Have you heard the story of the millionaire’s sons?
If the answer’s no, then get comfy…
Because if you’re a busy practice owner stuck working IN your practice, I can guarantee you’ll relate to this.
The story starts with a successful New York businessman. (For purposes of good storytelling I’ll call him Jim)
He’s had a long career, he’s built a fortune Forbes would be proud of, and he has 2 amazing sons.
Some may say he had it all…
But with each grey hair that was appearing, Jim realised he wasn’t getting any younger, and that he needed to think about succession planning.
So one day, he arranged to meet his sons (let’s call them Jeff and Ralph) over lunch to discuss what he would be leaving them when he passed.
And the plan he came up with surprised the two brothers.
He said “Sons, whoever can create a business with £1million profit first will receive my fortune. You have 10 years to do it”.
Sure, his sons knew basic gist of his business but could they really make something for themselves?
Shocked, but respectful of their fathers’ wishes that they earn their inheritance, the brothers set about their mission.
Jeff dove straight into action. He already had a product idea in mind and didn’t want to waste a moment. So, from day one he worked tirelessly day-in, day-out pitching the product securing the funding, finding a platform and selling to consumers.
Within 6 month’s Jeff was turning over a decent profit, and he estimated that if he worked every hour possible his business would reach the £1million mark in 9 years.
He was tired but smug, and mocked Ralph who was nowhere close to where he was.
But Ralph was taking a different approach.
He knew that if he invested his time researching different methods, his target market, different systems and strategies he would be in a better position in the long run.
So, for 3 years Ralph studied, attended , read books and joined coaching programmes and by the time he was finished… he felt ready to launch his product.
His launch was a success and in the first few months Ralph’s sales grew higher than Jeff’s had in his 2 ½ years of growth and within another year Ralph hit the £1million mark.
And because of his planning and A+ systems, Ralph had a great lifestyle and worked in his business only when it was absolutely necessary.
Now this story reminds me of the accountancy practice owners who tell me:
“I’m too busy working in the business Rudi, I work too hard and I don’t have the time to develop or grow my practice”
And my response?
Be more like Ralph.
The key to your practice growth isn’t you working harder, it’s you working smarter.
While ever you are trapped working 60 -70-hour weeks, you’re leaving yourself no time to grow or develop.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.
And I can promise you, unless you take action, you’ll stay stuck.
So how can you work smarter?
Well first you need to create and dedicate the time needed to specifically work ON your business.
To help you get started, here’s an article with 3 simple ways to manage your time more effectively and drive your accountancy practice forwards.
Once you’ve created this time, then you’ll have the freedom to build the systems, processes and team you need to succeed and grow your practice.
And that’s without working every hour possible.
Getting unstuck after years of being trapped can seem like a mammoth task.
Which is why, like Ralph, it might be worth investing in a coaching programme which can give you the expert knowledge, systems and above all accountability to drive your practice towards your goals again.
So if you’re stuck and would like a little help, let’s have a conversation.
P.S.. In case you’re wondering… both Son’s learnt a valuable lesson. And Jim split the inheritance 50/50… he isn’t a total jerk.