Business Strategy for CPA's

Announcing the *NEW* Client Success Stories podcast: 

https://business-strategy-for-cpas-success-stories.transistor.fm/

👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆

Hey CPA Firm owner, glad you found the podcast. 

If you feel like you’ve become trapped by your own accounting firm, you’re fed up PiTB clients who get you their stuff late, don’t appreciate the value you provide, and complain to you when you don’t turn it around on a dime, I can help you stop the chaos and end the long hours, without losing revenue. 

If you like the podcast, join 1000+ other CPAs who get Vitamin G, my daily dose of single-tip business strategy delivered straight to their inbox: 

Subscribe here: geraldinecarter.com/subscribe

Listen to this episode where I interview Prithi Daswani, CPA a 1:1 client. We worked together for about a year, starting two years ago. 

In her story, you’ll hear how she went from 750 clients down to 50 over the course of that time. You’ll hear about the decisions and modifications she made to her practice, so that she could get out from under the relentless workload to find happiness again. 

You’ll hear which steps made the biggest impact, which fears she needed to work through in order to implement improvements, and what happened to her revenue over the course of the journey. 

The end result? More happiness, a lot less work, steady take-home pay, and the freedom to choose not to double revenue.

Connect with Prithi at https://prithidaswani.com/.

…

Listen to other stories from 1:1 clients:

15 Hour Weeks, $200K, 70%+ Margins, with Erica Goode, CPA

Killer Niche: Farm + Ag CPA with Catherine Ozment, CPA

130% Revenue Increase While Working Less with Paige Gott

How to Build $250K in CPA Advisory Services in 4 Months, with Prithi Daswani, CPA

From Scratch to 6 Figures in 9 Months with Shaan Afridi, CPA

Specializing in Stock-Option Tax Strategy and Consulting, with Minnie Lau, CPA

…

A few ways to work with me:

GET LOTS OF ANSWERS FAST

For the solo CPA with a bunch of rapid-fire questions they want answers to, like:

• How high can I go on prices without sending my clients running?
• What do you think of my niche?
• How do I upsell my legacy clients?
• What’s the script for talking to prospects about higher-level and Advisory services?
• What do I put in my tiered packages?

Book a single strategy call with me, to get answers to questions like these and more. It’s covered by my 100% satisfaction guarantee. If at the end of the call, you don’t feel like it was worth it, just say the word and I‘ll refund your purchase in full. 

geraldinecarter.com/call
$495

DOWN TO 40 HOURS CPA MASTERMIND

For the overworked CPA at six figures of revenue who wants to stop working weekends and wants to implement overdue changes, but has trouble doing it alone:

• Get guidance on prices, packages, and becoming more specialized
• How to fire clients without blowing a hole in your firm
• A community of like-minded CPAs on a similar journey to share what you’re working on, bounce ideas off, and get accountability

Make more progress faster and with more ease. Guaranteed to get you down to 40 hours.
geraldinecarter.com/
$7500

1:1 PRIVATE COACHING

For the firm owner with $1M+ in revenue who is caught in the weeds of tax work and fielding never-ending staff questions, I offer a high-touch 5-month experience. The aim is to get you down to working only 5 days a week, while 5-10x-ing your investment. 

geraldinecarter.com/custom-vip-coaching
$24,500  

Announcing the *NEW* Client Success Stories podcast: 

https://business-strategy-for-cpas-success-stories.transistor.fm/

👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆

Announcing the *NEW* Client Success Stories podcast: 

https://business-strategy-for-cpas-success-stories.transistor.fm/

👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆

Hey CPA Firm owner, glad you found the podcast. 

If you feel like you’ve become trapped by your own accounting firm, you’re fed up PiTB clients who get you their stuff late, don’t appreciate the value you provide, and complain to you when you don’t turn it around on a dime, I can help you stop the chaos and end the long hours, without losing revenue. 

If you like the podcast, join 1000+ other CPAs who get Vitamin G, my daily dose of single-tip business strategy delivered straight to their inbox: 

Subscribe here: geraldinecarter.com/subscribe

…

My guest today is Rebecca Driscoll, of Conscious Accounting. 

Sometimes we know that we are not where we want to be in our business, or in our life. But what to do about it and how to fix it remains elusive. Rebecca knew she wanted to find a different path, but didn’t know what path she wanted to be on. She had the courage to explore options, until the one she wanted to be on revealed itself to her. For those who sometimes wander, feel a bit hopeless, or lost, I hope you find the story of Rebecca’s explorations to be inspiring. 

…

Connect with Rebecca Driscoll, CPA

https://conscious-accounting.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-driscoll-cpa/

…

Listen to other stories from 1:1 clients:

15 Hour Weeks, $200K, 70%+ Margins, with Erica Goode, CPA

Killer Niche: Farm + Ag CPA with Catherine Ozment, CPA

130% Revenue Increase While Working Less with Paige Gott

How to Build $250K in CPA Advisory Services in 4 Months, with Prithi Daswani, CPA

From Scratch to 6 Figures in 9 Months with Shaan Afridi, CPA

Specializing in Stock-Option Tax Strategy and Consulting, with Minnie Lau, CPA

…

A few ways to work with me:

GET LOTS OF ANSWERS FAST

For the solo CPA with a bunch of rapid-fire questions they want answers to, like:

• How high can I go on prices without sending my clients running?
• What do you think of my niche?
• How do I upsell my legacy clients?
• What’s the script for talking to prospects about higher-level and Advisory services?
• What do I put in my tiered packages?

Book a single strategy call with me, to get answers to questions like these and more. It’s covered by my 100% satisfaction guarantee. If at the end of the call, you don’t feel like it was worth it, just say the word and I‘ll refund your purchase in full. 

geraldinecarter.com/call
$495

DOWN TO 40 HOURS CPA MASTERMIND

For the overworked CPA at six figures of revenue who wants to stop working weekends and wants to implement overdue changes, but has trouble doing it alone:

• Get guidance on prices, packages, and becoming more specialized
• How to fire clients without blowing a hole in your firm
• A community of like-minded CPAs on a similar journey to share what you’re working on, bounce ideas off, and get accountability

Make more progress faster and with more ease. Guaranteed to get you down to 40 hours.
geraldinecarter.com/
$7500

1:1 PRIVATE COACHING

For the firm owner with $1M+ in revenue who is caught in the weeds of tax work and fielding never-ending staff questions, I offer a high-touch 5-month experience. The aim is to get you down to working only 5 days a week, while 5-10x-ing your investment. 

geraldinecarter.com/custom-vip-coaching
$24,500  

Announcing the *NEW* Client Success Stories podcast: 

https://business-strategy-for-cpas-success-stories.transistor.fm/

👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆

Announcing the *NEW* Client Success Stories podcast: 

https://business-strategy-for-cpas-success-stories.transistor.fm/

👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆

Hey CPA Firm owner, glad you found the podcast. 

If you feel like you’ve become trapped by your own accounting firm, you’re fed up PiTB clients who get you their stuff late, don’t appreciate the value you provide, and complain to you when you don’t turn it around on a dime, I can help you stop the chaos and end the long hours, without losing revenue. 

If you like the podcast, join 1000+ other CPAs who get Vitamin G, my daily dose of single-tip business strategy delivered straight to their inbox: 

Subscribe here: geraldinecarter.com/subscribe

…

ChatGPT has taken the world by storm, and many accountants are wondering where its use fits into their accounting practice – now, and two years from now. If you want to find out where to get started, how you might begin using ChatGPT in your accounting practice, and what to watch out for (Hint: the cost of not leaning into it), tune in for answers.

Also be sure to check out my previous episode with Jason, #219 Automation as Business Strategy.

…

A few ways to work with me:

GET LOTS OF ANSWERS FAST

For the solo CPA with a bunch of rapid-fire questions they want answers to, like:

• How high can I go on prices without sending my clients running?
• What do you think of my niche?
• How do I upsell my legacy clients?
• What’s the script for talking to prospects about higher-level and Advisory services?
• What do I put in my tiered packages?

Book a single strategy call with me, to get answers to questions like these and more. It’s covered by my 100% satisfaction guarantee. If at the end of the call, you don’t feel like it was worth it, just say the word and I‘ll refund your purchase in full. 

geraldinecarter.com/call
$495

DOWN TO 40 HOURS CPA MASTERMIND

For the overworked CPA at six figures of revenue who wants to stop working weekends and wants to implement overdue changes, but has trouble doing it alone:

• Get guidance on prices, packages, and becoming more specialized
• How to fire clients without blowing a hole in your firm
• A community of like-minded CPAs on a similar journey to share what you’re working on, bounce ideas off, and get accountability

Make more progress faster and with more ease. Guaranteed to get you down to 40 hours.
geraldinecarter.com/
$7500

1:1 PRIVATE COACHING

For the firm owner with $1M+ in revenue who is caught in the weeds of tax work and fielding never-ending staff questions, I offer a high-touch 5-month experience. The aim is to get you down to working only 5 days a week, while 5-10x-ing your investment. 

geraldinecarter.com/custom-vip-coaching
$24,500  

Announcing the *NEW* Client Success Stories podcast: 

https://business-strategy-for-cpas-success-stories.transistor.fm/

👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆

Announcing the *NEW* Client Success Stories podcast: 

https://business-strategy-for-cpas-success-stories.transistor.fm/

👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆

Hey CPA Firm owner, glad you found the podcast. 

If you feel like you’ve become trapped by your own accounting firm, you’re fed up PiTB clients who get you their stuff late, don’t appreciate the value you provide, and complain to you when you don’t turn it around on a dime, I can help you stop the chaos and end the long hours, without losing revenue. 

If you like the podcast, join 1000+ other CPAs who get Vitamin G, my daily dose of single-tip business strategy delivered straight to their inbox: 

Subscribe here: geraldinecarter.com/subscribe

Be sure to listen to this episode if you’re interested in getting paid for your expertise, without having to do so much hard work. You’ll hear about how, when, and why to use Digital Products in your accounting firm while understanding the pros and cons of them. You’ll also learn how to think about when your accounting practice is ready to introduce these, and when it might be too soon to be worthwhile. 

If you want to check out other episodes on this topic, you might like:

Digital Products, Courses, and 90% Margins with The Real Estate CPA, Brandon Hall #179

Get More from Technology with Joe Woodard #244

15 Hour Weeks, $200K, 70%+ Margins, with Erica Goode, CPA #243

…

…

A few ways to work with me:

GET LOTS OF ANSWERS FAST (or)

KNOW EXACTLY WHAT TO DO NEXT

For the solo CPA with a bunch of rapid-fire questions they want answers to, like:

• How high can I go on prices without sending my clients running?
• What do you think of my niche?
• How do I upsell my legacy clients?
• What’s the script for talking to prospects about higher-level and Advisory services?
• What do I put in my tiered packages?

Book a single strategy call with me, to get answers to questions like these and more. It’s covered by my 100% satisfaction guarantee. If at the end of the call, you don’t feel like it was worth it, just say the word and I‘ll refund your purchase in full. 

geraldinecarter.com/call
$495

DOWN TO 40 HOURS CPA MASTERMIND

For the overworked CPA at six figures of revenue who wants to stop working weekends and wants to implement overdue changes, but has trouble doing it alone:

• Get guidance on prices, packages, and becoming more specialized
• How to fire clients without blowing a hole in your firm
• A community of like-minded CPAs on a similar journey to share what you’re working on, bounce ideas off, and get accountability

Make more progress faster and with more ease. Guaranteed to get you down to 40 hours.
geraldinecarter.com/
$7500

1:1 PRIVATE COACHING

For the firm owner with $1M+ in revenue who is caught in the weeds of tax work and fielding never-ending staff questions, I offer a high-touch 5-month experience. The aim is to get you down to working only 5 days a week, while 5-10x-ing your investment. 

geraldinecarter.com/custom-vip-coaching
$24,500  

Announcing the *NEW* Client Success Stories podcast: 

https://business-strategy-for-cpas-success-stories.transistor.fm/

👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆

Announcing the *NEW* Client Success Stories podcast: 

https://business-strategy-for-cpas-success-stories.transistor.fm/

👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆

Hey CPA Firm owner, glad you found the podcast. 

If you feel like you’ve become trapped by your own accounting firm, you’re fed up PiTB clients who get you their stuff late, don’t appreciate the value you provide, and complain to you when you don’t turn it around on a dime, I can help you stop the chaos and end the long hours, without losing revenue. 

…

If you like the podcast, join 1000+ other CPAs who get Vitamin G, my daily dose of single-tip business strategy delivered straight to their inbox: 

Subscribe here: geraldinecarter.com/subscribe

…

Be sure to listen to this episode if you’re interested in getting paid for your expertise, without having to do so much hard work. You’ll hear about how, when, and why to use Productized Services in your accounting firm while understanding the pros and cons of them. You’ll also hear some examples of how they are used and what to price them at so you’re not stabbing in the dark. 

If you want to check out other episodes on this topic, you might like:

1. 
   Offer Productized Services with Sheila Hansen, CPA #240
2. 15 Hour Weeks, $200K, 70%+ Margins, with Erica Goode, CPA #243
3. Specializing in Stock-Option Tax Strategy and Consulting, with Minnie Lau #167

…

A few ways to work with me:

GET LOTS OF ANSWERS FAST

For the solo CPA with a bunch of rapid-fire questions they want answers to, like:

• 
  How high can I go on prices without sending my clients running?
• What do you think of my niche?
• How do I upsell my legacy clients?
• What’s the script for talking to prospects about higher-level and Advisory services?
• What do I put in my tiered packages?

Book a single strategy call with me, to get answers to questions like these and more. It’s covered by my 100% satisfaction guarantee. If at the end of the call, you don’t feel like it was worth it, just say the word and I‘ll refund your purchase in full. 

geraldinecarter.com/call
$495

DOWN TO 40 HOURS CPA MASTERMIND

For the overworked CPA at six figures of revenue who wants to stop working weekends and wants to implement overdue changes, but has trouble doing it alone:

• 
  Get guidance on prices, packages, and becoming more specialized
• How to fire clients without blowing a hole in your firm
• A community of like-minded CPAs on a similar journey to share what you’re working on, bounce ideas off, and get accountability

Make more progress faster and with more ease. Guaranteed to get you down to 40 hours.
geraldinecarter.com/
$7500

1:1 PRIVATE COACHING

For the firm owner with $1M+ in revenue who is caught in the weeds of tax work and fielding never-ending staff questions, I offer a high-touch 5-month experience. The aim is to get you down to working only 5 days a week, while 5-10x-ing your investment. 

geraldinecarter.com/custom-vip-coaching
$24,500  

Announcing the *NEW* Client Success Stories podcast: 

https://business-strategy-for-cpas-success-stories.transistor.fm/

👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆

Announcing the *NEW* Client Success Stories podcast: 

https://business-strategy-for-cpas-success-stories.transistor.fm/

👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆

*Want one piece of business strategy delivered daily to your inbox?*

Subscribe here: geraldinecarter.com/subscribe

Transitioning from a one-on-one business model to a one-to-many business model is a strategic move that some business owners consider as their practices expand and evolve. 

While one-on-one work offers personalized attention and guidance to individual clients, the one-to-many model enables business owners to reach a larger audience, scale their impact, and increase their revenue potential. 

Laura Dixon helps women who are obsessive about food and dieting become naturally thin for life. 

Laura shares how she started her coaching business using a one-to-one model and then shifted it to a monthly membership model. 

Highlights:

— “I always knew what I wanted long-term is recurring consistent revenue in a way that I sell to clients that I love to serve. 

— “I set up my business where I'm able to have the flexibility that I want with my family, but also do what I love, help the people that I love to help, and make the money that I want.

— “Long term, I want a massive business. And that means getting really good at delivering something extraordinary, being really good at selling it. And so I'm willing to charge less now because I know what I want 10, 20, 30 years down the road.” 

— “I don't want people that kind of want to try stuff in my program. I want people that want to come in, they want to do the work, they want to get the result and they want to get out, and then just live the rest of their life.” 

— “I'm able to produce probably five times as much as I was able to when I was working more hours because I'm so clear on who I help.”

Connect with Laura:

Website: https://lauradixoncoaching.com/

Announcing the *NEW* Client Success Stories podcast: 

https://business-strategy-for-cpas-success-stories.transistor.fm/

👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆

Announcing the *NEW* Client Success Stories podcast: 

https://business-strategy-for-cpas-success-stories.transistor.fm/

👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆

*Want one piece of business strategy delivered daily to your inbox?*

Subscribe here: geraldinecarter.com/subscribe

Take the survey!

https://link.improvetheworld.net/BusinessStrategyforCPAs

By analyzing relevant data, business owners can identify patterns, trends, and insights that enable them to make well-informed decisions, mitigate risks, and capitalize on opportunities.

In this episode, Donny Shimamoto of the Center for Accounting Transformation talks about the two different surveys that his firm is doing right now. 

The surveys aim to understand what works and what doesn't work for accounting firms, specifically in the areas of advisory services and staffing strategies. 

​​Conducting surveys to identify the successful practices of accounting firms in terms of advisory services and staffing is crucial for understanding the key factors that contribute to client success. 

Donny believes that accountants are here to help improve the world, and the more accountants who contribute to their research, the more the results of that research can help improve the world.

Highlights:

— “Really good business-driven innovation is driven off of data.”

— “Accounting is the foundation of a business. And it is absolutely necessary.” 

— “Accounting has the power to help small business owners be much more successful.”

— “Many of us are scared of the word “failure,” but learning from errors or mistakes creates the opportunity to help others learn from what we did.”

Connect with Donny:

Website: https://improvetheworld.net/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnyitk/

Episode mentions:
Take the survey!

URL: https://link.improvetheworld.net/BusinessStrategyforCPAs

Announcing the *NEW* Client Success Stories podcast: 

https://business-strategy-for-cpas-success-stories.transistor.fm/

👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆

Announcing the *NEW* Client Success Stories podcast: 

https://business-strategy-for-cpas-success-stories.transistor.fm/

👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆

*Want one piece of business strategy delivered daily to your inbox?*

Subscribe here: geraldinecarter.com/subscribe

For a lot of accountants, marketing can either be this thing they know they ought to be doing, but aren’t, or they're doing it and not seeing the response they want. Sometimes it feels like they're pouring money down a hole.

Like any other business, accounting firms are not immune to making marketing mistakes. 

In this episode, Matt Banker, founder of Benchmark Growth Marketing, shares some common marketing mistakes that accounting firms make and offers insights on how they can effectively promote their services and stand out in a competitive market.

Highlights:

— “The most common marketing mistake I see is accountants undervalue their website, or spending money sending good traffic to a bad website.”

— “Whatever you're communicating on your website is really influencing a lot of prospects’ first impression of who and what you are.”

— “The words on your website need to be right: the messaging, positioning, making sure that you're communicating what you do and for whom. You want your website to qualify people either in, or out..” 

— “A lot of the marketing materials that are targeted for accounting firms are written for everybody. It's generalist content, and no one cares about it. What I really want is someone who has specific expertise that applies to me. The more specific, the more valuable.” 

— “The main reason marketing feels expensive is that you haven't budgeted for it. You haven't thought about it as something that is built into your business model.” 

Connect with Matt:

Website: https://marketingforaccountingfirms.com/

Free Email Templates:

https://marketingforaccountingfirms.com/free-email-templates-for-accounting-firms/

Announcing the *NEW* Client Success Stories podcast: 

https://business-strategy-for-cpas-success-stories.transistor.fm/

👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆

Announcing the *NEW* Client Success Stories podcast: 

https://business-strategy-for-cpas-success-stories.transistor.fm/

👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆

*Want one piece of business strategy delivered daily to your inbox?*

Subscribe here: geraldinecarter.com/subscribe

How can CPA businesses make themselves more attractive to potential buyers and command a higher sale price?

Brannon Poe offers tips for improving sale multiples for CPA businesses.

Brannon is a CPA and is the founder of Poe Group Advisors, a brokerage business focused solely on accounting and CPA firms. 

Highlights:

— ”In the landscape of buying and selling of accounting firms, the biggest change is the increase in the focus on the quality of staff in acquisitions. Because quality staff are scarce.”

— ”There's increasing comfort and demand with virtual firms. We are seeing multiples increase as banks are getting more comfortable with those firms.”

— ”If you want to sell in three to five years, it's smart to get an understanding of how much the practice is worth.” 

— ”If I had to give one piece of advice to a firm owner who was thinking of selling in three to five years, it would be to focus on pricing.”

Connect with Brannon:

Website: https://poegroupadvisors.com/

Brannon’s new book: Prepare Your CPA Firm for A Sale

https://poegroupadvisors.com/prepare/

Previous episodes with Brannon:

162 How to Sell a CPA Firm for Optimal Price with Brannon Poe

https://www.businessstrategyforcpas.com/162

199 Selling Cloud-based vs Traditional CPA Firms with Brannon Poe

https://www.businessstrategyforcpas.com/199

Announcing the *NEW* Client Success Stories podcast: 

https://business-strategy-for-cpas-success-stories.transistor.fm/

👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆

Announcing the *NEW* Client Success Stories podcast: 

https://business-strategy-for-cpas-success-stories.transistor.fm/

👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆

*Want one piece of business strategy delivered daily to your inbox?*

Subscribe here: geraldinecarter.com/subscribe

Many CPAs are hesitant to niche because they are afraid of limiting their potential client base and revenue.

But niching can actually help CPA firms attract more qualified clients and grow their business faster.

Julie Powell is a CPA from Tennessee who is currently in Down to 25 Hours CPA Mastermind. She shares her journey of niching and the benefits that it has created for her CPA firm.

Highlights:

— “Niching is not irreversible.  If I focus on this niche for a couple of years and then find out it's not the best fit, I can always pivot and select a different niche.”

— “One obvious benefit has been the efficiencies in our internal workflows. By doing more work for clients that are similar, we can really dial in our processes.” 

— “The more we're focused on this niche, and the more we really understand them, the better we are able to communicate that to potential clients in a way that really resonates with them and attracts them to our firm.”

— “Having that deeper understanding of a client makes the discovery process so much better. Not just for me in delivering it, but also for the client in understanding what we do and how we can help them.”

— “Niching hasn’t been limiting at all. Because now that we're beginning to really understand this type of client better, we can do more things for them.” 

Connect with Julie:

Website: https://www.jpsolutions-llc.com/

Email: [email protected]/

Announcing the *NEW* Client Success Stories podcast: 

https://business-strategy-for-cpas-success-stories.transistor.fm/

👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆