how i built a niche firm serving the national craft brewing industry

Chris Farmand CPA, CITP

History

Graduated University of Florida in 2002 B.S. in Food and Resource Economics

Involved with Improv Troupe at UF

Chased a acting/improv career in NYC 2002-2003

Returned home to work at family accounting firm

History (cont)

Attended University of North Florida - 2nd undergrad (this time in accounting)

Completed the CPA exam

Completed my MBA

Began working full time for Family Accounting Firm

I was always going to work for a small firm. The Big 4 were heavily recruiting my classmates. The longest one of my classmates stayed at Big 4 was 5 years.

Accounting Career

Began in Gov’t and NFP auditing………..and taxes.

This is the beauty of small firms, you do it all……...or so I thought

Found a passion for accounting technology early in my career

Audit practice closed, and I began building a book of accounting and tax customers

Served anyone with a pulse and a checkbook

Accounting Career (cont)

Built a decent book with no direction

Had very little customer loyalty

Customers were price sensitive

ZERO knowledge transfer…….100% compliance

BUILT A NICHE

Niche Practice Building

As I was opening my own firm in 2010, I began working with a local new brewery

While working with them, I noticed a problem. Running a brewery back office is very complicated. Far more complicated than the businesses I have seen.

I sought out to build a niche serving this industry 1) because I had a solution to a problem and 2) I love beer

At this time I served my only brewery from 6 months pre-opening through their 3 year anniversary….then they fired me


Here I was the brewery CPA with no customers

At the time of the firing, I had been with a marketing coach for 13 months testing if this specialization was going to work

We had launched our first nationwide campaign around the same time as I was fired from the brewery

It was a handwritten letter

I got the call…...the rest is kinda history


It was always going to be a national practice. There aren’t enough in my local area to become an expert

I quickly realized, through market research, my local area did not care about a specialist…...they still don’t

The beginning was tough. And it is still tough. I have lofty growth goals, which I will hit.

The idea is knowledge growth

Niche Practice Management

Our firm is 100% virtual. Meaning we can work from anywhere.

We have a physical location

Team

1 CPA

1 Tax Accountant

2 Bookkeepers (in-house)

1 Bookkeeper (remote)

Team is all on salary

Niche Practice Management

Team is all on salary with bonus opportunity for the following

New business brought in

They are compensated very well and are expected to deliver results

No B&B

2016 - Rolling out Price changing competition

Employee with most change orders wins, $2,500 vacation package

2017 - Employees will receive percentage of change orders as long as they close the deal

Advise and Hindsight

If I could do it all over again today, I would have hired someone at a tax manager level two years ago

My advice to students who are stuck on Big 4. Ask to see a list of their hires 4 years ago, ask how many are still there. This may end your relationship with them, but now you know.

My guide to surviving a small firm

This is a 3 year plan:

Join a small firm (20 people or less)

Year 1: Work - Do anything they ask you to, their way, give your best effort.

Year 2: Test - Is a firm process broken or non-existent? Start testing change in a small subtle way.

Year 3: Suggest - Begin suggesting changes. Changes in customer communication, processes, billing, etc. Ask to be involved admin work which shows interest in ownership and entrepreneurship.

By the end of year three you will have all the answers you need

a. Are you being heard? Are you going to guide this ship one day? Can I build a niche? Can I become an expert?

b. Is this falling on deaf ears

My guide to surviving a small firm

If you are being heard - Congratulations-welcome to the fast track to a successful career

If you're not being heard - Congratulation - You found out within the first three years of your career you are working for an asshole……...GO DO IT ON YOUR OWN

Working for a small firm is not easy. You will have many things thrown at you, all at once. It is a small office, it may be socially defunct, the owner may be stuck in his ways. You may be the first new employee in the past quarter decade. THAT IS ALL NOISE, to the experience you will receive working on wide range of customer deliverables.

Larger organizations can not afford to give you the diversity of work that a small firm will…..its really awesome