Seeking Summer Motivation

It is a beautiful summer’s day and here I am stuck at work. I know I am not the only one, but with the holiday that we had planned for next week cancelled (my husband is unable to take time off work), I seem to be lacking a little motivation at the moment.

January is one of our quieter months at Jigsaw. Work is coming in as some clients use the holidays to get their tax ready, but we don’t have the same pile of work that generally grows throughout the year because we worked so hard to clear the backlog before Christmas. February and March are some of our busiest months and I know that heaps of work will be arriving very soon.  I should be making the most of the quieter time and preparing for the coming months. However, I find that I just can’t get motivated without a stack of things to do. Is there something wrong with me?

I think this can be a common problem for business owners. We are so focused on working in the business that we feel a level of unease when we take a step back and work on our business from a different level.

My business is based on productivity. We sell our time, so clearly the more time we spend and the more work we do, the more income we can generate. In theory this is correct, but how do we generate that work? If we do not take the time out to market the practice, develop our skills, network and come up with new ideas, we will not be able to generate the new business required to sustain the growth we desire.

There is a big push within accounting firms to look towards the existing client base and see how additional fees can be generated by offering more services to those clients. I prefer to look at it in a different way. If our existing clients were not happy with the service we provide, I imagine they will look elsewhere. So why would we try to generate more fees out of those clients, potentially making them unhappy as they may not want the additional services (and the additional fees). Instead, I would prefer to grow our client base, and that is exactly what is happening at Jigsaw.

Our existing clients are helping us to grow our fees by referring other clients to us and the reason they are doing this is that they are happy with the service we provide. Our fees are reasonable. Some accountants may be cheaper and many are more expensive, but given the level of skill, experience and customer service we provide, our fees are very fair. With growth of around 30% for the current financial year, and nearly all of this generated from an expanding client base, we must be doing something right. I believe this growth has come without compromising our level of customer service for either existing or new clients.

Another trend with accounting firms at the moment is to package up the services for a set fee. I can see merit in this, but I do not want to put my clients into a category and charge a set fee based on that category. All of our clients are unique and have needs that are specific to their circumstances. I am more than happy to tailor a package for clients so that they can pay their fees on a monthly basis knowing what services this includes. However, suggesting that your business fits into the same box as all the other clients and charging a standard fee just doesn’t sit well with me.

I want my practice to stand out by being great. I don’t want to do what everyone else is doing. I want to do what is best for my clients. If my clients want additional work we are more than happy to accommodate this, but we will not be forcing unwanted fees on our clients.
Think about your business. What is it that you do well? What is your point of difference? Why do people bring their business to you and how can you promote these aspects to increase your business? Perhaps you too need to take some time out from working IN your business and spend some time working ON your business too. Most importantly, you need to be able to do this without feeling guilty about it.

Write a list of the things you would like to achieve when you get the rare opportunity of spare time. Maybe you need to get your taxes ready to send to the accountant? Perhaps you can review your business plan, or create one if you don’t have one. Review your budget, work on marketing your business, consider ways to network, do some reading or take a course to increase your skills. Just a couple of ideas to get you started.

I really must stop procrastinating and get that list started. Perhaps I can work on that list while sitting by the pool, enjoying the sunshine.

Jigsaw Jo