03 Building in Public: Don’t fumble twice!

Matt Tompkins -

Good morning and welcome to ‘Don’t Fumble Twice’ where we dissect previous costly, time-consuming, and stupid mistakes made by yours truly.

FYI this will only take 3 minutes and 22 seconds to read. And could be life changing.

Let’s get into the good stuff:

  • Niche down. Then niche down some more. And again.
  • Yeah, a separate business account is a good idea.
  • And yeah, incorporating is also a good idea.
  • … Oh yeah, get your finances together, IMMEDIATELY…
  • PS want a $25 Amazon gift card??

Niche down (all the way)

We touched on this the other day, but we can’t stress it enough. Find your muse and narrow in on it. People say blinders are a bad thing, but I disagree. Put the blinders on and focus on your ideal customer. No one else.

The crazy thing is, since we’ve started doing this with heycpa we’ve realised how deep we can go. We’ve leapfrogged the typical “they’re the same age and same occupation!”. Who cares? There are so many differences between me and another CPA. We’re looking for one muse. And it’s this one:

  • Newly minted CPA.
  • Senior associate (level I-II) and below.
  • One foot out the door.
  • They want to pursue their dream career.
  • Eager to learn.
  • Willing to invest in themselves.
  • Fed up. Had their “f*ck this” moment.

So, what does this mean? It means we aren’t looking to place Senior Managers. That’s not our niche. Heck, we won’t do Managers either. Different roles, different objectives, and therefore different niches.

Business accounts

This is embarrassing. But it took me a long time to get a business account for Elevate Financial. And what did this mean? An absolute mess of receipts, financials, and the old age question - was this a business or personal expense…?

We will not make this mistake again. We’re separating and recording business expenses immediately. Some will say it’s not that important in the early stages. But I disagree. Empires weren’t built on shitty foundations (hate myself for that). But it’s true. If you expect (or want) your business to be big one day, then start acting like it from day one.

Get the business account. Get the credit cards. Start setting aside cash for taxes, GST, PST, the whole shebang.

Trust me, you will thank yourself.

Oh yeah, incorporate too

Some (accountants) will tell you incorporating isn’t necessary in the beginning stages. Again, I disagree. If you’re a freelancer and you expect to earn <$100k annually, then sure, you may not need to. But if you expect your business to earn hundreds of thousands, then yes, incorporate the dang thing. Small business tax incentives are one of the only things left that the Dems haven’t ruined. Take advantage of it.

Think of it this way:

  • Your business income when you’re not incorporated: $300k. Taxes payable: $117,450. Ouch.
  • Your business income when you’re incorporated: $300k. Taxes payable: $33,000. Yay!

This is simplified. But it gets the point across.

The less you pay the tax man, the better. I won’t fumble that one twice.

Onward.

Hire a bookkeeper

There is nothing worse than panicking around tax time. It’s a guessing game you don’t want to partake in. (Trust me.)

Best way to avoid this? A bookkeeper. A good bookkeeper will run you $400/monthly (or less). And they’re worth every penny.

Plus, spending time worrying about the books isn’t worth it. Even for an accountant.

I won’t fumble this one twice.

Securing the bag

We’re working on securing the bag this time. Doing the boring stuff upfront. Laying a foundation for a skyscraper, not a three-story walk-up.

I never understood when people would say “your second or third business will always be better than the first”. I thought a good idea was a good idea - simple. But I admit defeat. I was wrong.

A good idea is fine. But execution is everything. A great idea executed poorly is worthless. A mediocre idea executed brilliantly is a millionaire dollar business. Guaranteed.

If you’re building your next business and in the early innings, then think long and hard about these four fumbles. Crying about this later is not fun... Patting yourself on the back is.

PS Happy Friday everybody.

PSS: Any Associates or Senior Associates out there? I want to hear from you! Here’s the deal: You get a $25 Amazon gift card in exchange for a 20-minute chat with me. Good deal, right? Plus, you can ask me questions about my experience at Big Four, or anything else. Nothing is off limits. It’ll be fun. And if you don’t fit that niche, pass it along to someone who does.

Shoot me an email if interested: matt@heycpa.io