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We're taking Q4 off from recording new episodes! So, let's unpack what planning + taking this (or any) break actually looks like:
Where would one of us, Anna as a CEO and Jill as a COO, even start with planning our out-of-office time?TIP: What do you know that no one else knows?What does it look like to trust our team while one (or the both) of us is out on that well-deserved break? Can we give ourselves grace for the things that we didn't get to? (We're all only human, after all!)Taking a break gets its own episode because, at the end of the day, if you aren't able to step away -- do you own the business, or does it own you?
We'll back with more episodes in a few short months so that Anna can focus on the launch of AccrewU's first course, Accounting Fundamentals, and Jill can really be present in the preciousness that is maternity leave!
In the meantime, we hope you get inspired to take a break and look at trees (or lakes, or beaches, or puppies, or whatever your jam is) instead of spreadsheets!
Ready to learn more about the AccrewU course, Accounting Fundamentals?
Or, are you ready to invest in yourself by taking the course? Enroll today!
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How can you create a culture where people do their work, do it well, and do it on time?
In this episode, we dive into setting high expectations! High expectations go beyond just telling people what to do; they create a culture of accountability, excellence, and purpose.
As a firm owner, you set the tone for your team; what you permit, you promote. If you’re not holding yourself to high standards, how can you expect your employees to do the same? When leaders consistently demonstrate the behaviors they want to see—like aiming for excellence, being transparent about mistakes, and holding themselves accountable—it fosters a work environment where everyone knows what’s expected and feels motivated to deliver their best.
Setting high expectations is about helping your team to grow and find meaning in their work.
When employees understand what excellence looks like and feel supported in reaching it, they are more likely to take ownership of their responsibilities, meet deadlines, and contribute to a culture of success. On the other hand, if standards are low or unclear, it can lead to disengagement, lack of motivation, and a feeling that the work doesn't matter.Your commitment to setting and maintaining high expectations—starting with yourself—is key to building a motivated, dedicated team that thrives on excellence and drives your business forward.
Ready to learn more about the AccrewU course, Accounting Fundamentals?
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"Either we're both thrilled to work together or we shouldn't."
We believe that sales is designed to establish long-term partnerships rather than just making the sale. It's about partnership over promises.Let’s be real - overpromising only leads to trouble down the line. It’s crucial to be clear about what you can deliver and, just as importantly, what you can’t. Clients will respect honesty, and that will set the stage for a long-term, trust-based partnership.
First impressions also matter, especially in our field. So, the initial onboarding experience is where you set the tone for everything that follows. Communication is the name of the game here. It’s likely the reason they came to you in the first place, so be clear, be concise, and don’t shy away from setting realistic expectations right from the start.
And repricing is one of the trickiest parts of client management. From fumbling through overly apologetic explanations to streamlining our process, there isn't one right way to do this... but there are a few wrong ones. Now, we keep it simple. We’re upfront about where our time goes, and we offer clients options that align with their values. Some clients want that deeper connection and are willing to invest more, while others prioritize affordability. It’s all about meeting clients where they are, without overcomplicating things.
Sales is tough, no doubt about it. But it doesn’t have to be miserable. By focusing on partnership from the outset, you set the stage for a relationship where clients are excited to say "yes"—and happy to keep saying it, even when you have to reprice their services. Remember, how you start is how you intend to continue!
Listen in to part 2 of the conversation with Anna and Jill as they discuss making sales and repricing effective and easy to tackle... because it's pretty essential to your business.
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The goal of sales is not simply to get to the "yes." The goal of sales is to get to the right "yes."
Finding and keeping the right fit clients is a game-changer for any company. It means that you get to streamline your processes, because you're only working within your specialty, your clients are well-served, and your team gets to work in their sweet spot - win, win, win!
Getting wise about how you bring in clients, how you track progress throughout the sales pipeline, and how things actually worked out with them in the end - did they sign? were they a great fit? - it all makes up your sales process. And it can mean the difference between an easy, repeatable process and something you dread, because you feel like you're constantly reinventing the wheel.
Good fit clients will stay and keep saying "Yes!" to working with you. The issues with clients who aren't a good fit will come up eventually.
So how can you make this process as easy as possible, so it's not the kind of work you hate doing? We got you!
Listen in as Jill and Anna talk about how to set your future self up for success, so that one of the most important things you can do for your firm, bring in new clients, isn't the kind of work you dread.
Join the waitlist and get updates on the Accounting Fundamentals Course from Accrew U!Follow the Going to Be Good Podcast on Social Media
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Listen to the last 15 minutes of this episode to hear about an exciting project we've been working on!
Learn more HEREThe tools that helped you build your company at the beginning aren't the skills you'll continue needing as you grow and scale. There is a learning curve when you move away from startup mode into a more sophisticated form of leadership.
As the leader of an organization, the skills you gained to build your firm, like being the technical expert or the best salesperson, aren't the things that will continue being essential to you as you, your team, and your company grow.
Moving from knowing the right answer into equipping others to know the right answer is a key example of this. Mentorship and development is a the key to empowering others to be successful, so the success of your company is no longer entirely on your shoulders.
This episode outlines a lot of the ways that we tend to think and act and how those behaviors can cease to serve us. It takes a lot of self-reflection and reimagining what purpose you serve is the right starting point for becoming the leader you want to be.
Join us as Anna and Jill discuss how their skills have had to adapt and change across time as Accrew has grown.
Sign up for updates on the Accounting Fundamentals Course from Accrew ULinks mentioned in this episode
Link to What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall GoldsmithFollow the Going to Be Good Podcast on Social Media
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It's not enough to aim at having a satisfied customer; what you should be aiming at is a customer who is so overwhelmed by the service they've received that they have to tell everyone about it.
Our conversation continues around this idea, which comes from Ken Blanchard's book Raving Fans.
Prioritizing creating a great client experience is a long game. It's not just about the immediate benefit of revenue, and so much more about the ongoing relationship and benefits of playing that infinite game.When your clients' goals and your goals can align, that's where the magic happens!
When it's not working, how do you identify exactly what's not working, tackle those problems, and know when to call it? And starting that conversation about whether things are working can be challenging, but has the potential to engage clients who can either become raving fans or who would be better served at another firm.
At Accrew, we're still thinking about and working on all of this! There could be better ways to gather proactive data on client satisfaction with as little effort from the client as possible. And we want to continue finding opportunities to add even more value and align our values and priorities with the clients' goals.
We aim to love working with our clients. Listen in to part 2 of 2 episodes of our discussion around building excellent client relationships that foster them becoming "raving fans."
Links mentioned in this episode
Link to RAVING FANS | A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service by Ken BlanchardFollow the Going to Be Good Podcast on Social Media
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It's not enough to aim at having a satisfied customer; what you should be aiming at is a customer who is so overwhelmed by the service they've received that they have to tell everyone about it. For us, that's been a key element to our growth through referrals from both client & referral partners.
This idea comes from Ken Blanchard's book Raving Fans. We think this starts with understanding what makes your firm unique and enjoyable to work with. If your best fit clients love working with you because of how fast you work, how precise your reports are, or how effectively and frequently you communicate - that's what makes working with you awesome and creates raving fans.Then, once you're engaged with clients who are a great fit and are picking up what you're putting down, you need to continue showing up in that way day after day.
Building systems and fostering a team that makes working with you an enjoyable experience for your clients creates raving fans.And only offering the kinds of services you enjoy allows you to continue loving what you do!
Listen in to part 1 of 2 episodes where we discuss building trust and relationships with clients that make them "raving fans" and some of the systems and processes we implement to make sure this happens as often as possible.
Links mentioned in this episode
Link to RAVING FANS | A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service by Ken BlanchardFollow the Going to Be Good Podcast on Social Media
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Anna and Jill continue their conversation around networking, referrals and doing business in a way that builds trust.
Giving and receiving referrals is a huge part of a service-based business. But knowing how to do this isn't necessarily intuitive.Building a referral network is all about relationships, so how you establish interest, build rapport and being able to effectively refer to other businesses makes all the difference.
What you need to know comes down to the basics: Are they someone I could trust? What do they actually do? Would they be able to effectively help a referral? Would they be a good fit? Are they even taking on new clients? How would they ideally receive referrals?
And at the end of the day, it often starts with your own generosity, so expecting to receive referrals before you've ever even given one isn't entirely realistic.
Once you've got a good sense of what your referral sources do well, you can start informing them about how you best work. Are you taking on new clients? If so, in what industries? And what time of year do you take on clients if your business has a "busy season?"
Ultimately, who is your ideal fit client and how can you effectively refer ideal clients to each other?
Networking and referring effectively really comes down to building relational equity with other leaders in your circle. And how you do that matters.
Listen in to part 2 of 2, as Jill and Anna talk through their experiences and thoughts around networking & referring effectively.
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We genuinely believe that the way you show up in one thing is typically how you show up in most things. This is also what people assume when you run a referral-based business.
When it comes to business, your professional reputation matters. This is even more relevant when you're networking with other business owners and leaders.
Where you network and with whom is a great starting point! Are you hoping to collaborate with other professionals in your industry to share ideas? Or are you looking to gain new clients? Those will happen in different circles.
Once you've got this down, the real work comes in deciding how you want to show up. The goal is to stand out, so you're remembered two weeks or two years down the road as someone they'd send an associate to for services.
But standing out isn't about telling them how great you are. It's often most effective in your ability to make it about them. Demonstrating curiosity, asking thoughtful questions, and connecting on a personal level will make you memorable!
Taking the time to think strategically about how you want to build strategic partnerships can all the difference in the way people talk about your business, how you refer to others, and how people refer to you. It's a long game!
Join us for part 1 of our conversation around how we play the long game of networking.
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Anna and Jill continue their discussion on Patrick Lencioni's The Ideal Team Player.
Humility can look different than we think. Being confident AND knowing there is more to learn is our definition of true humility. It's easy to spot a superiority complex, but harder to see the other end of that spectrum. Being self-deprecating looks like humility, but it can be a very subtle sign of pride or an unhealthy self-focus.Hunger is essential to growth, but it's also important to balance that tenacity and ambition with showing up as someone others would actually want to work with. This typically looks like a desire to grow, learn and pursue excellence, but not at the cost of other people or the relationships you build with the humans you work with.
Smart, or emotionally intelligent individuals tend to look at the way they work and how it impacts others. It's not about being better than your teammates and it's definitely not about sliding under the radar without being seen as the best OR worst. It's really about comparing yourself to who you were yesterday, not how you compare to someone else today.
So how do you know when you're an Ideal Team Player? And how can you tell when someone on your team is? And what do you do when you realize someone isn't the right team player for your team?
Listen in to part 2 of 2, as Jill and Anna talk through their experiences leading a team that truly values and expects everyone to show up as The Ideal Team Player, with hunger, humility and smarts.
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What does it look like to be an Ideal Team Player? We all bring different strengths and skills to an organization, but how can you build a team that works in alignment AND complements each other?
Patrick Lencioni at The Table Group built a tool that helps you evaluate where you fall on the Venn diagram of Humble + Hungry + Smart.
We define "humility" a bit differently: It's not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less (C.S. Lewis). It's not just about avoiding pride or arrogance; it's also not about being self-deprecating or having a lack of confidence.
"Hungry" is about being eager to work hard and strive for excellence... within the context of healthy boundaries. It's not really about being a workaholic or working so hard to get credit for the effort you put in.
"Smart" is more about being emotionally intelligent and attuned to the thoughts and feelings of others than it is about being intellectually smart.
Join us for part 1 of 2 episodes where Anna and Jill discuss The Ideal Team Player, how the tool is leveraged at Accrew, what it looks like in action, and how it's affected the way they work with team members and clients alike!
Links mentioned in this episode
Link to The Ideal Team Player (by Patrick Lencioni and The Table Group)Follow the Going to Be Good Podcast on Social Media
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It's so easy to silo information or for you or your team to intentionally or unintentionally gatekeep information about systems, tools, or even clients.
So how do you democratize information, so you've got access to the things your team knows, even and especially when they're on vacation or no longer work with your company?
Sharing information across team members and across time is essential to running an effective business. So where do you start?! It starts with creating rhythms and systems for not just storing data, but also maintaining and sharing it. And it requires that everyone on the team is responsible for making this happen.
Listen in as Jill and Anna talk about how they've build systems to store and regularly maintain information, so everyone knows where to get answers and clients experience minimal friction when changes occur.
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Most companies know it's good to do training and development. But how can you actually build a culture around continuous growth, where your team is empowered to upskill?
You have to understand and believe in the actual benefits before you decide to integrate training & development into your organization. It won't appear to affect your bottom line in a direct way, but it has ancillary benefits that absolutely do affect the bottom line; namely in retaining high-quality employees who are loyal to the organization, because growth becomes a real option for them.
When building a culture around learning and development, it starts with a clear goal. From there, you can outline specific guardrails for what does (and doesn't) count, integrate systems of accountability, and create a culture of generosity with the learning that encourages others to share what they've gained and expands that knowledge beyond just the one individual who completed the training.
It continues to grow and become a real part of the culture when your leaders continually model what it looks like to learn and grow regularly, sharing how they're making incremental progress in their own development.
Join Anna and Jill as they sit down to get into the nitty-gritty of what works (and doesn't) when it creating a learning culture at work!
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It's so easy to assume that we must solve the problems that come up in business. Whether it's because you are a technician turned business owner and actually are the most expert person on your team or because you've trained your team to come to you with problems, at a certain point, you being the sole problem-solver becomes unsustainable.
It's much harder in the short term to equip and empower others to come to you with solutions instead of problems. But this is what it looks like to build a healthy and sustainable firm.
The benefits of equipping more problem-solvers in your organization are massive! You get to watch employees grow, you solve tougher, more challenging problems - so you grow, and you get to use your valuable time more effectively.
You just have to get out of your own way.
Join us as Jill and Anna discuss the benefits and the challenges of approaching leadership from a different perspective, allowing other people the opportunity to learn and grow and yes, even sometimes make mistakes.
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Effective client relationships always start with effective communication. From the way we approach sales to how we're going to work together ongoing all the way to ending services, working with clients should feel collaborative.
And for it to be a true partnership, we need to be on the same team!
That starts in the sales process - we should be looking for a win-win solution, whether or not that means we end up working together. The goal is to ensure we're a good fit on both sides.
Once we've both agreed that working together will be mutually beneficial, we move into onboarding, which requires us to set clear, reasonable expectations at the door.
Then, when we're working together ongoing, we should all be on the same page about what is our part vs. the client's part in achieving our shared goals. And along the way, we'll still need to iron out the details! That's what partnering looks like.
And even when it's time to call it, that should be as positive as it can be, and when possible, collaborative! Whether we're celebrating a client selling their business, retiring, or just outgrowing our services, because they're ready to hire an internal accounting team, we want to show up as humans who care. And even when it becomes obvious that we're not meeting each others' needs, on either side, we can still show up in a way that doesn't put us at odds with each other.
Listen in as Anna and Jill talk about what it should take to set clients up for success and work together with clients in a way that makes an ongoing partnership sustainable and positive.
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Whether it's saying "yes" to more than we should or shifting our priorities to make something "work," it's so easy to act in a way that makes other people like us. But when we don't have a clear North Star, we prioritize making the person in front of us happy, and usually end up letting others and ourselves down.
Michael Scott from The Office is the prime example of this! He's consistently swayed by the opinions of others. The pursuit of pleasing others tends to make us feel selfless, when it's really about making ourselves feel good, avoiding the immediate conflict, or prioritizing our own temporary comfort for the long term benefit of our future selves and others.
When we clarify our values and hierarchy of priorities, we're able to solidify what's truly important and in what order, leading to better decision-making, not just for ourselves but also for others.
Listen in as Jill and Anna discuss what it looks and feels like to unlearn the habit of acting out of a desire to be liked and, instead pursuing consistency of character that builds trust and respect, with clients, team members, peers, and even family & friends.
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When we get to the point where we're overworked, becoming too essential or handling too many problems, it's really appealing to throw a person at the work or at the problem. But how often does that actually work?
So, if delegation through abdication doesn't work, it can feel like the alternative is that you must do everything yourself in order for it to be done right. And that is unsustainable.
In the short-term, it is absolutely harder to build process, train and equip others, create clear expectations and provide feedback. Equipping and expecting people to show up is fire prevention rather than fire fighting. This results in equipping more firefighters, which means you will stop being the only person who can solve a problem.
Join us as Anna and Jill talk about their journeys in learning to empower others and make themselves less essential in the day-to-day.
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January, and busy season in general, can make us feel like we just need to survive. We know it will always be more, but what if it was possible to set ourselves up well for a full, but truly sustainable busy season?
When busy season feels like it's happening to us, we like to focus on what we can actually do to make it work.
From pacing the work to setting clear expectations with clients; working ahead to prioritizing taking breaks; providing clarity to clients about what to expect and when to planning time for the inevitably unexpected stuff - there is always something we can do!
There's no guarantee it'll be perfect, but we aim at consistent improvement. Listen in as Jill and Anna talk about what they do to plan ahead for the busiest time of year and how they balance what can and can't be controlled.
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We're looking back on this year and looking ahead to next year.
Listen in as Jill and Anna talk about this year, what they've learned and what they're looking forward to in the year to come!
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The goal of time off is to rest, find balance, and "sharpen the saw," so we return to our work refreshed.
How can you encourage employees to take time, model taking time off yourself, and build a culture around time off well, so there is no felt change in services, regardless of who's on the beach sipping mai tais!
We start by identifying what is the responsibility of the employee and what is the responsibility of the company. This is step one in making time off an actual option for employees. Once your team knows what they need to do to make time out of the office work for the company, it will make time off seem like a real possibility!Listen in as Anna and Jill discuss how to organize time off well so it doesn't negatively impact business operations.
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