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About the Guest: Greg Seay, CPA

Greg is a seasoned tax professional and the owner of a CPA firm based in Arkansas, specializing in real estate investing. He began his practice in 2016, working initially with friends and family before expanding his clientele. In 2023, he significantly grew his practice by acquiring another firm, increasing his client base tenfold. Greg has a keen interest and expertise in tax planning and strategies related to real estate, which led him to focus his practice on serving real estate investors. Greg is an advocate for building strong client relationships and continuously improving processes for a better client experience.

Episode Summary:

In this insightful episode of the Mr. R Show, Greg Seay, a CPA with a niche in real estate investing, shares his journey of scaling his practice. Greg discusses his transition from starting a firm on the side to acquiring another firm and significantly increasing his clientele. He delves into the unique challenges and opportunities presented by scaling quickly, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a strong connection with clients while integrating a larger team. Greg highlights how establishing a niche can lead to more effective and targeted client engagement, providing strategic insights into tax planning for real estate investors.

The conversation extends to the importance of onboarding processes in a specialized CPA practice. Greg underscores the advantages of utilizing digital tools to streamline client interactions and onboarding, ensuring a seamless experience for new clients. He also explains his strategic focus on nurturing centers of influence within the real estate community as a key growth strategy, advocating for quality over quantity in client relationships. The episode serves as a comprehensive guide for tax professionals interested in specializing, scaling, and strengthening client relationships within a niche market.

Key Takeaways:

• Greg started his CPA firm in 2016 and significantly scaled it by acquiring another firm, emphasizing the importance of maintaining client relationships during growth transitions.
• Developing a niche, particularly in real estate investing, allows a tax practice to better serve its clients with specialized knowledge and targeted strategies.
• Effective onboarding processes and clear communication channels with clients are essential for creating a lasting positive impression and establishing a strong client-firm relationship.
• Leveraging networking opportunities within industry-specific groups can be a highly effective way to grow a practice and build a strong client base.
• Transitioning client relationships from the firm owner to the team and service-level focus is crucial for scalability and ensuring clients receive value from the entire firm.

Notable Quotes:

• "I want to have healthy growth over growth on there on. And so it's now it's a matter of kind of learning some of your capacity things like do I, I need to take, I need to give myself some time to decompress and not just be so busy where it's a year round tax season."
• "If I'm saying yes to a bad client, that means I'm saying no to potentially good client on there."
• "The mindset, too. I mean, I think way you carry yourself out, a lot of things bleed over. Your relationships with your team bleeds out into the relationships with your clients and vice versa."
• "Having a single platform for them to get into. I've, what I've seen has been very appreciative on the client side."
• "It's not just a relationship piece. It's. They understand the service that you're doing and the value that you're providing in that service versus just, you know, the conversation with the firm owner."

• (00:00) - Scaling Tax Practices Through Niche Exploration