Episode 20: Scale Bigger, Hire Better and Break Through to the Next Level
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In this solo episode, Alyssa Lang covers her Breakthrough Bookkeeper Approach method that covers a powerful mindset, optimizing offers, world class systems, empowered company culture and removable CEO. She dives into what it means to excel in each area and how it can impact the growth of your firm.
In this episode you’ll hear:
What the Breakthrough Bookkeeper Approach is and how it can transform your business
What type of mindset you need to have in place to get to the next level
How to identify areas of improvements with optimizing your offers
What systems you need to have in place to have a well oiled machine
How to build a team that will support you in the long term
Suggestions on how to become work optional and remove yourself from the day-to-day work
Resources mentioned in this episode:
💻 Breakthrough for Bookkeepers & Accountants
💌 Send us an email to support@workfowqueen.com
Listen to the Full Episode here 👇🏼
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If you’re at a place right now in your firm where you wonder if you’ll EVER be able to get out of the day-to-day, take an unplugged vacation, or scale your business to the next level — you’re absolutely in the right place!
I LOVE sharing my story and lessons learned with you because I’ve made lots of mistakes and taken risks that have all led me to this point. Now, I run two successful businesses simultaneously (at the time of this writing). It’s crazy to think about how far I’ve come, but I owe it all to my proven method for creating a rock-solid business.
So that’s what we’re covering in this podcast and blog! Keep reading, or listen to the episode for more detail on how to:
Establish the 5 Core Pillars (aka the Breakthrough Bookkeeper Approach) in your very own company
Push through the mindset blocks that could be holding you back from reaching your goals
Find out if your offers are actually profitable
Set up systems in your business to increase efficiency across the board
Hire aligned team members who show up and flourish
Make working inside your firm completely optional
This is my FAVORITE topic to cover because I truly know the power of these 5 pillars, and I want you to experience the joy that comes with having a company that runs like a well oiled machine, too. Let’s dive in!
Powerful Mindset: Making Shifts to Overcome Blocks
Once I realized that growth is inherently uncomfortable, everything changed for me. I was so used to ignoring problems or just making excuses when something wasn’t working — when what I should have done was set my ego aside and address the problems head-on!
The whole point of working for yourself is the freedom, right? But when you’re bogged down with work and broken systems, there’s not a whole lot of freedom there.
I’ll admit, it’s ZERO fun to face your shortcomings or give attention to the ugly sides of your business. But you’ll NEVER make progress if you choose to ignore what’s holding you back from reaching your ultimate goal.
The biggest mindset block people face (and that makes them freeze or give up all together) is that they don’t want to admit things aren’t perfect.
So how do you fix this?
I highly recommend conducting an audit of every aspect of your business, at least on a quarterly basis. Get your team involved too! It’s the best way to lay out in black and white what’s going well and what isn’t.
Here’s your action item for creating a Powerful Mindset:
✏️ Write down what’s holding you back from running the company of your dreams.
Are you afraid to let go of tasks? To make a certain investment? To raise your prices? Get it all out onto paper!
Optimized Offers: The Path to Profitability
Lots of people have questions about what Optimized Offers means. And really what it boils down to is that when your offers are streamlined, you’re making more money. You’re able to hire more team members. Your ROI increases.
The first step to optimizing your offers is to check in on your profitability. It’s SO common for people to underprice their services and then realize they’re doing tons of work without getting fairly compensated for it. I don’t want this for you! (But if that’s you right now just know that I’ve totally been there and you’re not alone.)
One way to streamline your offers is to niche down and get specific about who you want to serve.
How does choosing a niche streamline your offers?
Choosing a niche to work with doesn’t necessarily mean choosing an industry. It’s a common misconception that this is the ONLY way to niche down. Nope. You can choose to only work with certain softwares, people who align with certain values, or even the format of the business (courses, retail, coaches, etc.).
Once you know the ins and outs of your niche, you know exactly how to sell to them, how to create systems for their books, and what they’re truly looking for in a bookkeeping professional. You become an authority in the space and you get to charge accordingly!
It’s easy to get burnt out on client work when you’re not happy with how much you’re charging, but you also might not even KNOW if you’re profitable or not.
Your next action item to help you optimize those offers is:
✏️ Write down your niche and outline HOW your current firm is serving that niche. What’s going right? Where can you improve?
And take a look at your profitability by tracking the time you and your team spend working on each client’s account. You might be surprised at what you find!
Want to learn more about the 5 Pillars that make up the Breakthrough Bookkeeper Approach? Learn everything you need and how to implement them in your own firm inside of our group coaching program, Breakthrough for Bookkeepers & Accountants.
World Class Systems: Beyond Project Management
When we’re talking about World Class Systems, we’re going WAY beyond the project management system. I’m mostly known for demystifying Asana and teaching people how to set up workflows to make their firms more efficient but in reality — that’s just the tip of the systems iceberg.
Systems are EVERYWHERE in your business:
Sales + Marketing systems
Client Experience systems
Team + People systems
And the list could go on and on! But one thing you need to know for sure is that robust systems are the KEY to creating more freedom in your business.
Must-have tools for World Class Systems
In order to have top-notch systems, you’ve gotta have the right tools for the job.
This includes creating:
SOPs (standard operating procedures)
Decision trees (learn more about those here)
Owner’s manuals (explains the why and how of your tech stack)
Process mapping (we use Miro for this)
✏️ Create an action plan for building these tools in your own business.
Have your team involved in the creation of these tools! You might be surprised at how many gaps they can identify in your processes that you don’t see yourself.
Empowered Company Culture: It Starts with YOU
Creating a company culture feels complicated because you don’t want to be “too fun” or no one will get anything done. But you don’t want to be too serious or morale might suffer. So you have to strike a balance between the two and find what makes the most sense for how you want to run your company.
I love celebrating each team member and encouraging them to bring their point of view to the table. You hired them for a reason, so there’s no sense in making them conform to a strict “my way or the highway” culture. Let them bring their own special sauce and give them autonomy in their role.
Company culture starts with you, so once you decide which values you want to embody — do it! Then, it becomes so easy to translate that energy to your team members so they can do the same.
If you’re looking for ways to create connection within your team even if you’re all remote, you can:
Have a virtual lunch date and order everyone their fave for delivery
Play virtual party games (like jackbox.tv)
Have “pajama Monday” and dress up for your weekly team meeting
✏️ Outline your core values and determine what you want your company culture to include.
Even if you don’t have a team yet, having the clarity of your ideal company culture will help you hire better when the time is right!
Removable CEO: Next-Level Delegating
Is there anything better than not working while still getting paid? I can’t think of anything!
I do love running my businesses, but I also love taking a month off to frolic around Europe without wondering if my business will be there when I get back (which I’ve absolutely done btw).
As business owners, we don’t get PTO or sick days, and it’s easy to feel like you have a 24/7 instead of a 9-5. But it doesn’t HAVE to be that way!
Here’s how you can get started setting yourself up to remove yourself from the daily operations, and potentially the whole business:
Create a long-term plan for your company
Set up your systems so that you’re no longer the bottleneck
Create an emergency plan (what to do if something happens to you)
Allow your team to step up + flourish — trust in their skills!
✏️ Write about each of the bullet points above and create an action plan to bring them to life.
This is all important to do so you can easily transfer ownership of your tasks when life happens and you can’t show up.
So now you know how to start using my Breakthrough Bookkeeper Approach in your own firm to improve the success of your business as a whole. And if you’re looking to dive even deeper into the elements of a next-level business, Breakthrough for Bookkeepers & Accountants is for you!
We do weekly group coaching calls, co-working sessions, homework reviews, and so much more. You’ll get 6 months of access to our community and coaching, and lifetime access to the course content. Have team members? Bring up to two of them into the program with you!
And if you’re not sure if this is the right fit for you right now, I’d LOVE to jump on a call with you and talk it out together!
Thanks for listening. If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram stories and tag me, @workflowqueen
For more information about the Conquering Workflows & Systems for Bookkeepers & Accountants Podcast or interest in our programs or mentoring visit our resources below:
Visit our website: workflowqueen.com
Check out our courses: workflowqueen.com/courses
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