How A CPA Vetted Her Niche & Grew Her Accounting Firm

Although she graduated college as a full-fledged architect, CPA Michelle M. cast aside building design to be the architect of financial success for contractors. Initially, she worked for a burgeoning tax firm but soon found that she cared more about the lives of her clients than she did about their taxes. After the market crash in 2008, she took it as a sign to move on to better things, and so she did.

“You’re seeing businesses that are just imploding and life was just imploding financially. And we weren’t actually helping anyone. All we were doing was tax returns.”

Striking out into corporate accounting, Michelle eventually moved onto a smaller market, but she just couldn’t shake the feeling that she could be doing more. And so, she started her own accounting firm, dedicated to changing the lives of her clients. Burdened by all-too-common mistakes, she inevitably found herself and her firm in impossible situations. Small missteps added up, and then, COVID-19 happened.

“ 2020 really was really a big eye-opener for me. I strongly felt the need that I had to do something different cause I was just circling around.”

That something different was Dream Firms. And it made a world of difference.

SUCCESS SNAPSHOT

CPA Michelle M. struggled with a lack of workflow structure, a daunting client pool, and low client value. However, after joining the Create Your Own Dream Firm program, she was able to train her support team, identify more efficient systems, and establish a pricing structure. This led to an increase in firm value, a reduction in workload, and maximized efficiency. Today, Michelle has been able to expand her accounting services and connect with high-value clients, resulting in increased profits

At the Bottom of the Ladder

Tax Returns & Low-Value Clients

To the untrained eye, Michelle’s firm was doing fine. She had enough clients coming to her to pay the bills. But, she knew that her firm wasn’t moving forward the way she had planned. She was boggled down with more tax returns than she could handle, but she was missing the advisory piece and couldn’t figure out how to get there.

“The problem that I ran into is that I didn’t learn about it until I started working with you. I didn’t have a clear value ladder with the clients.”

Tax returns were paying the bills, but Michelle started her own firm with the intention of improving the lives of her clients year-round, not just during tax season. She knew advisory was the way to do this, but she was struggling to find and connect with the type of clients who knew they needed these services, her dream clients. And, she couldn’t take the time she needed to analyze her problem because she was so wrapped up working for her business instead of on it.

I was apparently pushing $12,000 a year to the side for a $300 tax return of people who send me all their information over the wall like little nuggets.

Having “enough” clients wasn’t enough for Michelle. She was tired of the back-breaking hours and unappreciative clients. But, without new, high-value clients coming in there was no change in sight. So she began trying to untangle the complicated knot of processes that comes with marketing your accounting firm.

“I am not a marketing person so I didn’t know where to start.”

She knew that she needed to end this cycle, kick the unappreciative tax clients to the curb and devote her expertise to high-value clients that recognized her value. She tried a couple of different accountant coaching programs but found that at the end of the day, all she had were a bunch of “tools” and no idea how to use them to propel her firm to success. She needed a clear direction, and she found it in our Create Your Own Dream Firm program.

Climbing The Value Ladder & Expanding Accounting Services

In the CYDF program, Michelle found the clarity that she was looking for and more. She found step-by-step plans, enthusiastic coaching, and a committed community of entrepreneurial accountants just like herself, to turn to for additional help. Armed with all of this, she was soon on the road to her dream accounting firm.

“That is what I was missing in all the other programs, clear direction…You basically laid it all out on the table and said this is what we do, this is what worked for our clients, try it.”

She committed to firing her tax-only, low-value clients. And, with her newfound free time, she was able to focus on growing her accounting firm and connecting with high-value clients. She turned her attention to business clients, S-corps, LLCs, and the like, and found that when she provided a solid base of bookkeeping and tax services, advisory accounting was the next step up on the ladder.

“I’ve realized that I’ve got to do both bookkeeping and tax because those are parts of what they need. The advisory kind of comes naturally on top of it since clients look to you more regularly for support.”

Because they trusted her in all other financial aspects of their business, her clients realized that she was an invaluable resource for advisory accounting. Now, instead of frantic meetings once a year, she works with them around the clock to accomplish their goals, both at home and at work. She isn’t stuck on the tax return grind anymore and her firm is growing every month.

To hear about Michelle’s journey in her own words, watch their full interview below.

Dream Firm: Initiated

From wasting time on low-value tax return clients and being stuck in a marketing fog to connecting with her dream clients and providing a breadth of accounting services, Michelle M. is truly on the path to her dream firm. Along with her high-value dream client and saved time, Michelle has found yet another benefit of the Create Your Dream Firm program, increased profits.

“In the first three months, I added $34,000 in annual recurring revenue to my practice.”

A 10x return in less than 90 days is an incredible return, but that’s just one plus for Michelle. She went from heading a practice with an uncertain future to helming a firm on the path to success. She gets to genuinely help her clients as she has always wanted, and she gets paid her true value for doing something she loves.

🚨AN UPDATE ON MICHELLE'S FIRM🚨

Since our interview with accounting firm owner Michelle (you can watch it above), things have continued to improve for both her and her team. Two years ago, she was celebrating successes like “getting through tax season” and onboarding new team members. Her firm has grown drastically, and as a result, so have her wins.

On a recent group coaching call, she shared that since the beginning of the year, she has added $64K in new business. And she’s since joined our $100K Club, meaning Michelle added $100,000 in new billings to her firm in less than a year. She also made the journey to our Mastermind Event in France last year to fine-tune some of her firm’s processes with other “graduates” from our Create Your Dream Firm program. Michelle, her firm, and her team are flawless examples of how sticking to a method and appreciating the little wins builds the groundwork for your dream accounting firm.