What Really Worked this Past Year?
If you had a great year and enjoyed owning your accounting practice, it’s probably because you focused on the fundamentals well. If you want to be more focused in 2016, read on…
It’s interesting how focusing on a few fundamentals can make all the difference.
A professional photographer named Jon Holloway once told me his secret to taking good pictures was really quite simple. The key for him was to take a lot of pictures. The more “film” he went through, the more great pictures came out. I’m sure there is more to it than that, but that was an insight that seemed incredibly helpful for him.
“Busyness” has a way of making people lose focus.
What’s also interesting is how easy it is to get distracted from the fundamentals that work when things get really busy. All of those little distractions that sap your time and energy can really cause problems. That’s especially the case as a business grows. A founder can be so talented that he or she does everything extremely well, and so refuses to let anyone else do anything. The inability to delegate can stop you in your tracks.
In order to focus on the right things, you have let some things go.
A couple of months ago I spoke with the owner of one of the top 100 CPA firms in the United States who grew his firm from scratch. He said that “growing a business is essentially a series of letting go.” You have to let go of “present company” to build “future company.” As our business grows, we are finding this to be true.
Speaking of growing, we have some great plans for 2016. We are looking for a few honest, decisive, entrepreneurial, smart, ambitious people who share our values and want to help people buy and sell accounting practices.
As you wrap up the year, here are a few questions to ponder as you approach 2016:
• What were the 3 biggest takeaways from this past year?
• What can you implement in 2016 to build on those insights?
• What part of your business are you ready to let go of?
Happy Holidays everyone. May 2016 be your best year yet!
