Editor's Note: Ingrid Edstrom will be facilitating a captivating panel discussion at the 2017 "Scaling New Heights®" conference in Orlando, Fla., June 3-7, 2017. Hear her own words as she describes the “why” behind her panel session as well as her goals for the session.
We are all working on "Living the Dream," and that is why there is an entire course track on this topic at the "2017 Scaling New Heights®" conference. This falls in the Yeti category of Becoming and Remaining Distinctive. The question remains: What is "The Dream?" Is your dream the same as mine? What if we don't want the same things?
We have all been there. It's no fun to be in the position of working insane hours just to barely scrape by. We take tons of classes on how to market our services, asking advice of our heroes, but each person we ask gives us three different answers that completely contradict each other. Which way is the right way?
Your way is.
How do you find your way? Usually through trial and error, but we are going to give you a few tools to find your way a bit more quickly.
Join me and four of our peers for "Building a Profitable Firm You Love" – a panel discussion at "Scaling New Heights 2017" intended to highlight the beautiful diversity in our accounting firms. By highlighting these differences in our firms, we fulfill the objective of showing our community that there is no single "right way" to build a successful practice.
Each of us can be happy and profitable by following our unique vision, discarding the "should's", and each building what we want without judgment comparisons.
Come and learn about four very different accounting firms, their practices, their stories and the numbers behind them. We're going to get into the dirty details of what has worked and what hasn't. See what resonates with you, so that you can forge your path and create a successful business that you love every day.
Together we will face the Yeti of Self Doubt. Here's a little about our panelists:
Jennifer Dymond is CEO and Founder of Spire Consulting Services as well as CFO of Logic Minds Corp and NWOps. She leads the Portland, Orel, Woodard Group, which was awarded Fastest Growing Woodard Group in 2014 and Superstars Woodard Group in 2015.
Karine Woodman of 24hr Bookkeeper Inc. is the winner of the 2016 Intuit Global Firm of the Future contest. She is a member of the Intuit Trainer/Writer Network, is part of the Intuit TWN Education Committee, and has served on Intuit Accountant and Advisor Customer Council 2014-2016.
Stacy Mueller is Executive VP and Chief Value Officer with INT, where she has worked for 18 years. She is an Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor. Stacy is founder and leader of the Chicago Woodard Group, which was awarded "Fastest Growing Woodard Group." She is also an Accountex Group Certified QuickBooks Consultant.
Stephen King is the founder of Virtual Growth, the industry’s first client accounting services firm. He founded GrowthForce in 2004, one of the nation’s largest client accounting services firms. He is president of the Strategic Planning Committee on the executive board of the Houston CPA Society.
Why is this important? Because things like this look really impressive on paper. It’s too easy to judge ourselves by comparison to others. Many people look at this and they see “success.” They have no idea what it took to get these things or even "if" they would really want them for themselves.
Do these bullet points make these colleagues happier than you? Do they make them better than you? Do they mean that they are making more money than you? No. Success means something different to each of us. We look to each other to get ideas and inspiration of what we might want to try next, and that’s fine, but judgments just get in the way.
“Should” is a dirty six-letter word. There is no “should” when it comes to building our dreams. The question is: what do you want?
Shaneh Woods, a fellow Profit First Professional, posted the following on Facebook. It fits so nicely with what we’re discussing, I am grateful that Shaneh gave me permission to share it:
“Comparison is the thief of joy. Often, we look around and compare our chapter one to someone else's chapter eight. In the day of social media, in which we live, this is even more of a challenge, because what we see of people's lives, is the highlight reel.
More often than not, we don't see the struggle that goes in to accomplishments. Because of this, we can often feel as though we are inferior or behind the ball.“Everybody has a different story than you, because none of them are you. Our lives are our own, as are our dreams and ambitions.
So don't compare your journey to another's... They won't walk the same path that you do, because their destination is different. Your journey is as unique and special as you are and that's what makes this world beautiful. The diversity, not the sameness.”
Please join me and these four amazing colleagues at "Scaling New Heights" for "Building a Profitable Firm You Love." We are going to face the Yeti of Self Doubt by taking a look behind the curtain of four very different accounting firms, their practices, their stories, and some of the numbers behind them.
Celebrate with us the diversity between them, hopefully showing you that you are not alone on whatever path you are choosing. You'll also probably gain a few ideas for some things you want to try. We're going to get into the dirty details of what has worked and what hasn't. See what resonates with you, so that you can forge your path and create a successful business that you love every day.
Learning Objectives:
- Discover what size and style team is the right fit for you
- Learn how to pinpoint your ideal client relationships
- Find out what services your colleagues offer, and at what prices
- Witness the successes, pain-points, and big decisions your colleagues are facing
We look forward to seeing you at Walt Disney World in Orlando in June. Together we are making the world a better place, built on a foundation of thriving small businesses.
Ingrid Edstrom
Ingrid Edstrom, panel facilitator, is a 2015 "Firm of the Future" winner, and was named one of the 2016 "Top 40 Under 40 and Most Powerful Women in Accounting" by CPA Practice Advisor Magazine. She is a member of the Intuit Trainer/Writer Network and a Certified Profit First Professional. Ingrid also is the creator of the "Ask A Bookkeeper" educational video series, and was featured in the book "The World's Most Inspiring Accountants." Ingrid leads the Southern Oregon Woodard group, and is a founder of the Southern Oregon Bookkeepers Association.