Sterck Kulik O’Neill Accounting Group, Inc.- Diamond Certified Video Profile

It was a perfect day to get out of the sweltering valley heat. On a somewhat “typical for July” 102-degree day at home and the Sierras only an hour-and-a-half away, my wife and I decided to drive up to Pinecrest Lake for the day. At about 11:00, we decided to take the 4-mile hike around the lake. The weather was perfect, the lake was filled to the brim, and the river was rushing into the inlet. There were also several hundred other people who had the same idea as we did, so the trail was crowded with weekend warriors.

At about the 3-mile mark for us, we came across an oasis… Lakeside Lemonade.  Oh, we had hiked past a lemonade stand earlier on our hike, but we weren’t compelled to stop.  This stand was different, though, as three energetic entrepreneurs (Cal, Beth, and Carter) had set up, not just a lemonade stand, but a business.  We pulled up a seat in the cushioned chairs they provided and soaked in the things that made this stand different.

These kids had put together a customer experience for the weary mountain trekker, so much so that they had created their own marketing buzz. As one family walked up, the father blurted out, “We’ve heard about you!”  What entrepreneur doesn’t cherish hearing those words?

I took note of the business principles that had been employed in this operation.  Of course, they had a desirable product in a great location.  But, they had also employed creative pricing practices, customer care services, and consumer information.  They had even “gone green” with their “Recycling” and “Compost” waste baskets.

Yet, even with all of these practices in place, one thing stood out that made their business very difficult to copy.

PASSION!

These entrepreneurs had an engaging energy that was fueled by their desire to make this business work, as evidenced by the tremendous pride they took in what they had accomplished.  They told us how they had added cookies to their product offering as a response to customers’ suggestions last year. Their faces beamed when they showed us the cash box they had invested in with part of their profits.

To all business owners…!!!

Remember the passion you had for your business when you first started it? The pride you felt in your product or services to your customers? The enthusiasm you had when you went to work each day, if you could even call it work?

Do you still have it?  If not, take a hike… around Pinecrest Lake, and get reenergized. Your business will thank you.

It’s no fun to be passionate about something if no one has a clue what you are talking about. It’s like that with math for many people and it’s like that with accounting for most people. Just try starting a conversation that has anything to do with either subject if you want to clear a room.

People just don’t understand why we accountants get so excited about positive operating cash, why a healthy return on assets can make us turn somersaults, and why it takes more than positive net income to get us to celebrate.

But we’re accountants. It’s not really about the numbers. It’s about the story they tell us about a business. And it’s about all of the people who do the work to produce the numbers. It’s each one of the transactions that eventually debit and credit their way to becoming a financial statement.

For many passionate accountants, it has gotten easier to share our excitement with clients, thanks to a new tool from Mentor Plus. It’s called $COPE It! software, and it basically takes boring old financial statements and turns them into a video game. Well, without the prizes, pitfalls, and avatars. But it has moving parts. Now when I sit down with a business owner, I can show them how different actions will impact their results. I can show them how faster collections will add to their bank account, how more sales might not help them resolve a cash flow issue, and where to focus their attention. I can lead their teams to an understanding of how the pieces fit together, and show each person how their job impacts the financial outcomes of a business.

Many of the passionate accountants on this website are using this software or similar tools to enlighten their clients. Is your accountant looking beyond your numbers to the story they tell?

Click here to get your ringtone

You can download the entire song off itunes.com or emusic.com

In the meantime, you can listen to the abbreviated version right here . . . See lyrics below

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

  See lyrics below

It isn’t every day an established paradigm meets up with a “game changer.”  Passionate Accountants are changing the game of business for their clients by expanding what it means to be an accountant. “If you want to expand your accounting practice, expand what you are accounting for.” Start using your talents to measure and improve all areas of business performance. Your clients deserve it and you’ll have a lot more fun doing it!

A Provocative Interrupt

Are we crazy? A ringtone? Come on, seriously, a hiphop-rap artist singing about accountants? Sometimes it takes something beyond ordinary to lead us to something extraordinary. We have all the traditional promo and collateral materials that answer all the questions you may have but that’s where tradition ends. Our training goes way beyond traditional accounting to include a managerial focus with emphasis on business performance fundamentals to help business owners be more successful. The Passionate Accountants in this community are part of a growing concern of practitioners who recognize the need to expand their skills to keep ahead of client needs. Don’t confuse the lightheartedness of this promotion with the serious intent of this community. Our goal is to raise expectations of what a CPA can (and should) provide their business clients.

We expect there will be some giggles and snickers for applying a non-traditional messenger and medium to the PassionateAccountant.com message.  Go ahead and have some fun with this – we are.  And while you are listening to the lyrics of the song (Rated E for Everyone) think about all those business owners out there who are starving for help.  Think about how much you love to help your clients succeed. Think about giving yourself the opportunity to do more and be more for your clients. And think about how you can make our economy stronger one business at a time!

Abbreviated version Lyrics:

Chorus

2010

PassionateAccountant.com

You need to click it

PassionateAccountant.com

Just click it

PassionateAccountant.com

We’ve got what you need to take your business to the top

PassionateAccountant’s just a quick click away

Makin’ small business money in a slow economy

(Repeat)

You need a CPA in this small business game

To coach you to the top help you call in all the plays

No more crunching numbers you got time with your family

Your CPA got your back makin’ sure they keep you safe

And if your dough is low and if your money’s tight

Passionate Accountants bring your small business back to life!

All you need is a dream and a team

Proper plannin’ and the passion

Guarantee you to succeed!

C’mon feel free to put your trust in me

Stay true stay positive, steer clear of negativity

PassionateAccountant

That’s where you can find me

Success is just a click away

Relax, kick up your feet! Give your paperwork to me

And you can finally breathe

Don’t trip, take a trip across the seven seas

You got a friend in your corner that’s never gonna leave

With your best interests in mind and yes I want you to succeed

Where can I find the right CPA for me?

How can I get the help that my business needs?

How can I have more time for my family?

You need answers to these questions?

Just go click upon the link

So if your business low

You don’t know where to go

Passionate Accountant

You can get advice from a pro!

Make your small business money

Help your small business grow

Help you out around the clock

Never leave you in the cold

PassionateAccountant.com that’s the link

Here for your business 7 Days out of the week

24/7 Round the clock

Crunchin’ numbers While you sleep

Schedule C’s W2’s

You can hand that all to me

You work too hard already

Let me put your thoughts at ease

You work hard for your money

And it’s clear as day to see

I’m watchin’ every penny

And I’m countin’ all the green

Carefully dottin’ all the I’s

And Crossin’ all the T’s

Thorough and efficient

That’s how you’d describe me

Don’t trip, take a trip

Across the seven seas

You got a friend in your corner

That’s never gonna leave

With your best interests in mind

And yes I want you to succeed

Where can I find the right

CPA for me

How can I get the help

That my business needs

How can I have more time

For my family

You need answers to these questions

Just go click up on the link

Chorus

The Issue

A well-known manufacturing/distribution company with approximately 200 employees and annual revenue >$25 million, needed to attract the right talent for new R&D and Plant Manager positions that would fit with the existing management team’s behavioral styles.  Past recruiting efforts had been “hit and miss”. Training costs as a result of turnover were too high.

The Fix

We used proven behavior assessments to clarify exactly what kind of candidate would be the best fit for the two positions that needed to be filled. We benchmarked the job requirements, assessed the behavioral styles of the existing management team, developed profiles for the ideal candidates for the positions, and evaluated potential candidates using quantifiable metrics for fit for the positions.

In laymans terms? We figured out what the job required, and then used the assessments to pin-point a candidate with just that skill set.

The Outcome

The company hired the right talent for the positions the first time, enhanced the management team, and saved tens of thousands of dollars on costs related to re-hiring, re-training, and disruptions to existing workforce operations. Aligning the job with the candidates’ strengths not only causes an increase in productivity and a decrease in turnover, but also creates a less stressful environment for employees and management. A more satisfying environment for all.

Bob Staiger
www.swensoncorp.com

I was talking to a friend of mine who is a swim coach the other day about one of his swimmers.  He was telling me about how this kid could change her stroke technique in the middle of a race.  Never having been a competitive swimmer I didn’t think that was such a big deal and made the mistake of saying this out loud.  Well, he assured me that this was a bigger deal than I understood by explaining that too many swimmers get in the race, put their head down and just keep swimming without thinking about technique and what is happening during the race around them.  Focus is what he kept referring to; the kid can focus during a race and make a correction when she needs to.

Use any analogy or example you want, you end up where you focus your attention.  To have focus you need information from measures that drive your team in the right direction and keep you aware of your surroundings.  Too often business owners are either focused on stale information or spread too thin.  Distractions, both personal and professional, take away your ability to drive you in the direction your organization needs to keep moving not just to survive but excel.

What is the information, the measures that individuals in your company use to focus on daily, weekly, monthly for results?  Are these the right ones?  Do you have any, besides the stale monthly financials?  Does your team understand and know how to use them?

I just heard Jason Jennings, a bestselling author of in the business genre, at a conference I recently attended discussing common traits that great businesses all have in common.  Going back to the sports analogy, people love sports because you keep score; you can distinguish between a winner and a loser.  Take away the score and no one cares.

Everyone wants to win and if you give them a measure to keep score they will drive themselves.  You don’t want those content to sit the bench.  Granted the measure/information has to be the right one as we all know horror stories of garbage in and garbage out.

Most businesses have a good idea of what they need to know.  They need help getting it organized, prioritized and then someone to help them follow up.   Get your team focused on the right measures, follow up and you can change your stroke in the middle of the race.     And that ability to adjust can make all the difference in who crosses the finish line first.

Published by www. accountingweb.com

How to find new success by shifting your firm’s focus from service-centric silos to client-centric goal-setting.

by Rick Telberg, Editor CPA Trendlines

Most accounting firms believe they provide pretty good client service. And most of them are probably right.

But there are other firms that strive to deliver more than just satisfactory service. They are seeking to go a step further, something beyond merely satisfying clients, something akin to wowing clients. Perhaps they know what Bain & Co. consultant Fred Reichheld discovered in 1995: Even among clients who say they are perfectly “satisfied,” half will change providers anyway. Clearly, customer satisfaction is not enough. Something more is needed. (more…)

I confess… I’m a geek.

“Confess?” you say, “You’re an accountant. We already knew you were a geek.”

Now, I like to think I hide it most of the time, but I have a passion for math problems, puzzles, and technology. So it’s good to know that there is a TV show dedicated to people like me.

“Big Bang Theory” is about a group of friends who are physicists at Cal Tech, but they resonate with this accountant’s nerdy side. As a business consultant, I laughed my head off during a recent episode that featured process mapping as an instructional method for making friends. (more…)

I took one look inside my garage and thought what the hell happened here? I guess the inside of my garage looks like others in Florida. Everyone keeps their garage doors closed because they are embarrassed by their garages. We don’t have basements because the water table in Florida is so high so the garage becomes our junk drawer. I don’t know what I have in my garage or how to find it.

Since I was feeling ambitious and couldn’t stand it any more, I started on a project to clean the garage. During the process, I thought about how cleaning the garage related to business operations and the service I provide to clients. (more…)