Month: February 2017

…culture! I’ve always hated the word ‘staff’. It immediately infers an ‘us’ the employer/manager and ‘them’ the employed.  It puts people in their place. it’s derogatory, it dates back to a time of command and control and it’s not conducive to developing a team of people who all feel a sense of ownership to the…

AVN Practice Growth Experts What do I mean by stepping up? Let’s look at a scenario and forgive me, it’s a negative scenario but it’s a common one… A scenario Lets say a customer has reported a problem; they have a complaint. An employee of yours takes the call, makes a note of the problem…

Many people do not take the credit or shout about what a great service, experience or what difference they may have made to a person’s life. We are all guilty of this and we really need to accept the recognition of this and ‘Blow our own trumpet’ and be proud of our many achievements; this can…

What to consider when taking the plunge to grow an online presence… It is often very scary when you are faced with a blank page and you have to fill it. It can be terrifying to try to find the right words to express your thoughts and experiences to fill up that white space. As a new blogger,…

Looking back to the 1980’s when I was growing up there were set roles within a family. Once children were born the mums took a back seat in their career and took on the new role as housewife/full time care giver to the children while the dads continued with their career journey. My parents generation…

For centuries accountants have been seen as the trusted advisor and held in high regard. A source of incredibly valuable financial information and insight. Essential to helping businesses make sound financial decisions so they can plan ahead. But now the rate of change in the world is far too rapid for a set of year…

I have had many discussions as a Practice Growth Expert about how your first impression when you are quoting really makes a difference and could allow you to increase your prices. Until last week I have never experienced this as a customer… that was until i needed a new/replacement garden fence. The lovely UK weather…

What does a great team look like in business?   Well, I’m sure many will have differing opinions about that.  In my opinion it’s a group of people who are 100% committed to the cause of the business, who selflessly act in the best interests of the business even if at the expense of their…

The 1st October 2007 I started my journey working with Owner Managed Accountancy firms helping them to become the most successful and enjoyable to run in the world. Starting out slow it was a case of answering reactive queries slowly building my relationships and gaining that ‘know, like and trust’ factor. Over the years I…

The things that really successful practices do and what they have in common was the subject of a three year research project by Steve Pipe for AVN. With remarkable candour and generosity of spirit, the firms we studied revealed in precise detail exactly what they do to generate extraordinary results for themselves and their clients.…