3 Tips to Simplify the Hiring Process for Accounting Firms

Hiring someone can be an arduous process. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you might know of someone who will be just right for the position. Maybe that person is among your circle of friends or a friend of a friend who is doing a similar job at another company. But this kind of situation only occurs once in a while. Most of the time, you need to go into your hiring process blind. You’ll need to post a job listing, scan resumes, interview candidates, negotiate salaries etc. Here are some tips to help you do so:  Job Listings Nowadays, most people
Read More

3 Reasons to Answer Phone Calls with a Script

How your employees answer the phone says a lot about your company. Establish standard conventions so no one says too much or too little about your company. This keeps communications quick, positive, and well-organized, especially if you have new employees or multiple offices. Here are three elements you should focus on.  1. Standardize your company’s external tone. When someone reaches out to your company by phone, you need to ensure that they’re treated professionally. While your employees know how to be cordial, especially if you hired them for customer-facing positions, sometimes that pleasant tone can slip. Stress, frustration, and even
Read More

Don’t Deal With Clients

Don’t Deal With Clients Do you work with your clients or deal with your clients?  “The Big Secret of Dealing With People” is the title of the second chapter in Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends & Influence People.” I take exception to the use of the words dealing with. When you say you are dealing with a person, there’s a negative connotation. It sounds like you are fulfilling an obligation or doing something you don’t want to do. It doesn’t sound like you want to help solve a problem — it sounds like you think the client IS the
Read More

Words of Wisdom from Successful People

Words of Wisdom from Successful People Success takes hard work, but also the willingness to listen to good advice. Remember these words of wisdom from some of the world’s most successful people: Oprah Winfrey. “You know you are on the road to success if you would do your job and not be paid for it.”  Phil Knight, CEO of Nike, Inc. “There is an immutable conflict at work in life and in business, a constant battle between peace and chaos. Neither can be mastered, but both can be influenced. How you go about that is the key to success.”  Henry
Read More

Don’t Let Your Mind Ruin Your Mood

Planning, starting and running your own accounting firm is like playing whack-a-mole: you solve one problem, only for another to appear. Given the challenges all businesses (and business owners) experience, it’s important to cultivate your ability to develop and maintain a positive attitude. Here are some simple ways to strengthen your positive attitude muscles: Remember to breathe. Taking slow, calm, deep breaths helps reduce stress and promotes relaxation. As your body becomes less stressed and more relaxed, you’ll find it easier to be more positive and motivated. Meditate daily. You can find simple non-denominational techniques on the internet. The more
Read More

4 Untapped Ways To Celebrate Wins In Your Business

Celebrating wins is as a vast untapped resource with your team members. Here are four tips to catapult you in the right direction. But first, we need to know why celebrating your wins is crucial.  Here’s the thing, successful businesses aren’t successful because of a one-time occurrence. It’s usually because of tiny calculated steps over time.  Companies often miss the opportunities to celebrate the inches they’ve made quarterly or annually.  And like life, it’s essential to acknowledge the small (and big) wins along the way. When you celebrate the small stuff, you add to the perseverance bucket, which is critical
Read More

Know the Basics of Marketing Even When You’re Not a Marketer

Continuous learning is one of the top habits for any entrepreneur. If you’re not consuming information content about how your industry is changing, you might get left behind. Adjacent areas of expertise, like technology, marketing, and sales, are just as important. Knowing how systems work together opens the door for faster growth and bigger wins. Stay current with these three growing areas of marketing analysis:  How are visitors interacting with your company website? Websites are a requirement for almost every business. Whether your company uses your website as a landing page for entirely offline products and services or your website is
Read More

3 Keys To Building Your Dream Team

In building a successful business, you must have the right combination of talented people to drive it. It is imperative that you make great hires in staffing your accounting dream team. Your team is only as strong as its weakest link. Below are three key considerations to help you navigate the dream team building process.  Identify your needs first Before you begin your search, identify what core competencies are imperative in your business services. Examine each department and layer your requirements accordingly. Determine the technical skills your staff must possess. Then build a list of supplemental traits or experiences that
Read More

Know Your Role As Manager/Owner

Management can be one of the biggest roadblocks to great customer service. What is your reputation as a manager or owner?  Are you a slave driver, naysayer, devil’s advocate, overly negative and discouraging, or are you a consensus-builder, coach, nurturer and facilitator?  Successful managers and owners truly are part of the team. They want to see team members thrive and grow along with the business’ bottom line. Excellent customer service is dependent on every team member from the top down. Remember, your team members will take their cues from you. For information on this topic, please go to www.getoffthewheel.com ____________________________________
Read More

Be Considerate Of Team Members’ Opinions

Everything you do at your business should reinforce good customer service, including how you handle complaints. I’m not talking exclusively about complaints from clients. Welcome feedback from your team members and respond if there is a way you can make it easier for them to be providers of good customer service.  Examine the systems you have in place and scrutinize your procedures to determine if there are ways to streamline and make things smoother for your team members. Sometimes the smallest changes can make a difference. If they are entering information into a database, do they really need to hit
Read More