How to Be a Small Business Advisor

You’re more than what you think you are.

To me, to be the most trusted business advisor is to be a small business advisor. That’s what my customers see.

My firm serves small businesses from the ground up to $10 million. Yes, we look at their numbers, but practically speaking one gains a lot when you’re in their financial underwear drawer. Most of our conversations are around their questions. It’s a natural extension of the work we already do – financials, taxes, payroll, cash flow and forecasting.

MORE: Center Your Firm Around Your Client | Commit to Change | Your Client Base Is Global | Ready for Change, So Now What?
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These people are not asking complex tax questions. They’re asking about IT, human resources, general licensing, and for help with some decision-making. We’re small business consultants.

Posted on February 24, 2023

Jody Padar

About the Author

Jody Padar, CPA, MST, "The Radical CPA®," is one of the profession’s foremost visionaries and a best-selling author for CPA Trendlines.

Her latest book, Radical Pricing, is available here

Padar is the author of:

The Radical CPA

and

From Success to Significance: The Radical CPA Guide

vice president of strategy at Botkeeper, an upstart automated bookkeeping solution purpose-built for accounting firms.

She was also CEO and Principal of the New Vision CPA Group, a public accounting firm based in the Chicago area.

And as an author, lecturer, coach, consultant, and mentor, she advocates for progress and innovation in the profession, heralding a new way of thinking about the practice of accountancy and giving it a new purpose.

Having successfully transformed her own firm into a technologically advanced, paperless work environment, she is now dedicated to educating her fellow colleagues on how to make the same transition.

She is a regular contributor to a number of industry publications, including CPA Trendlines, where she offers practical tips and advice on running a next-generation firm.

Padar has been named by Accounting Today as “the Top 100 Most Influential to the Profession” for the last four years and manages her firm and discover new “best practices.”

Padar is married, has two teenage children, and swims competitively. Padar earned her BBA from Saint Mary’s College and MST from Northern Illinois University. Padar is also an adjunct professor at Oakton Community College and a contributing member of the Intuit Trainer Writer Network.

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