June 2024 - Earmark CPE

In the age of social media, CPA firm owners face a constant barrage of curated success stories and polished personas. Scroll through your LinkedIn feed, and you’ll see post after post showcasing glowing client reviews, skyrocketing revenue graphs, and beaming teams at glamorous retreats. It’s easy to feel like everyone else has it all figured out while you’re stuck in the trenches battling deadlines, difficult clients, and endless to-do lists. But behind the glossy veneer, a more complex reality lurks.

In this episode of the Who’s Really the BOSS? podcast, Marcus and Rachel Dillon explore the psychological pitfalls of modern firm ownership, focusing on the mental traps of comparison and perfectionism. They also share their firsthand experiences navigating social media’s highlight reel while building an authentic, thriving practice.

The Comparison Trap

One of modern firm owners’ biggest psychological pitfalls is the constant temptation to compare themselves to others. In today’s digital age, this trap is more pervasive than ever. As Marcus puts it, “Comparison – that is the mistake that you have to avoid as a firm owner because you never know what’s going on on the other side of that screen or the other side of that camera. One person’s dream firm may be another person’s nightmare and vice versa.”

Social media platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram are curated highlight reels, presenting a polished version of success that can make firm owners feel inadequate or behind the curve. But the truth is, every firm’s journey is unique. What works for one practice may not work for another, and the challenges and sacrifices behind those glossy posts are rarely visible.

Falling into the comparison trap can erode firm owners’ confidence and authenticity, leading them to chase an illusion of success rather than building a firm that aligns with their true values and goals. As Rachel notes, it’s easy to get caught up in comparing vanity metrics like revenue or client roster size while losing sight of the deeper factors that drive fulfillment and sustainability.

So, how can firm owners escape the comparison trap and stay focused on their authentic path?

Overcoming Comparison

One key approach Marcus and Rachel recommend is seeking authentic connections with leaders you admire. By building genuine relationships with your role models and learning about their experiences – warts and all – you can gain a more balanced, realistic picture of what it takes to build a successful firm.

Another crucial strategy is surrounding yourself with supportive accountability partners who understand your unique goals and challenges. As Marcus notes, having trusted peers or mentors who can offer encouragement and honest feedback can be a game-changer when staying focused on your own path.

Some practical tips for finding and cultivating these relationships:

Attend industry events and seek out genuine conversations with leaders you admire
Join a mastermind group or peer network of like-minded firm owners
Work with a business coach or mentor who can offer personalized guidance and accountability
Cultivate vulnerability and authenticity in your own content and interactions to attract genuine connections

The Problem with Perfection

Alongside comparison, pursuing perfection is another major psychological pitfall for CPA firm owners. In a profession built on precision and attention to detail, it’s easy to think that everything in your firm must be flawless. But as Marcus points out, this mindset can quickly lead to frustration and burnout.

The reality is, perfection is an unattainable moving target. No matter how much you achieve, there will always be a new goalpost, a new standard to reach for. Constantly striving for perfection can breed dissatisfaction and detract from enjoying the journey of building and growing your firm.

Moreover, the fear of imperfection can hold firm owners back from taking risks, trying new things, or putting themselves out there. As Rachel shares, embracing imperfection and being okay with making mistakes along the way is essential. No successful leader has a spotless record – what sets them apart is their willingness to learn, adapt, and keep moving forward.

Chasing perfection can also erode firm owners’ mental well-being and authenticity. When you constantly hold yourself to an impossible standard, it’s hard to show up as your true self and find joy in your work. This impacts your fulfillment and can trickle down to your team and clients, creating a culture of stress and unrealistic expectations.

So, what’s the alternative if chasing perfection is a recipe for burnout and frustration? As Marcus and Rachel explain, the key is consistency over perfection.

Consistency Beats Perfection

As Rachel puts it, “Consistency will always yield better results than perfection. So there might be the best way to do something or the optimal way to do something. But if it’s not practical, if you can’t apply it on a consistent basis, then it’s not the perfect way for you or for me.”

The key insight here is that consistent, sustained effort – even imperfect – will drive better results than short bursts of perfection that can’t be maintained. Like crash diets or unsustainable workout regimens, forcing your firm into a “perfect” mold will only lead to burnout and backsliding.

Instead, firm owners should focus on developing strategies and habits they can stick with for the long haul. This might mean:

Choosing a manageable client load rather than chasing every opportunity
Investing in systems and processes that can be consistently applied, even if they’re not the most cutting-edge
Prioritizing regular team communication and feedback over sporadic, intense check-ins
Setting realistic goals and timelines that allow for flexibility and course correction

Of course, embracing imperfection doesn’t mean settling for mediocrity. As Marcus and Rachel note, striving for excellence and continuous improvement is still important. But the key is to pursue these goals in a way that aligns with your capacity, values, and long-term vision rather than burning yourself out chasing an impossible ideal.

Embracing Imperfection in Leadership

As a CPA firm owner, it’s easy to think that your leadership needs to be flawless. After all, you’re responsible for setting the tone and direction for your entire team. But as Marcus and Rachel point out, this perfectionist mindset can actually hold you back from being an effective and authentic leader.

The truth is, no leader is perfect – and that’s okay. In fact, it’s essential for building trust and rapport with your team. When you try to present an invulnerable, always-in-control image, it can actually create distance and make it harder for your team to relate to you.

Instead, Marcus and Rachel advocate for embracing your humanity and showing up as your whole self – flaws and all. This means:

Being transparent about your own challenges and mistakes
Admitting when you don’t have all the answers
Showing vulnerability and asking for help when you need it
Encouraging your team to do the same

To start embracing your own imperfection as a leader, Marcus and Rachel recommend a few key practices:

Regularly share your own struggles and lessons learned with your team
Encourage team members to take calculated risks and view failures as learning opportunities
Celebrate progress, not just perfection
Build in time for reflection and self-care to avoid burnout

By modeling these behaviors yourself, you create space for your team to do the same.

Moreover, when you let go of the need to be perfect, you free up energy to focus on what really matters: supporting and empowering your team. Instead of getting caught up in micromanaging every detail, you can step back and trust your team to handle challenges and seize opportunities. This not only helps your firm be more agile and innovative but also gives your team the autonomy and growth opportunities they crave.

Of course, embracing imperfection doesn’t mean lowering your standards or tolerating sloppy work. As a leader, it’s still your job to set clear expectations, provide guidance and feedback, and hold your team accountable. But you can do all this while recognizing that mistakes and setbacks are inevitable and often valuable learning opportunities.

For More, Listen to Who’s Really the BOSS?

Building a successful CPA firm in the modern age is no easy feat. Between the constant pressure to keep up with curated social media highlight reels and the ever-present specter of perfectionism, it’s all too easy for firm owners to get trapped in a web of psychological pitfalls that can hold them back from true fulfillment and success.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. By proactively addressing the mental traps of comparison and perfectionism, firm owners can cultivate the resilience, confidence, and authenticity they need to not just survive, but thrive amid today’s challenges.

Ready to dive deeper into these powerful insights? Be sure to tune into the full episode of Who’s Really the BOSS? and start implementing these strategies today. Your future self – and your firm – will thank you.

Rachel and Marcus Dillon, CPA own a Texas-based, remote client accounting and advisory services firm, Dillon Business Advisors, with a team of 15 professionals. Their latest organization, DBA | FIRM, supports and guides accounting firm owners and leaders with free resources, education, and operational strategy.

As client expectations shift and technology advances, many firm owners find themselves at a crossroads, wondering: How do we transition from a traditional tax practice to a thriving Client Accounting Services (CAS) model?

In this episode of the “Who’s Really the Boss” podcast, Rachel and Marcus Dillon share their experience transforming their firm from a traditional tax practice to a successful CAS provider. The Dillons learned that to transition successfully, firms must adapt their processes, technology, and management approach while carefully balancing client relationships and financial stability.

The Catalyst for Change: The Last Worst Tax Season

For Rachel and Marcus, the decision to transition from a traditional tax practice to a CAS model was sparked by a pivotal moment in their firm’s history: the “last worst tax season” in 2017. With over 1,000 individual clients and 2,000 tax projects, the couple became overwhelmed and exhausted, working long hours and sacrificing precious time with their family.

Marcus recalls, “We walked away exhausted and were beyond our tipping point and decided that was it. Nothing like that ever again.” This experience was a wake-up call, prompting the Dillons to reevaluate their business model and seek a more sustainable and fulfilling path forward.

As the Dillons’ story demonstrates, recognizing the need for change is often the first step in a firm’s journey toward a more sustainable and rewarding future.

The Reality of Client Attrition

One of the most significant hurdles firms face when transitioning to a CAS model is convincing existing clients to embrace the change. As Rachel and Marcus discovered, many clients who were satisfied with their current arrangements resisted adopting a new approach, even when presented with the potential benefits.

Despite their best efforts to communicate the value of CAS, the Dillons found that only a small percentage of their existing client base was willing to make the transition. As Marcus shares, “We were a very heavy annual-only client roster in 2017. We were not able to convert 95% of our client base to CAS. And so the oversimplified advice of people that just tell you, hey, you should go convert all your clients to CAS is probably not going to hold most of the time.”

Because many clients will not make the change, firms need to be prepared for client attrition and have a plan to refer clients who don’t fit the CAS model to other providers.

To mitigate client attrition during the transition to CAS, consider the following strategies:

Communicate the value of CAS services and how they address clients’ pain points.
Offer a phased approach to transitioning clients, allowing them to adapt to the new model.
Provide exceptional service and support during the transition to demonstrate the benefits of CAS.
Regularly seek client feedback and promptly address concerns to maintain trust and loyalty.

Embracing Cloud-Based Solutions and Real-Time Collaboration

As firms transition from a traditional tax practice to a CAS model, they quickly discover that their existing processes and technology may not be well-suited to the demands of ongoing client engagement.

Firms must adopt processes and technology that effectively track project frequency, timeliness, and client communication to succeed in a CAS model. Cloud-based solutions and remote access become essential for collaborating with clients and providing real-time insights into their financial performance.

The Dillons’ experience illustrates the necessary changes firms must make to their processes and technology to thrive in a CAS environment. By embracing tools that facilitate seamless collaboration and real-time data sharing, firms can position themselves to deliver the high-touch, proactive service that CAS clients expect.

Shifting from a Partner-Centric to a Team-Based Approach

One of the most significant challenges firms face when transitioning to a CAS model is adapting their management style to support ongoing client engagement. As Rachel points out, “We have to hire and then empower our team to work with the client to deliver the information, to have conversations, to have a relationship. We have to trust our team so that we can serve clients. If not, the practice isn’t scalable, so you’re not really better off one way or the other.”

In a traditional tax practice, partners are often clients’ primary point of contact, handling everything from client communication to project management. However, in a CAS model, this approach quickly becomes unsustainable, as the ongoing nature of client engagement requires a more distributed approach to client service.

To scale a successful CAS practice, firms must shift from a partner-centric model to a team-based approach, empowering staff members to take on greater responsibility for client relationships and project delivery. This requires a significant mindset shift for many firm owners, who may be accustomed to maintaining tight control over client interactions.

Learning from the Challenges and Triumphs of Others

As the Dillons’ story illustrates, transitioning from a traditional tax practice to a CAS model is a journey filled with challenges, surprises, and growth opportunities. While every firm’s path is unique, there is much to be gained from learning from the experiences of those who have gone before.

By sharing their struggles and successes, Rachel and Marcus offer valuable insights and guidance for other firms considering a similar transition. Their story serves as a reminder that change is rarely easy, but with perseverance, adaptability, and a willingness to learn, it is possible to navigate the complexities of the CAS landscape and emerge stronger on the other side.

Charting Your Course to CAS Success

For firms embarking on their own CAS journey, the Dillons’ experience offers several key takeaways:

Embrace the need for change: Recognizing when your current business model no longer serves you is the first step towards a more sustainable and rewarding future.
Communicate the value of CAS: Clearly articulating the benefits of CAS to both existing and prospective clients is essential for building a successful practice.
Adapt your processes and technology: Embracing cloud-based solutions, streamlining workflows, and eliminating inefficiencies are critical for delivering high-quality CAS services.
Empower your team: Shifting from a partner-centric to a team-based approach is key to scaling a successful CAS practice and providing exceptional client service.
Stay committed to the journey: Transitioning to a CAS model takes time, effort, and a willingness to learn from both successes and failures.

By remembering these lessons and staying committed to the journey, firms can chart their own course toward CAS success, building a profitable and personally fulfilling practice.

Are you ready to take the first steps toward building a successful CAS practice and shaping the future of accounting? If so, tune in to the Who’s Really the Boss podcast and hear Rachel and Marcus Dillon’s inspiring story.

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