For Owners Only –
How to Work ON the Business
One of my clients just implemented the kind of change that represents moving from working in the business to working ON the business.
A few months ago she told me she wanted to restructure her role. For the first 5 years, she worked on every client project.
That meant:
- Working 6-7 days per week
- A built-in limit to the number of client projects
- Reducing the time and energy she had for Owner work
How did she do it?
- She knew she couldn’t see her own limiting beliefs herself, so she chose to work with me.
- Accepted my observations regarding some of her operating choices or practices. Just because she’d always done something one way, didn’t mean she had to keep doing that.
- Changed the definition of a “personal guarantee” from meaning she was onsite for every client project to having oversight over each project.
- Made time to invest in training her associates to replace her onsite.
- Eliminated some of the kinds of projects they had been accepting.
- Instituted a new line of Luxury options that she is now marketing.
You can do the same
Training associates to replace you
When a company believes that time is money, which means any time not spent on client work is a direct reduction to revenue, they avoid training.
My client transition to believing that IMPACT is money, and therefore the time they spend training associates to deliver more significant impacts is not a cost but an investment. Invest now, reap the rewards later (pretty quickly in most cases).
Attracting clients who want IMPACTs not time or tasks
One company owner involved all the firm’s associates in describing and listing all the impacts his talented team delivers to clients. He wanted them involved so that they could participate in designing options for their Choice Framework proposals. After about 2 months, most of the options are being designed by the associates.
This freed up 15 hours per week up that the owner can now spend nurturing client relationships, something he never had time for when he was writing 6-7 proposals per week.
He told me that well over half the clients he called as part of his nurturing approach were happy to hear from him, quickly described new situations they could use his company’s help with and are eager to sign new contracts.
This is revenue they never would have generated if the Owner hadn’t made these calls.
Introducing more significant IMPACTS
Your company accumulates knowledge and expertise each and every day. The greater the accumulation the more significant the IMPACTs you’re capable of delivering.
But in order to leverage this unique asset, you have to do two things:
- Let go of the lower significance work
- Create higher significance options with fees proportional to that significance.
The CPA Story
One of my clients, a CPA, was completely fed up with the exhausting tax season roller coaster. He and his 5 associates always keep abreast of tax law changes, as well as trends and opportunities in accounting and related matters.
They would often mention to their tax return clients that there were things the clients could do differently during the year. Some would affect their taxes and others would be very good financial actions.
But they never offered analysis and advising as an IMPACT option.
He chose my IMPACT PLUS option. It was designed to deliver to his firm the satisfaction (both personally and financially) that comes from being a trusted advisor to great fit clients.
He wanted to take advantage of their typically slower summer months to meet with their best clients and offer new IMPACT options to them.
23 out of 25 clients accepted his one-on-one meeting invitation. 22 of those are interested in the new, customized, IMPACT options. He’s writing proposals and following up this month.
He forecasts that 18 will accept one of the new IMPACT options. Revenue will increase by 20-28%, with no increase in expenses because the talented and knowledgeable associates are already capable of this new work.
He will begin referring many of this tax-return-only clients to other preparers in time for next year. His goal is to reduce the tax prep business by 46%.
He’s a great example of an Owner who is willing to let the low revenue, low significance work go in order to make room for high IMPACT, higher fee, higher satisfaction clients.
I’m thrilled to support him as he works ON his business.
And you?
Too many owners hear “Work on your business not in it” and think they can‘t do that. They believe that their company would fall apart without them actively in it.
That may be true!
And it’s even more of a reason to get the help you need to extract yourself to work ON it.
There are 4.5 months left in 2024. Your company could be substantially different–more revenue and more profit—in that period of time with my help.
Ready for a conversation? Text TALK to 703-801-0345.
