The second month of this now toddler-sized year is over tomorrow.
Did that seem to happen fast?
That is, by the way ladies and gentlemen, also another benchmark.
When your February books are all cleaned up you have another set of key performance indicators.
A new balance sheet, statement of cash flows, and of course the almighty income statement (aka the profit & loss statement).
How’s it going, anyway?
Are you meeting, exceeding, or falling short of expectations so far?
I am reminded of that old expression, “If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.”
And now, thinking about that, I realize that there is a large matter of degree in consideration of that, isn’t there?
I love what I do, a lot, but I still find myself working!
So, where’s the balance?
Because the universe loves a balance.
Here’s the answer, as close as I can come to it.
Ready?
As your company grows, much like an infant through toddlerhood and into regular childhood it’s easy and fun at first, simply because you can handle anything.
You’re all the way there for the small handful of well-loved people that took a chance on you, and signed up for the package, because you have time to be.
Then, they tell their friends, and they tell THEIR friends…
And/or you just get better at getting the word out, aka marketing…
You find yourself treating time more like a precious commodity.
Or else, you just find yourself completely overwhelmed.
If you find that you enjoy the bile-churning wrenching of your digestive system because you dared to become successful to an exciting experience, then there you go.
I can tell you from bitter experience, this is not a good thing.
When we got to that point in our own business, with all that unnecessary bad kind of excitement, we had gotten there largely because of the mentorship of a gifted business coach.
But there was one thing I didn’t get from her at the time.
Should she have anticipated it?
Or, should have been self-aware enough to ask?
That one thing was: what the hell do you do once you get the brooms dancing and working for you, and you don’t have the magic word to get control of the situation?
I’m going to give you the answer.
It is, now, what excites me about the day ahead as I roll up out of bed in the morning.
Ready for this?
Synergistic staffing.
And by synergistic, I mean having the exact right person in the exact right position.
To give them the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than the collection of people participating.
That’s what excites me.
The biggest and best companies in the world get there because of quality human capital.
There it is. The magic bullet.
You can NOT do it alone, Kemosabe.
(By the way, did you know “Tonto” means dummy in Spanish? Nice, Lone Ranger, you asshole).
Now, if you’ve been a loyal follower of this blog for the past year, first of all, thank you so much.
But second of all, you’re going to have a vague memory of me bemoaning the fates, wondering what the hell it takes to find good people.
It took a long time, and in the end, it was a tremendously obvious answer.
Sometimes the answer really is right under your nose, buried in all those damned papers on your desk.
Now I can say, without a moment’s hesitation, that I’m excited in the morning again.
I see big things happening. For us, of course – a growing company remains alive, and serves its customer base to the best possible degree.
But for our people, both current and future, as well.
We have been practicing Darwinism here at Owings HQ since 2017.
My first gig was a tax return amendment, followed by a prior-year return.
Then we had two bookkeeping clients, both of whom I allowed to flagrantly under-pay me for my time.
To get the doors open, and say, hey!
We’re open for business!
We did some more books, and got a few more tax returns.
Then, we got some much-needed coaching help.
Then, I became an Enrolled Agent. Enrolled to practice before the IRS, that is.
Later that next year, in the fall of 2019 we figured out how to get visible without fouling the inboxes of perfectly innocent strangers.
And business got better.
In 2020 Covid happened, the tax season got extended 3 months, and we discovered that the experiment was a success. We were blessed with a very good year while many were suffering, which did create mixed feeling sometimes.
In 2021 we made a bold and daring move at the time. It was scary!
It became necessary to make the decision to discontinue doing tax returns for once-a-year clients.
That sounds kind of strange for a tax firm, but we decided that we had to become something a little bit more than “just” a tax firm.
We took up the CFO piece a notch, and fully embraced our role as a fractional CFO firm.
Now, in 2022, we’re very excited, because the new wave of services is going to change the way we do business forever.
With an amazing staff and remarkable systems in place, the next-level of services is nothing less than taking small-medium businesses to the stratosphere.
In 2022 we are in the business of profitability and growth coaching.
Profit and growth coaches that still happen to be in the business of accounting and taxes.
We want to take businesses that are making their first or second quarter-million-dollar years to the next level.
As non-equity partners – completely invested in the work, with the client reaping all the resulting growth and profits.
Who says accounting isn’t exciting?
Not us!
If you think that having a coach in your corner that can take you to the next level in your business, that is also your one-stop shop for all things books and taxes sounds exactly like what you’ve been dreaming of…?
We should talk!
Simply click here: https://owingsllc.com/work-with-me/
We’ll get to know more about your business. What’s working, what isn’t.
Your dreams. Your goals.
Let’s talk and see if we’re a good fit for each other.
It will cost you one hour of your time (for which we never charge).
It could make you wildly profitable.
Let’s find out, shall we?
Book that call, today!