How Do Business Owners Define Success?

If you ask your clients, you might be surprised.

How do accountants define success? Join the survey, get the results.

Accountants often define success in terms of revenue, net income, or maybe client service. But the Enterprise Council on Small Business surprisingly found that “satisfaction” was the primary way that they defined success, followed by “growth.” They asked business owners to define what satisfaction means to them. Business owners said maintaining a healthy work/life balance was the single biggest factor in their definition of success.

Keep that in mind when you’re considering how to help your clients achieve their goals. Their goals may not be what you think.

“Also,” the researchers say, “give some thought to the types of promotions or contests you are running for small business owners. Not all rewards need to be business oriented, and for those looking to achieve more work/life balance, giving them rewards for their personal life can be a strong indicator of your commitment to helping them achieve this.”

How do accountants define success? Join the survey, get the results.

Local Firms Feel Fee Pressure. And Now: Big Firm Competition

Like many CPAs across the nation,  firms in Toledo, Ohio, are reporting continued collection problems.

And now, on top of that, many small firms are getting competition from larger firms moving down-market at cut-rate prices

“Business has been good, but everything is getting stretched out,” said Chuck Mira, a partner in Mira + Kolena in Toledo, Ohio. “Cash is backed up through the system. “We would like to see national banks open up credit lines.”

Price

J. Clarke Price, president of the Ohio Society of CPAs, said, “I have heard around the state that 30-day clients went to 60 days or even 90.

“Collection is more of an issue, and some clients are saying, ‘You’ve got to work with me on the fees.’”

And for the first time in years, Clarke said, locally owned CPA firms are feeling competition from big national firms trying to pick up smaller clients.

via toledoblade.com.