Episode 16 - Behind the Curtain with Jason Staats

Jason Staats (@JastaatsCPA)

Jason purchased his own CPA firm a few years ago, which is obviously quite the achievement. Now, he’s about to exit from the firm and focus on his online presence as an accounting industry influencer. You can find him on LinkedIn, Youtube, Twitter, and just about anywhere on the internet.

He’s been in the accounting industry for over 15 years with a team of over 40 people. Jason has nearly 14k followers on twitter and 300 subscribers on Youtube as well. For some further statistics on Jason; he has 3 children aged one, four, and five years old. He comments that of all the things he does, he may be most recognized for the ‘silly’ things he makes on the internet.

Clearly Defined Expectations

Our host Jackie has a way of discovering more about those that she interviews. A question she always likes to ask is ‘what is a top book, Ted Talk, or podcast that you enjoy listening to or reading?’ For Jason, he shares that the most transformative book he’s read is The Win Without Pitching Manifesto.

Although the book isn’t directly about accounting, Jason describes it as a book about developing a healthy mindset between advocating for yourself and doing what's best for the client. A balance piece if you will.

After reading the book by Blair Enns, Jason’s leadership took his team to a new level. He encouraged his team to read the book together in order to shift mindsets away from the traditional approach to ‘win business.’

As a group they redefined their sales process and what Jason and his team wanted it to look like. All of this was to set an expectation on what an ideal client and good fit for their firm would be. Jason shares that although some clients may be ideal for one individual, this is not necessarily the case for everyone on the team. Eventually, as business grows beyond our individual capacities, it’s important to discover what client is the best placement for everyone involved.

What did we learn?

Setting a clear and defined expectation is crucial in team settings.
My ideal client may not be our team’s ideal client .It’s important to get on the same page as a group so everyone has an understanding of the expectation.

Who is the Ideal Client?

Jason continues you with the expectation of his team. He says the restriction was rather freeing for his team, because they all now sit on the same page.

Jackie brings up the point regarding processes put into place that helps her firm identify potential clients. It is no surprise that Jason is familiar with this as well.

He touches on Kelly Park’s Five Star Star Client Profile and some standards for ideal clients:

Industry
Company Size

On top of what may be expected, Jason states that understanding what type of technology the client is using is just as important. It may be difficult to work with firms that are still totally desktop spaced, solely because this is different from how Jason’s team works.

Another great point by Jason is what he calls the ‘nature of the business.’ He shares that they’ve had great luck when working with businesses that are similar to his. The example of constant email communication is a tell for some of their ideal clients. If the business they are working with is keen on email communication, aware of boundaries and scope, then this makes for a great prospect.

He also paints a picture from an idea that floats around the industry. We’ll try to illustrate it below:

Think of a spectrum from the client perspective. Ultimately, it comes down to two questions:

Is the client interested in low cost solutions?
Is the client interested and willing to pay for the right solution?

Positive Transformation

Now it's time for a deep conversation. Jackie asks Jason about any challenges he’s overcome in life that have made him a better person.

His answer? Community.

Through his experience coming up in an accounting firm, Jason realized that the work done in the firm may put you on the best path to be an asset to that firm, but not necessarily the best thing for you.

The online community opened up his eyes and allowed him to share his ideas in a way that was more realistic and less siloed. Creativity is a huge asset for Jason, you can certainly tell from his YouTube Channel. More importantly, we see that his discovery of an online community allowed him to be himself, create solutions in a way that he enjoyed, and most importantly find other like minded individuals seeking alternative problem solving methods.

The value of community goes exponentially further. Jackie summarizes that having a conversation with someone about a topic that is completely random can end up being extremely influential and impactful for her firm.

She also asks Jason about his favorite conferences, since these tend to be a great place to have conversations. We’ve listed a few of his answers:

Connecting with Jason and Jackie

The best way to get a hold of Jason is …. His mailing address. (Kidding).

As we mentioned before you can find him all over the internet:

He adds, much of his community enjoys open dialogue on his YouTube comments and Twitter replies. He encourages us to hang out there.

As always, ConciergeCPA is hosted by TaxPlanIQ. Where we believe that every person has a unique message that can positively impact the world. If you are a successful accounting firm, owner, or influencer who would like to be on the program, please visit JackieMeyerCPA.com.