How to Niche Down, Hire Remote, and Build Strong Partnerships w/ Brad Schuchardt

Podcast

Summary

In this episode of Growing Your Firm, David Cristello interviews Brad Schuchardt, founder of BTBK Accounting Services. Brad specializes in providing full-service accounting solutions to restaurants, offering accurate financial information and strategic business insight. 

They discuss Brad’s journey into his niche, marketing strategies, and scaling up his firm. They also touch on the importance of building a strong team and partnerships. 

This episode is sponsored by LiveFlow.

LiveFlow empowers you with flexible, powerful reporting tools to create customized dashboards that meet your specific needs. Connect to all your clients’ QuickBooks accounts and import their financial reports from QuickBooks into Google Sheets in no time. Learn more and book your demo here.

What you’ll learn

This episode of Growing Your Firm is jam-packed with insights. 

Brad and David had a great discussion that covered an array of topics. Here’s what you can expect to learn from this 30 minute episode: 

• The benefits of hiring former stay-at-home moms
• The niche of the company in providing accounting solutions to restaurants
• How to pick a niche with your firm
• Challenges and experiences of starting and growing a firm
• The importance of building relationships
• The evolution of client selection
• Financial aspects of starting a business
• The turning point in gaining traction and revenue
• The benefits of a fixed fee structure
• And the development of a matrix for client billing. 

You will also learn how Brad and his firm use Jetpack Workflow and Restaurant365 software, the benefits of hiring remote accountants, and more. 

Detailed Synopsis

In this episode, Brad highlights Jetpack Workflow as an excellent tool for managing deadlines, assignments, tasks, and billing for small and medium-sized businesses. 

As the business scales up and more team members are added, Jetpack Workflow becomes crucial for workflow management. It ensures that no deadlines are missed, especially when relying on Outlook calendar tasks becomes impractical. 

Another tool mentioned in the episode is Practice Ignition, which is used for engagement proposals, invoicing, and payments. The speaker explains that Practice Ignition is essential for managing deadlines, assignments, tasks, and day-to-day operations. 

It alleviates the worry of missing anything, which could result in penalties. Practice Ignition also handles billing and payments, eliminating the need to chase receivables or perform other billing-related tasks. 

Clients pay the full fee for the month in advance, either through ECH or credit card, with the speaker absorbing the associated fees. Practice Ignition is described as a valuable tool for managing engagement proposals, invoicing, and payments, providing convenience and peace of mind for business owners.

Brad also discusses his partnership with Restaurant365, a software exclusively designed for the restaurant industry. He recognized Restaurant365 as the preferred inventory management software and immediately sought a partnership when starting his own business. 

Brad emphasizes that Restaurant 365 not only provides accounting functions and financial statements but also handles inventory management, recipes, and menus. He exclusively uses Restaurant365 for his clients and has built a strong relationship with their sales team.

The discussion also emphasizes the benefits of recurring revenue in the service industry. While one-time fees are great, recurring services are crucial for long-term sustainability. 

By offering ongoing accounting services using Restaurant365, Brad can convert a portion of his clients into recurring revenue sources. This not only generates consistent income but also allows him to establish relationships with clients he may not have met otherwise.

Timestamps

[00:06:15] Fixed fee accounting model.

[00:12:37] User conferences and partnerships.

[00:13:31] Managing the sales pipeline.

[00:18:32] Remote hires and stay-at-home moms.

[00:20:40] Managing deadlines and tasks.