Call me Pollyanna, but I like to look for the bright side in all things. And one of the best things about the current capacity issue in the accounting industry is that it’s encouraging us to collaborate with our fellow financial services professionals.
Buh-bye, competition
Maybe you’ve always been of the “there’s plenty of business for everyone” persuasion. But now more than ever before, it’s actually true.
There aren’t enough accounting professionals to serve the business owners who need us.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that every accounting or bookkeeping firm will be successful. There are a variety of factors that can make or break a firm.
Right now, though, lack of work is not one of those factors. In fact, the opposite problem exists.
Too much work can spell death for a firm. And because it’s not in an accountant’s DNA to turn away prospects who need our help, many of us end up with too much work.
So how do we solve this problem?
Collaborate to increase capacity
There’s no such thing as a bad client, but there are clients who aren’t a great fit for your firm. When capacity is an issue, knowing who you serve and serving them well is crucial.
But what do we do about our prospects who aren’t a great fit?
What do we do about our existing clients who are no longer a great fit?
If you’ve read this far, you know my answer is going to be to collaborate with another professional, or several other professionals. This collaboration could be a traditional referral partnership, or you could collaborate with others to take a fractional approach where each of you has a portion of the client relationship.
Whichever method you choose, you want to make sure you are choosing the right collaborators. And that’s where Profit First Professionals comes in.
Community for collaboration
Profit First Professionals is a membership organization of elite accountants, bookkeepers, and other financial professionals. Here, you will find a community of forward-thinking firm owners who work together to make their businesses stronger by helping their clients make their businesses stronger.
I’m not such a Pollyanna that I’ll say there’s no competition among our ranks, but I will say the minimal competition that does exist is friendly and not based on scarcity. And our “no dicks allowed” immutable law means you don’t have to worry about your collaboration partner(s) “poaching” your clients.
If you want to offer a highly sought-after advisory service, learn from other firm owners who want nothing more than to celebrate your successes with you, and solve your firm’s capacity issue through collaborating with other elite accounting professionals, then apply to be a Profit First Professional.
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