Always aim for the bright side of your firm

Richard Brewin • August 6, 2018

What’s the best thing about running your own accountancy firm?

Forget your hassles and frustrations for one moment and think about the reasons why you wanted to be your own boss. A ‘Top 5’ list based on the accountants that we work with looks like this:

  1. A belief that there had to be a better way of looking after clients than you were experiencing with the firm you were in.
  2. An unwillingness to follow the decisions and plans of others.
  3. A desire to see more rewards for your own efforts.
  4. Better work-life balance.
  5. A need for greater recognition and reputation.

Any of these could form the basis of your answer to the question above. Running your own firm should be about spending your time doing the things you want to do, in the way you want to do them and with the people you want to do them with.

Now let’s bring those hassles and frustrations back into the frame. The chances are that these are the things that you feel are keeping your firm and your happiness in the shade. These tend to be the things that occupy the thinking time of those trying to run the show.

How much do you focus on the light as opposed to the shade? Are your strategies geared towards achieving the best things about running your own firm or minimising the worst?

Do you challenge yourself to proactively strive for the light in your firm, aiming for the best things about running your own firm, or are you consumed by the shadows that lurk in your frustrations.

You can change this.

Rather like the visual tricks that show two different images in the same picture depending on how you look, by focussing on light not dark in your firm you can get a very different perspective from the same picture. Focus on strength not weakness. Focus on the good, not the bad. The picture remains the same but by creating strategies to build on your strengths you can address your weaknesses in a very different light.

Try it.

Why your accounting firm is unique

By Richard Brewin • June 5, 2025
All accountants are the same! We’ve all heard it said. It’s nonsense, of course, but, when you are asked what it is that your firm does that differentiates it from other accounting firms, it can be a challenge to come up with something tangible.  Accounting firms tend to offer similar services, that’s what makes them accounting firms. Differentiating from competitors based upon services provided is therefore an issue.

Will MTD ITSA be the next big gift from the accounting profession

By Richard Brewin • April 2, 2025
Question… Should accountants charge for the additional work and obligations they will have when MTD ITSA finally comes into play next April? Not sure? Let me ask another one… Should business owners and taxpayers be expected to pay for the work that their accountant does for them and for the expertise that they receive? Put down in black and white, the answer seems obvious but there are many in the profession who are losing sleep over this issue.

“Accountants can’t or won’t sell”

By Richard Brewin • February 25, 2025
Accountants selling to their clients is a topic as old as the profession itself. I regularly hear criticism from those looking to monetise the accountants’ relationships with their clients that “accountants can’t sell”. I also come across an attitude within the profession that “accountants shouldn’t sell to their clients…it’s unprofessional…it’s not what my clients expect”.  Let’s tackle the issue.