Growing your business should never feel like a leap of faith. During our recent panel webinar, some of the best leaders in the professional services industry shared experiences and advice on making sure your current business operations will scale with your firm.
Our Panelists
- Anthony Fasano, Professional Speaker and Trainer for Engineering Professionals
- Heather Kourcklas, President and Founder of Golden Gait, LLC
- Richard Dunbar, Senior Director of Partner Success at Fattmerchant
We covered how to know when you’ve outgrown your current tech stack, best practices for managing your firm’s financial, accounting, and project management systems, common growing pains, and how to plan for growth.
Here are our three key takeaways after sitting down with the pros:
1. Where does the time go?
This is a question we all ask ourselves. Unfortunately, there are only 24 hours in a day when you usually need 48. When projects start to stack up and there are constant Zoom meetings, time can fly and it can be difficult to remember those small tasks you accomplished throughout the day.
Pro takeaway: Track more than just your billable time!
Keeping track of where your time is being spent is one of the most important things you can do for your business. Heather recommends keeping a journal for a few weeks and write down everything you do. From the first cup of coffee to when you go to sleep, track all your time! By paying attention to every small thing you’re doing throughout the day, you can gain insight into where you’re wasting time or what tasks are taking up too much of your time. From there you can delegate, automate, or improve upon.
2. Watch out for financial “red flags”
Think you’ve outgrown your current operating system? There are several financial “red flags” you should be looking out for. One thing to always remember is that you should be able to access all of your information and data whenever you need it. Visibility is key.
Pro takeaway: Data integrity is everything
If you’re having issues accessing your data, that’s a big red flag. If data is routinely incorrect or not everything is being captured, Richard recommends sitting down with your vendor. How can you grow your company when there are accounts receivable that you can’t access? Keep in mind that the data you get out for tracking KPIs is only as good as the data you’re putting in. It’s important to have the correct processes in place to capture this information accurately. For example, if data is being pulled manually, that leaves room for human error. Your vendor should be adapting to your growth and if they’re not doing that, it’s probably time to look elsewhere.
3. Getting your team on board before your onboard
Implementing new technology can sometimes feel overwhelming, especially if your team is apprehensive about learning something new. However, if you kick off the onboarding process properly, new software doesn’t have to be a daunting task.
Pro takeaway: Educate and communicate
When you get your staff to buy-in on a new way of doing things, the onboarding process can be a smooth transition for all involved. In order to gain this buy-in, Anthony stressed the importance of communication and education. Talk to your team about not only why you’re implementing change, but how it’s going to help them, their clients, and make everyone’s jobs easier and more efficient. Once the team understands how this new technology is going to benefit all parties, take the necessary steps and time to train them.
Throughout this panel, Heather, Anthony, and Richard covered many more issues that companies face when they’ve outgrown their current systems, along with their solutions and advice. In addition to addressing those issues, the panel also answered several questions that were submitted live by attendees that were helpful to all that were on the webinar. Hear all of their advice for overcoming growing pains and their answers to those questions by watching the full webinar.
