instagram www.instagram.com/amyvettercpa Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AmyVetterCPA/ Twitter https://twitter.com/AmyVetterCPA Schedule time with me: 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/

My guest today is Jody Grunden, Co-Founder and CEO of Summit CPA Group, the leading provider of Virtual CFO Services in North America.  Jody is passionate about changing the way people think about accounting.  As the author of Digital Dollars and Cents, Jody literally wrote the book on helping digital companies create a financial roadmap to success. Summit CPA offers virtual CFO, Controller, and transaction-level services remotely and at scale.  I wanted to have Jody on to talk about everything that he has learned in nearly 20 years of growing this business.  There were many gems including the simple but important reminder: “Your clients are hiring you to help them get to the next level.”  It’s your job to help build the financial roadmap that gets them there.  The rest is just deliverables. What your client wants is transformation.  If you want help getting your practice to the next level, getting from 150 clients down to 15, with $60 or $100K annual engagements, I can help you make that transformation.  Put 15 minutes on my calendar - just go to shethinksbigcoaching.com and click on the big fat red Schedule Time with Me button. You’d be surprised how much ground we can cover in that time, so I hope you will take me up on the offer.    Connect with Jody: Website: https://www.summitcpa.net/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jodygrunden Twitter: @jgrunden and @SummitCPAGroup Schedule Time with Me: https://calendly.com/geraldinecarter/15min   Download 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 Claire Stewart, the Founder of Cartmill Stewart.  Claire and her partner have totally dialed in their systems to run an efficient practice, including having gone paperless.  Systems and workflows are a common pain point for accounting practice owners so I wanted to dig in.  The highlights were: 1. Creating issues that didn’t need to be there. And that sometimes clients who “behave badly” do so because they were set up that way.  So they make themselves go back to the drawing board and make systems better from the client’s point of view. This tied in nicely with: Look at businesses that do customer service really well and see what elements you can replicate.  2. Fix one thing at a time. If there’s too much, you won’t do anything. So many accountants complain of feeling like they are chasing their tail when it comes to making improvements, and it’s because they are either trying to do too many things at once, or fixing things out of order. And yes, there is a RIGHT order to fix things in.  Software mentioned: GoProposal https://goproposal.com/ Senta https://www.senta.co/   Connect with Claire: Email claire@cartmillstewart.co.uk Website https://www.cartmillstewart.co.uk/ LinkedIn http://linkedin.com/in/clairestewartfca/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/clairestewartfca/ Download 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 Carol Cox. Carol is the founder of Speaking Your Brand®, a coaching and training company that helps women entrepreneurs and leaders around the world create their signature talks, whether it’s for a keynote, TED talk, conference session or business presentation, and position themselves to get better (and paid) speaking engagements. Carol is host of the weekly Speaking Your Brand® podcast and during election seasons serves as a Democratic political analyst on TV news in Orlando, Florida.  With an extensive background in business, tech, politics, media, and history, Carol’s mission is to help women develop their content and confidence, to raise their voices and visibility, to challenge the status quo and change existing systems. Carol and I have known each other for 3 years, and I have worked with her in a variety of capacities over that time. She even gets credit for helping me coin the name, She Thinks Big Coaching. Carol is here to help us understand what is keeping women from getting in front of the microphone.   Here are my top takeaways:  #1. Get over perfectionism. You have to start where you are, you will get better as you go, and there is no such thing as perfect, so stop chasing it. #2. You’re doing your audience a disservice if you don’t share your expertise and tell people how they can work with you.  Remember that milllllions of Americans and business owners have challenges with their money and need guidance.  Speaking Your Brand Challenge: Choosing Women’s Voices https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/challenge/   Speaking Your Brand Podcast episodes mentioned: Creating a Business for Change with Geraldine Carter https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/podcast-36-business-growth-geraldine-carter/ Thinking Bigger – I Get Coached On-Air by Geraldine Carter https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/thinking-bigger-getting-coached-by-geraldine-carter/   Connect with Carol: Website: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/ Podcast: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/podcast/   Download 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/