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04/14/2013

The Customer is Always Right, Unless You are Serving the Wrong Customer

Many of us are wrapping up a tough tax season and right now I bet you can name a handful of wonderful clients. And possibly some you would rather refer elsewhere.

Right now, while it’s fresh on your mind, think through these questions with specific customers in mind. I’ll be using two of our customers (names changed) as an example, Bob and Jane.

Did your customer fight your process?

Bob seemed to find our processes easy. He had no trouble paying online before the work was done. He was happy to know the price before the work was done. He did not struggle with reviewing his tax return online, using our online portals to deliver documents, or signing his agreement online. In fact, after I emailed him to let him know his returns had been accepted, he replied with a “You guys rock!” email. Read more

Category:: Innovation, Management and Operations, Taxes
Comments:: 13

04/08/2013

A Great Idea, the Experience Economy, & a Horrible Name for a Business

I recently had an Oprah-quality million-dollar idea.

And this million-dollar idea is way better than my Johnny Jump Up Multi-Room Integrated Track System¹ idea. The JJUMRITS might’ve made someone a million bucks, but it also might’ve been extremely unsafe for babies which – turns out – is horrible for PR. And for babies.

I also had a million-dollar idea for a biometric attendance-taker machine for high schools and junior highs³. That idea is like a million dollars of lunch money in a nerd’s pocket, just waiting for someone to punch it out of its zip-lock sandwich bag⁴ and into someone’s bank account. Read more

Category:: CPA firm, Innovation
Comments:: 1

03/04/2013

Time To Innovate

“Time is money.”

Our profession has grown up on this concept: time is money. You hear it even today. And there’s a tempting ring of truth to it. After all, if I put in time, I can make money. It doesn’t get much more simple than that, right?

But is it really the time that’s making me money? Or is it what I do in that time? And if it’s the latter, why am I tracking and selling time? What should I be tracking and selling instead? What should I conclude when I spend a lot of time, but don’t make a lot of money?

I have a theory: time is merely a tracker of value. And as the definition of value shifts, time can become a less and less accurate tracker of that value.

Category:: Innovation
Comments:: 0

01/14/2013

The American Dream is Dead…If You’re A Wussie

Lately I’ve been hearing this kind of crap:

“The American Dream is a myth.”

“The American Dream is dead.”

“The American Dream never really existed. It was a marketing scam.”

I call BS. The American Dream is not dead; its bastardized, mutant, entitled misinterpretation is.

First, let’s make sure we know what the hell we’re talking about. The American Dream (that’s not dead) is the idea that if you’re really smart and really hard working, the life you lead in the future can be dramatically better than the life you had in the past. The American Dream says that opportunities exist; if you find them quicker and leverage them better than the next guy, you’ll make some money and your dad might finally be proud of you. The American Dream says that the employee can become the boss, the tenant can become the landlord, and the janitor can become the head custodian.

Category:: Innovation
Comments:: 7

12/10/2012

A Crappy Restaurant in Vegas Taught Me a Lot About Branding (So Did Tim Williams)

In business school, you learned Michael Porter’s generic business strategies: cost leadership, differentiation, and market segmentation. And cost leadership is stupid¹. My brain conflates differentiation and market segmentation into what I call – for lack of a better word - differegmentation².

In the November THRIVEcast, Tim Williams said that differegmentation is not enough. According to Tim, you need to hyperspecialize, ultra-differentiate, and uber-brand.

Category:: Business, Innovation
Comments:: 4

09/10/2012

What Does Submission Mean?

I want to praise the AICPA in their recent attempt to innovate within our profession. How do I define ‘innovation’ in terms of what they are doing? Simply, this: they are reviewing how we have always done things as a profession and considering, due to technologies and the common behaviors of our customers, that maybe we should change our professional behavior, and thus our standards. Kudos and I agree!

I’m speaking of the AICPA’s most recent Exposure Draft on changes to some SSARS (Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services) where they are considering making the preparation of financial statements an non-attest service. Basically, they are proposing making ‘preparing financial statements’ separate from attest services like Compilations, Reviews and Audits. Currently, every time we prepare financial statements, it is really considered a Compilation service, even though our customers may not intend us to Compile financials, may not want to pay for it, and do not actually need it. As CPAs, our professional hands are tied when our customers need financial reporting. We have to say, “I’m sorry, that quick financial statement you need will cost you. I have to prepare a Compilation even though you don’t want one.”

Category:: CPA firm, Innovation
Comments:: 15

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