Free Advice

This week has been filled with some major changes in my firm. And yes, I know it's only Tuesday... (Disclosure: I am in the accounting acquisition space. Some of what I discuss may or may not apply to other industries.) I know it's more fun to tell you about the really awesome stuff about buying an accounting firm. $0 down. Work less than 20 hours a week. Etc. But the truth is, there can be tough moments sometimes. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying to you. In a perfect world you: 1) Buy an accounting firm for $0 2) Keep the owner on board part-time 3) Keep the staff in place But the reality is sometimes you will have existing staff that may not adopt your culture. No matter how hard you try, they just refuse to change. But you're a good person, so you keep trying, you keep training, you keep providing positive feedback. But they just won't hear it. And at a certain point, they become counter-productive to the team culture you are building. I guess you can figure out what happened at my firm. And although we have prepared for this (we even have a very strong candidate for the replacement) it's still a tough thing to do. Is buying an accounting firm still the best way to experience hyper growth? Absolutely. But just know that there will be tough "owner-level" decisions that will have to be made at times. Ok, venting done. Thanks.