take the nine-point practice checkup

is it time to admit you have a problem?

by matt solomon
the center for enlightened business

i’d like to ask you a question: how satisfied are you with the current state of your business?

many accountants might say their firm is “good” or “doing well.” but in my 13 years of working with accountants on a daily basis, i’ve found that when you dig a little deeper, the truth isn’t quite as “good” as it could be. when i ask them to elaborate, accountants often tell me that they’re not getting paid what they’re worth, their clients don’t value and appreciate them, and they have too many difficult or unpleasant clients on their rosters.

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yet those same accountants continue to carry on, day after day, exactly the same way that they have before. this gets to a major problem in the accounting profession: high standards for your work, but low standards for the enjoyment you get out of that work. you may not be satisfied with the state of your business, but you don’t think it’s reasonable to expect better. you’ve accepted that working too hard and being undervalued and underpaid is just part of the deal. even worse, you may not believe a better alternative (in terms of profitability, personal fulfillment and value add for your clients) exists.

i’m here to tell you that a practice and a work-life that is unfulfilling, stressful, or exhausting may be common. but that doesn’t mean you should accept it for yourself. it’s time to reassess the quality of your practice and the caliber of your clients. it’s time to reflect on your level of personal satisfaction, your profitability, the impact you make beyond compliance work, and the value you bring to the table.

you don’t have to sacrifice every day, year in and year out, tax season after tax season, to make a decent living. there is a better way. but in order to take real steps toward evolving your business, you have to recognize – and admit – that you have a problem with the current state of affairs.

many accountants i work with are so entrenched in the daily grind that they don’t even realize they’re dissatisfied with their business. how could they, when they’re so busy putting out fires and trying to get ahead?

so if you haven’t taken the time to pause and reflect lately, here’s your chance. i’ve created a practice checkup to help you evaluate your business. read through it and see how many of the statements you can identify with.

practice checkup

profitability

  • i don’t feel like i’m getting paid what i’m really worth.
  • i’ve tried many solutions to grow my business, but i’ve only seen small results.
  • my clients don’t appreciate the value of the work i do for them, and i often find myself giving away advice for free.

purpose

  • i want to shift the focus of my business without losing everything i’ve built.
  • i’m losing passion for the work that used to inspire me.
  • i would like my work to be more meaningful, impactful and lucrative.

productivity

  • my schedule is always overbooked, and i have trouble keeping up.
  • i’m the bottleneck of the business, but i’m afraid to delegate too much to my team.
  • i have high employee turnover and frequent trouble with my staff.

priorities

  • i’m putting in way too many hours at the office and missing precious time with my family.
  • my health and well-being are suffering from focusing too much on my business.
  • i’ve convinced myself that working 50-80 hours per week is normal and ok, but i’d prefer to work less.

how many statements did you agree with? a third? half? you may have even found yourself nodding along to 100 percent of these statements. and if even a few apply to your business, then it’s time to admit you have a problem.

you’ve heard this saying before, but there’s truth in the cliche: admitting you have a problem is the first step to solving it.

first, you have to recognize and really be willing to admit to yourself that the practice you have right now is not the perfect practice for you. and while that may be uncomfortable, there’s an incredible power and freedom in recognizing that things aren’t perfect. i’m not suggesting you become a perfectionist, which won’t serve you either. but i am recommending that you aim for a lifestyle and business that are aligned with your deepest desires as a human being: freedom, enjoyment, connection, fulfillment and growth.

as soon as you acknowledge the way things really are, you start to fundamentally change your mindset. and changing your mindset is critical to creating change. instead of being a victim of your circumstances, you can be the creator of a better future. awareness breeds choice, and choice is freedom.

here’s what you need to do:

take action:

  1. be honest with yourself: do you love every part of your practice, or is there room for improvement? take 5-10 minutes to jot down the areas of your practice that you love, followed by the areas of your practice you’d like to improve. challenge yourself to think about your overall enjoyment, your profitability, the work that you love doing, the work that you hate doing, the ideal clients you would really like to work with. explore being brutally honest about your desires and what your firm would look like if you had total control.
  2. identify the top 3 priorities from both lists above. you should have three positive things that you’ll be striving to do more of and the top three things that you want to change.
  3. it’s time to decide. make a declaration to yourself: to the dreamer inside of you, the part of you that has always known you were destined for more than mediocrity. decide that you will achieve your top three goals and rid yourself of the three negatives that are blocking you from greater success and fulfillment. it’s in the moment of decision that you can choose to be a victim of your circumstances or the creator of your future.