“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” — Albert Einstein
After speaking with hundreds of accounting firms in the past few months there seems to be two major problems that accounting firms are suffering with:
1) Finding amazing staff that are excellent at their job and bring huge value to their clients.
2) Understanding the marketing landscape and embracing the modern way of growing your firm.
The irony in this is that when you get your marketing right, and when you show up online and offline in an attractive way, you attract excellent staff as they want to work with progressive accounting firms.
A firm that thinks differently is the firm that futureproofs themselves in a time where many of an accounting firm’s services are seen as a commodity.
The old way of getting clients (for example referrals) just isn’t bringing in all the A Grade clients that your firm wants.
At TwentyTwo Agency we have identified three types of Accounting Businesses
So as an owner or partner in a firm which kind of business owner are you?
1. The Accountant in Practice
These accountants run traditional firms, in a traditional way, where their business is traditional practice.
They give limited expert advice (for example should a business operate on a Limited or self-employed basis). They more often than not deal with tax, audit and payroll services. They are good at what they do, but their services are becoming more and more commoditised.
2. The Entrepreneurial Accounting Practice
These are the accounting businesses that have partners and owners at the helm that are more inclined to take a risk. They are more creative and see that there is in the changes that are happening in The Entrepreneurial Accountant has a vision and wants to ride the wave of change.
The entrepreneurial accountant understands that every accountant possesses comparable technical skills. They also understand that for success they need to innovate, provide the best client services possible and tap into their strengths, and skills.
The entrepreneurial accountant doesn’t just focus on traditional aspects of accounting, they purposefully build a business.
3. The Maverick Accountant
Maverick “An unorthodox or independent-minded person”
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a Maverick is “A person who acts in an independent way, often behaving differently from the expected or usual way”.
A Maverick takes sound business principles and applies them in interesting ways. They are creative, they apply their creative thinking and make their ideas scalable. When conventional wisdom is saying “accounting firms can’t do that, it doesn’t apply,” the Maverick accountant sees an opportunity to blaze a new path and get things done.
Whilst every owner of an accounting firm has and a spark of independence, not all are Maverick accountants, and neither do they aspire to be.
In these times where the industry is changing and technology and the cloud are disrupting the industry – it is the entrepreneurial accountant that will survive and the Maverick Accountant that will thrive.
If you love new ideas, are embracing the advances in technology (for example My Firms App) and are looking forward to what the next 10-20 years for the accounting industry, then you are future proofing your firm.
“Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.” — Jim Rohn
P.S. When you’re ready… here are 3 ways we can help you with marketing and growing your accounting practice:
1. Grab free copy of my book
It’s the roadmap to attracting better prospects, signing higher value clients and scaling your accounting firm. – Click Here
2. Take the test.
It will benchmark your firms ability to effortlessly attract, connect with & convert high value clients using the Pioneering Practice Scorecard. – Click here
3. Join the tribe and connect with firms who are growing too.
It’s our new Facebook community where ambitious founders, owners, and partners learn to attract better prospects, sign higher value clients and scale their accounting firm. – Click here
