311 Should Accounting Firms do MORE or LESS?

Big trend in accounting firms, doing more for your clients, paring back the number of people that you're working with, but doing everything for them. But isn't that like really hard to build a business around? Doesn't common business wisdom say, find that one thing and just hammer it until the end of time. Figure out how to do it super efficiently and just sell that dog food to as many people as you possibly can. Like that seems like the, the profit optimized way for how you would run any, any other business. So how do we balance these two? I don't know, like prevailing business wisdom versus what most firms are doing. So what we're talking about today, come on in that service line, should it get bigger or should it get smaller? Really good. Alex Hormozi podcast recently that I will link in the show Notes. I'll link the Apple podcast link basically to the end of the problem with your business is probably a lack of focus. And I think we can all relate to this. The notion that we get pulled over to all these different things and once you're juggling a number of different things, you're not doing any of them particularly well and none of them are really progressing. And we can all agree that if only we could close everything else out and just focus on that one thing, you would make way more progress. And I have huge struggle at this. I've got big time squirrel syndrome, too many businesses and can struggle just to like double down on that one thing and pour my very best into it. If you struggle with that, I will link. Like I said, I'll link that podcast in the show notes. It's really good. And the argument here for accounting firms is, man, it's hard enough to build standardization and repeatable processes into accounting because despite what external people who don't do this stuff think where they, they see accounting and they're like, oh, it's classifications. It's taking a bunch of transactions that came through the bank and identifying what they are. And it's like, no, accounting is actually way, way more than that. And because you get pulled into so many different things, it's so hard to build standardized processes. If we were, I don't know, a product company or a construction company or something like that, like the way that you make that business more profitable and is find that very specific thing that a lot of people want that is easy to or not too costly to find the next customer that you can deploy over and over again until the end of time. And in an accounting firm, you know, this could be a Rationale for why all we do is 1040 tax. All we do is S Corps, all we do is bookkeeping, all we do is payroll. Maybe because you can get really, really specific. You figure out the ways to pull more new customers into that pipeline and you try to make it as turnkey as possible, like in a textbook. That feels like how you would optimize this type of business, right? You stay super focused and you do the heck out of that thing. And you can do it really well. You can be the best of the best at it. But the reality is that's not really how firms operate these days. And it's at least that's not what the trend is. The trend isn't for firms to do less. The trend is actually for firms to do more, to be like a more vertically integrated for a specific type of person. So you don't just do a once a year tax return. You have, you know, firms that were traditionally tax mills now doing everything for the business owner from bookkeeping to whatever else they need. So most common examples here you've got tax shops getting into obviously bookkeeping, wealth management, legal even. And so clients see this and they're like, you tell me I can just come here and you can do all of that stuff for me. Like that's, that's, that sounds great. Bookkeepers, you got a growing number of bookkeepers getting into tax. Bookkeepers are also getting into to bill pay and to payroll and to VCFO type services. This is probably the biggest change in accounting firm running now. It is worth considering here. Ultimately, do you have a choice? I'm of the belief that the world is big enough to make a business out of doing just about anything until the end of time. But that is a product of um, being specialized and having control over a, a, I guess a lack of substitutes. So if people believe that I'm the very best person in the world at this specific thing and that me doing that for them unlocks something in a way that isn't enabled by anybody else being like anybody else doing a version of that thing, then they'll come to me to do that thing. And a good example here is, you know, Brandon hall, who we had on the podcast last week, they've talked a lot in the past about how they will do tax planning actually for non clients. I don't know if that's any longer the case. But they work with real estate professionals and they have a podcast and they have all these, all these things happening that make them look like the experts in this domain. And so People, even if they work with different accountants, will come to them to have their tax planning done, but just the tax planning. And that's because the folks who are doing this believe that there is nobody else who will do it like them. And in that case, they're able to just sell that one flavor of dog food because they have that market control. But on the other end of the spectrum, if you have two undifferentiated accounting firms across the street from each other, and somebody's walking down the street and they're like, oh, yeah, no, I. They look to the left and they're like, yeah, I do need tax services. And then they look to the right and they're like, oh, tax services. Oh, and bookkeeping service. I guess I need that also. They're going to hang a right. They're going to go to the one that will do several of those things. Right. So I don't have, like, an ultimate answer to this debate besides maybe the right answer for you, as with most things, probably depends on how much control you have over substitutes or a lack thereof. But a few thoughts I have on this, this trend of like, do I go more vertical or do I just drill down on one very, very specific service? Few thoughts. First is, you can do one thing. You absolutely can. It just requires differentiation. Going back to that example, if. If there are all sorts of substitutes that do all of the things and they don't seem to be any better than better or worse than you, who just does one of the things, by and large, these days, I think most people are probably gonna go and buy the thing that does all the things. Now, you may have very compelling arguments for why they shouldn't do that. You may be able to say, well, if you really knew how hard this one thing was to do, you would realize that you should hire an expert that just does that one thing. And that may absolutely be true. The problem is you're never going to have that conversation with the person because they made that decision long before you convinced them of the. Of. Of your position. Great example of this is more and more financial advisors getting into tax work. And tax professionals are like, good luck with that, buddy. That you might be biting off a little bit more than you can chew there, but the client who doesn't know any better, they're like, well, I already have my money with this financial advisor, and it would be nice if it was just like, all happening under one roof and they could do that work for me. They don't know any better. So, like, they're going to go do that. They don't understand anything about this. So their perception of the process and their perception that that process will be simplified, that's how they'll make the buying decision. And it sucks. And it's like, not technically correct, but around all of the technical things and the quality of the work around all of that is the perception of what you do. And people are just making buying decisions based on that perception, which. Which means we have to invest both in the technical and unfortunately, and the perception as well. So your ability to just do one thing boils down to how rare of a pain you're solving. Bookkeeping. It's not a rare pain. Tax prep is not a rare pain. Literally every single business needs these things. It's the opposite of the definition of rare. To go back to the Brandon hall example, they are, and this isn't even in my mind, a particularly rare problem. They're serving like a specific type of real estate investor, and they were perceived as the best of the best because the folks who would go into that kind of lead channel had already consumed the podcast, so they'd already kind of built a relationship there. And they're like, well, they haven't maybe listened to any other real estate podcast from a tax firm. And so in their mind, they're one of one. They're a rare provider of this solution. The even better version of a rare problem you're solving is to literally be, like, the only provider that a person can find for that thing. So, like the beekeeping advisor for companies in the US that have this specific compliance headache, could you genuinely be the only person they can find to solve this problem for them? Now, they could certainly go to a generalist, and the generalist will probably be like, oh, yeah, we can read through the instructions and figure it out for you. But who is putting out their shingle and saying, we do this well, we do this right. That's very different. And that will attract the people that have that problem. That's an example of a rare pain, or where you can be the solutions provider. And by getting very, very specific, you'll actually attract much more work than you would by being a generalist. Even I would argue, if you were doing a bunch of work like the whole vertical, the fully generalized firm is the one that will do not just bookkeeping, not just tax, but pretty much anything that somebody will ask for them, functioning as like a back office, virtually virtual assistant for any type of business. The other end of the spectrum is somebody who just wants to hammer on this one service. The One thing they want to do really, really well. But in order to build a business around, it has to be a rare pain. Now anytime I make statements like that, it has to be xyz. There's a million different versions of that, like along a spectrum. And the fact that you can build a business that is not that way, like, yes, you can still do it in the way that isn't like maximum optimization. What I'm getting into here is like, what is like the most pure form of that thing? What is the most profit optimized version of that thing? And there's a lot of reasons to not run the profit optimized version of that thing. Like, I don't enjoy it or I'm making enough money, I'm doing fine. Like, this just seems more interesting to me. I mean, I ran like, I ran a $5 million practice that I think by, by most measures folks would deem successful. And it was largely general. Historically it had been very general, but the last two or three years we got much more specific. Cut 20 to 30% of clients and profit went up as we went down that like spectrum of specificity. So there's a general version of all of these things that can be just fine. What I'm pointing you to is like, what is the next step closer to something that's a little more optimized? Because I think in most cases they're still fun to be had in the more specific version of what we're doing, particularly if it's getting us back freedom for making more money in less time, that sort of thing. So that's the first thought. You can do one thing. It just requires differentiation. Solving a rare pain. This episode is sponsored in part by Cloud Accountant staffing. Hey, you want a tax firm? You struggle to find good tax talent. Yes. Yes you do. Let me tell you, the world's getting smaller every day. And cloud account staffing will help you find mega talented accountants in the Philippines who already have tax. Actually, hang on, how's this sound? 2 years tax experience using Intuit Pro Connect or UproConnect user sounds good, right before that they did audit. Bless their hearts for getting out of there. Experience with RC reports, Core v. Tax planning and last actually oversaw a team of other preparers. It's the type of resume you would see where if you saw it from like a stateside person, you'd be like, like the cut of this person's jib, man, you be on it like moss on a Mississippi tree stump. And just because that resume isn't from Someone in the States doesn't mean they can't contribute. Now, are there other hurdles that come with hiring people? Offshore disclosures, stuff like that? Maybe. If you haven't run a distributed team before, you're thinking, how do I manage people that aren't like, right under my thumb or in my office for sure. Things to learn. But you know who's gonna be really good at helping you with that? A company who's done it with with a bunch of other firms. So stop trying to reinvent the wheel and figure it all out yourself. Hop on a call with Cloud Accountant Staffing. Tell them what you're looking for. They're gonna cut loose their recruitments to find talented applicants. And you'll only make a hire if you find somebody you love. Doesn't hurt to start the process just to learn. If for nothing else, check out Cloud Account Staffing. There's a link down in the show notes. This episode is sponsored in part by liveflow. Hey, so I was recently at Zero Con in Nashville and you know who else was there? Live Flow. Because they recently launched a Xero integration. It's a big deal. It means whatever your favorite spreadsheet app is. Excel, Google Sheets. Wow, edgy. Whatever your favorite spreadsheet app, you can use Live Flow to pull Zero reports into your spreadsheets. Pull them in one time, pull it like auto sync it on an ongoing basis. You got a little button now in your spreadsheet app that'll bridge any data from any old client, QuickBooks or Xero file, into your spreadsheet app of choice. Bunch of ways you can use this. From giving like fractional access to accounting data to stakeholders like members of the team, the marketing lead, an investor, maybe even the business owner. Because you don't want them in the accounting file. Give them access to the spreadsheet instead of the accounting file. Could save some headache. Also have a growing number of firms that use LifeFlow for month end closes. Like they have this big old workbook template. They pull in a whole ton of reports from the accounting system with the click of one button. And then you got this giant workbook where you can manage the close. It's got all the actual ledger data but in and like a spreadsheet file rather than running umpteen PDFs or something like that and having to figure out how to organize all that into your file storage system. And they also do consolidations. So you have to like roll up a bunch of that reporting every single month. I had a dental group I worked with. It was 26 entities. We'd have to do this consolidation and we would only do it once a quarter because it was so much freaking work. It was like a full day to do all that stuff. With liffe, we could have mapped that and ran it pretty near instantly. We would have to do some eliminations, but we would have taken an eight hour thing to like maybe an hour tops. And the big news is recently they just shipped that zero integration. So whatever your ledger of choice, live flow is going to work out for you. Check out the link down in the show.

Notes.

Second thought is being vertical arguably can also be a source of differentiation if the people you're attracting can't get that vertical anywhere else. So if you're walking down that street and there's five firms and you're the only one doing tax and bookkeeping and everybody else is just doing tax, then yeah, like I guess you're differentiated by the fact that you're doing more. I think increasingly that's becoming less the case. In the past, like running a firm, fully virtual firm, like that was actually a source of differentiation. Now that's super common. So that's a bit of a moving target. But if you think about all the different things you can layer into what you could theoretically package into an accounting firm and it's really zooming out and being almost more of like a business support services sort of thing the more you go vertical. But if you start pulling in, you know, legal, wealth management, stuff like that, and I won't get into the mechanics of like these are separate entities, like you're standing up and a representation of something that feels unified. But in most cases, like behind the scenes, it is not like this big cauldron or like a single business entity doing all of these things. And the rules for like the right way to do that are very different, state to state and depending on certifications and all that stuff. We don't need to get into that here. It is mainly standing up the notion that you can come to one place and get all this stuff done in a centralized spot. And if folks like, say you're in the dental space and you can't put your finger on any other dental group, that's like, we will do accounting, tax, medical, billing and legal and wealth management. Like if there isn't any other group that will do all of those things. Sure. Like that's probably a form of differentiation. It's going to be a hell of a business to run. Right. To do all those things. But it still is a source of differentiation and it's going to attract the folks who that's attractive for, which won't be every type of buyer, but there's for sure going to be buyers that have been burned by the fact that the wealth management person didn't talk with the tax preparer, sold a whole bunch of stuff at the end of the year and blew up the year end tax planning that they had that person doing doing billing in house. And they found out that they were just writing off a whole bunch of stuff that they could have sent, you know, a second follow up to the insurance company to actually get paid for. And because the bookkeeper was just like using the net production reports, net of write downs, like they never knew to raise the question. Whereas if a single person was doing that, like maybe someone would have pushed back all sorts of situations where someone may have gone through, gone through a scenario where they're like, oh my gosh, having it all in one house would have saved me so much headache, so much money. I will absolutely buy this. But each one of those things as, you know, very technically complex. So there's another argument to be made for like, well, we're the very best medical billing company because this is all we do, or the very best bookkeeping company that also does medical billing. So there's different ways that you can dress this up. It's just like knowing what your messaging is going to be and being okay with the fact that deciding on that approach means you're not going to be for some people and that the world is big enough to accommodate. Like just hammering on that one message to pull in the folks that you are great for. Third thought here is as you're thinking vertical, like if you're thinking about doing more services because this definitely complicates your business. It's a wildly inefficient way to run a business. Having a, like a bookkeeper who is doing bookkeeping and bill pay and payroll and taking some advisory meetings, maybe even sales, maybe even onboarding the notion that one person is going to do all that stuff well and efficiently, like it's just not realistic, unfortunately. But then you end up with kind of siloing all the different ways you get your work done and the client doesn't want to have to go to a different person for bill pay and payroll. And we talk about these problems a lot. Like how do you unify the client experience? How do you actually let people focus on production so they can be as productive as possible at those specific jobs? If you want to peek into my thinking on this, the best Example is probably, and we can link this in the show notes as well, the episode where I drafted kind of who my first 20 hires would be. And it's very much with the mind of starting with a pod structure before moving to ultimately a production line structure where you have sort of account managers that sit on top of like a bookkeeping team that's responsible for all of the bookkeeping output for the entirety of the firm. You finally, like, once you get to a certain size, you can have these functional departments that are just cranking on that and doing that as well as they can. If you want to geek on that a little more, that that other episode is a good one to check out. But if you're thinking about going vertical, similar to how we talked about accounting partnerships recently, how it's usually not the right answer to jump straight into an equity deal, you can do partnerships a whole bunch of different ways. Like we've got people to listen to the podcast who are both attorneys and accountants and we'll, we'll do all that stuff under one roof, even though it usually takes the form of like multiple entities. But you can also stand up. Like, here is what you are getting if you come to this solutions provider. But just in the same way that, you know, a top 50 firm that's doing wealth management, that's generally happening in an entirely separate business entity. Just like how they do that, you can find another group that you can work with and stand that up to look like a unified experience. And, you know, maybe they're hopping on calls with both of you, or call one is with you and call two is with the wealth management person. Like it it is. At the end of the day, it's about the optics and it's about the client experience of, of what that feels like. Going through the process for the client ultimately doesn't make a lick of difference whether it's all the same company or whether you own it all or anything like that. And it really doesn't. And doing this in a more modular way makes it easier for you to like, divorce one of these providers down the road if you really need to. So even within the notion of doing stuff in a vertically integrated way, maybe you've got a friend that runs a killer payroll practice. And rather than tacking on payroll for all the clients that you do and having to figure that out, and rather than just telling the client, oh, we refer all our payroll work out to X, maybe there's actually a middle ground there where it's like a more unified client experience where they May not even frankly know that there's a different entity handling part of it on the back end. Like they're still going to have to sign like disclosure agreements and all of that to enable data sharing. But even that sort of thing can be stood up in a way to make it feel like a unified experience. And so if you're thinking about doing something yourself, not unlike, you know, a bookkeeper who wants to start selling tax, and so they're quote, looking for a tax partner, like somebody to come in and have equity in the business, there's probably a way to get, go more vertical if that's something that you want to do that is not a full on commitment to either building it yourself or pulling somebody like into ownership. Because obviously that's yet another marriage that maybe you don't want to have to manage. A lot of waffling here, a lot of him hawing like, well just tell me what the right answer is, Jason. I will say ultimately getting more specific and solving rarer pains gives you more control over what you want to do. If you did just want to do just that one thing, it's, it's tricky if you're a generalist, but if you're serving something, something very specific, micro niche solving, just that one thing gets a little more accessible. Kind of the, the big filter around all this stuff is like, what are you going to be energized to do? And we probably don't think about this enough. There are times when I'm working on something where I'm like, I'm so into this thing right now and when I'm in that mode, man, I am operating at like 120% my mental capacity, I'm at my best. But if we just kind of trudge along doing what other people want us to do and oftentimes if we've done that for years, we can kind of lose that passion or lose track of the fact that it's like there was a day when I was super jazzed about this that was maybe seven years ago. And over time I've realized like, I'm just not. Doesn't quite light me up like it used to. If you can like build your business around that thing that totally sets you on fire, you going to be so much better at what you do. Like it, it makes such a huge difference as opposed to just like doing things every day that you're not excited about where you're operating at like 30% of capability just because the energy and the excitement isn't there. So if there's a version of all of this that like, there's no version of this that can't be done, that you can't build a lifestyle around. But if there's a version of this that's super energizing for you, like optimized for what you're into, this ought to take the lead for you. If you are a small firm, if it is a firm, say 10 people around her, that's by and large led by your energy and the stuff that you want to pursue, that probably ought to take the lead. If you are building something larger than yourself, a business that can operate independently, then it's more of a question of like looking at the industry, looking at different markets, where can we attract a certain type of client who will pay us top dollar to like solve very specific rare problems. Otherwise this whole like, do I go vertical? Do I do more for them or do I do less for them to simplify my business? I think we can kind of argue this one in circles, but let's see if we can. If we can drill into this a little further. I've actually invited two super experienced coaches for accounting firms. One taking the position of do more for clients, one taking the position of like, just find that one service line and crank on that until the end of time. This episode is sponsored in part by Team Up. I have a story to tell you. It is the story of of Laura. Laura was working with a BPO in India, basically a group that hires all the staffing and the training and all that of the people. And you're more buying like the work product than you are working directly with the people. The problem was they were missing important deadlines and annoyingly they weren't able to take the work from beginning to end. They just weren't getting it done the way that they needed it. In frustration, they decided they needed to cut bait, find a new solution. And they heard about direct hire hiring in the Philippines. They were looking for client facing staff with very strong English skills and Philippines seemed to be the perfect fit. Quote, we really needed to break that language barrier. And with the Philippines being more English speaking, that just seemed to be a better fit for some of those client facing roles that we wanted to fill. The firm started small, hiring just three teammates in the Philippines and in a matter of months had hired 10 people across a range of roles including bookkeeping, tax accountant, fiduciary, tax preparer, business tax accountant, admin assistant, or said the candidates were actually more qualified than we were expecting. The process of interviewing and talking with the candidates is really no different than trying to hire onshore. Nothing to be afraid of or nervous about. I tell you, when I built my offshore team, as I did, I built an offshore team in the Philippines for my accounting firm. The person who will edit this video literally is in the Philippines. Say hi Derek. Hi Derek. It's the same thing that led me to the Philippines. Really good English speaking culture. But I too prefer direct hiring because I, I want to be in charge of the development of the feedback. I want them to be just like everybody else on my team. If I'm hiring like a service to do month end closes or something, I just, I don't have that same level of control what Laura did here. Actually the same thing I did. If you're interested in exploring that, well, team up. Team up can find you some super talented peeps in the Philippines. Learn more Check out the link in the show notes. The most important software decision. Oh that you'll ever make in your accounting firm. It is your practice management system. Oh this episode sponsored in part by Client Hub. Good way to think about it. The four C's. Cut, carrot, cut. No capabilities, client experience, clarity and community. I've already told you about the first three Cs. Today we're talking about community. Client Hub is particularly suited here because they got a co founder that was a former firm owner and pro advisor. Top 100. Pro advisor, not just a pro advisor. Top 100 that knows how accounting firms actually work. Imagine that software people that actually know how this stuff works. When you adopt Client Hub, you don't just get a practice management system, you get a community that is aligned around their simple vision. Happy clients, happy firm. That's nice. As part of Client Hub, you can ask questions, get advice, share your perspective, all with a welcoming community of small firm accounting professionals. So at software with Client Hub, they're actually going to deliver a service to you that is sharing the value of what all the other firms that are using Client Hub are figuring out. Just the other day we were talking about how we have this divide between workflow tools and the client experience. If any practice management system was built from the ground up around the client experience, arguably it's Client Hub. It's basically like a two sided task management system where the client logs in just like you do and you've got like a shared space to knock out those tasks. That is Client Hub. To learn more, check out a link down in the show notes. So let's round this out, this discussion with this debate. Okay, our first coach here. Why don't you introduce yourself.

G', day, mates. I'm Fiona Focusworth, the niche ninja for accounting firms been helping bin counters become money magnets for yonks by zeroing in on their sweet spot. My motto. Narrow your scope, fatten your wallet. Crikey. Let's dive in and dissect why being a jack of all trades is killing your profits. Yeah, it's time to stop being a gala and focus like a roo on red dirt.

Okay, well, if you're new to the show, you're confused. We train kind of AI Avatars to, like, take certain positions and talk through things with them to, like, get a better mental model of, like, what is the right answer here? When I do this, oftentimes I tell it to, like, pick a kind of a voice affectation that's endearing. Our first person. What. What was her name? Fiona. Fiona seems to be offensively Australian. And for Australian listeners, let me just apologize in advance. Uh, I didn't understand. There were a lot of words she said there. I don't know what they mean. Okay, so, Fiona, obviously taking the position of the like, focus on a single service line argument. Now let's meet our other coach here.

Well, howdy, y'.

All.

Name's Jimmy Juggler Jenkins. All in one wrangler for accountant in firms. Been roping in more clients with a wide lasso than you can shake a stick at. My firm belief. Why settle for scraps when you can serve up the whole feast? I'm here to tell you, expanding services ain't just smart. It's survival. Hey, let's face it, folks. Clients need more, not less. And when they think of Jimmy, they think, more is more, baby. Yee haw. Let's wrestle with this one.

Okay, another super subtle avatar there. So that was Jimmy? I think it was. Jimmy. Has a wide lasso, thinks you should do anything and everything. Before we start off, Fiona, any reaction to Jimmy there?

Crikey, Jimmy. Sounds like you're trying to herd cats instead of clients. That white lasso might catch you everything. But can you handle it all? Mate, focus is the key, not chaos.

Very nice. It's like I just stepped out of an episode of Bluey. Okay, first question I want to pose to each of them. Let's say I'm a new firm. I don't have any market advantage, really. And I know we have a lot of new firms that listen to the pod where you're in a spot where you're like, I kind of just need to pay the bills, like, And I'm not a Influencer or a big time guru in anything in particular. So what end of the spectrum do I go here? Do I go specific to keep my business simple? Or do I try to go vertical straight from the beginning when I'm just struggling to even find my first client? Fiona, why don't you kick us off here?

All right, listen up your drongo. Here's the go, people. Keep in and crush it. Start with zero certifications, all of them. Then create a streamlined onboarding process that'll make clients heads smooth. Offer three tiers, basic monthly reconciliation, premium weekly check ins and ripper daily updates. Develop macros for data entry that'll save you hours. Master bank feeds and rules to automate 80% of transactions. Create a knockout month end checklist that ensures spotless books every time. Pitch your laser focus as a strength. We don't dabble in taxes or audits. We're pure bookkeeping maestros. Charge top dollar for your expertise. Remember, mate, do one thing. Do it. Bonza.

Okay, again, a lot of. If you're not a native Australian speaker, you may be struggling with some of that, like myself, but I think I caught the gist. That was actually very specific and tactical. That's pretty good, Jimmy. What would you say to that for a. For, let's say, for a young firm?

Fiona, you're all talking, no action. Sure, clients want results, but they want them all in one place partnering with others, and that's just shuffling work around instead of taking control. Yuru might dodge a ute, but it'll still get run over by the firm that offers it all. While you're stuck in your little niche, we're out here serving the whole dang farm. Remember, Fiona, a narrow focus leaves you blind to opportunity.

Okay, thank you, Jimmy. Different question. How about for a mature firm who is at capacity, they get some referrals. They've got maybe a few basic specializations they're starting to tiptoe into. But they're at capacity and unsure what to do next. Jimmy, why don't you. You kick us off on this one?

All right, here's the deal. For a mature firm at capacity, first analyze your client base. Identify the bottom to 10 to 20% who are low margin, high effort, cut them loose. This frees up space for higher value clients or new services. Next, double down on your most profitable niche. If you're a tax firm, add a premium service tier like tax planning workshops or quarterly advisory.

Wow.

Bookkeepers. Introduce a tiered pricing model that includes automation for basic clients, but offers personalized CFO services. For top tier clients. Then automate the hell out of routine tasks. Invest in AI driven bookkeeping software or tax prep automation. Well, this isn't just about speed. It's about freeing up your brain power for higher value advisory work. Lastly, consider merging with a complementary firm like a legal or wealth management practice. This gives you an instant boost in service offerings without the headache of building from scratch. You want to stay at capacity? Nah, you want to redefine it. Get leaner, get smarter, and keep your eyes peeled for opportunities that fit your strengths. Expansion isn't just about more clients. It's about better clients and smarter services.

Wow. Jimmy's not trained on anything I've ever said. Some of that sounded like me. Okay, so don't struggle with capacity. Redefine. It's partner with someone to help you with the vertical to get there faster. That's actually maybe a pretty solid tidbit. The notion of building it from scratch yourself, that's going to take time. But partnering, you could theoretically get some of that overnight. Fiona, what's your take? What would you say about that?

Listen here, your drongo, your mature firm is at capacity. Bonza. Time to double down on what you're asat, Analyze your client list and boot the bottom feeders. Then take your top service and make it bloody bulletproof. If it's tax, become the go to tax strategy guru. Offer high cut workshops. Create a post under a premium advisory service and charge through the nose for it. You're not just filing returns, you're saving clients millions. Automate the bejesus out of your processes. Get the best software and streamline everything. This ain't about doing more, it's about doing better. And for crying out loud, don't listen to that flaming gala Jimmy Mergent with another firm. That's like putting Vegemite on a Pavlova. Stick to your guns and be the best damn specific service firm in the country. Remember your bludger. Do one thing and do it f. Well, okay.

This is okay. You have to bleep that. This is a family podcast. Let's watch the language. Fiona. Jimmy, your thoughts?

Fiona, you're stuck in the past. Stick to your guns. That's a recipe for obsolescence. Merging's not Vegemite on a Pavlova. It's survival of the fittest. You'll be focused right into irrelevance.

Listen here, you spineless wombat. I've built more successful firms than you've had at hot dinners. Your jack of all trades approach is as useful as a screen Door on a submarine. Stick to your rodeo, cowboy. Leave real accounting to the pros.

Wombat Fiona, you're nuttier than a squirrel in a peanut factory. I've turned struggling firms into powerhouses while you've been fiddling with your focus. Keep underestimating me and watch as my rodeo ride circles around your one trick pony act.

Okay, let's have each side wrap this up with a final statement, a final argument that's actually tactical and not just name calling.

After 20 years, here's the skinny on service focus. Pick one thing, bookkeeping, and become the undisputed king. Create proprietary automation tools that make data entry a breeze. Develop a bulletproof month end close process that's faster than a kangaroo on steroids. Offer tiered pricing, basic data entry and reconciliation premium with detailed reports and platinum includes cash flow forecasting price based on value, not hours. Implement a strict client qualification process. Only take on businesses that fit your streamlined system. Build strategic partnerships with tax pros and CFOs. They handle the rest. You dominate bookkeeping. Invest heavily in your Team's Xero or QuickBooks training. Create internal playbooks to standardize your processes. This laser focus allows for higher margins, better scalability and true market leadership in bookkeeping. And Jimmy, you cross eyed sheepshag and bogan, your do everything approach is as useful as tits on a bull.

Okay, Jimmy, why don't you bring us home? Oh boy.

You want to go there, Fiona, Insulting my family? You just crossed the line. But fine, let's get tactical. Since you're clearly losing the plot. You're a king of bookkeeping fantasy. It's not scalable. Sure, you can automate and streamline, but what happens when a client needs tax strategy, legal advice, or CFO services gotten much more intense and lose control? Clients don't want a king. They want a partner who can handle their whole empire and tiered pricing. That's just fancy talk for limited options. Clients crave flexibility, not rigid packages. You're building walls where you should be building bridges. As for training your team, sure, that's smart. But what happens when you're boxed in by software updates or client needs change? You'll be scrambling to catch up while my firms are already ahead of the curve and you talk about my approach. At least my clients don't need a damn map to navigate their services. Your focus is as misguided as your insults, Fiona. I'd question your lineage too, but it's clear the apple didn't fall far from the tree. It rolled down a hill and hit every branch on the way, I'm not.

Sure if Jimmy's just more kind or not as good at insults as Fiona because, wow, were those creative. Okay, some good ideas there. Hard to say if that debate got us closer to an answer or not, but given that these are each coaches, why don't I let them sign off here? Jimmy, if any firms listening wanted to work with you, where would they go to learn more?

Well, Jason, for those ready to take their firm to the next level, you can find me@JugglerJenkins.com I've got over 20 years of experience turning small time.

I hope that's not like a not safe powerhouses.

Sign up for a free consultation and let's see how we can expand your service.

Whoops. You okay?

Throw your Slauson bees and dominate your market. Remember folks, more is more, baby. Come join the rodeo and let's get to work.

Okay? I think he said grow your Slauson bees. And Fiona, where can people find you?

Listen up, you mob. If you're keen on focusing your firm and becoming the top dog in your chosen Service, swing by focusworthfirms.com We've got free resources, webinars and one on one strategy sessions to help you dominate your niche. Remember, narrow your scope, fatten your wallet.

Yep, got it.

And Jimmy, ya inbred banjo pluckin hillbilly. The only thing you've been expanding is your waistline. Your family tree's a bloody wreath, mate.

Your family trees are wreath. I've never heard that before. That's so good. I think Fiona won that one.