here’s what you’re looking for: sandi smith leyva

outlook & analysis

4 metrics to measure change, progress & success in your tax and accounting practice

champagne glasses 20460685_sand how to set bold new goals for the next year.

by sandi smith leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

think back to this day one year ago for just a minute. where were you in your business? what were your revenues, salary and profits at that time? what were your clients like? what were your biggest issues?

if we don’t occasionally look back to take a snapshot at a point in our history, we may not realize how much we’ve accomplished in such a short time. i’m not much for dwelling in the past, but this exercise is tremendously useful for a couple of reasons: read more →

client service opportunities

6 ways to move beyond compliance services

dollar concept, financial adviser or finance advisorybecoming a ‘trusted advisor.’

by sandi smith leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

here’s a question: what portion of your revenues are derived from compliance work – e.g., tax preparation and irs representation; bookkeeping; quickbooks setup, cleanup and training; payroll; and audit work – versus value-added work, e.g., revenue improvement, business consulting, profit margin analysis and workflow improvement projects?

if you answered 100 percent compliance work and no value-added services, you’re not alone.  there’s a lot of lip service about moving from compliance services to becoming a “trusted advisor.” there’s an equal amount of confusion in how to get started.

here are a few tips to help those of you who want to move in that direction. read more →

outlook & analysis

men, women: a tale of two brains for business

man woman brainwhat brain science tells us about how to work better together.

by sandi smith leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

we need to acknowledge that in the tax and accounting workplace, women do not understand men, and men do not understand women. it happens in dating, so it should not be a surprise when it happens at work.

this isn’t a new topic. but what we’re doing now is not working, or it’s working at a glacial pace. we actually lost ground during the recession years and are now going backwards. the statistics are even worse in small firms, where 80 percent of the talent pool are women but only 12 percent are partners.

luckily, we now know dozens of reasons why and have hundreds of tools and skill builders to help.

here are just a few revelations from emerging brain science: read more →

busy season management

40 chances, 40 tax seasons

2015 is another opportunity to fine-tune your business.
what are you planning? join the survey; see what accountants are saying.

by sandi smith leyva

the accountant’s accelerator

40chancesbookcover
learn more

i was drawn to reading howard buffett’s new book because i am completely intrigued by huge social problems and figuring out ways to solve them. for buffett, who is a farmer at heart, the challenge is how to tackle world hunger.

one of the stories in the book (which is 40 chances: finding hope in a hungry world) has buffett listening to a lecture for farmers on how to improve their yield year after year. buffett recalls the speaker saying that one farmer, on average, will have a 40-year career from the time he or she starts working the land to the time to retire. on average it will be 40 harvests and 40 plantings. read more →

marketing & sales

the 7 fundamentals of getting clients with social media

h…but only if you’ve done everything else first.

by sandi smith leyva the accountant’s accelerator 

it’s likely your friends and peers are urging you to get on the social media bandwagon. hearing about social media is unavoidable these days. we have many clients who feel stressed about the whole topic. the stress or guilt comes in when they don’t really want to do it but their friends keep urging them to.

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free introductory white paper: 10 keys to doubling your revenue

more on small-firm growth strategies: 5 ways to attract higher-quality clients   |   6 biz dev metrics accountants should measure  |  5 areas to improve client acquisition success  |  are accountants newsworthy? you bet!  |  when accountants don’t know they don’t know  |  seven hot lead generation methods for accountants   |  what stage of business are you in?  |  8 essential ingredients for your new client welcome kit  |  4 ways small firms can surpass larger firms  |   rebuttal: the 3 most unused marketing methods for accountants

i like to take a contrarian view with social media: i believe it’s not a cost-effective marketing tool for a majority of accountants. nevertheless, there are some very important exceptions where it can pay off big. here are some ideas just in case you can’t resist getting started in social media.

read more →

client service opportunities

5 ways to attract higher-quality clients

arrow hits target bulls eyefinding the sweet-spot for your target client.

by sandi smith leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

many accountants serve clients with extremely small businesses that gross six figures a year or even less. these clients are prone to being price-sensitive and often struggle with budgets and cash flow. if you’re serving these clients, you’re definitely meeting an important need in the marketplace, but you may also start to question your own prices, or worse, under-price your services. read more →

marketing & sales

6 biz dev metrics accountants should measure

business diagramme with magnifying glass, workplace businessman.yes, you can do marketing with a spreadsheet and a checklist.

by sandi smith leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

one way to help accountants embrace marketing is to fill training sessions with spreadsheets and numbers, things that most accountants love working on. there’s a lot of insecurity around learning marketing, but when accountants hear they need to do some spreadsheets first, they dive right in.

more on small-firm growth strategies: 5 areas to improve client acquisition success  |  are accountants newsworthy? you bet!  |  when accountants don’t know they don’t know  |  seven hot lead generation methods for accountants   |  what stage of business are you in?  |  8 essential ingredients for your new client welcome kit  |  4 ways small firms can surpass larger firms  |   rebuttal: the 3 most unused marketing methods for accountants

here are six numbers we suggest you track: read more →

outlook & analysis

when accountants don’t know they don’t know

blindfolded at computer by sandi smith leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

early in my career, one of my favorite things to teach was maslow’s four stages of learning.  i still think it’s one of the most valuable and profound pieces of information i have come across in my learning.

maybe you recall, too:

  1. unconscious incompetence.
  2. conscious incompetence.
  3. conscious competence.
  4. unconscious competence.

here’s how it applies to accountants: read more →

management

what stage of business are you in?

evolving from running a practice to leading a business.

by sandi smith leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

technology has allowed just about everyone to start their own businesses. we can do something part time, full time or in between. we can start and stop our businesses. we can be successful at lots of different business models. and we can go through stages of our business.

if you want to grow exponentially, or even linearly, you’ll need to progress. and before you can do that, it makes sense to figure out where you are now. here are five stages of business so you can see where you are now and where you want to go. read more →