Donna Genie (speaker) delivers an informal, anecdote-driven talk encouraging accountants to view peers/competitors as collaborators rather than adversaries. She recounts how advising friends to specialize in an industry niche led to greater business flexibility and life satisfaction—effects that spread to the next generation—and urges listeners to learn from peers and pursue a business that supports a fuller life.
We've talked a lot before about your competition and how they're really not your competition. And I want to tell you a little story about a personal situation that I've been involved in. I have worked with a couple of other accounting friends, groups, colleagues, where we share information, we try to make each other's practices as great as they can be. We're not in it to say, oh, I have this secret piece of knowledge of something that would be great. But I don't want to tell my competition that's not how the world operates. And that's really a pretty limiting belief kind of a situation. So I urge you to get past that. Look at your competition as your best buds, all right? These are people doing the same things you are. You have so much in common with them. Why not make friends with them? Join in. Both of you can do better together than you can do each individually separate. Now, one of our good friends that I have known for probably 25 years now is another couple. Wife is a CPA and my husband works in the practice as well and does sales and marketing. And we had a conversation the other day. We catch up every so often and see what's going on and any new finds that we have. And he said to me, I want to thank you. He said, we've been on the road traveling for five weeks straight now. They were on three back to back cruises and also spent a week in in the Puerto Rico visiting their family. And he said, I have to thank you from the bottom of my heart because you told us many years ago that we should specialize in a particular industry niche and really dive deeply in rather than just spreading general knowledge around. And we did that. And that has caused us to have a different life than I ever expected. That life allows me the flexibility and freedom to travel that I love saving, still accomplish everything I need to do in my business and keep it going strong, but to really know that I can have some peace and take a vacation here and there. And he said, it has made such a difference in our whole life now over the past 25 years as we've evolved into that process of being specialized industry accountants. A few years back, he brought in his son to work in the business as well. And I asked, how's your son doing? I haven't heard from him lately, asked, how are things going? And he said, well, I got to tell you, having a life is contagious. My son's wife has taken a job. She took a pay cut in her job because they said, we see the great life you and mom are having, and we want to travel like you do. So she took a different job that afforded her more flexibility in her schedule and her time. And they now do the same thing as their parents. They have figured out that they can also travel and have a good life. And it's amazing to think that in your 40s you could have that kind of flexibility. But being an entrepreneur and operating a business and really learning to hone your skills and make that business work for you is the key to all of this. So I want you to remember that having a life and having fun is contagious. So watch out. When you see others doing it, pick their brains a little. Like, how do you do that? Learn how. And take that group of people that you think are your competition, those are really your best buds. Go find those people. They're your people. They're just like you in many cases. Pull them in closer, ask what you can do for them, and they will in turn help you grow your business, too. And it's a wonderful world when we can all work together, together to strive for a bigger picture goal, and everybody succeeds. So have fun in life and let that contagiousness spread to all of your people around you, in your circles.
