I’m facing the Yeti. I started out with an accounting degree and worked for a credit card corporation for 19 years. When that company offered severance packages, I knew the first round of packages would be the best.
Lisa Whitaker
So I jumped on the opportunity, attended review courses, and sat for and passed the CPA exam. That was more than 10 years ago. I’ve work for myself, then for a CPA firm, and now back on my own. My sister has been supporting and taking a similar journey with me.
Most recently, I’ve been on my own for the last two tax seasons, with her joining me again this past season. We marketed and grew the business in number of clients, but the dollars weren’t growing as fast. We knew we had the wrong mix – too many 1040 clients, and not enough business clients. While I was on my own, I didn’t want to make too many changes at one time, but I am realizing that change is all around me, so we need to get with the times and face the Yeti.
So far this year, we have implemented Qbox, ScheduleOnce, Line2, Slack, Wunderlist and emailable customizable Client Handouts. ScheluleOnce has been a game changer for me. Prior to implementing this app, I was spending too much time on the phone scheduling and rescheduling and interrupting my workflow.
Now I’m ready to utilize the efficiencies to become more effective. We are researching and investigating many more apps, working on our website and social media, redesigning our packages – all to make us more effective.
After attending the "Scaling New Heights" keynote presentations remotely this year, I knew I needed to challenge myself further and make the company work for us, so I signed up for the Woodard Institute. All of this change is a bit overwhelming but so necessary.
By next year's’ "Scaling New Heights," the Yeti will be no problem.
Lisa M. Whitaker, CPA, is co-owner of Whitaker & Rago Certified Public Accountants. You can connect with her on LinkedIn or follow her on Twitter @lisa_muldoonCPA. For more informaiton, visit www.wrtaxes.com.