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Our Blog
A monthly article to inspire your practice and keep you engaged with a community of like-minded practitioners.
- T1 Tight Profit Margins
Personal tax preparation is a lot like small engine repair. I have a nephew who started out as a small engine mechanic. With further studies and experience, he moved on… Read more: T1 Tight Profit Margins - How to better manage workflow
I always find it interesting how one practitioner will ask me a question, and then suddenly, I’m asked the same – or a very similar question by several other accountants… Read more: How to better manage workflow - Building a Healthy Firm Culture
Based on what I saw and heard at our most recent firm retreat, I would dare say that most people who work here at Talbot & Associates CPA would tell… Read more: Building a Healthy Firm Culture - Hiring Smart: Finding the Right People, Not Just the Right Skills
With tax season quickly approaching, some practitioners are probably thinking of increasing the number of people on their team. The following are just a few pointers of things I’ve learned… Read more: Hiring Smart: Finding the Right People, Not Just the Right Skills - Kickstarting the New Year With Purpose
Think of the new year as your practice’s blank sheet—a clean slate to project the growth you want to see. Here are actionable steps to move forward with intention: Leading… Read more: Kickstarting the New Year With Purpose - Reflecting on Last Year and Setting Goals for a Fulfilling New Year
The close of one year and the start of another are defining moments for business owners. It’s more than just turning the page—it’s an opportunity to reflect, recalibrate, and reignite… Read more: Reflecting on Last Year and Setting Goals for a Fulfilling New Year - Managing by the numbers
Looking back at when I started my practice from scratch, I laugh (cringe) when I think about how ignorant I was about how to run a good practice. I can’t… Read more: Managing by the numbers - Did Tax Season Feel Like The Show “Survivor”?
If this tax season felt like it was a matter of survival, you’re not alone. Something most of us are wondering is “Where are all these new clients coming from?”. … Read more: Did Tax Season Feel Like The Show “Survivor”? - File Preparation Write-Downs
From time to time, I’m asked to make presentations on how to read financial statements and how to use them to increase profits. Most of what I present is extremely… Read more: File Preparation Write-Downs - Increase revenues always a good idea?
Most practitioners fall victim to concentrating too much on increasing revenues rather than profits. Yes, greater revenues will often result in greater profits but that is far from always being… Read more: Increase revenues always a good idea? - Caring for our clients
If someone had asked me when I was first in practice whether it was possible to care too much for my clients. I would have answered: “Absolutely not. I will… Read more: Caring for our clients - The Secret of Resilience
Anybody who’s had a successful business will agree that building a successful enterprise requires a tremendous amount of resilience. My recent struggles with my mental health have got me reading… Read more: The Secret of Resilience - Should you hire?
Strangely enough, this is one of the most common questions I get. In the past, before answering, I’d ask a bunch of questions related to their practice, backlog, etc. etc,… Read more: Should you hire? - Determining an employee’s charge-out rate.
A question I frequently get from practitioners is this: How do I determine this employee’s charge-out rate? GREAT question. Here’s the formula I use and how I use it to… Read more: Determining an employee’s charge-out rate. - Managing workflow
I always find it interesting how one practitioner will ask me a question, and I suddenly find myself being asked the same, or very similar question, by many accountants and… Read more: Managing workflow - Post Tax Season Beef and Bouquet
(or as one client refers to it – autopsy) For as many years as I can remember, my team and I always did a post tax season beef and bouquet team meeting… Read more: Post Tax Season Beef and Bouquet - Fees during tax season
Should accountants be adjusting fees for services rendered during tax season?Answer: Yes! I was very tempted to end this newsletter right here. This would have been the shortest newsletter EVER.… Read more: Fees during tax season - Owner time management
All those great ideas of how I can grow and make my practice better Jean-Guy are all great. I love them. But here’s the problem Jean-Guy, I just don’t have… Read more: Owner time management - Employee leaving for more money
If you’ve been in business for any length of time, you’ve surely had the experience of a team member handing you his/her resignation and telling you they’ve been offered a… Read more: Employee leaving for more money - Damage control
I recently had the pleasure of speaking on practice management at a great Porter Hétu event in New Brunswick in early November. Was extremely well received. Had a great time. … Read more: Damage control - How much do I charge
How much do I charge? I got an email from one of my team members earlier today asking if we should invoice for some Software Technical Support she provided a… Read more: How much do I charge - The BIG difference between a blog article and a newsletter
So many times, I read a very well written blog post whose content provides value to the reader and gives a good image of the website that hosts it- but… Read more: The BIG difference between a blog article and a newsletter - The Butterfly Effect
The Butterfly Effect Well, it happened again. Several years ago, I spoke to a group of people about the influence we can unknowingly have on people. In my presentation, I… Read more: The Butterfly Effect - 6 Ways to Beat Tax Season
6 Ways to Beat Tax Season You may have heard said that the same sun that’ll harden clay will melt wax. How we are affected, survive, or thrive in tax… Read more: 6 Ways to Beat Tax Season - Feeding Your Mind
Feeding Your Mind There is so much information out there about feeding your body. Good healthy nutrients, lots of fruit and vegetables, plenty of exercise, and staying away from things… Read more: Feeding Your Mind - How to Raise Your Fees
How to Raise Your Fees “What was the single most important lesson you’ve learned in running a successful practice?” I’ve been asked this often and wow is it ever a… Read more: How to Raise Your Fees - Have Direct and Transitional Call-To-Action (CTA)
There are 2 types of people who will land on your website: Curious people, who have seen the site address somewhere People who are looking for this kind of service,… Read more: Have Direct and Transitional Call-To-Action (CTA) - Absolute BEST investment anyone can make
Absolute BEST investment anyone can make As an accountant, people thinking about their eventual retirement often ask me for my thoughts on the best place to invest. Whether they should… Read more: Absolute BEST investment anyone can make - What are the 3 ways to do marketing and advertising?
“We can’t have it all…” is what I used to be told when I was a child and they were right: In life you have to know how to make thoughtful… Read more: What are the 3 ways to do marketing and advertising? - How to Be Successful in Business
How to Be Successful in Business Over the years, I’ve been asked on many occasions to speak at schools, universities, and colleges on my experience as an accountant and, more… Read more: How to Be Successful in Business - What is Job Satisfaction?
What is Job Satisfaction? When employees resign, they often cite that they’ve been offered more money as a reason for them leaving. The question I keep asking myself is to… Read more: What is Job Satisfaction? - Being the owner doesn’t make you right.
Being the owner doesn’t make you right. Let’s say you’re in the process of renovating your office space. You think the receptionist’s desk should be moved to a 45-degree angle… Read more: Being the owner doesn’t make you right. - Why is marketing for accountants and bookkeepers unique?
Why is marketing for accountants and bookkeepers unique? Accountants and bookkeepers are a unique breed and don’t advertise the same way as other products or services would. Products will usually… Read more: Why is marketing for accountants and bookkeepers unique? - Has Tax Season Left You Burnt Out?
Has Tax Season Left You Burnt Out? So, you survived tax season. Whew. Quite the haul.Was it good? Bad? Thrived? Barely survived? Regardless of what this tax season was like,… Read more: Has Tax Season Left You Burnt Out? - How to choose the best color for my logo?
Choosing the right color for your logo can be complicated if you don’t know the meaning of the colors. Colors are made up of three primary colors and 3 secondary… Read more: How to choose the best color for my logo? - Nobody wants to subscribe to your newsletter!
How many times have you visited a website for the first time and, before you even got to know the site or the brand, you are asked to suffer a… Read more: Nobody wants to subscribe to your newsletter! - Why is marketing for accountants and bookkeepers unique?
Accountants and bookkeepers are a unique breed and don’t advertise the same way as other products or services would. Products will usually use the 5 senses to create appeal: But… Read more: Why is marketing for accountants and bookkeepers unique? - Motivating your team to work longer hours during tax season.
Motivating your team to work longer hours during tax season. I know it’s tax season and the last thing you need right now is to read a long newsletter. So,… Read more: Motivating your team to work longer hours during tax season. - Time – Quite the beast to master and tame.
Time – Quite the beast to master and tame. With tax season once again upon us, the pressure of making every minute count and be productive is never higher. With this… Read more: Time – Quite the beast to master and tame. - Fear and Anxiety
Fear and Anxiety I was recently listening to a podcast from “the Professional Noticer” by Andy Andrews in which he talks about conquering fear. It really resonated with me as I feel my… Read more: Fear and Anxiety - Directors of First Impressions
Directors of First Impressions My car needed the rear bumper replaced due to a collision it had been involved in, so I phoned the dealer where I bought my car… Read more: Directors of First Impressions - Avoiding Burnout
Avoiding Burnout First, let me say that I’m not at all qualified to write an article on burnout, much less give you advice on how to avoid it or recuperate… Read more: Avoiding Burnout - How Important are Team Retreats
How Important are Team Retreats? Team retreats are a lot of work. Retreats take time to organize and the cost associated with hosting a retreat can be a huge deterrent.… Read more: How Important are Team Retreats - Don’t Fight Fire with Fire
Don’t Fight Fire with Fire Dealing with Angry Clients There’s probably very little that will stress a practitioner more than an angry client. You know the type: red face, veins… Read more: Don’t Fight Fire with Fire - Don’t Let a Good Idea Die
Don’t Let a Good Idea Die: How to generate and implement a good idea Last week I read a blog post by Seth Godin, marketing guru, on good ideas and how… Read more: Don’t Let a Good Idea Die - What is a Google Review and what impact it has on your business?
Internet reviews have taken power for several years now. It slowly started with reviews of an eBay seller then it moved to Amazon… it was very convenient for us to… Read more: What is a Google Review and what impact it has on your business? - How to find a good name and tagline (slogan) for my business?
People understand who you are by putting you ‘in a box’ If your name or tagline isn’t direct and summarize what you do precisely, and from the target audience’s point of… Read more: How to find a good name and tagline (slogan) for my business? - Ridiculous Times
Ridiculous Times And How to Survive Them Oh no! Not another article on COVID-19! Yeah, yeah, I know. If you’re like me, you may be thinking, “if I hear one… Read more: Ridiculous Times - 5 Best Sales Pitch Practices (and Why they Work)
5 Best Sales Pitch Practices (and Why they Work) The Empathetic Pitch They Won’t Forget! What is an Empathetic Pitch? An empathetic pitch is a method of selling services that… Read more: 5 Best Sales Pitch Practices (and Why they Work) - Why Having a Mentor is Important?
Why Having a Mentor is Important? Starting your own practice is a challenging initiative. Starting any company, for that matter, is hard! Business decisions and their consequences fall on your… Read more: Why Having a Mentor is Important?