The E-Myth Accountant Series – Growth
The eighth topic in the book “The E-Myth Accountant: Why Most Accounting Practices Don’t Work And What To Do About It” by Michael Gerber and M. Darren Root, CPA is all about growth.
Michael Gerber shares that once an accountant has started a practice, it’s his or her job to help it grow. To nurture it and support it in every way.
He explains that as your practice grows, it naturally changes. And as it changes from a small practice to something much bigger, you will begin to feel out of control. News flash: That’s because you are out of control.
Your practice has exceeded your know-how, sprinted right past you, and now it’s taunting you to keep up. That leaves you two choices: Grow as big as your practice demands you to grow, or try to hold your practice at its present level—the level where you feel most comfortable.
The sad fact is that most accountants do the latter. They try to keep their practice small, securely within their comfort zone. Doing what they know how to do, what they feel most comfortable doing. It’s called playing it safe.
Given most accountants’ inclination to be the master juggler in their practice, it’s not surprising that as complexity increases, as work expands beyond their ability to do it, as money becomes more elusive, they are just holding on, desperately juggling more and more balls. In the end, most collapse under the strain.
He shares that you can’t expect your practice to stand still. You can’t expect your practice to stay small. A practice that stays small and depends on you to do everything isn’t a practice—it’s a job!
You must have a vision and allow your practice to grow as that vision becomes a reality.
Co-author M. Darren Root, CPA, shares that accountants typically fall into one of two camps in relation to growing their practices:
- Camp 1 relies primarily on consistently acquiring new clients. Being in this camp, which is typically made up of technicians, can be exhausting.
- Camp 2 relies on enhancing systems to increase efficiency, which allows for growth in client base without adding resources. Being in this camp is far more relaxing; it’s made up of savvy business leaders.
If you’ve been building your practice for some time, you may have reached a crossroad — wondering whether you are running your business or your business is running you.
He explains that for those who have graduated to Camp 2, technology is central. And today, more tested, proven technology solutions are available to the accounting profession than ever before.
When you apply the right set of tools intelligently, you can create the processes and systems required to run a highly efficient business— one that can continue to take on new clients at a much greater rate and without the associated ‘‘peoplepower.’’
He also explains that when it comes to growth, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are all excellent social media channels that have made it exceptionally easy to reach current and future clients — and have them reach you.
When he gives a presentation, he always asks attendees how they find products – their answer is always ‘‘the Internet.’’ Clients are finding services the same way, so if you don’t have a presence on the Web, how do you expect people to find you?
The bottom line – it’s time for accounting firms to adapt and grow.
Source – “The E-Myth Accountant”