It took him 15 years to build his book of business. He rebuilt the same thing in under two years after niching down.

Episode 84 features Emil Abedian, CPA, founder and CEO of Counsel CPAs, a firm that works with law firms only. Emil started his practice around 2009 in Los Angeles after beginning his career in Sweden, and for years he said yes to everything: tax, bookkeeping, payroll, sales tax, cash flow analysis. He was working 80 to 100 hours a week and building what he calls a high-paying job instead of a business. He is also the author of "Counsel to Counsel: From Practice to Business."

In this conversation, Emil breaks down how he graded his clients A through D and handed the D book to a younger CPA, why he now dictates the services instead of letting clients dictate them, and how specialization turned his sales process into a conversation he does not have to sell in. He also explains the weekly email that keeps clients and prospects reaching out to him, why his real bottleneck is team capacity and not lead flow, and why he thinks automation matters more than AI for the average firm.

If you are still taking on the electrician, the dentist, and the referral who is completely out of your lane, this one is for you.

Connect with Emil:

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

Counsel CPAs: https://www.counselcpas.com

Book, Counsel to Counsel: https://a.co/d/09y7nh4E

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free  > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work. 

He's an Enrolled Agent, a franchise firm owner, and a rapper. And the craziest part? His firm makes more money now that he's not involved in the day-to-day.

Episode 83 features Scott Scarano, the visionary behind Padgett Business Services in Raleigh, NC, also known as Scotty OKR (yes, OK Rapper). Scott grew Padgett NC to $1.5 million, replaced himself in every seat on the org chart, and then did something most firm owners only dream about: he walked away from operations entirely.

In this conversation, Scott breaks down how EOS helped him see the aspirational org chart that changed everything, the guilt that hit when he realized the firm ran better without him in it, and why the jump from $300-500K to $1.2M requires you to make less money before you make more. He also gets into why Google reviews are still the most underrated growth lever for local firms, the team page trick that made prospects say "I want to work with that person," and how rapping became the creative outlet that kept him sane after stepping away.

If you have been stuck doing everything in your firm and cannot picture anyone else doing it, this one is for you.

Connect with Scott:

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/scottscarano  

Facebook: https://facebook.com/scottscarano  

Padgett NC: https://www.padgettnc.com

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free  > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work. 

He spent 22 years inside Intuit, co-hosts the #1 podcast in accounting, and now he's building the CPE app that lets accountants earn credits from any content with a play button. And his best career advice? "The procrastinators will be rewarded."

Episode 82 features David Leary, Co-Founder of Earmark CPE and co-host of the Accounting Podcast. David started at Intuit doing tech support at 21, took thousands of calls, climbed through QA, engineering, and product management, and had a George Costanza moment that changed how he builds everything: do the exact opposite of what everyone else is doing.

In this conversation, David breaks down why vibe coding is a double-edged sword for accounting firms (your clients are about to build their own broken apps), the MVP mindset that landed his Intuit project in the appendix of The Lean Startup, and why firms need to document their processes before they touch any AI tool.

If you've been wondering whether AI is going to replace your firm or create more work for it, the answer might be both.

Connect with David:

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

Earmark CPE: https://earmarkcpe.com/

David's website: https://davidleary.com/

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free  > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work. 

She'll tell you straight up: she doesn't like bookkeeping. She built a successful bookkeeping firm anyway. Then she bought a marketing company.

Episode 81 features Heidi Ryder, a former middle school math teacher who started Healthy Books LLC in 2017 and replaced her teacher's salary within six months. Last year she acquired keepful, the marketing automation platform built to help bookkeepers, accountants, and tax pros organize leads, automate follow-up, and build stronger client relationships, all while homeschooling four kids.

In this conversation, Heidi breaks down the LinkedIn strategy that turned cold connections into referral partners and clients (hint: it involves hitting record), how she juggles two businesses without pretending there's such a thing as balance, and her playbook for actually getting ROI out of conferences like GrowCon instead of flying home with a notebook full of ideas you never touch.

If marketing is the part of your firm you keep avoiding, this one's for you.

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free  > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work. 

You ask clients to send a PDF through a secure portal. If they can't, they're not your client.

Sounds harsh. It's not, it's a filter.

Episode 80 features Christopher Papin, who runs a law firm AND a CPA firm at the same time, and somehow still keeps a third of his day for life outside the office. Forbes and Thomson Reuters have both recognized his work. He's also the author of "168 Hours" and host of the BLABO podcast.

In this conversation, Chris breaks down the exact onboarding system that gets him a 70-80% close rate, why he calls every signed letter of intent a "promise ring," and how hiring people with bartending and hospitality backgrounds fixed his client communication overnight.

If you've ever lost a deal because you didn't ask the right follow-up question, this one's for you.

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free  > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work. 

You've spent years building your firm. But if someone asked what it's worth today, could you actually answer that?

Most owners can't. And that gap is exactly where deals fall apart.

Justin Farmer is a licensed attorney and business intermediary who has helped close accounting firm transactions for over 12 years, with a 100% accepted-offer track record. He's sat at more closing tables than most CPAs will see in a lifetime, and he pulls zero punches about what separates a clean exit from a costly one.

In this episode: why not knowing your financial goal is the #1 deal-killer, how to structure internal succession before you ever go to market, and why even a $500K solo practice can sell, if you're reasonable.

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free  > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work. 

Your pipeline feeling a little thin? Clients suddenly asking more questions about price?

You're not imagining it. And you're not alone.

Since fall 2024, a perfect storm has been building, AI-assisted offshore firms, a softening economy, tariff anxiety, and clients who are now very aware there are cheaper options. The firms getting hit hardest? Bookkeeping and fractional CFO. And the old playbook of "raise your prices, show your value" doesn't always work when someone is genuinely watching their cash.

Erica Goode isn't here to sugarcoat it. Former KPMG auditor. Former Walgreens finance exec. Now running a virtual fractional CFO firm from the Idaho mountains, on her own terms and founder of Aligned Accountants, the community for solo firm owners who want a real life AND a real business.

In this episode: why she saw the pricing shift coming, what the actual conversation looks like when a client wants to spend less, and the one question that tells you whether to fight for the client or let them walk.

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free  > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work. 

Your prospects already know they need what you do. So why aren't they signing?

Most of the time, it's not your pricing. It's not your niche. It's that nobody picked up the phone.

Drewbie Wilson built a movement around three words, Call the Damn Leads, after watching a client demand a refund on 100 hot leads he never once called. In this episode, Drewbie breaks down how to figure out whether your prospect values time or money, why "playing it safe" in sales conversations is quietly killing your growth, and the real reason your referral partner retiring could wipe out your pipeline overnight.

You'll walk away with a two-step process to audit your time and a fresh framework for closing the clients who keep saying "I'll think about it."

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free  > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work. 

You're exhausted. You keep telling yourself it's just tax season. But deep down, you know it's been longer than that.

Randy Crabtree pulled over at a phone booth to quit his job and become a CPA. He built a firm, burned out, sold it, co-founded Tri-Merit Specialty Tax and landed on the Inc. 5000 three years running. Then a stroke in 2014 forced him to rethink everything.

In this conversation, Randy gets real about what burnout actually looks like before it takes you down, why niching down accelerated his growth instead of limiting it, and the one client-list exercise that can change how you run your firm starting today.

If you're running on fumes right now, this one's worth your commute.

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free  > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work. 

A West Point grad invites you to shoot fully automatic machine guns and drink bourbon. You go. You meet a fractional CFO. Three months later, he's a multi-thousand dollar a month client.

That's not a marketing strategy. That's Sean Duncan's life and it's only the opener.

Sean built the largest accounting firm in Frisco, Texas, then torched two-thirds of his revenue on purpose and rebuilt around a fixed-fee, proactive advisory model before anyone in the industry had a name for it. In this conversation he breaks down exactly how he did it, what almost ended him in 2017, how he niched into medical practices and video game developers, and the one calendar habit he credits for every major decision he's made since.

You'll walk away with his "Work On the Business Day" framework, a new way to think about who you actually want as clients, and proof that shooting guns in Texas is a legitimate business development strategy.

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free  > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work.