JumpStart Your Accounting StartUp: Kickoff Call

Sandi Smith Leyva, CPA

Where to Get This PowerPoint

ALL HANDOUTS, VIDEOS, and TRANSCRIPTS Downloadable from: http://accountantsaccelerator.com/tyj21329q2/ Password: peaceofmind2014 This will be in your Monday email at the very end, every week. We recommend BOOKMARK

Agenda

• Program communications • Getting started • Marketing materials • Time commitment

CPE

• Stay on line for 75 minutes • Answer 5 polling questions • Generate your own certificate

Congratulations!

Two Sites for Your Goodies

Accountant’s Accelerator Sampler http://acceleratorsnetwork.com/ Login using your email, go to Library JumpStart download page http://accountantsaccelerator.com/tyj21329q2/ Password: peaceofmind2014

JumpStart Communications

• Program communications – Emails – Download page – Accelerators Network

• Schedule • Support

Program Benefits

• Have a coach to guide you • Cut down on learning curve time • Significantly reduce mistakes • Significantly reduce costs • Save time not doing wrong things • Save time not doing things out of order

Schedule

• The first few sessions

#1 Thursday, April 24, 2014, 9AM PT: Marketing for the “Low-Hanging Fruit” #2 Wednesday, April 30, 2014, Noon PT: Pricing and Positioning #3 Tuesday, May 6, 2014, 9AM PT: First Year Marketing Plan #4 Tuesday, May 13, 2014, Noon PT: Client Onboarding & Communications

Your Passion

• Use your passion as your anchor • Know and remember your “why” • You’ll need a higher purpose than money

Getting Started

• The key is to FOCUS – You need clients – You do not need – a logo – You do not need – a fancy brochure – You do not need to spend a ton of time on your

business name

Getting Started

• It’s just as important to know what NOT to do!

Getting Started

• The key is to FOCUS – You do not need a Facebook page or a Twitter

account – Please do not place an ad anywhere – they do not

work! – You do not need to get 10 certifications – You only need to do what you need to do to get

clients – Everything else is a distraction

Getting Clients

• Plan A – easiest and cheapest • Plan B • Plan C • Plan D • Plan E – most costly and time-consuming

Getting Clients Plan A

• How can you get clients? – BUILD TRUST

Getting Clients

• What is the fastest way to trust? – Who already trusts you? – Who trusts the credentials you have? – Who trusts you by affiliation?

Trust curve = like a learning curve

Getting Clients

• Example: – List characteristics about you:

• Current clients • Current referral sources • School • Service clubs • Associations • Certifications • Geography

Getting Clients

• Example: – List characteristics about you:

• Accomplishments • Social clubs • Hobby clubs • Age-related centers like senior center • Parent groups (PTA) • Friends • Family

Getting Clients

• How did you get all the clients you’ve gotten? – Nonprofit board service – Teaching classes at adult ed center – Referrals – Reaching out to thought leaders

• List yours

Getting Clients

• How did you get all the jobs you’ve gotten? – At the stables – The high school DE (work) program – My dad – Want ads - Craigslist

• List yours

Getting Clients

• Action item: – Start building your trust centers

• FOCUS on who you already know, not strangers, yet….

– Go hang out at your clubs • Arrange to get introduced by people you already know

– What can you think of to do to attract clients? • Make a list. Do everything you can that’s free first.

– Don’t buy anything! This can be done for free.

Getting Clients

• When you do get a client, please email us • We want to celebrate with you • We want to keep score • We want to raise your awareness • We want you to track your numbers

Marketing Materials

• The basics – Business card – Web presence – Elevator speech

Marketing Materials

• What you need first: – Do a mystery shopper audit

• Good phone line and phone number – Great, energetic voice mail message

• Good email that you check every day without spam filters – With your website domain, not gmail or yahoo or (gasp) aol

• We recommend a physical address, not your home address (get a PMB at Postal Annex)

• Business cards

Web Page

• http://acceleratorsnetwork.com/ – Login, View Profile, Edit Profile – Read Me First – View Video on how to display your

profile page – “Find an Accelerator”

Elevator Speech

• Page 65 “5 Simple Steps” • Formula: We help/work with _____(your ideal client) _ _ (benefits)__ _ by providing/offering _ ____(your service)_____.

Elevator Speech

• “We help business owners make smarter financial decisions in their small businesses by providing accounting services.”

• “We take your QuickBooks headaches away so you can focus on your business.”

Elevator Speech

• “I help attorneys discover their most profitable services by providing accurate accounting reports and analysis.”

• “If the thought of having to know the 27 new IRS regulations that just came out makes you want to scream, relax. You can hire us to keep your books compliant.”

Elevator Speech

• What’s yours?

Marketing Spend: 4-8% Revenues

Revenue 50,000.00$

ExpensesComputer & Software 3,500.00$ Telephone & Internet 1,200.00$ Marketing 3,000.00$ 4 - 8 %Office Supplies & Other 500.00$ Legal & Insurance 2,000.00$ Training & CPE 1,000.00$ Total Expenses 11,200.00$ Between $10K - $20K

Net income 38,800.00$

Taxes 7,760.00$ Assume 20 %

Take home 31,040.00$

Don’t Have the Money?

• You may need to: – Adjust your prices for new marketing channel costs – Cut out extra expenses the first year

Don’t Have the Time?

• You need time over and above serving current clients

• How many hours do you bill currently? • How many total hours do you work currently?

Time Commitment

• Find time – Listen to “On Millionaire Time” MP3 in Sampler

Library – Cut out unproductive work time – Set boundaries with family and friends – Rearrange the high-maintenance parts of your life – Delegate the lowest-level tasks first

Time Commitment

• Time for this program – 2-4 hours a week – More if you can

Your Passion

• Use your passion as your anchor • Know and remember your “why” • You’ll need a higher purpose than money

Questions

Getting Clients

• Action item: – Go through the elevator speech exercise – Set up your profile

Getting Clients

• Action item: – Start building your trust centers

• FOCUS on who you already know, not strangers, yet….

– Go hang out at your clubs • Arrange to get introduced by people you already know

– What can you think of to do to attract clients? • Make a list. Do everything you can that’s free first.

– Don’t buy anything! This can be done for free.

Getting Clients

• Mark your calendar

#1 Thursday, April 24, 2014, 9AM PT: Marketing for the “Low-Hanging Fruit” #2 Wednesday, April 30, 2014, Noon PT: Pricing and Positioning #3 Tuesday, May 6, 2014, 9AM PT: First Year Marketing Plan #4 Tuesday, May 13, 2014, Noon PT: Client Onboarding & Communications

Getting Clients

• Email support@sandismith.com when you get a client

Your Action Items

• What one thing will you do from this webinar?

• Take 5-10 extra minutes right now to get organized and plan your actions.

• Mark your calendar, to do list, project management system, etc.