Concerns:
- Inefficient Marketing
- Relying On Referrals To Generate New Business
- Unsustainable Success
- Lack of Time To Spend With Family
Goals:
- Build a Firm with a Work/Life Balance
- Create Unique, Collaborative Networks for Clients
- Develop Generational Wealth
- Elevate Accounting Practice
The saying, “Mother knows best,” might not always be accurate, but in this case it definitely was. It was Dream Firms leader Tom Pellegrino’s mother who first suggested that he get into accounting. She thought he’d be good at it, and she was absolutely correct. Tom’s been an accountant for 31 years now, and he’s been running his own accounting practice for 28 of those years.
“I wanted to do something a little different… I just felt the urge to expand our practice a little bit.”
Tom didn’t come to Dream Firms because he was struggling to bring in clients or because he didn’t know how to communicate with his ideal clients. And, after having a stroke, Tom was quite literally forced to delegate work, so that wasn’t his problem either. What was Tom’s problem you might be wondering? He wasn’t running his dream accounting firm. He was already successful, but he knew that he could take his firm to the next level. He just didn’t know exactly how to… yet.
One Small Step For Tom, One Giant Leap For His Firm
The 1st Move Towards His Dream Accounting Firm
Tom had checked all the boxes for his accounting firm. He had attended marketing seminars all over the country. He found his niche, attorneys. He delegated tasks to his team. And, his accounting firm was doing well. He was even able to retain his first ever client for his firm 28 years later. But checking boxes wasn’t enough for Tom. He had something bigger and better in mind. He wanted to build generational wealth and create systems that would handle marketing for him and connect with his dream clients. That’s when he stumbled upon our Practice Ignitor Challenge.
It was here that he rediscovered his love for marketing and learned some new ways to reach his clients. But this was just his first step. After wrapping up the Practice Ignitor Challenge, he was ready to take on a new challenge… building his dream firm. So he enrolled in the Create Your Own Dream Firm (CYDF) program and found exactly what he was looking for.
“If I slow down and build things correctly, the people in my firm will never have to do much for marketing, ever.”
True to his nature, he was not afraid to delegate and quickly handed off the tech information to his IT team and dove into the rest of the program. In this program were exactly the tools and info he needed to expand and elevate his accounting firm. Together, we worked on enhancing his firm’s unique story and tailoring his message to his dream clients. Tom also implemented brand new, online systems to help streamline his sales and on-boarding processes. And, he watched as these systems increased his team’s efficiency as well as his own, leaving him time to focus on other things and ensuring that everyone got home at a reasonable hour.
High & Mighty
Utilizing Free Time To Handle High-Level Processes & Grow
Making his accounting firm more efficient, gave it the room that it needed to grow. Tom’s six person team quickly grew to a bustling 13 member squad. They handled the everyday work, allowing him to turn his attention to other important processes and ultimately bolstering even more growth. But, growth wasn’t the only thing on Tom’s mind. How could he better serve his clients and how could he better understand their wants & needs?
It was with this mindset that Tom created his very own LinkedIn group. Although the group existed before Tom and Dream Firms had a chance to meet, it didn’t have the opportunity to flourish. But, with his newfound free time and updated marketing tactics, he was able to create a space specifically for his attorney clients. These days, it’s so successful he’s even turning away non-attorney prospective clients from joining the group. This group helped him understand exactly what his clients were looking for, and it gave them all a safe space to gather virtually and share their trials and tribulations. That’s a win-win.
“I’ve stopped having that uncertainty of when I was going to get a bill.”
Tom utilized his new understanding of what his clients were looking for to further increase his firm’s value. He approached some of his clients with a new proposition. They would pay him a retainer fee and get unlimited access to talk with him about whatever they wanted. And, they jumped at this opportunity. Now he’s a go-to resource for everything from financial advice to whether or not an employee should be let go. By implementing systems that freed up his time, Tom was able to explore a unique avenue that helped him to better understand his dream clients and build a more financially secure future.
A Firm Believer In DreamFirms
As for what Tom has to say about his experience working with DreamFirms…
“It’s really just been a lot of fun.”
Although his accounting firm was in a good place when he first started our CYDF program, he knew it could be better. And, he made it so. These days he has the option to explore different avenues and try new things. Not only did he learn how to further streamline his accounting firm, he also gained a community of peers who were doing the exact same thing. He helped build a sustainable future for his practice, while still ensuring that he and his team had a reasonable work/life balance. Tom truly transformed his already successful accounting firm into an even more efficient & profitable practice.
