The CFO Project

What do you need escape the accountant's trap?

Scalability
Systems
Give your clients want they want (and, later, deliver what they need)

If you want to learn more: https://bit.ly/3zdVJDy

This post is in partnership with Intuit.

How to Escape the Accountant’s Trap

⏳ FINAL DAY! ⏳

Today is your LAST CHANCE to join the Escape the Accountant’s Trap Giveaway 🆓💼
We’re giving away 8 top-accounting tools to help you break free from the traditional accountant’s grind and elevate your practice. But hurry, this offer ends TODAY at 8:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT! 🚀

Don’t miss out!

https://www.accountantstrap.com/

Are you wondering what motivates business owners to bring on a CFO or advisor for their company? This insightful episode of The CFO Project podcast dives into the key reasons entrepreneurs decide to hire fractional CFO services.

Host Adam Lean picks the brain of an experienced CFO advisor who has recently won several new client engagements. You'll learn the common pain points and challenges that prompt owners to seek out financial guidance, from struggling to understand the numbers to feeling stuck at a revenue plateau. The guest shares tips on consulting prospects through the sales process, demonstrating your value proposition, and ultimately convincing them to invest in high-level advisory services. Whether you're just starting to offer CFO services or looking to expand your clientele, this episode provides a behind-the-scenes look at what drives business owners to pull the trigger.

Episode 50: Why Business Owners Hire CFOs

Looking to attract more bookkeeping and advisory clients through an online presence? In this episode of The CFO Project podcast, host Adam Lean picks the brain of McGill Johnson.

Kate shares her inspiring story of building a successful firm by leveraging video content on YouTube. You'll hear her practical tips on getting started with video, optimizing for visibility, increasing conversions from viewers to clients, and diversifying revenue streams. Kate provides a wealth of actionable advice from using referral programs to monetizing a YouTube channel to offering services like "office hours." Whether you're just starting out or want to take your online presence to new heights, this episode is packed with proven strategies.

Episode 49: How to Build an Online Presence to Attract More Clients

Calling all accountants and bookkeepers!

We've listened to your feedback over the last several months and put together a new and improved version of our How to Start a CFO Service Masterclass.

If you want to check out the premier, it's Thursday June 13th at 3p ET!

You can register below.

How to Start a CFO Service That Gets Real Results Accountants, CPAs and Bookkeepers have one thing going for us that we consistently overlook.Trust.We have the trust of our clients.They trust us with the most sensitive info they possess – their financials.Let’s face it. Our clients don’t really know what we do.They don’t know if we’re doi...

I’ve partnered with 7 incredible thought leaders to bring you the Escape the Accountant’s Trap Giveaway! 🙌💼 For the next 12 days, we’re giving away 8 amazing tools to help accountants and bookkeepers break free from the grind and elevate their careers. And the best part? It’s all FREE! 🎁Ready to transform your practice?

Click the link below to sign up and start your journey! 🚀

Escape the Accountant's Trap Giveaway

Join us today at 3p ET for a live masterclass, CPA to CFO.

Many CPAs and accountants are stuck in what we call The Accountant’s Trap. It’s where the you are trapped working for low fees, dealing with high-demanding clients, all the while being burnt out on compliance and transactional work.

To make matters worse, you can’t raise your fees because there is always another accountant or bookkeeper willing to do the work for less.

Does this sound familiar? If so, this Masterclass is for you.

This Masterclass is for all CPAs and accountants who are looking to transform their practice by offering a productized CFO/Advisory service.

- What, exactly, a CFO/Advisor does
- How to know if you're qualified to provide CFO/Advisory services
- How to replace your income with just advisory clients
- How to package and price your advisory services
- How to combine tax and advisory services (if you still want to offer tax)
- How to deliver an advisory service in a way that keeps clients coming back for more

CPA to CFO Masterclass Many CPAs and accountants are stuck in what we call The Accountant’s Trap. It’s where the you are trapped working for low fees, dealing with high-demanding clients, all the while being burnt out on compliance and transactional work.To make matters worse, you can’t raise your fees because there...

Although they can't afford a full time CFO, they all need the services that a CFO provides. This is where CFO Advisors can add value and help the business owner. CFO Services encompass much more than just Bookkeeping and Tax Preparation.

The accounting industry is being disrupted by AI at a fast-pace. Get ahead of the curve by doing something that AI cannot do - namely give good advice to business owners by becoming a CFO Advisor.

"I've been part of many groups, I've NEVER seen the success I've seen with The CFO Project. In less than 6 months I've added more than $100K in contracts. Hands down the best program I've joined this decade."

Jemel S.
Douglasville, GA

Get great at predicting the future using your clients' past. At The CFO Project, we'll show you exactly how to do this.

Be a better advisor at The CFO Project

You could stay the course of being an accountant, or you can start an advisory practice and leverage your accounting skills to help your clients have a better business.

Learn more at The CFO Project

Join Adam Lean from The CFO Project and Michelle Weinstein from The Abundant Accountant for a special live webinar called How to Start & Sell CFO/Advisory Services on Wednesday May 22 at 2p ET | 11a PT.

Together they will cover how you can provide a service your clients really want, how to grow your business in a scalable way and to get your clients to pay a premium fee for your services.

Register here: https://thecfoproject.com/how-to-start-and-sell-advisory-services

Every accounting firm goes through five stages, what stage are you at?

Solo Stage - You're by yourself earning up to $0-$150k per year.

Momentum Stage - You're still doing most of the work but you have help. Revenue is around $150-$300k per year.

Scaling Stage - You have others doing the work. You're managing the work. Revenue is around $300-$500k per year.

Growth Stage - Others are doing the work and managing the work. Revenue is around$500k-$1m per year.

Break Through Stage - This is where your firm has exceeded $1mm in revenue per year.

We want to thank Nancy McClelland for joining us to discuss imposter syndrome - what it really means, how to know if you have it (or are simply learning something new), and practical tips for overcoming those feelings of being a fraud.

She also shares her perspective on why imposter syndrome disproportionately affects women and minorities, the difference between self-doubt and truly being an imposter, and how education and experience are key to building real confidence.

Check out the episode below!

How Bookkeepers & Accountants Can Overcome Imposter Syndrome | The Dancing Accountant Education, Site News, Tips How Bookkeepers & Accountants Can Overcome Imposter Syndrome May 14, 2024 Nancy McClelland Leave a comment Recently, I had the pleasure of joining Adam Lean of The CFO Project on his podcast, “Escaping the Accountant’s Trap,” to discuss imposter syndrome — what it ...

Hey All! A new episode of The CFO Project Podcast is live! It's just like Escaping the Accountant's Trap but better in every way.

We're sitting down with real advisors and accountants to talk about the issues you face daily. In today's episode...

Are you struggling to decide if you should niche down your accounting services or keep a broad focus? In this episode, the hosts dive into the pros and cons of niching from the perspective of experienced accountants and CFOs.

They discuss how you can start out taking any clients when first building your business, then eventually niche into your ideal client type once you have more experience. The hosts provide practical advice on broadening your niche if it feels too narrow, determining if industry-specific knowledge is truly necessary, and how to convey your expertise to prospective clients. Whether you're just starting out or an established firm, this episode offers valuable insights into the niching question.

Episode 45: To Niche or Not to Niche

Here's our top 5 tips to have a better work-life balance for accountants and bookkeepers:

#1: Take breaks at least once an hour
#2: Improve time management
#3: Focus on one task at a time
#4: Take time for you
#5: Enjoy your weekends and vacation

To grow in your career, you need coaching, mentorship, accountability and training. This is why all of this is baked into The CFO Project.

Try these five tips to manage stress and reduce the overall stress of day-to-day activities:

1. Practice deep breathing.
2. Maintain physical exercise and good nutrition.
3. Manage social media time.
4. Connect with others.
5. Escape the Accountant's Trap: You're in the trap if the only way to get paid more is to work more hours or take on more low-value and high-demanding clients. At the same time, you can't raise your fees because there's always a competitor willing to do the same work for less.

Ian's been fishing for some friends at GrowCon 2024.

I mean, look at this good boy. He's friendly and has stickers. Go say "hi" if you're in attendance. He'll answer any and all questions about how to offer an advisory service and how The CFO Project can help you grow your accounting or bookkeeping firm. He'll also talk about The Dresden Files if you want (and even if you don't.)

The convention ends today, so make sure to swing by Table 11!

Universal Accounting School

"Dive into the newest "Keep What You Earn" episode, where Adam Lean, the cash flow maestro, reveals how to elevate your business from just surviving to thriving."

Cash Flow Maestro. Their words, not ours. Check out this episode where Adam breaks down everything you need to know about cash flow!

Keep What You Earn - YouTube Shannon Weinstein, CFO & CPA, hosts the IRS’s least favorite podcast for small business owners.If managing the financial side of your business is like eating...