Category Archive

I always enjoy my meetings with my business coach (see me in the picture to the left after a recent meeting - however, I don’t remember those clouds).  I’m always challenged because he keeps asking “why?”  It gets hard always answering that question, but I truly need it.

He mentioned a talk he did recently for some financial nerds somewhere and told them about Three Entrepreneurial Phases of Growth: (1) Lead Generation, (2) Lead Conversion, and (3) a Client “Wow” Process.

The first phase finds them, the second one gets them, and the third one keeps them.  I identified that we don’t do enough to keep our clients.  He scared me when he said other CPAs are out there looking for your clients.  And now YOU (yes, YOU dang it) can take that to heart - there are other industries and businesses hunting down your clients right now - what are you doing about it?

Here is what I’m going to do to keep my clients:

1  Everytime I sign up a new client, we are going to mail them a thank you letter with a piece of firm collateral.  The firm collateral will tell them everything we do, will highlight our theories of operating and serving our clients, and will remind them of why they chose us in the first place.

2  We will break all of our clients down into one of three categories: Gold, Silver or Bronze.   Depending on which clients provide the most income to our firm, the most referrals, the most blah blah blah, will be in the Gold category.  The ones whom we serve periodically will be Silver, while the ones we see only annually will be Bronze.  “Why don’t you just serve everyone as if they are a Gold client?” you may say.  To that I say, “what a stupid question” (just kidding).  Actually, that’s a good question.  The reason is because as you grow YOU WILL NOT be able to serve everyone like a Gold, and when you have started serving everyone as a Gold client, then you must continue or they will notice and get ticked off.  So, serve your clients according to the value that they add to your firm, or you’ll load yourself down providing Customer Service you can’t continue to support (and stop asking stupid questions).

3  We will implement a more proactive Customer Service Program that focuses on our Gold, Silver and Bronze clients.  I already know who my Gold clients are, and they will probably start receiving Customer Service calls from someone in my firm (not me) to see how we are doing, and to ask them what else they need.  Gold clients will also receive small gifts every now and then.  Our Silver clients will probably receive a call quarterly and a note from me every now and then just to say “thanks”.  And our Bronze clients will probably receive a call once a year just to say “thanks”. 

4  We will probably start sending “Thanksgiving” cards to every client in the firm.  This seems like an innovative way to say “Thank You” since no one else sends “Thanksgiving” cards.

What are you going to do to KEEP your clients?  (because I’m trying hard to take them).

Thanks, Jason M. Blumer

Tax season officially ended this past Tuesday, and I have been out of commission since the beginning of January.

We have been busy…

1  doing a lot of business tax returns

2  doing a lot of individual tax returns

3  starting a management consulting engagement in Atlanta

4  assisting with an internationally-related internal embezzlement case

5  wrapping up another “two-partners-fighting” fraud case

6  hiring and firing three or four new people in our firm (and training)

We’ve definitely been busy, and I’m enjoying a break now (we are taking a few days off after tax season) with my family.  I’ve missed them.

Here is what’s coming up…

1  our Thriveal Business Success Series classes start in late May (brochures are coming out in the mail soon - email me at thriveal@gmail.com to receive one),

2  we are going to be focusing on our marketing campaigns a little more with our PR firm, and hiring a marketing intern for the summer,

3  we received a big box of books from John L. Herman “Herman” (entrepreneurial guru of hermanisms.com) and will be hopefully doing a blog interview post with Herman soon, and giving away some of his awesome books in a contest (stay tuned!) 

That’s about it (and that’s plenty).  I’m tired and I need a break.

Thanks, Jason M. Blumer

  Probably one of the greatest moves I made in life was back in May of 2003 when I decided to join my dad’s small CPA firm and work with him.

He was a young 56 years old then, and today he turns 61.  And I’ll be 37 this year, and I just figured out (maybe a couple of years ago) that I don’t know nothing (sorry English teachers), and that my dad knows stuff… turns out, it’s a bunch of stuff.  Figuring this out sure would have been helpful a number of years ago.  Why did it take me until around the mid-30s to figure this out?  That stinks… in a big way.  I may have more time, more money and more life… if I just would have listened to my dad.

In honor of my dad’s 61st birthday today, I wanted to share a few things he taught me…

1.  He misses his dad more now than when his dad was actually alive.  That’s interesting.  That makes me want to hang around my dad.  I don’t want to say that one day.  So I’m glad I get to work with my dad.  And I’m going to make sure my children get to spend a lot of time with me (even when they are teenagers)… because of my dad.

2.  My dad has sacrificed his life for his kids.  My dad is the co-owner/co-organizer of four businesses total, two (seen here and here) for me and two (again, here and here) for my older brother.  He sacrificed his time and funded all of the businesses with his own cash.  I’ll be sacrificing for my three daughters the way my dad did for me (maybe not the cash part)… because of my dad.

3.  My dad taught me to make myself indispensable at my work.  This has helped me tremendously in my past employment, and I’ve even taught this concept to some of my clients.  By this I mean, put yourself in such a trusted position at your job, and perform so well that your employer seems somewhat obligated to offer you higher positions, raises, promotions, etc.  I’ve asked for and received higher positions, raises and promotions… because of my dad. 

4.  Be a background man.  My brother and I are anything but “background”.  We love business and loud music and we don’t like to follow people.  And we sing REALLY loud at church.  My dad is not quite so showy.  He is more of a “background” man.  You know he’s there, but he’s not going to point that fact out.  But when he speaks, me and my brother (and others) tend to be quiet.  He is usually saying something worth listening to.  I want to be a man worth listening to and hang out more in the background… because of my dad.

5.  My dad is a man of faith.  Though he will tell you that his faith in God is not very strong, we see a different picture.  We see a man who has had to lean on God in so many ways through so many trials in the past (many of those trials caused by his unruly kids), and still rely on God and share Him with others.  I want to be a man of faith… because of my dad.

 There’s just so many more I can’t list them all, but those are just a few.

Dad, I love you more than words can say, and I’m so glad to be in the office with you today to say Happy Birthday!  You freakin’ rule, dude (did I mention that me and my brother are not very respectful of the aged, too?).

Thanks, Jason M. Blumer