They don’t teach this to you at business school! So, what am I talking about? When your firm is going through rapid growth, you – the firm owner – are on a roller coaster of emotions. As the quote goes, be careful about what you wish for! Of course, one of the best ways to cope with this roller coaster is to accept that it is going to happen, and pay careful attention to your own self-care during stress periods.
1. Plan the impact on your resources
Having a well-stocked pipeline that easily converts is a great feeling, this can place huge strains on the operation of your practice if not anticipated for. Over-trading is NOT a nice problem to have as some people may tell you. Over-trading can be as dangerous to your firm’s success as under-trading.
The answer is to critically look at your planned growth and ask yourself these questions:
- Do we have enough capable hands in the firm to service this growth?
- At what points in the year do we have capacity issues?
- When do we need to hire in extra resource to meet our planned growth?
- Can we cover the peak periods with freelance resource?
2. Work out how to ensure you have enough cash
There is nothing quite like the feeling of having to pay your monthly wage bill when you’ve brought in your first full time experienced hire.
As we like to call it in the Accountants Millionaires’ Club, it’s squeaky bum time. And, it’s not just the payroll cost either. After all, for each new person into the business there is always a recruitment, equipment, payroll and time cost attached.
In an ideal world you would always have the cash reserves to invest in a new team member. Unfortunately, real life is not always as well planned as that. There is always a balance between the available capacity in the practice and whether you can afford to take on the commitment of a larger payroll.
A few of my clients have found that a short-term business loan has given them the headroom to recruit ahead of the anticipated demand for their services. Once again, if you have modelled your firm’s capacity as your firm rapidly grows, you will be able to make a better judgment about whether you can manage without hiring in an extra team member.
3. Outsource or delegate
As you grow rapidly it is not the growth itself that puts the huge strains on a firm, it is often the growth in the workload peaks. Whilst I’m not suggesting that you choose to outsource the client work to an external organisation, there are other ways you can outsource or delegate. For example:
- Can you outsource some of your practice management tasks, eg diary management, to someone internal or external to the firm?
- Do you have to personally do everything on your desk? What can you delegate to another member of the team?
- Will some short-term freelance resource help take the strain out of the peaks?
4. Prioritise your self care
Any period of intense growth, whether planned or not, is physically and mentally draining for any practice owner. I can vouch for this. While you may feel that you need to just “get through this phase” or “have no choice but to keep working at weekends and evenings” or “don’t have the time to take a holiday”, this is not sustainable.
Therefore, plan regular battery recharging time – daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly.
5. Build a supportive tribe around you
Every Monday I spend 30 minutes with my accountability buddy. We each have 15 mins to just talk and get ourselves balanced for the week. And yes, it has made a massive difference to my mental health. I don’t feel alone any more.
Just as my accountability buddy keeps me on the straight and narrow, she also keeps me accountable to my goals and plans. The physical act of checking in is a great mood balancer and de-stressor. Who is doing this for you?
Where is your tribe who allow you to be you and help you get through the tough stuff? This is why we set up the Accountants Millionaires’ Club as a club. We are there to be each other’s tribe and watch their back. Who is doing this for you?