Three weeks ago Steven Zelin, the Singing CPA, visited my Baruch College graduate class and provided insights on how he manages his practice. He leads a staff of 20 who all work virtually. He shared his techniques and also how he got started in his own practice after a few jobs.
How he got his first audit client is an interesting story and not so atypical of how we get clients. Steven volunteered to perform at a music-related fundraising event for a not-for-profit organization and was told his performance would be recorded. He followed up a few weeks later and started getting the runaround. Eventually they told him there was a problem, and his performance wasn't recorded.
There was not much anyone could do and, as a parting comment he said "Well, if you ever need an audit, you could call me." They responded that they did not like their auditor and would be pleased to discuss it with him. And that's how he got his first audit client, and he still has them as a client.
This shows or proves that you get clients by meeting people, showing up, being available, letting them know your capabilities and then letting them talk. It also indicates that once you get a client, you usually have the client "forever." This is not such a bad business model.
Steven had a typical office, with desks for everyone and, because of his steady growth, he was running out of space. When COVID hit, the staff was forced to work from home. Everyone was already connected because he had some pretty sophisticated software in place, so except for getting some extra equipment for the homes of some staff, everyone was working without missing a beat. Getting the clients used to the remote work took a little doing, but that wasn't as difficult as might be imagined.
Today the office is open, but the staff have pretty much elected to continue the virtual work. Steven has some staff who moved to different states during this period. They continue to work for him and are all performing very well.
One of the techniques Steven uses to manage his practice is to have a daily 10:00 a.m. huddle on Zoom, with everyone attending. They all say what they are working on, the status of their work and what they will be doing that day. This whole process takes no longer than 15 minutes. This enables Steven to be in control of what is being done and also for everyone to get to know each other. It also permits collaboration if someone has an issue that someone else has talked about and indicated knowledge of a specialized area. Where necessary, Steven follows up one-on-one afterwards.
Zelin & Co. performs all of the typical services CPA firms do and then some. He has an active audit practice and also does peer reviews of other CPA firms. They are QuickBooks ProAdvisors, have CFO-To-Go and Controller-To-Go divisions, prepare over 1,200 of every type of tax return, write business plans and perform many types of advisory services for their clients.
Being a sole owner with a staff of 20 makes Steven one of the most successful sole practitioners in the country, I believe. He also graciously took the time, during tax season, to spend the evening with the class. He has taught at the college level so he was comfortable addressing the students and answering their many, many questions.
Steven is "The Singing CPA" and he brings his guitar everywhere. He performed many well-known tunes for the class, adding his own lyrics about taxes and clients and what accountants do. During the three-hour class he had many opportunities to play and lead sing-a-longs with the students, many of whom filmed and recorded him. Besides being an enjoyable class session, the students picked up some valuable insights. His website is
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