Latest / The Accounting Leads Now Podcast / AI Won’t Kill Your Firm, But This Mistake Will - With Justin White

Transcript

AI Won’t Kill Your Firm, But This Mistake Will - With Justin White · The Accounting Leads Now Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_02: AI is gonna replace accountants.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_02: Bookkeeping is just bean counting.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_02: Anyone can do it.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_02: And separating business and personal finances, totally overrated.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_02: Those are some of the myths today's guest, Justin White, is out to destroy.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_02: Justin's the founder of a fast-growing remote accounting firm built on integrity, precision, and results.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_02: He's been on both sides of the table, a business owner frustrated by the industry, and now a firm owner proven what it looks like when you do it right.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_02: Over the past few months, he's refined his message, streamlined his systems, and started closing the kind of clients most firms dream about.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_02: Today we're breaking down how he's doing it and what every accountant can learn from his journey.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_02: Justin.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, how are you doing?
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks so much for coming to the show.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_02: I'm so excited to have you on here today.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for having me.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate it.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_02: Let's get right in with where we started in the intro.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_02: Couple hot takes right out of the gate.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_02: Let's start with the big one.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_02: You said AI will replace accountants.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_02: What do you actually mean by that?
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you know, uh, everyone's saying AI is going to replace accountants.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but realistically, right now it's not there, you know.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um as things get better, um, you know, these systems will improve and and they'll detect this stuff better.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: But but um right now it just it is making a lot of um uh it's making it tougher in the industry because uh the systems aren't fine-tuned 100%, I would say.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: So there's a lot of mistakes happening right now.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: So so you know when anything changes, uh there's always that period where it's they're trying to figure everything out.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: And so us accounts actually, you know, maybe replaced in the future, but but right now, um, we're definitely needed uh on you know, on everything accounting, bookkeeping.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh they need us for everything right now.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_02: So all right, all right.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_02: And what kind of accountants, bookkeepers, tax repairs do you think should be worried?
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_02: And which ones will thrive?
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, well, the ones that worry, the ones that are just trying to escape by, you know, um not really providing a lot of value to their clients.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but the ones that thrive will be the ones that, you know, give good customer service, taking care of their clients, uh keeping up to date on everything.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: Uh the uh on the book side, you know, making sure they're up to date and sending those reports and and pointing out um, you know, where their businesses are are growing and and where they're not growing, and and giving um ideas on how to help people you know reduce taxes.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: Because let's face it, no one wants to pay more in taxes.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we pay enough already.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_02: We just had uh um Daniel Lake come on, one of our past guests, a client as well, who does a lot with tax reduction and some solar strategies, and we got into a a great conversation around that.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_02: So for anyone listening, if you haven't heard that one, make sure to go check out that episode because, like you said, there's no need to voluntarily pay the IRS more in taxes.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_02: We pay enough.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_02: Um, or you all pay enough.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_02: Me and Canada, it's the CRA, and trust me, we we pay enough to the CRA as well.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_02: Um, Justin, last hot take here, right out of the gate.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_02: You also mentioned that bookkeeping is commonly seen as just beam counting.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_02: Why is that so dangerous for small business owners to believe?
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: Well, that's definitely dangerous because then anyone thinks they can do it.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_01: And uh you start getting into the the people's books and you see they put things in the wrong places.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I see a lot of people just uh, you know, they're overstating their income even uh because they think they know how the software works and they don't.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's uh one of the things we provide is we're we're certified with like the software we use, so we know how they work.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_01: And sometimes, yeah, people are just putting stuff in the wrong place, it's costing them money.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but the software isn't it's ever since it came out, uh, once QuickBooks came out back in early 90s, actually, um, it changed, you know.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: Before you were just putting numbers in places for taxes, but now you have reports that are valuable that you can pull up for your clients and and see how your business is doing real time.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that's what makes bookkeeping really important these days, uh, not just putting them in categories, but but actually using the software.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: And and they can do everything invoicing, estimating, all sorts of things.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: So, so yeah.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, awesome.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_02: So um let's let's take it a few steps back because before starting J Bookkeeping, you had a different business and you were hiring accountants, you were dealing with bookkeepers.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_02: Tell me a little bit about your your past company and what frustrated you the most about your experience when it came to hiring someone to look after the numbers and the finances for your business.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so I had I was in the trades at a roofing company.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we built it pretty big there in the end.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but the most frustrating part for us is we'd hire bookkeepers um and accountants, and they would say they would do one thing and then they wouldn't follow through.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: So we'd spend a lot of money, um you know, six to fifteen thousand a year, depending on you know what we had going on, what we were trying to achieve.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: And for instance, just an example, we'd hire someone to do our taxes, and they would say they were gonna do tax planning with us and be with us along the way the whole year.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_01: We would have them filed on time, you know, no extension, stuff like that.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: And then what would happen?
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: We wouldn't ever hear from them.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, we never met for plans or strategies, and to make it worse, they filed extensions and then they would be filed the day they were due in you know, September and October, depending on the business and personal returns.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_01: So that stuff frustrated me.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: And that's you know, I did this, I was doing this kind of on the side a little later.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: That and that's how I kind of got into it because of all this, and uh, I wanted to help businesses out, so they didn't go through the same struggles that we did.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: Because when you're building a business, you don't have time to stay up on everything, so you have to outsource stuff, you know, marketing, bookkeeping, uh all this stuff has to be outsourced so you can do what you do best and grow in your business.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: So so that's why why I chose this route.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, when we ended the riffing company, I I wanted to do this.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, though that kind of leads into my next question.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_02: Like, what was the moment you decided I can do this better?
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_02: I I've had terrible, terrible experience, terrible customer service.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_02: Like, was there was it um like the straw that broke the camel's back, or was there a bigger, more impactful moment where it's like I've had it, enough is enough.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_02: I'm just gonna do this myself and and start this as a business.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: Well, basically what you said last, you know, I've had it.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I had enough was enough, and I started learning it while I was doing my business.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: Uh the other my roofing company, so we slowly took it over, is what we did.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then I just kept going on from there.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_01: But to make it a full-time business, um, my dad wanted to retire as well, and I didn't want to run two businesses at the time because now I had some clients and I had the roofing company, and that I'm getting old, so I just can't stay on the roofs, you know.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: My body didn't like it, so it's so interesting.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_02: I just the contrast from roofing to to the financials.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_02: It's just hard to fathom like how you go from those two different things in one lifetime, but that's really cool.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_02: What what do you enjoy more?
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_02: Do you do you miss being on the roof and out in the sun on a nice day, or and now you get to be indoors, or I'm sure maybe there's some brutal days, the cold weather on the roof?
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's tough.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, so roofing was great because you go in, you tear off a roof, and you know in one or two days, depending on the size of the roof, it's like a whole new place, or I it that curb appeal has changed.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but like you said, I'm in Washington, so the weather's not always great six months out of the year.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: If there's rain and snow and ice, and and so yeah, the winter times is not as fun.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I love the bookkeeping because I can do it remote.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: I get to be on the computer, and I get to talk to people, you know, it's not face-to-face a lot of times, but it's like this, you know, virtual.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: So I still get that interaction, uh, which I enjoy.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: I've always been a people person.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_02: Nice, nice.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_02: Well, Justin, you mentioned um your firm, it's built on honesty and ethics.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_02: What does that actually look like in practice?
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_01: So in practice, because there's there's two ways people do bookkeeping.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_01: They there are people that tell you they're gonna do your books and accounts and all that, and they're gonna wait till January 1st of the next year to even touch your books.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and us, like for us, it's having everything done on time each month.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we try to have everything done by the 15th of the following month.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: And we, you know, you have to wait on on clients to get you stuff, so it's not like you can just have it done day one.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but we're starting them, you know, we're going through them monthly and stuff.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: Even halfway through the month, I like to put uh you know, go through their books and just get it all looking good, and then by the first, it's not as much work.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so so yeah, that's that's the ethical part.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: And then also steering people the right way because some, you know, a lot of people they don't know what they don't know, and and um uh they might not be doing everything correct.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: So so just making sure they get ethical, get it legal, make sure everything's 100% and they can build their business without having to look over their shoulder or worrying that they did something wrong.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_02: That's awesome.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_02: So it sounds like you're you're really also being the trusted advisor in in that corner for your clients as well.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_01: Uh because yeah, I've been on both sides, so I understand both sides.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: And so I and if you get behind on like taxes or anything, or you know, you even miss it by one day, you know, there's pretty good size penalties.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so so yeah, just keeping that stuff um up to date for customers and making sure it's on time saves them a lot of money.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_02: Nice.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_02: Are you using any um automation as far as reminders go for your clients?
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_02: Where all right, we're coming up to the end of the month, make sure you get us our statements, or these are dates that are uh these are tax deadlines, so make sure you have your stuff done, or is that a lot of manual work, or do you have some software and and some tools helping you out for that?
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I kind of do it both ways.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: I hate to say that, but I do have a manual system just because it's easy for me to see all my stuff.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_01: But I do have uh it's a product called Taxedome and it's like a client portal, but also can send reminders and stuff like that monthly.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: So depending on the client, if it's a tax client or if it's a bookkeeping client, you know, I have different reminders that go out and I get a set, you know, what they are, and it just sets all that out.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: So it'll ask for statements and and all whatever the client needs, payroll, stuff like that.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, sounds good.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_02: Um, that's cool.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_02: That's I'm sure that's super helpful for the clients and also just you know eliminates a lot of the work for you, and you keep having that integrity and honesty.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um, real quick, Justin, can you hear the lawnmower outside?
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_01: I might have to no, I can't, but I don't have you super loud, so I can't hear it.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, well, I'm just gonna shut it just in case.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_02: I know we're recording live.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe that mic is uh it's noise canceling, but we don't want to risk it.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_02: So hate to have that episode just you know ruined by the sound of the city lawnmowers going.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_02: So Justin, in the last few months, um your business has really taken off.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_02: What's changed?
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_02: What's what's working well for you?
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_02: What are some tips um that maybe you know other firms can can either learn from or like yeah, I guess like what's helped the success you're starting to see?
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um well I I'm gonna say you guys have been a huge help.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um you guys are you know handling my marketing and my Google uh LSA ads, and that's been helping out a ton, getting people because you guys you're free at my time, so you guys get uh uh the calls in and then you you qualify them, I would say, and the ones that don't qualify don't make it, and and then they come to me and I get a basically sell sell them or you know see what they need.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_01: I can't help everyone because you don't get control what comes in, but I I can help most.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um uh if they're looking, you know, right?
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: Not everyone.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes people want stuff and they need stuff, right?
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_01: And um, so sometimes you just want something, but they can't quite afford it yet.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but but yeah, um definitely uh you're you guys have freed up a lot of time because uh all the spam callers go to you instead of me now.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_02: So all that's good.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_02: That's that's great to hear.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_02: I I'm curious because you've really been um like absolutely crushing it with every appointment that comes through.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_02: It seems like if not 80-90% of the time, people are turning into to um you know converted cash in the bank, they're converted into clients whether one time or recurring.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_02: Have have you always felt as confident in your in your sales ability, or what's is has anything changed in the past, or like how are you getting so many people across the line?
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_02: What what's the secret?
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: What's the secret?
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, I I just I ask them questions and let them talk.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um I you know, so example, their businesses I'm dealing with, so I ask them how long they've been in business, what they're you know, what they like about it, what they don't like about it, why do they want, you know, bookkeeping or accounting, or you know, and I just try to help them out with their need.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_01: I don't really sell them, um, or not hard sell, I guess.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: I never liked hard sales.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_01: I've done it in the past and I didn't like it at all.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_01: So I never want to be hard sold and I don't want to do that to anyone else.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: So I educate and and just show them that you know it that they do need it.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um because most of the time people are calling there, they do have a need.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it's just whether or not they can afford it or not really.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_01: Uh yeah, so I've always had confidence, uh, I believe, but but I mean you guys have helped out a little too on this because you've helped me kind of determine my pricing and helped me ask for more as well.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_01: So that's definitely helped increase the revenue.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because I would definitely do things lower before, so that's definitely been a help.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: And then just what to ask sometimes uh just you know, asking the right questions is really important and caring, you know, you need to care about people, and and they see that.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_02: So that's great.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_02: What you said there, I think is so important to highlight for for everyone listening, is the education piece.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_02: You're and you're asking questions, like it sounds like you're you're listening more than you're speaking on the call, and then when it's time, it's just a matter of again, you're educating them, showing them why it would make sense because they've identified there is a need.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_02: It you can't sell someone who doesn't have a need, doesn't work, and then you're I think like you mentioned you're coming across hard selling where you just take the approach of really just trying to learn genuinely about their business, it makes sense.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, this is what next steps would look like, and because of that, you're seeing a lot of success.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_02: So that's that's awesome.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_02: Was was it do you think uh your experience from running your roofing business has translated into quote unquote selling accounting bookkeeping services?
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, yeah, I mean I would say throughout my life, because uh I've done a lot of selling, I guess.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_01: I've always been on that type of line, and every endeavor has kind of made me a little better, but yeah, the roofing definitely helped out a lot, and and then I've done a lot of trainings and stuff.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um and you know, educating, I know a lot in my industry.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_01: Like if you want to talk to an accountant, they want to charge you like a$500 retainer, just talk to them.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I I do the free consultation and I answer questions, and maybe I am cutting myself short on some money sometimes, but I think overall it works out because um I take the time to listen and I get clients because of that.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_01: Because yeah, they'll they'll tell me they called three accountants and they they wanted money to talk to them, or they said they could talk to them in two weeks, and you know, we try to get to them quicker than that um as best as possible.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: So I think just taking care of them, show them that you care, trying to get them in and taking the time, even if it's 30 minutes, you know, it's not a huge amount of time, I don't think.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um when I used to do rifts, I'd spend an hour and a half a lot of times, two hours with the customer.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: So to me, it's not that much time compared to other things I've done.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um and and it helps them out.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, that's great.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_02: What would you say to the the listener who's running a bookkeeping, running an accounting or tax firm who's amazing at what they do, but they just they don't feel confident when it comes to the actual selling, speaking to the prospect who hasn't uh an interest in what they offer?
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_02: They're great at what they do, they've been relying on referrals, but when it comes to oh no, I have to speak to someone, and I can't grow my business unless I speak to someone and they pay me money.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_02: What would be your advice to that listener?
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I would say first you get more comfortable the more you do it, right?
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh the more you do anything, you'll get more comfortable.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_01: You'll laugh, but when I first started, I wasn't comfortable with this.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_01: So I have a teleprompter up here.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_01: Like I literally bought a teleprompter and I wrote out the whole thing, right?
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: Word for word on the questions I would ask.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: And um, and then I as I did it more, then I don't use the teleprompter anymore.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_01: But but um yeah, I I recommend always studying, like uh, you know, knowing what you're gonna ask in the questions, and and you don't have to memorize it word for word, but knowing you know where you're gonna ask and where you're going, and as you do it more and more, it becomes second nature.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think that's that's definitely important.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_01: And then touching on just giving out the education for free or whatever, you know, I believe referrals are the like reviews and referrals are the key to any business these days.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_01: Uh reviews on Google particularly.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_01: And um, if you see I just had a review, a guy really wanted to pay me, but I just did a 30-minute consultation and it was free.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_01: I told him, you know, I'd rather have a review than charge you 50 bucks or something for our 10-minute conversation.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: I said, because that will mean the world to me, and everyone sees a review.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, the$50 or whatever, even if I charge$100, that's a one-time thing.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_01: So that that's not gonna benefit me.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_02: It's so smart.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_02: It's so smart.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, changing changing that consultation, offer it for free on the front end, bit of reciprocity built, and then just on the back end say, hey, look, if you found this valuable, would you mind leaving me a review on Google?
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_02: And then it sticks and you can build off of that.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_02: I think that's absolutely incredible.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_02: That's that's great, Justin.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_02: So thank you so much for sharing that.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_02: What's one thing uh accountants need to stop doing if they want to stay relevant?
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_02: In you know, I guess there's only a few more months left here in 2025, but if they want to stay relevant going into 2026 and beyond.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um well, you gotta stay up with the times.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_01: We have the big, beautiful bill, so you definitely gotta learn that.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um it's I mean, they just released a little bit ago how they're gonna do a lot of that.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_01: So uh definitely have to do a lot of trainings on on that.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: And then, you know, you focusing on customer service because um there's a lot of opportunity in the future, you know.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_01: Uh 75% of firm owners are like over 70 years old.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: So there's gonna be a lot of people retiring in the next five to ten years.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_01: So there's gonna be a lot of opportunity to for clients or even purchasing books of business.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: So you're gonna have to change with times because you're gonna get busy, and and so you have to be able to be scalable um as well, so you can still deliver the customer service as you get bigger.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so you have to have good training and systems in place, um, really, if you want to grow.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_01: And some people might not want to grow, you know, they might just want to be a one-man show, and that's fine too.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but but um most of us wanna there's seven steps in business, and most of us want to get the seven where you know your business grows without you, like that's the ultimate goal uh for most people.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_02: Well, let me ask you this what's what's your vision for the modern bookkeeping accounting firm, and and what will separate the ones who grow from the ones who fade out?
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, definitely customer service because as AI takes over, um uh like we went at the beginning, you know, a lot of people view it as being counting and and that.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_01: And so so providing the service that's valuable is gonna separate you from from the other firms.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, and in offering that advice or you know, directing people in the right direction is really the key because people really appreciate that, and and they always will come back and tell you thank you, and then they'll they'll refer you.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_01: And referrals are really um the cheapest way to get a new client.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um that's what I believe.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_02: So absolutely, yeah.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_02: Referrals like from running a marketing company, I always say to everyone, referrals are hands down the best way to grow a business.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_02: But the the other side of the coin is you need to have clients first in order to get referrals.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_02: When people are like, Oh, I rely on referrals in word of mouth, but I don't have any clients or I only have a couple.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, it's gonna be a pretty steep hill.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_02: So invest on the marketing on the front end to get enough clients, do an amazing job, have the customer service, and then you can have referrals and word of mouth as a I hate to say it, but strategy.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_02: But for the most part, referrals and word of mouth is kind of hoping and praying.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_02: It's not really a strategy, but when you're big enough, then of course, yeah, you'll have people referring, which is great.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_01: Of course, and yeah, just always going the extra mile uh for every customer.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, just you know, you should do that anyways, but that will that will lead into referrals because because they'll remember you, you know.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_01: If you don't do a good job, they'll remember that, but you're gonna get the referral you want.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_01: So you want to do a good job no matter what.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely, absolutely.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_02: Justin, what's been one of the biggest mindset shifts uh that helped you start winning more and more and and more consistently?
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_01: Gosh, well, the biggest mindset shift.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, I just kind of went for it because I'm the I'll be honest, when I started it and went full time and I'm in it a couple months, and you know, I didn't have a huge amount of clients.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, I I was like looking at job sites and stuff, like, oh my goodness, I could go get a job and oh I'm gonna make 60 grand, maybe a hundred grand a year, maybe even 150.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: But uh once I went for it all the way, like uh just said I'm gonna do it no matter what.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um I'm I'm going for it.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_01: And and that's when it changed.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_01: Quit looking at job sites and stuff and just focus on the business.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because I, you know, I had a few businesses in the past, not just roofing and other things, but but yeah, not having a backup plan really, um, just going for it changes your mindset.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_01: And then, you know, I I write goals, so start looking at my goals more um and making them attainable.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you know, everyone has that dreamer at stage one, right?
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: Dreamer gonna make a million dollars a year or whatever your dream is, uh, and you want it done tomorrow.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_01: And that's the problem these days, it doesn't happen overnight, it does take time, so you just gotta keep sticking with it, like keep going for it, and eventually it will work.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, amazing.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_02: Burn the boats, there's no plan B.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_02: Uh really I admire that about you because I know when we got started, you're like, All right, I'm I'm not massive right now, but I I'm I want to make this work and I want to go in, and and you're I mean you're absolutely crushing it.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_02: Like everything that comes through, it's so awesome seeing the winds channel light up and just new revenue coming through and the pipelines growing, but you're you're a prime example of just going all in and not looking back.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_02: You're like, I'm only looking forward, this will work, and you're you're making it happen.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_02: So it's really cool to see.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome, yeah.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate that.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's a lot of work, but uh it's worth it.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_01: That's great.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_02: So, couple final questions for you.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_02: If if another firm owner is listening right now, someone who's great at accounting, they're struggling to grow, what would you tell them?
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, this is what I tell everyone.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't matter what industry, I tell them.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, obviously you gotta do marketing because um people have to know you're out there.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_01: You can put a website up, um, it won't get seen.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you have to get traffic to it, right?
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_01: You can put up whatever you want, you can do social media and all that, but every different strategy has a different way of doing it, and you can't be an expert in all those unless you're a marketer like you.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you can't be an expert in that.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so I say you have to market first.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I always say wrap your vehicle because even if it's parked, when it's parked somewhere, people will take a picture of it.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_01: And so um, you know, put a sign in front of your house.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_01: It always pays off.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_01: Way more a sign might cost you$100 on the VistaPrint, and that will help.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_01: And I also say join a B I group, uh, uh a networking, a local networking group.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_01: It'll help you get.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, everyone joins for referrals, but it'll help you get better at talking about your business, uh, and you know, talking to other people uh about what you do, and you get comfortable, and it helps you when you're selling, because now you you're talking to 20 or 30 or 40 business owners every week.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and and so that really helps you just grow overall.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_01: So those are the things I always tell people.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then when they do it, it normally works for them.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_01: So so I know it works, uh, but some people you'll have two people one who does it and one one who does, and the one who does that those things, they always they're always succeeding.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_01: The ones who don't, they're always struggling.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_01: So you have to get out there, have to get your name out there.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_01: I'm always looking for ways for people to remember me.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_01: So I made mouse pads, you know.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_01: I gave them out.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_01: I I made like a hundred mouse pads, and I I give them to all my customers too, because then if someone calls and says, you know, do you have someone?
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_01: They can just look down at their at their computer and they have my phone number or my my my email, my website right there with the QR code, of course.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_02: That's so good.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_02: That's so good.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then just to to kind of piggyback off of everything you said, just get on Google.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_02: Like it's free to have a Google Business profile, so why not be there?
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_02: And two, in the US, there's so many industries that are um that you're able to run local service ads on.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_02: So just beware people are searching for you.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_02: Don't you don't have to play business on the hard mode.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_02: And yeah, so I just want to piggyback and throw that in there because so many, it's like this there's a gold mine sitting right in front of someone, and they they're just not aware it's there, and it's so easy to pick up the shovel and and have all those inbound calls and business come through.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_02: So the nose pad idea.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna I'm gonna make a note of that.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_02: We're gonna we're gonna have to do that on our side.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_02: Justin, last last question for you.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_02: What's the best piece of advice that you've ever received?
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_01: Oh well, I've got a few, but I would say there are two of them.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't matter how much money you make, it matters how much you keep, because you can make five million a year, but you spend five million a year, so so you gotta be profitable and and and then the second thing is do the thing and have the power.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_01: You know, if you aren't motivated to do something, once you start doing whatever you should be doing, then you will gain the motivation.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_01: And so that helps out a lot when I'm doing stuff because uh there's a lot of days where you know you might be working a lot and you might feel lazy, but you need you really should be marketing or doing something, and and and you don't want to, so you just start doing whatever that task is and you'll gain that motivation, and that's that makes a big difference.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_01: So those two things are really important.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_02: That's so great, Justin.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, it's been awesome watching you grow.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_02: I'm excited to keep seeing the firm grow.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it's an absolute pleasure working with you.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_02: It I'm so thankful you came on the podcast.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much for sharing all of your insight, your knowledge, and a little bit about your story.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_02: Um, thank you so much for coming on CFO Chronicles.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you for having me.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks for tuning in to this episode of CFO Chronicles, The Secrets Behind Success.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_02: I hope you found value in today's conversation.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_02: As we wrap up, I'd love for you to do two things.
• 30:56
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• 31:01
  SPEAKER_02: If you enjoyed today's discussion, please rate and review the show.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_02: It helps others discover the insights we share here.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_02: Second, if you're ready to take your business to the next level and attract the high-end clients you deserve, head over to accountingleadsnow.com or click the link in the show notes to book your strategy call.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_02: It's time to position yourself as the advisor your clients need.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_02: And don't forget, you can connect with me on LinkedIn to stay up to date on what's happening in the world of accounting and financial growth.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_02: We've got exciting topics coming up, so stay tuned for the next episode of CFO Chronicles.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_02: Until then, keep pushing forward.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_02: Your growth is just one strategic move away.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening to CFO Chronicles, the secrets behind success.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_00: We hope today's episode provided valuable strategies to help you attract more high-paying clients.
• 31:50
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• 31:54
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• 31:59
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• 32:03
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, keep striving for success and unlocking your business's potential.