Starting my own practice

Tips and ideas for starting my own practice

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I'm considering starting my own practice, there don't appear to be any blocks of fees for sale in the region, so I need to search out clients myself. I'm looking for advice on this from anyone who has done this. I'm thinking - networking events, the local directory, flyers to local businesses.

Any advice would be gratefully received.

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By kjd
28th May 2016 13:34

No one size fits all i'm afraid, it's likely to be a gradual process using many different avenues. A few things i'd say from experience:

Unless you've got 12+ months of salary and running costs in the bank plus a grand of two for a site and a few other up front costs [software, AML, little things that all add up],. don't give up you day job. Run things on the evening & weekends until they've built up a bit.

Pre prepared to work long hours for the first couple of years. Whether you're fitting this in around your current job or doing it solo, it's likely to take up a decent amount of time.

Get a 3-4 page professional looking site with landline and proper email address - it doesn't need to be expensive but it's your shop window so at least look the part.

Set up a Facebook & LinkedIn page.

Get blogging via your site and share on FB/LinkedIn.

Consider offering your services for free for X period - some won't like that idea but it served me proud at the outset. Just be sure the potential client is fully aware of when the fee will kick in and at what rate. They still need to see the value in you.

Speak to friends & family - recommendation is by far the best source of new leads.

Consider starting with some easy stuff - subbie tax returns are rife at this time of year, don't take long and give an excellent opportuntity for referral work. I don't do many now but i'd say each subbie i've had over the yrs has probably recommmended at least one other. In time you'll find some incorporate too, leading your client base in a different direction.

Get systems/procedures/workflows in place now - I didn't do this at it cost me dearly in man hours later on.

Spend time answering questions on forums with your business details clearly displayed. If your answers are sought after they become a great form of SEO.

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By kjd
28th May 2016 13:36

Oh and don't worry about having a USP at this stage or a fantastic brand. That again will gradually evolve once you've found your feet over the first year or two.

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Glenn Martin
By Glenn Martin
30th May 2016 18:33

KJD has covered it off quite well.

When I started off I had about 15 clients I had built while employed, to give me a head start.

With benefit of hindsight I would have raised some money when employed then waited till a decent fee bank came along and then bought it.

The first year to 18 months is very tough as you havnt got a lot of clients on which to rely on for referrals, so you will be left wondering if it's right for you, particularly if you have left a well paid job. The first £30k to £40k are the hardest to get.

Another trap you will find it hard not to fall into is working too cheaply. its a difficult one as I was worried about not working so took some work that wasn't ideal but was better than doing nothing. I ended up busy but not making a lot. Some jobs I managed to re price later on but some I had to move on as the ones who expect you to work cheaply are the ones that are also the most demanding and hardest to deal with.

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By Delilah59
30th May 2016 19:09

Thankyou both for taking the time to respond and provide an insight into your own experiences. Very useful, my next step will be to make a very detailed business plan. I will also keep looking for a block of fees to kick start me.

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Replying to Delilah59:
By Tim Vane
30th May 2016 19:53

In my experience the longer you spend on your business plan the quicker you will need to tear it up, because it just won't match reality.

Don't bother with a business plan - set yourself some targets but make sure you budget for not meeting them. Spend the time you would have used to write business plans in doing something useful like adding blog content to your website or just networking.

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Tornado
By Tornado
31st May 2016 09:27

I think it will be very difficult for a small Accountancy General Practice to survive in the future as the range of skills required is ever expanding and so much time will be spent on admin and practice compliance, that there will be scant time to spend on actually working for your clients.

I believe that the future of Accountancy will naturally evolve into medium and large practices with staff who are more specialised in what they do.

A small practitioner has to know a lot about a lot these days and it will become harder to keep up as tax and accounting gets more complex with onerous fines and penalties for non-compliance.

I would say, however, that there is much to be said for specialising. I believe that an expert knowledge about a narrow range of tax and/or accounting related topics is likely to be more successful in the future as the specialist practitioner will be able to offer specialist services to individuals and other professionals alike.

Working on the basis of a new small general practice, I would agree that a formal business plan is not much use when you are starting out. The skill of an entrepreneur is to assess good business opportunities as they arise rather than sticking to some sort of script. A plan of sorts will still be required though, so that there is a direction to travel in.

With regard to fees, I advise my clients to start at the end here and work out how much they want from their business at the end of the year, add to that all the costs involved in running the business, work out the number of hours that are likely to be chargeable for the year then divide the profit + cost figure by that amount. This will give you the hourly charge to need to make for the anticipated hours you can work.

Bearing in mind what I said earlier, a small practitioner might 'work' ten hours in a day but perhaps only six are chargeable, the other hours being spent on admin or research. Setting a realistic number of working hours will give you a good idea of what your profit will be at the year end. Stick to your calculated charge-out rate at all times, do not be tempted to do a job at a lower rate which might see you slogging away knowing that you are going to earn next to nothing when the time could have been better spent searching for work at the right rate. Also remember that cut-price work often leads to a downward spiral where if one thing goes wrong, everything goes wrong leaving you will a mess to sort out at your own cost.

If you manage to do the calculated hours before your year ends, you will be into the super profits category where overheads have been covered and just about all subsequent charges are all profit. Again, even at this stage do not discount, there is no need to.

Ensure that you leave yourself enough time to properly care for your clients, keep up to date with profession developments and keep some time for unexpected work such as enquiries.

Do not be afraid to turn down work that you are not comfortable with or do not have time to do. I do this a lot but ensure that I send the potential client to another Accountant who I think will be right for them. I think it is important to work with other local Accountants so that you are not entirely on your own and they too can refer clients to you if they are unable or unwilling to take someone on themselves.

I hope that helps a bit.

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