I’ve just spent this week at Xerocon London. So what was the benefit of 3 days out of my business?
listened to all sorts of interesting talks from the best accountants that will help me to improve my business
getting beyond the AI hype to some practical ideas for embedding more AI into Minerva Accountants
hearing about the Xero roadmap and all sorts of new features to help accountants and business owners
chatting to other software companies about how they can help Minerva Accountants and our clients
chatting to other forward thinking accountants from around the world about the issues that we face in our businesses, what works, and what doesn’t
being invited to speak about accountant/entrepreneur/high performer 4am waking and what we can do to help ourselves
breakfast with the Small Business Commissioner (Emma Jones who wrote the foreword to my second book) to discuss the problem with late payments and new legislation that is making its way through parliament
generally relaxing knowing that my business was in safe hands with my fabulous team
I now have a head buzzing with ideas on how to improve Minerva Accountants so that we can offer better advice and more efficient services to our clients.
Statistically most people won’t die leaving enough assets to need to pay inheritance tax. Although, to be pedantic, it isn’t the deceased person who pays the inheritance tax anyway.
For those with a little more wealth then you can avoid inheritance tax completely by giving away anything over the current limits and then living for another 7 years. (This means that you shouldn’t leave your tax planning to the last minute)
The snag is that you need to give away those assets UNCONDITIONALLY. I.e. you can’t give your house to your kids on condition that they continue to let you live there. You have to TRUST them to do the right thing.
So, the question is, how much do you trust your potential beneficiaries?
(I’ll share a little more serious inheritance tax planning next time)
After spending a couple of years working in an IT department and part of the Disaster Recovery business resilience is always high on my agenda. And having been being responsible for the IT department preparing an engineering company for any potential Y2K (Year 2000) crises means that I am quite used to risk assessing businesses.
But these days I run 3 small businesses without anything like the level of resource available to me back then. We are small but strong because we use a lot of technology and employ a brilliant core team. We are therefore hugely dependent on both the technology and the people.
Which is what prompted this post.
I was just about to set off on a two week holiday followed by 3 days at Xerocon when my Business Manager, the ever efficient Kate, notified me that she would be off for a major operation. While I was away! And while our newest team member has only been with us for a month!
When I finally uncurled from my foetal position I assessed the situation and realised that we were actually in quite a strong position because of all our ‘usual’ preparations and processes.
So here are the things that we do right:
We keep documented procedures on our shared drive. They’re not as up to date as we’d like but they’re a good start and Kate has a few days to refresh anything. This means that we’re not too dependent on any single individual.
We always try to stay well ahead of deadlines. As at today (22 June) we only have one year end due 31 July and two for 30 Sept. We’ve chased these clients enough times that it is now entirely their responsibility. Confirmation statement information is chased early so we have a few weeks in hand. Bookkeeping is updated monthly, if not weekly. As part of my holiday I had even written 3 of these blogs in advance so this makes the fourth one.
We all work fully remotely so, if I need to log in while abroad, everything is set up.
We operate a shared Inbox so everybody can see client messages
We have a fabulous answering service (I highly recommend Emma Fryer and the Answer It team) who will answer and pass on messages to us and also call back our clients if required
We have VOIP phones so we can call from our business line anywhere in the world.
Our practice management system holds all client info and emails so that any member of the team can see what has been going on. We encourage the team to add permanent notes and current reminders too. These can always be improved.
Our practice management system tracks all client deadlines and send automatic reminders so nothing is missed.
So, I think we’re going to be all right, and our small team will be able to run without one of our key people and with just the lightest of touches from me. So I’m going to enjoy my holiday.
(TLDR we survived Y2K and the National Grid continued to provide power to all UK homes during my employment)
Have you ever tried to hit some of those moving targets in tan online shooting game?
How much time do you spend wavering between targets? And how many potential targets do you miss as a result? On the other hand, if you are clear about your target and track it for a while, you have more chance of hitting it.
Vague, generalist messaging doesn’t resonate and it is hard for prospect to see the relevance of it to them.
Having a strong niche means that you can share messages and advice that are relevant to your audience and feel as though they were written just for the person reading them. This brings in higher quality leads and leads to faster trust as they feel that you truly understand them
1.Choose your niche which may be clients you enjoy working with and where you are able to deliver the most value (providing that they have sufficient profit to pay you, of course)
2.Update your website messaging
3.Update your social media profiles and refresh your content
4.Share case studies relevant to your niche
5.Share advice for their specific problems
Be known for something and your message will be much clearer for the right clients.
For decades referrals have always been the most reliable source of growth for established businesses but these days word of mouth is no longer enough. Buyer behaviour has changed and prospects are researching you online before they even speak to you. Even referred clients will Google your business and take a peak at your website before picking up the phone.
We need to move from passive marketing to visible expertise.
Prospects trust experts that they see regularly and this builds confidence before the first meeting. This consistent visibility also reduces price sensitivity as the prospect feels they are taking less of a risk with a ‘known’ business.
Marketing isn’t about hard selling. It is about showing up with helpful content. It’s about helping your prospects rather than boasting about yourself.
3 actions to strengthen your online presence
Optimise your social media presence with clear, niche messaging that speaks to your reader. Post value driven content and then take time to truly engage with your network by commenting on their own posts instead of just broadcasting at them.
Regularly create useful content by answering common client questions. Share insights, not just updates and don’t forget that you can repurpose content across different platforms.
Build a simple email list that helps you to stay front of mind. Share you insights monthly (our tops tips are deliberately short enough that we can share them weekly. It’s also the length of post that I like to write). As you draw closure to your prospects on your list you can take the time to nurture them.
I was heading into the restaurant in my hotel for a quiet dinner and somebody recognised me and followed me in. With minor celebrity status (more Z list than A list) in the accountancy world I’m used to people stopping me because they’ve read one of my books or seen me speak.
This time they wanted to thank me for an encouraging comment that I had made when she first set up her business in 2019. A single comment that I made to a stranger and she still remembered it 7 years later. Words really do have power!
As an author I love the precision of words and deliberately dwell on the exact vocabulary to express my meaning as accurately and concisely as possible. But I’m not so careful when I’m just chatting, in person or on social media, as those words are very much ‘in the moment’.
As a mother I was aware of the way that words can build up or tear down my children. Usually after I’ve said the wrong thing!
As a boss I need to remember to take time to thank my team for the good job that they do looking after me and our clients. I’m often busy and just spit out instructions without thinking of the human impact.
We use words in our marketing all the time and our tone of voice, as well as the words themselves, allow readers to imagine themselves working with us … or not.
So, today, I encourage you to look at the words that you use. In seven years time will somebody be thanking you or recovering from a damaging throw away comment that you have made while feeling stressed about something completely unrelated?
To keep your business moving forwards (without the faff).
The Minerva Momentum Review is a sharp, monthly business check‑in for owners who want progress, not another report they’ll never read.
In 30 minutes we boil your business down to one page:
3 key numbers that actually matter
What’s going well, what needs attention, and what’s quietly shouting for help
Clear actions, with names next to them (because things only get done when someone owns them)
No jargon. No waffle. No 40‑page management accounts destined for a drawer.
This review keeps you focused, accountable, and looking forwards, not just backwards at last month’s numbers. It’s structured enough to be useful, relaxed enough to be human, and designed to keep momentum going month after month.
Think of it as a regular business MOT; quick, practical, and far cheaper than fixing things once they’ve broken.
One page. Three KPIs. Clear actions. Real movement.
1.Increase average order value – cross sell to existing clients. What else do you offer that they could use? (This could be the case for business advice sessions or our monthly Minerva Momentum Reviews)
2.Improve client retention – it is always cheaper and easier to retain your existing clients than to go out and win new ones. Stop the leaks before you try to fill the bucket.
3.Upsell to existing clients – who has grown and is now in a position to upgrade and take on a new level of service?
4.Reduce scope creep – be clear on what is included in your contracts. Anything extra should be charged BUT make clients aware of this beforehand so they don’t get any nasty surprise. Every request for extra work should be greeted by “Yes and … that will cost £X”
5.Improving operational efficiency – with so much technology and AI around there is plenty of opportunity to improve your internal efficiencies allowing you to take on more work without impacting on your existing clients.
6.Pricing strategy tweaks – don’t forget that increasing prices is the single most effective way of increasing your profitability (but do make sure that you’re still providing sufficient value)
You’ll probably hire your first manager when your team reaches 5-8 people. It’s at this level that communication starts to breakdown with too many direct communication lines and you may run out of time to train more junior members of the team
As a rule of thumb, if you’re spending more than 1/3 of your time managing your team, answering questions, reviewing work, chasing updates, or managing issues then you would be better off employing a manager. Whilst you will have to cover an additional salary you will also free up your valuable time. It will also mean that you have the right person in place BEFORE to accommodate further growth.
If you’re becoming the bottleneck because everything needs your approval then it may be time to find the right person to delegate to. A good manager should make 80%+ of decisions independently and you won’t need to handle questions from the rest of the team.
Your first manager should be hands on and comfortable doing the work AND managing the team. They should also be a good communicator to liaise with both the team and yourself.
You will then be freed up to move to deciding the direction of your business while your new manager will ensure that everybody on board is pulling in that same direction. As you move away from the day to day you will also have a clearer view of your business which will enable you to lead it better.
It’s too easy to have KPI overload. Even accountants can lose focus with too many numbers so it helps to have just THREE numbers to monitor that will help to transform your business. Having just 3 key numbers helps to create clarity rather than getting lost in the fog of too much data. KPIs shouldn’t just be passive but should show the results of your ACTIONs.
So which ones should you choose? Well, it depends on your business goals so your three KPIs will probably be different to mine. Are you aiming for growth, profitability, cash stability, efficiency, work-life balance or something else? Proactive accountants can focus on the three numbers for each of their business clients in order to offer the most appropriate advice.
Start by thinking what a good year would look like for you.
You can then identify one KPI in each of the following areas:
1.Profitability
e.g. gross or net profit.
This helps you to develop a sustainable business and should be a consideration in all pricing conversations. As our overheads are fairly fixed I focus on monthly turnover.
2.Cashflow
e.g. cash runway, debtor days.
Cash keeps you in business and gives you the stability and confidence to invest in whatever you need to achieve your efficiency or growth targets. Most of our clients are on monthly fixed fees and direct debits but I focus on any late payers amongst our smaller annual clients and ad hoc consultancy work.
3.Performance/growth
e.g. revenue per full time equivalent employee, average client value, utilisation rate.
This is an essential part of efficiency and scalability. I track my total working hours so that I don’t get sucked into the long bours trap. When my kids were small and my working week was capped at 25 hours (the length of a school week) I focused on my profit per hour. My favourite KPI was with a coaching client who tracked her golf handicap to ensure that her work-life balance allowed her enough time on the golf course and not slaving over her desk.
KPIS should be simple to understand and measure and directly related to the management action.
KPIS are not set and forget. They should be reviewed weekly, monthly, or even daily. And you may change your KPIs as you grow stronger in one area and need to shift focus a little as your business evolves.
Clarity beats complexity and using just three KPIs keeps things clear and simple.
If you want somebody to help you set and track your three numbers for a successful business then please get in touch:
