When you start your firm, you do everything. Everything. That’s the nature of going out on your own.

If you’ve been a reader of this newsletter for the past year or so, you know that I (perhaps we) have been facing a higher level of client disengagements (i.e. clients firing me/us) due to cashflow concerns.

Before I left my corporate life, I worked for a 100+ year old, then-Fortune 50 company (yes 50, not 500). It was a goliath of an organization.

I ended last week’s newsletter with the fact that I came back from sabbatical to 300 emails.

That’s not even the worst part. Here’s the worst part…

I’m back from sabbatical!! I survived!…if not thrived. This was my first sabbatical of entrepreneurship after 8 years of firm-running. I’ve taken plenty of vacations, but I’m loosely defining sabbatical here as 4 weeks or more away from work.

For the first 3-4 years of firm running, I was SO afraid. So very afraid. Of everything. I was afraid of messing up, of wasting time, of wasting money, all of it.

If you’ve been around a while, you know that I’ve sent a quarterly email called “Family / Health / Books” to help us remember that we can goals outside of work and keep me accountable to mine.

In late 2024, I had the opportunity to interview Jillian Johnsrud, author of Retire Often, on my Consultants + Money podcast.

I can’t believe it, but the first season of Life First Accounting Firm is officially in the books!

Is it summer by you? I write this as the windows are thrown up, my kids are at VBS for a couple hours, and I’m debating if I want to hike up a mountain or kayak down a river this weekend.

Yesterday in Aligned Accountants, we hosted a panel discussion on tax scheduling. (Tax scheduling = having your clients sign up for a specific week they want you to complete their tax return.)

How do you run 6-figure accounting firm in only 15 hours a week? How do you do it? What’s the magic formula?

I’m at a local networking event all day today (I wrote this yesterday). After years of focusing on national and virtual reach for finding new clients, I now have a growing itch to focus locally for lead generation.

A couple weeks ago, I got out of my office and met up with a bunch of accountants celebrating the end of tax season.

Last week, fellow subscriber Lori Yearwood, CPA asked this question and I think the answer is worth sharing more broadly…Curious – what types of services are you providing to clients that you would consider CFO type services?

Admittedly, I was really nervous when I hit ‘Send’ on last week’s newsletter. Maybe I was totally off base. Maybe it was just me…And then you flooded my inbox with replies.

I think there’s downward pricing pressure facing our industry right now. Full stop. (All the value-pricing spokespeople just unsubscribed. It’s fine.)

Hey 15 Hour Accountant Newsletter Crew! I’m excited to let you know that the Life First Accounting Firm podcastis LIVE today! Season 1 is called Starting Stories and are interviews with solo firm owners that have started accounting, tax, and bookkeeping firms in the past 3 years.

I’ve been a ChatGPT user since 2023. I’m not an AI junkie. And I don’t think AI is going to cripple the accounting industry. But I do think as AI rapidly evolves, we’ll see it affect the industry’s competition, pricing, and available efficiency - all of which will affect all of us.

Last week, I enjoyed a week away from work / home / the US with our family for Spring Break > cute family photo on LinkedIn here. This LinkedIn post spawned a comment-conversation about how I don’t feel bogged down by email when I get back from a no-email-checking vacation.