“If I’ve learned anything in my agency journey, it’s to figure out your numbers. It took us probably two years to dial in the formulas and figure out what we wanted to see when we looked at theoretical revenue generated. And now we know what works for the business, and we check our metrics once a month.” – JD Graffam The finer details of this episode: Benefits and risks of agency life Importance of understanding your business’s financials and metrics Resources: Summit CPA website – summitcpa.net...
Mar 27, 2023•32 min•Ep. 83
Episode Notes: “Any business, whether it's startup, tech, any business across the board, should really have a strategy of diversification of the funds that they don't particularly need on a 90-day basis to a six-month basis. If they've got that cash flow, let's start to diversify the rest of those funds.” –Paul Rhea The finer details of this episode: Risk vs. Reward: Diversifying funds for optimal returns Exploring strategies for diversifying excess cash Bank protection strategies for business o...
Mar 20, 2023•22 min•Ep. 82
“I talk to a lot of business owners who have created something fabulous, and sometimes it becomes stale to them because they don't understand what their place is now that they've scaled their company. I hope this book will help them reconnect with their ‘why’ and reconnect with who they are so that they can play a new, fresh role in their company. Or maybe go ahead and follow that next dream and start the next company.” – Traci Barrett The finer details of this episode: The importance of leaders...
Mar 13, 2023•33 min•Ep. 81
“If an organization views human resources as the “HR police” that only values and enforces compliance, it's a disservice not only to HR as a discipline, but to each employee's experience of what work ought to be like.” – John Baldino The finer details of this episode: Career mapping vs. one career map Human resources as a service, not a department Boomerang employees and adding skillsets for opportunities Episode resources: Summit CPA website – summitcpa.net Email us with questions – vcfo@summit...
Feb 27, 2023•45 min•Ep. 80
“I think right now the biggest problem is people, whether it's hiring or internal leadership challenges—people understanding how to lead generational shifts, work-from-home shifts, or cultural shifts. So, people in general is a constant; turnover is huge right now. The job market in the agency space is very cutthroat. People are getting stolen from agencies at premiums.” Steve Guberman The finer details of this episode: Today’s biggest challenges in the digital agency industry Benefits of having...
Feb 13, 2023•35 min•Ep. 79
“Don't stop challenging yourself. It's really easy to get comfortable, especially if your business is doing well. We always need to be pushing and stretching ourselves and thinking about our mindset. Look for what's changing and stay open to that; be receptive to changing what we do and how we do it.” – Chuck Mollor The finer details of this episode: Understanding how leadership roles have changed so dramatically over the past decade Establishing trust and building relationship with your team in...
Jan 30, 2023•40 min•Ep. 78
“GTD® doesn't deliver a solution; it delivers hope. How much people want to take advantage of that is up to them. GTD® and implementing these best practices—capture, clarify, organized, reflect, and engage—of how you get stuff under control in your life and work, they don't give you more time. They give you more room. What you do with that room is unique to you.” – David Allen The finer details of this episode: • Meeting management and setting boundaries for back-to-back meetings • The need for ...
Jan 16, 2023•51 min•Ep. 77
I learned that most small business owners never hired before doing it within their own business, or they were coming from corporate jobs where they had HR departments, senior leaderships, and job postings that were already created. They were pretty much being given everything that they needed, and now that they needed to create it on their own, they were lost.” – Jamie Van Cuyk The finer details of this episode: How to improve your hiring strategy How to know when an employee isn’t a good fit in...
Jan 02, 2023•41 min•Ep. 76
“Think of us like bookkeepers for your non-financial data. We've essentially built QuickBooks for time tracking and project management data. It's an environment where we can more efficiently do this type of analysis and quality assurance.” – Marcel Petitpas The finer details of this episode: The importance of time tracking and data analysis What is the right amount of data to track and study Structured versus unstructured data Episode resources: Summit CPA website – summitcpa.net Email us with q...
Dec 19, 2022•41 min•Ep. 75
“We got some really great results in terms of a lot of the things that we were kind of hypothesizing and wanted to see. Employee stress level went down and feelings of burnout went down by a magnitude of almost 20%. Personal satisfaction went up 25%.” – Morgan Witham The finer details of this episode: How to pilot a four-day work week schedule What factors play a part in moving to a four-day work week Understanding the pros and cons of a four-day work week schedule, such as clients’ needs and em...
Dec 05, 2022•44 min•Ep. 74
Episode Notes: “Everyone has Caveman Brain, and once you know how to harness it and focus it, you can be super successful.” – Dr. Jean Oursler The finer details of this episode: Understand what Caveman Brain is and how to put it to use for business success Know who your target audience is and be able to easily identify them Close a new client with less follow-up Resources: Summit CPA website – summitcpa.net Email us with questions – vcfo@summitcpa.net Dr. Jean Oursler – cavemanbrain.com...
Nov 21, 2022•41 min•Ep. 73
“People don't want to make changes. And a lot of times, we've normalized using software that doesn't understand us and doesn't understand what we want out of it. We expect to have to adapt ourselves to software. At Enliven, we believe it shouldn’t be that way.” -Ian Robinson The finer details of this episode: The importance of creating processes and software that lasts Gauging how employees interact with software and understanding their respective needs to complete their tasks Understand how cus...
Nov 07, 2022•32 min•Ep. 72
“I came across this emotional appeal theory, and this is something that was developed in the sixties; there’s lots of research behind it. And essentially their thesis is, we are all motivated by one of four emotional needs, and that drives all our decisions in life—not just in your personal life, but your career, your hobbies, every single decision you make. This really resonated with me.” Sandy Gerber The finer details of this episode: • Learn which emotional magnet best suits you: Safety, achi...
Oct 24, 2022•44 min•Ep. 71
“There are timeless concepts and universal principles that work in businesses across the board. At Pinnacle, we've taken this best-of-the-best approach and created a model with very specific tools and a process.”– Tom Barrett The finer details of this episode: How can the Pinnacle platform help businesses overcome obstacles and achieve better functionally? How to leverage the Pinnacle system to grow your team with the right people Accessing tools and resources from Pinnacle’s “Endless Toolbox” t...
Oct 10, 2022•34 min•Ep. 70
“Long before COVID, people were feeling frustrated, particularly younger people who were feeling like the market was leaving them behind. Then, along came COVID, which completely shook the entire job market. And it sent people home to sit on their couch and think about themselves and what they're doing. The pandemic shook the market and caused there to be some realization on the part of the employees that maybe they weren't getting everything out of this bargain.” – Chris Williams The finer deta...
Sep 26, 2022•37 min•Ep. 69
In this episode, Jamie Nau, our host and Summit CPA's Director of Accounting, sits down with Adam Hale, Partner at Anders CPAs + Advisors, and Jake Grimm, Summit CPA's Director of Technology, to discuss financial tools for remote and distributed companies. If you are a business owner of a fully distributed company, this episode is for you! Jamie, Adam, and Jake discuss must-have tools to implement in your remote business to help it run efficiently and grow it to the next level. The finer details...
Sep 12, 2022•30 min•Ep. 68
"I'm just authentic me. When I meet people, I don't talk about me and what I can do for you and what I do for a living. Ask questions about other people, like: Why are you here? What made you wanna do this business? What can you offer? Who can I connect you to? It's adding value to other people. And one thing I've figured out is people notice people who notice them. Simple little things like giving someone else a shout out or sharing their post or saying, "Hey, I saw you the other day. That was ...
Sep 01, 2022•31 min•Ep. 67
"When you showcase your best, you attract the best." - Donna Serdula. The finer details of this episode : Why is LinkedIn an essential tool to grow your network? Practical tips build your brand on LinkedIn. Understanding your purpose on LinkedIn and using your purpose to achieve success. Episode resources Summit CPA website - www.summitcpa.net Email us with questions - cpa @summitcpa.net...
Aug 17, 2022•41 min•Ep. 66
"Honestly, the way we've structured our kickoff call week. 80% of the kickoff call, just letting the CFO and the client kind of start to have those conversations, which is huge. We listen and we hear the things that are most important to them." - Lydia Rapp The finer details of this episode : What are we doing now that we haven't done before? Why you should have a client onboarding process in place What are the important things to consider when building an onboarding client? Episode resources Su...
Aug 02, 2022•31 min•Ep. 65
"I think a lot of it has to be started through exploration because if we don't start with a mindset around exploration and learning...If we're just changing for the sake of changing, then we really, we're not coming from an informed perspective." - Douglas Ferguson The finer details of this episode : The mindset and behavior that is essential to change management in an organization What do businesses need to do? What strategies should they put in place? How important is having a culture of curio...
Jul 20, 2022•42 min•Ep. 64
"I never thought I'd be in sales for this long and you know - 16 years later here I still am in a sales role, but I've made it my own because I've made it myself. I've made it genuine. I have made it about relationships, about people, about trust, and about the thing, I'm passionate and believe in." - Danielle Hendricks The finer details of this episode : The business development and sales process of Pixo How does Pixo work on pushbacks between the business development, operations, and finance d...
Jun 28, 2022•27 min•Ep. 63
"It's amazing to watch their creative process in the agency space, they generally are very skilled at what they do (but) it's the financial piece that mystifies them, somewhat. And, even if they understand it, many of them have a very solid understanding, they don't have the tools that we have, and they don't have the backgrounds that we have. Were some things may be a little bit more obvious, so it'd be able to bring them ideas." - James Enney The finer details of this episode : What are the si...
Jun 15, 2022•32 min•Ep. 62
"Give yourself little wins and celebrate them, but ultimately, make sure you know where you're going to, not just what you're running from. " - Carl Smith The finer details of this episode : What are the latest trends in the digital agency space? How has the industry changed since the start of the pandemic until now? With all the shifts happening in the industry, what should business owners remember and consider as they run their businesses? Episode resources Summit CPA website - www.summitcpa.n...
Jun 02, 2022•33 min•Ep. 61
"From my perspective, when I look at what businesses need today, I think it's absolutely positioned for massive growth." - Dave Hartley The finer details of this episode : What does the future look like for Summit after the merger with Anders? What does the firm of the future look like? What value will the merger bring to our clients? Episode resources Summit CPA website - www.summitcpa.net Email us with questions - vcfo@summitcpa.net...
May 25, 2022•38 min•Ep. 60
"One thing I'm seeing is a lot more confidence from distributed teams that still value in-person connection and are wanting to create a really memorable experience." - Lily Hocevar The finer details of this episode : What has changed in the travel landscape since 2020? The impact of location choice, planning ahead, and culture in planning and pricing What important things you should consider as you plan your team retreat Episode resources Summit CPA website - www.summitcpa.net Email us with ques...
May 03, 2022•34 min•Ep. 59
" Just because things are going well doesn't mean they can't be better. So that's what we try to live by. " - Robert Minkler Jr. The finer details of this episode : The merger story of Summit CPA and Anders How the merger benefits both Summit CPA and Anders What stakeholders should expect with the merger Episode resources Summit CPA website - www.summitcpa.net Email us with questions - vcfo@summitcpa.net Summit CPA Group to Merge with Anders CPA + Advisors...
Apr 11, 2022•37 min•Ep. 58
"Going to the Bureau events was well...One, it's a lot of fun. There's always something to do. And two, they're just a great learning experience. It was great training. " - Ashley Vaughn The finer details of this episode : How did Ashley adapt coming from a tax background to providing consulting and Virtual CFO services to digital agencies How attending the Bureau of Digital Owner Camp and Owner Summit help her as a Virtual CFO Trends in the digital space that are important to agency owners and ...
Mar 28, 2022•34 min•Ep. 57
"We have to realize that we speak this technical language riddled with acronyms, that when our audience isn't like us, we need to find a way to translate it into plain English. So there's understanding." - Peter Margaritis The finer details of this episode : How to connect and become relatable when discussing technical terms with clients Tips and tricks to remember when communicating with clients from different industries Importance of communicating clearly to achieve a common goal Episode resou...
Mar 17, 2022•38 min•Ep. 56
"Sometimes we get so caught up in the sales and the revenue side of the business that we take our eye off some of the cost side of the business... You know, one of the phrases we use is that 'revenue hides mistakes or revenue hides problems'. So if your revenue has been growing, your cash has been good there still might be some opportunity to trim your costs" - Greg Wallis The finer details of this episode : What does it mean to run your business like you're ready to sell it? Views from a financ...
Feb 28, 2022•34 min•Ep. 55
"Where we provide a lot of value and solve a lot of problems is when clients have made it past startup and then that growth stage, they're starting to realize they can't keep all the numbers in their head anymore." - Courtney DeRonde The finer details of this episode : Who is Courtney DeRonde? What does TDT CPAs and Advisors do? What similarities and differences does TDT CPAs and Advisors have with Summit CPA Group? How does these similarities and differences benefit their clients? Episode resou...
Feb 16, 2022•33 min•Ep. 54
