here’s how to start turning it around.
by matt solomon
if you’re like most accountants i’ve worked with, it’s probably not in your nature to rock the boat. you much prefer the tortoise’s “slow and steady” motto to the energetic but erratic pace of the hare. you’re methodical and thorough, and those qualities make you an excellent accountant.
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but any strength can become a weakness – and for accountants, those same qualities that help them execute compliance work can also be dangerous. i’ve seen too many accountants whose firm is far from what they envisioned when they first set out to create their own company and the main culprit is simple, you’re running a business with a “worker bee” mentality.
when you were inspired to go out on your own, it probably looked something like this: you were working hard for someone else and knew you could earn just as much, if not more, on your own. the problem is that outside of the inspired action, little changed.
when the “worker bee” builds their own firm, they get as many clients as they can, keep their fees competitive and lean into their strength, which is … to get to work. the problem is, working with your nose to the grindstone doesn’t leave much room for dreaming or designing a lifestyle or a highly profitable firm.
what is does lend itself to is what we call the “default practice,” a term our founder rick solomon came up with many years ago to describe what happens when an accounting firm owner pops their head up after years (or decades) and wonders why they are still working so hard, with clients who are less than ideal, still putting in lots of hours, and feel they’re not getting paid their value or doing work that is challenging enough.
what exactly is a default practice? it’s the business you get if you’re not making decisions that move you toward a clear goal or vision of what you want. it’s a place of status quo, the company you get when you are unintentional. it’s ultimately the result of a lack of consciousness.
it’s important to say this now: having a default practice is not your fault. you are operating with an outdated model, but that’s because nobody ever showed you a different way. chances are, even your most cherished mentors were operating with an outdated model, too.
so how did we get there? it starts out innocently enough, long before you become a business owner. as early as three or four years old, your parents make the choice for you to go to preschool. you don’t have a whole lot of say in the matter, and that’s appropriate for a toddler. then, your parents and the government determine that you need to attend elementary school, and you go to school for the next 12 years.
from there, you made the choice to attend college and pursue accounting. while you have some say in the matter, there’s likely a certain amount of expectation for you to get a college degree. you’re on a track that’s sensible and stable, and once you’re in school for accounting, you might just show up and do the curriculum.
next, you graduate with your degree and get your first job. whether it’s a big firm or a small one, you show up every day and do the work you get assigned. the profession doesn’t leave a lot of room for big ideas or significant change – you’re more likely to be rewarded for putting your head down and getting the job done.
at some point, you decide you want to go into business for yourself. this is a major decision, and it is definitely intentional. you want to make more money, do different work, find better clients, have more autonomy or all of the above. maybe you’re interested in stepping into the role of advisor or fractional cfo. it feels empowering and exciting to consider what’s possible.
but once you set up shop, you realize you’re not sure how to get yourself from a to b. you want a different kind of practice, but you don’t know exactly what that looks like. you’re unsure about how to communicate your value. you’re lacking education and training in key areas that could help you stand out, and you don’t have the knowledge or skills to effectively price, sell and deliver your services.
because you don’t know how to get it done, you start to fall back into old familiar patterns. it feels hard to find advisory work, so you start taking on more tax returns. your ideal clients aren’t materializing, so you take on a bad client or a small project. you negotiate against yourself and end up doing more work for less money. your business starts to grow just enough for you to get by, so you put your head down and do more of the things that are helping you eke out a living. you’re in survival mode, and without realizing it, your business is moving in a direction you didn’t choose.
five years later, or 25 years later in some cases, you look around and you’ve got a default practice. you’re tired and burnt out. your company feels like a prison of your own making. it’s not very lucrative, and if you are making decent money, you do it by making tradeoffs that affect your lifestyle: time with your family, vacations and downtime, even your health and well-being.
if you’ve realized that you’re running a default practice, one that just “happened to you,” don’t despair. you can transform your business, starting today. awareness is the critical first step.
but now that you’re becoming aware of a better way to operate, it will be your responsibility to make choices that lead you to greater possibilities.
take action:
block off your schedule for 30 minutes.
ask yourself these questions about your practice:
- what areas am i totally satisfied with?
- what areas are moving in the right direction, but could be better?
- what areas am i dissatisfied with?
then, ask yourself the same questions about your personal life. take some time to reflect on your answers. this may not feel like enough, but remember that awareness is the starting point toward making lasting, effective change.