If you’re just curious, keep reading. If you’re comfortable, come back when you’re not.
This is for serious firm owners.
The ones who’ve looked up from another week where you and your key people have worked more than you expected and thought, “This can’t be it. There has to be a better way.” No more fooling yourself that you think you can make the needed changes on your own.
The ones who know the problem isn’t more tech or a better hire—it’s the business model. Serious firm owners are committed and accountable to improving their accounting firm. No more tinkering. The serious firm owner is ready to take agency over the firm’s condition.
The ones who are done managing chaos and are COMMITTED to do something about it and ready to be held accountable.
Serious people design firms that serve them, not the other way around. Serious about Making the firm #1 Client
They know volume isn’t a strategy. They set minimum prices—and stick to them. They dictate the terms of the client relationship. And they stop being all things to all people.
They raise the floor. Then they raise the ceiling. They increase prices by increasing the value for the right clients.
Serious people say no to the wrong clients. They don’t get sentimental about the $500 tax-only client who sends too many “quick question” emails a year and calls them “my guy.”
They know that saying “yes” to everyone is the same as saying “no” to the firm, their team, their families, and their life.
They say no more often than they say yes.
And they target ideal clients, not more clients.
Serious people like Katy, who went from 395 clients under $1,000 to 33 clients under $1,000 – in 2 years, in a town of 8,000 people. That’s not easy. It’s serious commitment to transformation. (By the way, Katy’s revenue has increased by 50% in that time). Or Mark, who told us after his firm’s first tax season in Renew:
“Tax season has been great this year. We lost 400-500 clients that we didn’t want and have picked up a couple hundred of new higher paying clients. Not working nights or weekends this year. Best tax season in years.
Last year on March 31st we had $300k in the bank and owed $250k on our credit line.
This year we had $650k in the bank and owed nothing on our credit line. Joining Renew was the best decision we ever made.”
Serious people take money off the table as they go.
They don’t wait around for the mythical “big exit.” They stop gambling on someone paying top dollar for a bloated, partner-dependent firm.
They build a model that makes money now. Then anything at the end is gravy.
Our client Scott is a serious person. At our annual conference 8 years ago, he made a commitment to develop a firm succession plan that explores opportunities for growth – merger, acquisition etc. (We capture EVERY commitment so we can hold you accountable).
Fast forward 8 years, and Scott’s revenue is up 83%. Client numbers are down from 1,178 to 157. Average revenue per client group has increased from $1,431 to $19,617. Now, Scott has options for his transition plan.
Serious people don’t try to “balance” their firm and their life.
They build a firm that enables their life. You only have one life. Live it! Like Seth, who revels in his title of Renew Vacation Champion. He’s realized that he doesn’t need his finger in every pie. By striving for leverage through people, pricing and technology, he can take 7-8 weeks away from the firm every year, knowing it will run beautifully without him.
Renew is not the right fit for everyone. But if you’re serious—about your time, your team, your clients, your future—we should talk. After all, it’s easy to spot other people’s bull$hit and nearly impossible to recognize your own.
Let’s build something that serves you for once.
If you’re not serious, it’s okay to keep scrolling. But if you’re ready to design your firm—not just survive it—let’s talk.
Schedule a call and we’ll dig in, align on your priorities and show you how we can work together to help you take serious action.
Every year, our member firms step on the scales— we run our proprietary Pareto for Profit™ analysis that tells them which clients are profitable, and which are creating the insanity in their firms. It is the accounting equivalent of an annual health check: it spotlights key priorities, raises the bar for the next twelve months, and builds accountability into every key priority for the year ahead. And importantly, Pareto for Profit™ is the first step in solving their capacity and time problems.
On August 20th, we’re hosting a webinar to launch the 2025 Bite Size Benchmark Report. We’d love you to register, and we promise you an hour of hard-hitting, pragmatic information that you can take and implement in your firm (plus 1 hour of CPE!)
